News

Eodyne at Therapie Düsseldorf 2025

CAVAA partner Eodyne showcased the Rehabilitation Gaming System (RGS) Ecosystem at Therapie Düsseldorf, one of Germany’s leading trade fairs for therapy, rehabilitation, and prevention. Visitors discovered how RGS supports innovative approaches to neurorehabilitation and learned about its connection to the CAVAA project’s vision for advancing cognitive architectures and artificial awareness.

Interview with Mehdi Khamassi on decision-making

Our Mehdi Khamassi, CNRS researcher and CAVAA project partner, was recently interviewed by Brève de science on “Comment prenons-nous des décisions ?” (How do we make decisions?).

In this interview, he explores how the brain balances deliberation and automatic responses when making choices—insights that connect directly to CAVAA’s goal of understanding cognitive architectures and artificial awareness.

Read the full interview (in French) →

Invited talk at AI Philosophy seminars, SONY Compu, Paris

26 June 2025 - Kathinka Evers (Uppsala University)

“Artificial Consciousness: Science Fiction, Utopia or Pandora’s Box?”

Keynote talk at the Ernst Mach Workshop, Academy of Sciences, Prague

2 June 2025 - Kathinka Evers (Uppsala University)

“Artificial Consciousness: Science Fiction, Utopia or Pandora’s Box?”

EU review meeting

The second project meeting, attended by the project officer and external experts, took place on 28 March 2025. EU review meetings are important events at which project progress is assessed and feedback is provided to project members. This feedback is invaluable for implementing CAVAA in the best possible way. The reviewers and project officer provide recommendations and feedback that are highly relevant to the project.

CAVAA at Therapie Leipzig 2025

CAVAA is present for networking, project dissemination and visibility. Therapie LEIPZIG is the leading trade fair and congress for therapy, medical rehabilitation and prevention in German-speaking countries. Every two years, it offers a comprehensive overview of the market and presents innovations, products and services for modern and sustainable patient treatment.

Invited talk at AI Philosophy seminars, SONY Compu

27 March 2025 - Mehdi Khamassi (Sorbonne University) - ‘How can we ensure Al systems’ alignment with human values?’

Invited Talk at Med. Sci., U. Auckland

12 March 2025 - Tony Prescott (University of Sheffield)

"Designing robots people can relate to" to the Department for Medical Science, 12th March, 2025

Invited talk at Shahid Beheshti Uni, Iran, virtual

8 March 2024 - Mehdi Khamassi - ‘Reinforcement learning and decision-making algorithms at the crossroads of AI and Neuroscience’

Robot Demo at HRI '25, Melbourne

A demonstration of multimodal sensory & interaction capabilities of "Hey MiRo" the CAVAA (University of Sheffield) prototype social use-case at the 2025 ACM/IEE Conference on human-robot interaction, 5th March 2025.

Invited Talk at Monash University, Melbourne

4 March 2025 - Tony Prescott (University of Sheffield)

"Synthesizing the embodied self: A robotics perspective"

Invited talk at Embed-Days Colloquium, ENS-PSL

28 February 2025 - Mehdi Khamassi (Sorbonne University) - ‘How can we ensure Al systems’ alignment with human values?’

Invited talk at Physics Departmt, ENS-PSL

Mehdi Khamassi (Sorbonne University) - Talk: ‘Model-based and model-free reinforcement learning mechanisms in brains and robot’

Invited talk at Sympo on Bio-Inspired AI sys

8 February 2025 - Mehdi Khamassi (Sorbonne University) - ‘Model-based and model-free reinforcement learning mechanisms in brains and robot’
Univ Bordeaux

Invited talk at Interself conf, Univ Lisboa

21 October 2024 - Mehdi Khamassi - ‘Uncertainty, non-stationarity and context in world models for robots’
Interdisciplinary conference on consciousness, with philosophers, psychologists, engineers,..

Eodyne at Rehacare 2024

Presence at the healthcare event to showcase one of the use case of CAVAA and enhance network opportunities for the project. The REHACARE in Düsseldorf is one of the world's leading trade fairs for rehabilitation, prevention, inclusion, and care. A focal point of the fair is the introduction of new technologies and systems that facilitate communication and enhance the quality of life.

Symposium talk at Evo-devo Conf., Zagreb

10 September 2014 - Tony Prescott (University of Sheffield)

"Evolution and development of the brain as a layered control system" Zagreb, Croatia, 10th September 2024

HRI Symposium, University of Sheffield, July 2024

One day symposium of CAVAA researchers with Pathfinder project VALAWAI (Agnieszka Wytkowska), organised by the University of Sheffield, 24th JUly 2024

CAVAA at 21st AMN Conference

Presence at healthcare event to showcase one of the use case of CAVAA and enhance network opportunities

XR4Rehab 2024

CAVAA members were present at the XR4Rehab 2024. The XR4REHAB Annual Conference is one of the leading events eager to work towards achieving development in XR applied to the healthcare industry.

CAVAA General Assembly Meeting #02

The second CAVAA General Assembly Meeting will take place on 22. February 2024. Two workshops are open for external people. More information can be found on the workshop page.

Invited talk at interdisciplin conf on Autonomy

18 April 2024 - Mehdi Khamassi (Sorbonne University) - ‘Computational model of different levels of decision-making autonomy in humans’
Meeting with philosophers, sociologists, scientists and artists.

Invited talk at AI & Neuro Day, French Asso for AI

9 April 2024 - Mehdi Khamassi - ‘Reinforcement learning and decision-making algorithms at the crossroads of AI and Neuroscience’
Bordeaux, France

CAVAA Executive Board Meeting #02

The first CAVAA Executive Board meeting took place virtually on 02. February 2024.

CAVAA lectures finalised

A series of lectures were held for knowledge exchange between the different disciplines involved in the project.

  • Distributed Adaptive Control theory of awarenes and its role in the CAVAA project.
  • The basal ganglia and the role of cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical loops
  • Centers providing visual perception in the CAVAA project
  • How and why does consciousness matter?
  • Drive competition underlies effective allostatic orchestration
  • Theoretical and Ethical Challenges
  • Working groups on DCBT summer school

Artificial Awareness: moving from theoretical possibility towards empirical actuality. (copy)
  • Date: September 20, 2023
  • Speaker: Paul Verschure
  • Affiliation: SRU
  • Event: EIC Portfolio Ethics Meeting
  • Title/Topic: Artificial Awareness: moving from theoretical possibility towards empirical actuality.

Artificial Awareness: moving from theoretical possibility towards empirical actuality.
  • Date: September 20, 2023
  • Speaker: Michele Farisco
  • Affiliation: UU
  • Event: EIC Portfolio Ethics Meeting
  • Title/Topic: Artificial Awareness: moving from theoretical possibility towards empirical actuality.

Artificial Awareness: moving from theoretical possibility towards empirical actuality.
  • Date: September 18, 2023
  • Speaker: Michele Farisco
  • Affiliation: UU
  • Event: CRB Seminar, University of Uppsala
  • Title/Topic: Artificial Awareness: moving from theoretical possibility towards empirical actuality.

Model-based and model-free reinforcement learning mechanisms in brains and robots.
  • Date: September 14, 2023
  • Speaker: Mehdi Khamassi
  • Affiliation: SORB
  • Event: ESI Systems Neuroscience Conference, Max Planck Society, Frankfurt, Germany
  • Title/Topic: Model-based and model-free reinforcement learning mechanisms in brains and robots.

Reinforcement learning and decision-making algorithms at the crossroads between AI and Neuroscience
  • Date: September 12, 2023
  • Speaker: Mehdi Khamassi
  • Affiliation: SORB
  • Event: Summer school of the French society of Philosophy of science (SPS), Fréjus, France
  • Title/Topic: Reinforcement learning and decision-making algorithms at the crossroads between AI and Neuroscience

Artificial Awareness: moving from theoretical possibility towards empirical actuality
  • Date: September 12, 2023
  • Speaker: Michele Farisco
  • Affiliation: UU
  • Event: Donders Brain Cognition & Technology summer school, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
  • Title/Topic: Artificial Awareness: moving from theoretical possibility towards empirical actuality

Sample and memory efficiency in episodic reinforcement learning
  • Date: September 8, 2023
  • Speaker: Ismael Freire Gonzalez
  • Affiliation: SRU
  • Event: Donders Brain Cognition & Technology summer school, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
  • Title/Topic: Sample and memory efficiency in episodic reinforcement learning

The Distributed Adaptive Control of episodic reinforcement learning
  • Date: September 6, 2023
  • Speakers: Ismael T. Freire, Adrián F. Amil & Oscar Guerrero Rosado
  • Affiliation: SRU
  • Event: Donders Brain Cognition & Technology summer school, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
  • Title/Topic: The Distributed Adaptive Control of episodic reinforcement learning

From Homeostasis to Allostasis: Self-regulatory approaches to Autonomy
  • Date: September 5, 2023
  • Speakers: Alejandro Jiménez Rodríguez (USFD) & Oscar Guerrero Rosado (SRU)
  • Affiliation: SRU, USFD
  • Event: Donders Brain Cognition & Technology summer school, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
  • Title/Topic: From Homeostasis to Allostasis: Self-regulatory approaches to Autonomy

The synthetic psychology of the self: understanding human motivation and awareness through robotics
  • Date: September 5, 2023
  • Speaker: Tony Prescott
  • Affiliation: USFD
  • Event: Donders Brain Cognition & Technology summer school, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
  • Title/Topic: The synthetic psychology of the self: understanding human motivation and awareness through robotics

Goal-directed and habitual behavior
  • Date: September 5, 2023
  • Speaker: Fred Hamker
  • Affiliation: TUC
  • Event: Donders Brain Cognition & Technology summer school, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
  • Title/Topic: Goal-directed and habitual behavior

CAVAA at DCBT Summer School

Visit the DCBT summer school website →

Model-based and model-free reinforcement learning mechanisms in brains and robot
  • Date: September 4, 2023
  • Speaker: Mehdi Khamassi
  • Affiliation: SORB
  • Event: Donders Brain Cognition & Technology summer school, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
  • Title/Topic: Model-based and model-free reinforcement learning mechanisms in brains and robot

Evidence, value, and action: from cortex to behavior, and everything in between
  • Date: July 19, 2023
  • Speaker: Fred Hamker
  • Affiliation: TUC
  • Event: 32nd Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting CNS*2023, Leipzig, Germany
  • Title/Topic: Evidence, value, and action: from cortex to behavior, and everything in between

Simulation of spiking and BOLD signals using the ANNarchy simulator
  • Date: July 15, 2023
  • Speaker: Helge Ülo Dinkelbach, Julien Vitay & Fred Hamker
  • Affiliation: TUC
  • Event: Tutorial T11
  • Title/Topic: Simulation of spiking and BOLD signals using the ANNarchy simulator

Anthropomorphism in synthetic agents: A relational view on AI ethics
  • Date: July 15, 2023
  • Speaker: Tony Prescott
  • Affiliation: USFD
  • Event: AAIC Technology and dementia workshop, Amsterdam
  • Title/Topic: Anthropomorphism in synthetic agents: A relational view on AI ethics

Towards a computational model of human decisional autonomy and a formalization of constraints on machine autonomy
  • Date: June 29, 2023
  • Speaker: Mehdi Khamassi
  • Affiliation: SORB
  • Event: AI Ethics Conference, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Italy
  • Title/Topic: Towards a computational model of human decisional autonomy and a formalization of constraints on machine autonomy

Drive competition underlies effective allostatic orchestration
  • Date: June 19, 2023
  • Speaker: Oscar Guerrero Rosado
  • Affiliation: SRU
  • Event: CAVAA online seminar
  • Title/Topic: Drive competition underlies effective allostatic orchestration

Can computational models of human decisional autonomy help us formalize constraints on robot autonomy?
  • Date: June 6, 2023
  • Speaker: Mehdi Khamassi
  • Affiliation: SORB
  • Event: Conference on Philosophy of AI and LLMs, AI Observatory, Paris, France
  • Title/Topic: Can computational models of human decisional autonomy help us formalize constraints on robot autonomy?

Prediction of cell activation sequences by computational models
  • Date: May 30, 2023
  • Speaker: Mehdi Khamassi
  • Affiliation: SORB
  • Event: Spring Hippocampal Research Conference (Session), Verona, Italy
  • Title/Topic: Prediction of cell activation sequences by computational models

Robotics perspectives on the emergence of the interpersonal self
  • Date: April 18, 2023
  • Speaker: Tony Prescott
  • Affiliation: USFD
  • Event: Italian Institute of Technology
  • Title/Topic: Robotics perspectives on the emergence of the interpersonal self

Designing social robots that people can relate to
  • Date: March 6, 2023
  • Speaker: Tony Prescott
  • Affiliation: USFD
  • Event: Department of Computer Science, University of Kent
  • Title/Topic: Designing social robots that people can relate to

CAVAA seminar on 'The role of episodic memory in learning and control'
  • Date: February 6, 2023
  • Speaker: Ismael Freire Gonzalez
  • Affiliation: SRU
  • Event: CAVAA online seminar
  • Title/Topic: The role of episodic memory in learning and control

CAVAA seminar on 'Generalization of sequential episodic control'
  • Date: January 30, 2023
  • Speaker: Ismael Freire Gonzalez
  • Affiliation: SRU
  • Event: CAVAA online seminar
  • Title/Topic: Generalization of sequential episodic control

CAVAA lectures started

A series of lectures was created and is still running for knowledge exchange between the different disciplines involved in the project.  

CAVAA Executive Board Meeting #01

The first CAVAA Executive Board meeting took place virtually on 13. December 2022.

CAVAA kick-off meeting

The kick-off meeting took place virtually on 27.-28. October 2022.

CAVAA project started in October 2022

The CAVAA project started in October 2022. A press release is in preparation.