CFP: SAB'02-Workshop in Motor Control in Humans and Robots

[SAB'02 Workshop on Motor Control]

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	                  CALL FOR PAPERS
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		       SAB'2002 Workshop on

		MOTOR CONTROL IN HUMANS AND ROBOTS
      On the interplay of real brains and artificial devices

		         ------------------

	      August 10, 2002, Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)
	          http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/~sab-wmc

Recent advances in motor control for humans and robots come from
different approaches to Neuroscience such as experimental
investigation, via psycho-physical and neuro-physiological
experiments, theoretical investigation, via mathematical and
computational modelling, and more recently biorobotic investigation,
via robotic modelling of aspects of those mechanisms described in the
biological literature. Merging these approaches is a trend that aims
to fruitful insights in all directions.

Robotics require models of perception, sensorimotor coordination, and
motor control, whereas Neuroscience studies the biological
counterparts of these neural mechanisms. In such terms the
intersection of Robotics and Neuroscience is making significant
progress in the field of neuroprosthetics.  For instance, neural
ensemble recording techniques have been successfully used in the motor
cortices of rats and monkeys for the control of artificial limbs.

Further, these techniques also provide a window for looking into the
brain. Among other things, this can prove invaluable Neurobiological
approaches on humanoid robot design. For instance, the discovery of
the mirror neurons in the pre-motor cortex of macaque monkeys gave
rise to a plethora of issues, such as basic perceptual-motor coupling,
imitation mechanisms, and even theories on the origins and evolution
and/or prehistory of language.

The aim of this workshop is to gather people from these different
approaches to motor control and promote the interplay among them. The
workshop will include discussions on advances on neural ensemble
recording techniques and the associated signal processing,
human-machine interfaces for neuroprosthetic applications,
psychophysical experiments that validate motor control models, as well
as discussions on neurophysiologically inspired models of robot motor
control.

A list that summarises, but is not limited to, the topics of this
workshop follows.

- Robotic and human motor control
   - Object manipulation and grasping
   - Perceptual-motor systems and imitation
   - Models of motor control for integration into neuroprosthetics
   - Human-Machine haptics

- Brain-Computer interfaces
   - Multi-Electrode recording techniques
   - Data analysis of neural ensemble recordings
   - Neuroprosthetics for restoring limb movement


Submissions
===========

Papers not exceeding 8 pages in 10pt, two-column format, should be
submitted electronically (PDF or PS) as attachment files to the
following email address: sab-wmc at dai.ed.ac.uk

A Latex template and further formatting instructions can be found at
http://www.isab.org.uk/sab02/submit/.  Accepted submissions will be
published in the SAB workshop proceedings.  Authors of selected papers
will be asked for an extended paper submission after the workshop for
being published in a journal or collection. Further instructions to
authors will be posted on the workshop's web page:
http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/~sab-wmc/

Since this is an interdisciplinary workshop involving quite diverse
fields, authors should make an effort to make their papers accessible
to outsiders to their field, for instance by including a quick
introduction at the beginning of the article.


Important Dates
===============

1 March, 2002: Submission of papers
12 April, 2002: Notification of acceptance
1 May, 2002: Deadline for camera-ready papers
10 August, 2002: Workshop


Scientific committee
====================

Yiannis Demiris, Imperial College, UK
Juan Domingo, Universitat de Valencia, Spain
John P. Donoghue, Brown University, USA
Andrew Fagg, University of Massachusetts, USA
Heba Lakany, Essex University, UK
Chris Malcolm, University of Edinburgh, UK
Joe McIntyre, College de France, France
Jose del R. Millan, JRC European Commission, Italy
Ferdinando Mussa-Ivaldi, Northwestern University, USA
Miguel Nicolelis, Duke University, USA
Angel P. del Pobil, Universitat Jaume-I, Spain
John Semmlow, Rutgers University, USA
Stefan Schaal, University of Southern California, USA
Mandayam Srinivasan, MIT, USA
Johan Wessberg, Goteborg University, Sweden


Organisers
==========

Jose M. Carmena
Department of Neurobiology
Duke University
Durham,	NC 27710 USA
jose at dai.ed.ac.uk

George Maistros
IPAB, Division of Informatics
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh, EH1 2QL, UK
georgem at dai.ed.ac.uk