Connectionists: CFP - IROS 2023 Workshop on World Models and Predictive Coding in Cognitive Robotics

[nagai.yukie at mail.u-tokyo.ac.jp]

Dear colleagues,

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Call for Posters and Participation
Workshop on World Models and Predictive Coding in Cognitive Robotics
2023 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2023)
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We are inviting contributions to our IROS 2023 workshop. We would like to invite workshop attendees to submit an extended abstract explaining their current work related to world models and predictive coding in cognitive robotics.

[ Website ]
https://world-model.emergent-symbol.systems/
Contact email: taniguchi at em.ci.ritsumei.ac.jp (Tadahiro Taniguchi, Ritsumeikan University)

[ Important Dates ]
Paper submission deadline: 5th August 2023
Notification of acceptance: 19th August 2023
Camera-ready submission: 10th September 2023
Workshop day: 5th October 2023

[ Call for Contributions ]
We encourage researchers to submit 1-2 page extended abstracts or a preprint of relevant work. There is no page limitation for the preprint. Accepted abstracts will be posted on the workshop website and will not appear in the official IEEE proceedings. The reviewing process is single-blind and will be carried out by the workshop organizers.

Please submit your extended abstract via the Google form:
https://forms.gle/Sw7UtX1ihtq4vpgA9
(The URL is also provided on the website)

Accepted papers will have the opportunity to present their work/ideas in a poster session. Additionally, a few select submissions will have the chance to give a short talk, while others will give a flash talk.

[ Special Issue ]
Furthermore, a selected number of papers from the poster sessions will be invited to submit their novel work to the Special Issue proposed in the journal "Advanced Robotics.”

[ Awards ]
The Best Cognitive Robotics Paper Award, supported by the Technical Committee of Cognitive Robotics, will be awarded to the best paper. The recipient of the award will receive a prize of $300.

[ Objectives ]
This workshop will explore new frontiers in robotics, focusing on world models, predictive coding, probabilistic generative models, and the free energy principle. The ultimate goal of cognitive and developmental robotics is to create autonomous robots capable of actively exploring their environment, acquiring knowledge, and continuously learning skills. Crucially, to develop robots that learn through interactions with their environment, their learning processes should emulate human cognitive development and learning, which are based on engagement with the physical and social world. This workshop specifically focuses on world models and predictive coding in cognitive robotics. World models have recently garnered significant interest in artificial intelligence, as cognitive systems utilize these models to improve future sensory predictions and optimize their policies or controllers. In neuroscience, predictive coding posits that the brain constantly anticipates its inputs and adjusts its models to manage dynamics and control behavior in its environment. Both concepts may underlie the cognitive development of robots and humans capable of continuous or lifelong learning. The workshop aims to provide a platform for researchers and practitioners in cognitive robotics to exchange ideas and explore new avenues for the development of autonomous cognitive and developmental robots. This enriching experience will contribute to the growth and advancement of the field of cognitive robotics.

[ Invited Speakers ] (planned)
Tetsuya Ogata (Waseda University, Japan)
Pablo Lanillos (Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Netherlands)
Giulio Sandini (Italian Institute of Technology, Italy)
Takamitsu Matsubara (NAIST, Japan)
Beren Millidge (Conjecture, UK)
Danijar Hafner (UC Berkeley, United States)

[ Organizers ]
Tadahiro Taniguchi, Ritsumeikan University
Emre Ugur, Bogazici University
Masahiro Suzuki, The University of Tokyo
Dimitri Ognibene, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca
Lorenzo Jamone, Queen Mary University of London
Yukie Nagai, The University of Tokyo
Tatsuya Matsushima, The University of Tokyo
Tetsunari Inamura, Tamagawa University

Best regards,
Yukie, on behalf of the organizers

—
Yukie Nagai, Ph.D.
Project Professor, The University of Tokyo
nagai.yukie at mail.u-tokyo.ac.jp | https://developmental-robotics.jp
CREST Cognitive Feelings: https://cognitive-feeling.jp
CREST Cognitive Mirroring: https://cognitive-mirroring.org