EPIROB2004--EPIROB2004--EPIROB2004--EPIROB2004--EPIROB2004 EPIROB2004--EPIROB2004--EPIROB2004--EPIROB2004--EPIROB2004 EPIROB2004 EPIROB2004 FINAL CALL FOR PAPERS EPIROB2004 EPIROB2004 Fourth International Workshop on Epigenetic Robotics: EPIROB2004 Modeling Cognitive Development in Robotic Systems EPIROB2004
This workshop focuses on combining developmental psychology, neuroscience, biology, and robotics with the goal of understanding the functioning of biological systems. Epigenetic systems, either natural or artificial, share a prolonged developmental process through which varied and complex cognitive and perceptual structures emerge as a result of the interaction of an embodied system with a physical and social environment. Epigenetic robotics includes the two-fold goal of understanding biological systems by the interdisciplinary integration between neural and engineering sciences and, simultaneously, that of enabling robots and artificial systems to develop skills for any particular environment instead of programming them for specific environments. To this aim, psychological theory and empirical evidence should be used to inform epigenetic robotic models, and these models should be used as theoretical tools to make experimental predictions in developmental psychology. We encourage the submission from different disciplines such as robotics, artificial intelligence, developmental psychology, biology or neurophysiology, as well as interdisciplinary work bridging the gap between science and engineering.
Subject Areas include, but are not limited to:
- The role of motivations, emotions, and value systems in development;
- The development of: concepts, consciousness and self-awareness, emotion, imitation, intentionality, intersubjectivity, joint attention, learning, motivation, non-verbal and verbal communication, self, sensorimotor schemata, shared meaning and symbolic reference, social learning, social relationships, social understanding ("mind reading", "theory of mind"), value systems;
- Interaction between innate structure, ongoing developing structure, and experience;
- Related issues in algorithms, robotics, simulated robots, and embodied systems;
- Strong AI (true intelligence and autonomy) versus weak AI;
- Related issues from human and nonhuman empirical studies.
For summaries of the papers from the latest workshops see: Zlatev and Balkenius (2001), Prince (2002), and Berthouze and Prince (2003).
Please send any questions to the workshop co-chairs: Giorgio Metta ( snipped-for-privacy@dist.unige.it) and Luc Berthouze ( snipped-for-privacy@aist.go.jp).
Sponsors LIRA-Lab, University of Genoa, Italy Communications Research Laboratory, Japan
Location University of Genoa, Italy
Invited Speakers Luciano Fadiga, Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Italy Claes von Hofsten, Dept. of Psychology, University of Upssala, Sweden Jьrgen Konczak, Human Sensorimotor Control Lab, University of Minnesota, USA Jacqueline Nadel, CNRS, University Pierre & Marie Curie, Paris, France
Submissions Papers not exceeding eight (8) pages should be submitted electronically (PDF or Postscript) as attachment files to Luc Berthouze ( snipped-for-privacy@aist.go.jp). Extended abstracts (maximum two pages) can also be submitted, and will be presented as posters (extended abstracts should also be submitted in PDF or Postscript as attachments to Luc Berthouze ( snipped-for-privacy@aist.go.jp). Further instructions to authors will be posted on the workshop web page:
Special issues Authors of a selection of the best papers will be invited to submit an extended version of their manuscript to one of two special issues on Epigenetic Robotics to appear in Interaction Studies:
Important Dates March 1st, 2004: Deadline for submission of papers and posters March 21st, 2004: Extended submission deadline April 21st, 2004: Notification of acceptance for papers and posters May 21st, 2004: Deadline for camera ready-papers & posters August 25-27, 2004: Workshop
Organizing Committee Christian Balkenius (Cognitive Science, Lund University, Sweden) Luc Berthouze (Neuroscience Research Institute, AIST, Japan) Hideki Kozima (Communications Research Laboratory, Japan) Giorgio Metta (LIRA-Lab, University of Genoa, Italy) Christopher G. Prince (Computer Science, University of Minnesota Duluth, USA) Giulio Sandini (LIRA-Lab, University of Genoa, Italy) Georgi Stojanov (Computer Science Institute, SS Cyril and Methodius University, Macedonia)
Program Committee Christian Balkenius (Cognitive Science, Lund University, Sweden) Luc Berthouze (Neuroscience Research Institute, AIST, Japan) Aude Billard (Autonomous Systems Laboratory, EPFL, Switzerland) Daniel Bullock (Cognitive & Neural Systems Department, Boston University, USA) Kerstin Dautenhahn (Adaptive Systems Research Group, University of Hertfordshire, UK) Yiannis Demiris (Intelligent and Interactive Systems, Imperial College, UK) Luciano Fadiga (University of Ferrara, Italy) Peter Gдrdenfors (Cognitive Science, Lund University, Sweden) Philippe Gaussier (Universite de Cergy-Pointoise & ENSEA, France) Gyorgy Gergely (Institute for Psychological Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary) Frйdйric Kaplan (Sony Computer Science Lab Paris, France) Hideki Kozima (Communications Research Laboratory, Japan) Valerie Kuhlmeier (Yale University, Department of Psychology, USA) Max Lungarella (Neuroscience Research Institute, AIST, Japan) Yuval Marom (School of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Monash University, Australia) Giorgio Metta (LIRA-Lab, Genoa, Italy) Jacqueline Nadel (CNRS, France) Chrystopher Nehaniv (Adaptive Systems Research Group, University of Hertfordshire, UK) Rolf Pfeifer (AI Lab, University of Zurich, Switzerland) Christopher G. Prince (Computer Science, University of Minnesota Duluth, USA) Deb Roy (Media Laboratory, MIT, USA) Giulio Sandini (LIRA-Lab, Genoa, Italy) Brian Scassellati (Department of Computer Science, Yale University, USA) Stefan Schaal (Computer Science Department, USC, USA) Matthew Schlesinger (Psychology Department, Southern Illinois University, USA) Sylvain Sirois (Department of Psychology, Manchester University, UK) Michael Spratling (School of Psychology, Birkbeck College, UK) Georgi Stojanov (Computer Science Institute, SS Cyril and Methodius University, Macedonia) Gert Westermann (Department of psychology, Oxford Brookes University, UK) Tom Ziemke (Department of Computer Science, University of Skovde, Sweden)
Publication of Papers & Poster Abstracts Papers and poster abstracts will be published in the proceedings, and archived at CogPrints
REFERENCES
Zlatev, J. & Balkenius, C. (2001). Introduction: Why "epigenetic robotics"? Proceedings of the First International Workshop on Epigenetic Robotics: Modeling Cognitive Development in Robotic Systems (pp. 1-4). Lund University Cognitive Studies, Volume 85. Available at: