Andrew Blake (computer scientist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Andrew Blake
FRS FREng
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| Born | 12 March 1956 |
| Education | Rugby School |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge (BA) University of Edinburgh (PhD) |
| Awards | FRS FREng |
| Scientific career | |
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| Institutions | University of Edinburgh University of Oxford Microsoft Research University of Cambridge Alan Turing Institute |
| Thesis | Parallel computation in low-level vision (1983) |
| Doctoral advisor | Donald Michie |
Andrew Blake is a famous British scientist. He was born on March 12, 1956. He is a top researcher in a field called computer vision. This field teaches computers to "see" and understand images.
Professor Blake has worked at many important places. These include Microsoft Research and the Alan Turing Institute. He is also a professor at the University of Cambridge.
Early Life and Learning
Andrew Blake went to Rugby School when he was younger. Later, he studied at Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1977, he earned a degree in Mathematics and Electrical Sciences.
He then spent a year at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. After working for a few years, he went to the University of Edinburgh. There, he earned his PhD in 1983. A PhD is a very high university degree. It shows someone is an expert in their chosen subject.
What He Does
Professor Blake is a leader in computer vision. This is a part of artificial intelligence. It helps computers understand the world through cameras. Think about how a self-driving car "sees" the road. Or how a phone can unlock using your face. That's computer vision at work!
His research also involves robotics. This is about designing and building robots. He also studies visual perception. This is how living things, like humans, see and understand what they are looking at.
His Career Journey
From 1983 to 1987, Andrew Blake taught at the University of Edinburgh. He was a special research fellow there.
Then, he moved to the University of Oxford. He worked in the Department of Engineering Science. He became a professor there in 1996.
In 1999, he joined Microsoft Research in Cambridge. He started the Computer Vision Group there. This group worked on making computers "see" better. He became the director of the lab in 2010.
From 2015 to 2018, he led the Alan Turing Institute. This institute is a big center for data science and artificial intelligence in the UK. It helps solve important problems using computer science.
Since 2018, he has been in charge of the Samsung AI Centre in Cambridge. He continues to work on exciting new technologies.
Awards and Special Recognitions
Andrew Blake has received many important awards for his work. These awards show how much his research has helped the world.
- In 1998, he became a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
- In 2005, he was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK.
- He won the MacRobert Award in 2011 with his team at Microsoft Research. This was for their work on Microsoft Kinect. Kinect allowed people to play video games using their body movements. It was a big step for computer vision!
- He has also received honorary degrees from universities. These include the University of Edinburgh and the University of Sheffield.
These awards show that Professor Blake is a true pioneer. He has helped shape how computers "see" and understand our world.
