DRABC'94
Universidad del Pai's Vasco Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
San Sebastia'n Donostia
Espa~na Espainia
Workshop Announcement and Call:
THE ROLE OF DYNAMICS AND REPRESENTATION IN ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOUR AND COGNITION
Palacio de Miramar, San Sebastian, The Basque Country, Spain
December 9th (Friday) and 10th (Saturday) 1994
Host Institution: University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)
Faculty of Informatics and Faculty of Philoshopy
* Department of Arcitecture and * Department of Logic and
Computer Technology Philosophy of Science
* Department of Computer Science and
Artificial Intelligence
* Department of Languages and
Information Systems
Directors: Tim Smithers and Alvaro Moreno, University of the Basque Country
Local Organising Committee:
Tim Smithers Blanca Cases
Alvaro Moreno Julio Fernandez
Javier Torrealdea Arantza Etxeberria
Arantza Diaz Pablo Gonzalez
The last ten years have seen a convergence of work on robots and cognition in
the fields of adaptive behaviour and situated cognition. This has resulted
from a reassessement of the more classical approaches in robotics and
cognitive science, and from a radical reconstruction of the nature of the
fundamental problems to be solved and the characteristics we should expect
their solutions to have. This has, in turn, shown us that the problems of
autonomy, adaptive behaviour, and cognition in situtated embodied agents
share many aspects and outstanding questions.
In particular, a number of researchers from different backgrounds and
starting points have begun both to promote and to challenge the use of the
concepts of dynamics and representation in approaches to adaptive behaviour
and cognition. These new developments, reassessments, and the subsequent
ongoing debate have brought a new sense of excitement and urgency to the
fields of adaptive behaviour and cognition.
It has raised such questions as: Is adaptive behaviour in agents a matter of
getting the representations right, or is it a matter of getting the dynamics
right? Is a proper understanding of cognition to be had in terms of the
processing of mental representations, or will it be in terms of complex
dynamical systems? Or should we be expecting to use both concepts of
dynamical systems and representation in our investigations of adaptive
behaviour and cognition? And what does it mean to get either the
representations or the dynamics right, or both, if that's what is required?
This workshop will bring together an international group of leading
researchers who are actively engaged in this `new wave.' It will be
dedicated to a presentation and a lively discussion of the current status of
the concepts of dynamical systems and representation in adaptive behaviour
and cognition, the nature of the different positions being developed, and
the future directions and prospects for a better understanding of adaptive
behaviour and cognition. It will provide an important and timely
opportunity for both new and established researchers in adaptive behaviour
and cognition to gain an up-to-date and deeper appreciation of some of the
most fundamental questions currently being asked and of the exciting new
approaches being developed in adaptive behaviour and cognition.
Main Topics to be covered:
* What is the representation in Adaptive Behaviour and Cognition?
* What is the dynamics of Adaptive Behaviour and Cognition?
* Interaction, dynamics, and representation, in situated embodied agents.
* The dynamics of brain functions and its relationship to adaptive behaviour
and cognition.
* Outstanding questions, prospects, and future directions, for dynamics and
representation in adaptive behaviour and cognition.
Invited Speakers:
The following prominent researchers in the fields of adaptive behaviour and
cognition have accepted invitations to attend the workshop and to take part
in the presentation and dicussion sessions:
Agnessa Babloyantz -- Universite Libre Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
Randall Beer -- Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA
Mark Bickhard -- Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA
Rod Brooks -- MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Andy Clark -- Washington University, St Louis, USA
Dave Cliff -- Sussex University, Brighton, England
Tim van Gelder -- Australian National University, Camberra, Australia
Gregor Schoner -- CNRS-LNC, Marseille, France
Rolf Pfeifer -- University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Tim Smithers -- University of the Basque Country, Spain
Format:
The workshop will be an intensive two days of presentations and discussions.
It will be organised as a series of working sessions involving the invited
participants and poster sessions in which accepted posters submitted by
attendees will be presented for discussion. Each working session will
consist of two half-hour presentations and a 15 min response statement by
members of the invited pannel, followed by a general discussion which will
be opened to all attendees. The poster sessions will provide an opportunity
for a free presentation and discussion of related and ongoing work amongst
all those attending.
Participation and Submission Instructions:
Up to fifty participants will be accepted to attend the workshop.
Registration will cost 20.000 ptas. (approximately $154), 10.000 ptas.
(approximately $77) for students, and will include coffee, lunch, and tea
each day, together with a copy of the workshop notes.
There will be space for up to twenty posters to be presented by
participants. Short submissions are therefore invited for poster
presentation at the workshop. These should clearly and concisely describe
results of completed work or the nature and status of ongoing work related
to the subject of the workshop, and be NO MORE THAN FIVE PAGES OF ASCII
TEXT, please. Submissions will be reviewed and selected on an ongoing basis
until twenty have been accepted or until midnight on Wednesday 7 November,
whichever is the sooner. Authors will be notified of selection or rejection
within one week of receipt of their submission, and at least one author of
each accepted poster must attend the workshop.
Submissions should be sent via Email to the address below, and should
include the full names of all authors and their institutions, together with
a full contact address, telephone number, FAX number, and Email address.
Please put `Submission' on the subject line of the message.
Submission address: sfrbizia@si.ehu.es
NOTE: The official language of the Workshop will be English.
Registrations should be made by completing the form below and Emailing it to
the same address, with `Registration' on the subject line.
Registration address: sfrbizia@si.ehu.es
All registrations (and payments) must be received before midnight on Monday
21 November, 1994! NOTE: Registration DOES NOT REQUIRE the submission of a
poster.
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Registration Form:
The Role of Dynamics and Representation in Adaptive Behaviour and Cognition
Palacio de Mirama, San Sebastian
First Name :______________________ Family Name:____________________________
Name and Address of Institution:___________________________________________
···
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
Telephone Number:_________________ FAX Number:_____________________________
(Please include all international and regional prefix codes necessary.)
Email Addess:_____________________
Type of Registration (delete the type NOT applicable):
* University Teacher or Researcher (20.000 ptas)
OR
* Student or scholarship holder (10.000 ptas)
OR
* Other--PLEASE SPECIFY (20.000 ptas.):__________________________
NOTE: all student registrations require proof of student status, either by a
signed letter from a head of Department or Faculty or a copy of a
scholarship certificate. These should be sent by FAX or post to the contact
address below, and CLEARLY MARKED for the attention of Tim Smithers.
Student registrations will not be confirmed until the appropriate proof has
been recived.
Registration payment will be by Bank Transfer in Spanish Pesetas. Details
of the Bank Account number will be made available soon, but completed
registation forms will be accepted from now.
NOTE: The appropriate registration fee must be received before registration
can be confirmed.
Do you authorise the organizing committee to use the above data in any
further communications about or concerning this workshop (delete as
appropriate)?
* YES or * NO
Current areas of active research and interest (please specify):
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
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Further information can be obtained and any qestions can be asked by sending
an Email message to the address below, with `Information Request' on the
subject line.
Information Request address: sfrbizia@si.ehu.es
OR: by calling Tim Smithers on +34 43 21 80 00 extn 221 (English)
or calling Blanca Cases on +34 43 21 80 00 extn 209 (Spanish)
OR: by sending a FAX to Tim Smithers, Facultad de Informatica, UPV/EHU
on +34 43 21 93 06 (in English or Spanish).
Important dates reminder:
Submission of posters before midnight on Wednesday 7 November, 1994.
To: sfrbizia@si.ehu.es -- with `Submission' on the subject line.
And Registration deadline is midnight on Monday 21 November, 1994.
To: sfrbizia@si.ehu.es -- with `Registration' on the subject line.
Contact address for any communications by post:
Tim Smithers
Universidad del Pai's Vasco OR Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
Facultad de Informa'tica Informatika Fakultatea
Apartado 649 649 Postakutxa
20080 San Sebastia'n 20080 Donostia
Pai's Vasco Euskal Herria
Espan~a Espainia
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