News

Current news

Computer vision and AI count bats in Africa’s largest colony

Once a year, a small forest in Zambia becomes the site of one of the world’s greatest natural spectacles. In November, straw-colored fruit bats migrate from across the African continent to a patch of trees in Kasanka National Park. For reasons not yet known, the bats converge for three months in a small area of the park, forming the largest colony of bats anywhere in Africa. The exact number of bats in this colony, however, has never been known. Estimates range anywhere from 1 to 10 million. A…

Read more

 

 

Ahmed El Hady starts as a junior group leader

The cluster advertised a new junior group leader position in The Algorithmic Analysis of Collective Decision-Making. It was aimed at integrative scientists who could bring fundamental theoretical contributions to the study of collective behaviour. After an extensive selection process, the selection committee’s final decision yielded two outstanding candidates with complementary interests: Neurobioligst Ahmed El Hady received own of the positions - the second successful candidate will join the…

Gisela Kopp is new Chair of Die Junge Akademie

We congratulate Gisela Kopp member of the Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, the Zukunftskolleg, and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior at the University of Konstanz – who was elected as the new chair of Die Junge Akademie.

The impacts of the Deutschlandticket

Researchers from the University of Konstanz and Karlsruhe involved in the second phase of the campaign on increasing the attractiveness of rail travel #besserBahnfahren of the German channel network ARD.

Practising tolerance in schools

In an interview, Jeanine Grütter, education researcher at the University of Konstanz, explains which social dynamics take place in today's classrooms. She studies the emergence and prevention of discrimination and prejudice in school classes, in particular.

“Young Scientists”

Die Junge Akademie’s childrens book “Young Scientists” has been published by Hanser-Verlag on 9 May. In the publication, biologist Gisela Kopp - member of the Zukunftskolleg, Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour (CASCB) and Max-Planck-Institute (MPI) at the University of Konstanz - reveals how she researches animals even without meeting them in person.

Automated detection of embryonic developmental defects

Researchers at the University of Konstanz publish image analysis software that automatically detects and classifies defects of animal development. Thanks to artificial intelligence, "EmbryoNet" outperforms human experts in terms of speed, accuracy and sensitivity.

10,000 locusts tracked

60,000 locust feet march from left to right and right to left in the arena. They belong to 10,000 locusts in the world's largest laboratory experiment on swarm behaviour. The experiment allows to study the for-mation of marching bands of locusts for the first time in the lab. The Imaging Hangar, the largest laboratory at the University of Konstanz, is filled with the tapping sound of the locusts. The involved researchers sit in an excited atmosphere in the control room next door.

No need to fear automation

Robots that recognize emotions such as stress and boredom in their human counterparts and adjust their behaviour accordingly? Biohybrid networks of smart plants and computers to monitor air quality? Heiko Hamann's research team at the University of Konstanz develops and studies high-tech systems like these as part of two EU projects.