Connectionists: [meetings] Living Machines IV: First Call for Papers, Satellite Events and Sponsors

[Nathan F Lepora]

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First Call for Papers, Satellite Events and Sponsors

Living Machines IV: The 4th International Conference on Biomimetic and
Biohybrid Systems
27th to 31st July 2015

http://csnetwork.eu/livingmachines

To be hosted at the
La Pedrera
Barcelona, Spain
In association with the Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Accepted papers will be published in
Springer Lecturer Notes in Artificial Intelligence
Submission deadline March 16th, 2015

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ABOUT LIVING MACHINES 2015

The development of future real-world technologies will depend strongly
on our understanding and harnessing of the principles underlying
living systems and the flow of communication signals between living
and artificial systems.

Biomimetics is the development of novel technologies through the
distillation of principles from the study of biological systems. The
investigation of biomimetic systems can serve two complementary goals.
First, a suitably designed and configured biomimetic artefact can be
used to test theories about the natural system of interest. Second,
biomimetic technologies can provide useful, elegant and efficient
solutions to unsolved challenges in science and engineering. Biohybrid
systems are formed by combining at least one biological component—an
existing living system—and at least one artificial, newly-engineered
component. By passing information in one or both directions, such a
system forms a new hybrid bio-artificial entity. The following are
some examples:

•      Biomimetic robots and their component technologies (sensors,
actuators, processors) that can intelligently interact with their
environments.
•      Active biomimetic materials and structures that self-organize
and self-repair.
•      Biomimetic computers—neuromimetic emulations of the
physiological basis for intelligent behaviour.
•      Biohybrid brain-machine interfaces and neural implants.

•      Artificial organs and body-parts including sensory organ-chip
hybrids and intelligent prostheses.
•      Organism-level biohybrids such as robot-animal or robot-human systems.

ACTIVITIES

The main conference will take the form of a three-day single-track
oral and poster presentation programme, 29th to 31st July 2015, hosted
at the La Pedrera, Barcelona, Spain.

The conference programme will include five plenary lectures from
leading international researchers in biomimetic and biohybrid systems,
and the demonstrations of state-of-the-art living machine technologies

The full conference will  be preceded by up to two days of Sateliite
Events hosted by the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona.

SUBMITTING TO LIVING MACHINES 2015

We invite both full papers and extended abstracts in areas related to
the conference themes.  All contributions will be refereed and
accepted papers will appear in the Living Machines 2015 proceedings
which we expect to be published in the Springer-Verlag LNAI Series.

Full papers (upto 12 pages) are invited from researchers at any stage
in their career but should present significant findings and advances
in biomimetic or biohybid research; more preliminary work would be
better suited to extended abstract submission (minimum 4 pages).
Further details of submission formats will be circulated in an updated
CfP and will be posted on the conference web-site.

Full papers will be accepted for either oral presentation (single
track) or poster presentation. Extended abstracts will be accepted for
poster presentation only.

Authors of the best full papers will be invited to submitted extended
versions of their paper for publication in a special issue of
Bioinspiration and Biomimetics.

Satellite events

Active researchers in biomimetic and biohybrid systems are invited to
propose topics for 1-day or 2-day tutorials, symposia or workshops on
related themes to be held 27-28th July at Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
Events can be scheduled on either the 27th or the 28th or across both
days. Attendance at satellite events will attract a small fee intended
to cover the costs of the meeting.  There is a lot of flexibility
about the content, organisation, and budgeting for these events.
Please contact us if you are interested in organising a satellite
event.

EXPECTED DEADLINES

March 16th, 2015 Paper submission deadline
May 1st, 2015 Notification of acceptance
May 22nd, 2015 Camera ready copy
July 27-31 2015 Conference

SPONSORSHIP

Living Machines 2015 is sponsored by the Convergent Science Network
(CSN) for Biomimetics and Neurotechnology. CSN is an EU FP7 Future
Emerging Technologies Co-ordination Activity that also organises two
highly successful workshop series: the Barcelona Summer School on
Brain, Technology and Cognition (http://bcbt.upf.edu/bcbt12/) and the
Capoccaccia Neuromorphic Cognitive Engineering Workshop.

The 2015 Living Machines conference will also be hosted and sponsored
by  the Universitat Pompeu Fabra.

Call for Sponsors.  Other organisations wishing to sponsor the
conference in any way and gain the corresponding benefits by promoting
themselves and their products to through conference publications, the
conference web-site, and conference publicity are encouraged to
contact the conference organisers to discuss the terms of sponsorship
and necessary arrangements. We offer a number of attractive and
good-value packages to potential sponsors.

ABOUT THE VENUE

Living Machines 2015 returns to the venue of our first conference at
the beautiful biomimetic building La Pedrera (Casa Mila)
(https://www.lapedrera.com/en/home) designed by reknown modernist
architect Antoni Gaudi.  Attendees at the conference will get a free
ticket to visit this historic building in the centre the Barcelona.
Workshops will be held at the Pobleneu Campus of Universitat Pompeu
Fabra, close to hotel and restaurant area of the Diagonal and Ramblas
de Pobleneu and a short walk from Barcelona’s famous beaches.

Organising Committee:

Paul Verschure, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Co-chair)
Tony Prescott, University of Sheffield (Co-chair)
Stuart Wilson, University of Sheffield (Program Chair)
Anna Mura, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Communications, Local Organiser)
Nathan Lepora, University of Bristol (Communications)
Carme Buisan University Pompeu Fabra (Treasurer)

-- 
Dr N Lepora
Phone: 07859 024565
Website: www.lepora.com

Honorary Research Fellow, Sheffield Centre for Robotics (SCentRo)
University of Sheffield S10 2TP

Lecturer in Robotics, Department of Engineering Mathematics and
Bristol Robotics Laboratory
University of Bristol BS8 1UB