Connectionists: ICRA 2014 Workshop on "Neurobiologically Inspired Robotics"

[Jeff Krichmar]

Dear colleagues,

We are happy to announce the ICRA 2014 Workshop on "Neurobiologically Inspired Robotics", a full-day workshop held in conjunction with the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Thursday, June 5th, 2014.
 
The "Neurobiologically Inspired Robotics" workshop will be a full day event comprised of leading neuroroboticists from around the world. Each speaker will discuss how leveraging neurobiology and brain processing can enhance robot autonomy and capability. *Rather than an abstract, theoretical session on the potential future of neurobiologically inspired robots, each speaker has embedded a brain inspired model, at some level, onto a physical robot system*. They will discuss the inspiration, implementation, and implications of their systems. The first talk will give an overview of the field and a brief primer on neuroscience. This will be followed by talks from leading neurorobotic experts (titles and authors given below). The final session of the day will be a panel discussion that focuses on the future of this field and how to transition these research systems into practical applications in the real world.
 
The workshop format includes invited speakers, collaborative discussion sessions and a poster presentation. *The best submission will be awarded a GoPro Black HERO3+ camera worth $400 USD.*
 
*Important Dates:*
 
- Early registration: February 28, 2014 at 
	www.icra2014.com
 
- Abstract submission deadline: April 14, 2014
 
- Notification of acceptance: April 28, 2014
 
- Workshop: Thursday June 5th, 2014, 9 AM - 5 PM
 
*Website*: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~jkrichma/ICRA2014-NeuroRobot.html
 
*Organizers:*
 
- Professor Angelo Cangelosi, University of Plymouth
- Dr Jeffrey L. Krichmar, University of California, Irvine
- Dr Michael Milford, Queensland University of Technology
- Professor Michele Rucci, Boston University
- Professor Bert Shi, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
 
*Submissions:*
 
We invite submissions of a one page abstract describing new research in Neurobiologically Inspired Robotics. Accepted submissions will be given a poster slot, with two submissions selected for 15 minute talks during the workshop.
 
Submit your abstract in .pdf format to: jeff.krichmar AT uci.edu
 
Each submission will be reviewed by the organizing committee.
 
*Speaker Lineup:*
 
- Minoru Asada (Osaka University) - "Affective Developmental Robotics Towards Artificial Empathy"
 
- Angelo Cangelosi (University of Plymouth) - "Neurorobotics Modelling of Embodied Cognition"
 
- Jorg Conradt (Technische Universitat Munchen) - "Computational Neuroscience in Robots: Event-based Sensors and Information Processing"
 
- Jeffrey L. Krichmar (University of California, Irvine) - "A Tactile, Interactive NeuroRobot for Development Disorder Therapy"
 
- Michael Milford (Queensland University of Technology) - "Rodent-inspired Place Recognition over Multiple Spatial Scales using Multiple Sensing Modalities"
 
- Florian Roerbein (Technische Universitat Munchen) "Neurorobotics and the Human Brain Project"
 
- Michele Rucci (Boston University) - TBA
 
- Bert Shi (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) - "Intrinsically Motivated Joint Learning of Visual Perception and Eye Movements"
 
- Jun Tani (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) - "Prediction and postdiction for tackling the problem of "free wills": From neuro-robotics experimental studies."
 
*Workshop Support*: This workshop is generously supported by Microsoft Research: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/
 
*Enquiries*:
 
Please contact Michael Milford (michael DOT milford AT qut.edu.au) or Jeffrey Krichmar (jkrichma AT uci.edu)
 
Best regards,
 
Michael, Jeff, Angelo, Michele and Bert.
 

Jeff Krichmar
Department of Cognitive Sciences
2328 Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697-5100
jkrichma at uci.edu
http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~jkrichma