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About

Thomas Nowotny is a computational neuroscientist and robotics researcher whose work sits at the fascinating intersection of insect neuroscience, bio-inspired computing, and autonomous robotics. Based at the University of Sussex, Nowotny has made significant contributions to understanding how biological neural systems can inspire practical robotic solutions, particularly in the domain of visual navigation. His most impactful work centers on translating insect brain architecture — especially the mushroom bodies, critical structures for learning and memory — into functional robotic systems. His familiarity-based navigation algorithms, which encode real-world routes within strikingly simple single-layer neural networks, demonstrate that robust autonomous navigation need not require expensive computational resources. This research directly addresses one of robotics' most pressing challenges: power-efficient navigation in unstructured environments. Nowotny's broader research program, reflected in the Green Brain Project's ambition to develop a neuromimetic robotic honeybee, exemplifies his commitment to embodied, biologically grounded approaches to artificial intelligence. His 2021 review of evolutionary and bio-inspired adaptive robotics (36 citations) has become a valuable reference point for the field. Collectively, his publications reveal a researcher steadily building a coherent scientific vision: unlocking the secrets of insect cognition to create smarter, leaner machines.