The flies in your kitchen may hold the key to exploring the planets in our solar system and possibly even beyond. Find out how Professor Pavan Ramdya is reverse engineering the fly brain to design robots and artificial intelligence that are able to make decisions and move through the world as well as animals can. Dr. Pavan Ramdya is Firmenich Next Generation Chair and Director of the Neuroengineering Laboratory at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland. His lab studies the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, to unlock insights for designing advanced AI and robotics. By reverse-engineering Nature, they investigate how flies excel in sensing, decision-making, and action. The lab modifies the fly’s genome, maps its brain, and creates a digital twin to inspire autonomous robots for complex environments. Dr. Ramdya earned his PhD in Neurobiology from Harvard University, followed by postdoctoral work in Robotics, Neurogenetics, and Bioengineering. His team’s pioneering research has been widely recognized, receiving awards and coverage from outlets such as BBC World Service, National Geographic, and Nature magazine. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx