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Mr Samuel Perkins
Research Student
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Publications
My publications are available from the Computer Science department publications repository.
The title of my M.Sc. thesis was "Hypervelocity Impact Detection: An Investigation into Piezoelectric Response of PVDF Films". It contains experimentally collected data regarding the practical application of poly(vinylidene fluoride) as the functional interface of impact sensors that were used to detect hypervelocity impacts of projectiles fired from a light gas gun.
PhD Project Summary
My Ph.D. research is focussed upon investigating the robustness of amorphous computing, and developing novel algorithms that may overcome computing perturbations brought about by different types of noise. It is my intention to create methods of computing using an amorphous medium that use processes in developmental biology as a basis. Well-characterised structures of differentiated cells form from an amorphous mass of cells during embryonic development, and this occurs despite the presence of noise. If biological processes during the development of an embryo can be considered to be analogous to an amorphous computer, it may be possible to develop algorithms that are robust to noise by using biology as an inspiration. I have, so far, developed a method for reducing the effect of random movements of the cell-like elements that an amorphous computer may be comprised of, and this is based on programmable cell death. I now seek to develop methods for reducing the effects of noise brought about by cell-to-cell communication. I have also developed a method of self-navigation for a robot that has no a priori knowledge of its environment. A simulated amorphous computer controls the robot, and it is able to avoid obstacles and navigate its way to a predetermined destination based on its position within a pheromone gradient.
Research Interests
I am a member of the following research groups:
My interests include space science, specifically hypervelocity impacts in space and the application of impact sensors onboard spacecraft. I have recently taken an interest in robotics, and I have built a quadrupedal robot that is capable of walking around, dancing, and self-navigation based on an amorphous paradigm.
I read Physics with Space Science and Systems at the University of Kent, within the Centre for Astrophysics and Planetary Sciences, for my undergraduate degree. Following this, I read for an M.Sc. by Research and Thesis within the same department. Recently, I have joined the Computational Intelligence Group within the School of Computing, and I am reading for a Ph.D. During my time at the university, I have been the team captain of the University of Kent Archery Club, and I was a sports scholar between the years of 2005 and 2010. I have represented the university in international competition, and I have won three individual medals at national championship tournaments during those years.