# Do Spikes Need Common Language for Sensing and Learning?

- Show: [EE Times Current](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current)
- Published: 2026-08-25
- Length: 1h 00m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2026-08-25-do-spikes-need-common-language-for-sensing-and-learning
- Listen: https://podcast.show/aspencore/episode/155136703/

## Summary

Dr. Sunny Bains chairs a panel at the University of Sussex featuring Dr. Chiara Bartolozzi (Italian Institute of Technology), Dr. Federico Corradi (Eindhoven University of Technology), Dr. James Knight (University of Sussex), Dr. Laura Kriener (Institute of Neuroinformatics, Zurich), and Dr. Sebastian Siegel (Peter Grünberg Institute, Jülich) to debate whether spikes provide a common language for sensing and learning. The panelists argue that while spikes offer energy efficiency, the field lacks a unified encoding scheme to integrate multimodal data, such as combining event-based vision with frame-based imaging or touch sensors. They discuss the commercial trajectory of neuromorphic engineering, highlighting early adoption in edge IoT and drones by companies like Okterov and Kinema, while emphasizing the need for co-design of hardware and algorithms to solve complex robotic tasks.

## Chapters

- [0:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2026-08-25-do-spikes-need-common-language-for-sensing-and-learning#t=2) Introduction: Panelists and the Challenge of Complex Behaviors
- [2:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2026-08-25-do-spikes-need-common-language-for-sensing-and-learning#t=170) Defining Complexity and the Hardware-Algorithm Gap
- [6:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2026-08-25-do-spikes-need-common-language-for-sensing-and-learning#t=369) The Necessity of Co-Design and System Orchestration
- [8:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2026-08-25-do-spikes-need-common-language-for-sensing-and-learning#t=491) Spikes, Coding, and Multimodal Integration
- [14:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2026-08-25-do-spikes-need-common-language-for-sensing-and-learning#t=868) Delays, Myelination, and Spatial Embedding
- [16:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2026-08-25-do-spikes-need-common-language-for-sensing-and-learning#t=973) Engineering vs. Biology: Language Mismatches
- [21:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2026-08-25-do-spikes-need-common-language-for-sensing-and-learning#t=1305) Encoding Strategies: Enforced vs. Learned
- [26:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2026-08-25-do-spikes-need-common-language-for-sensing-and-learning#t=1565) Commercial Applications: Edge IoT, Drones, and Robotics
- [30:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2026-08-25-do-spikes-need-common-language-for-sensing-and-learning#t=1838) Continual Learning and Local Learning Mechanisms
- [36:47](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2026-08-25-do-spikes-need-common-language-for-sensing-and-learning#t=2207) Defining Neuromorphic: Spectrum, Funding, and Community
- [45:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2026-08-25-do-spikes-need-common-language-for-sensing-and-learning#t=2717) Post-Panel Discussion with Prof. Ralph Etienne-Cummings

## Topics

- [Embedded firmware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/embedded-firmware)
- [Sensors & measurement in products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sensors)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Italian Institute of Technology (company)
- Eindhoven University of Technology (company)
- University of Sussex (company)
- Institute of Neuroinformatics, Zurich (company)
- Peter Grünberg Institute, Jülich (company)
- University College London (company)
- Czech Technical University in Prague (company)
- Johns Hopkins University (company)
- Imperial College (company)
- Okterov (company)
- Kinema (company)
- Qualcomm (company)
- Prophecy (company)
- event-based camera (product)
- dynamic vision sensor (product)
- event camera (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Live Insights from Sensors Converge: IoT Innovations with Industry Leaders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/over-the-air/2024-07-05-live-insights-from-sensors-converge-iot-innovations-with-industry-leaders) (Over the Air)
- [Embedded Systems and IoT Connectivity: Lessons from Automate 2024](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/over-the-air/2024-05-22-embedded-systems-and-iot-connectivity-lessons-from-automate-2024) (Over the Air)
- [Pseudo Code...Pseudo Good](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2023-12-19-pseudo-code-pseudo-good) (The Amp Hour)
- [Back Into The Swing Of Things](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-05-14-back-into-the-swing-of-things) (The Amp Hour)
- [An interview with Greg and Tim of Backyard Brains - Boethetic Bug Brainwaves](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-05-08-an-interview-with-greg-and-tim-of-backyard-brains-boethetic-bug-brainwaves) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2026-08-25-do-spikes-need-common-language-for-sensing-and-learning. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to EE Times Current.