Our Centre at ECMS Research Showcase
The 2026 ECMS Research Showcase has brought together academics, students and industry partners in celebrate recent achievements and recognise future opportunities across engineering and computer sciences fields.
CIS RC has been represented by several talented researchers:
Dr. Abubakar Siddique presented his research on Lateralized Machine Learning for Interpretable and eXplainable AI
The talk explored how principles of cognitive neuroscience, particularly hemispheric lateralization, can inspire new approaches to AI. Lateralized AI processes problems at both constituent and holistic levels, enabling systems to learn, transfer knowledge, and make more transparent decisions. I discussed applications in Boolean classification, computer vision, and multi-step navigation, highlighting the potential of this approach to develop more efficient, interpretable, and explainable AI systems.
Assoc. Prof. Wei Qi Yan presented as a Senior Researcher his work on the topic of Robotics & Vision: From Deep Learning to Autonomous Systems.
Robotics & Vision constitutes a pivotal pillar of the CIS Research Centre. This talk commenced by showcasing three out of six exemplary research projects featured on the “AI at AUT” website, subsequently elucidating our extensive research collaborations. Particular emphasis was accorded to AUT Ventures, whose invaluable support has been instrumental in landing our research outcomes from AUT laboratory to tangible industrial floors. The sponsored project aligns well with the theme of AUT Research Week: “Applying Research and Technology for Good.”
Drawing upon our laboratory research outcomes— Algorithms, Datasets, and Publications—this talk delineated emerging research trajectories from deep learning towards autonomous systems. The section concluded with a selection of research videos, showcasing our technical expertise, research achievements, and the innovative projects undertaken by AUT PG/PhD students.
This talk attracted a great deal of interest across the school in the ECMS research day.
Assoc. Prof. Mahsa McCauley & Dr. Akbar Ghobakhlou from AIRC introduced the audience to their research on Bio-Acoustic Sensing in Beehives: Stress, Queen and Swarm Detection with AI.
Bees are one of the planet's most important pollinators, and their hives are constantly broadcasting information through sound. This talk shows how AI trained on bio-acoustic signals can decode that information in real time.
What the research covers:
- Detecting colony stress before it becomes visible
- Identifying queen presence, loss, and swarm build-up
- Reading environmental conditions around the hive
- Early fire detection through acoustic change
Additionally, in collaboration with IBTec, CIS RC has presented BrainWISE: Wearable Platform for Monitoring Neurodegenerative Disorders. Dr. Gautam Anand from IBTec along with PhD student Sruthy Krishna are leading this exciting project, supported by our research centre director Assoc. Prof. Farhaan Mirza and Victoria Kvasniak
