[robocup-nao] SIMPAR Call for Workshops extended to Sept.12 - Venice, 3-4 November 2008

[Oskar von Stryk]

[Apologies if you receive this more than once!]
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SIMPAR CALL FOR WORKSHOPS - VENICE 3-4 NOVEMBER 2008
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Dear Colleagues,

while the Call for Papers of main SIMPAR
Conference (Simulation, Modeling and Programming
for Autonomous Robot) to be held in Venice, Nov.
3-7, has been successfully closed with the
selection of 29 Full Papers, to be included into
the Springer LNAI proceedings Book, the Call for
Workshop Papers is still open, and, upon request,
it has been extended to

          Friday, September 12, 2008

All accepted papers will be collected into a
CD-ROM to be distributed at the Conference.

The Six scheduled Workshops will run on November
3 and 4, 2008, according to the program published
on SIMPAR Web-site:

          http://www.simpar-conference.org/

Please, do not miss last opportunity to
participate into this exciting Event, by
submitting a paper to one of the Workshops!

By registering as a Workshop participant, You
will be entitled to attend also the Opening
Session of main SIMPAR Conference, on November 4,
with two Invited Talks given by H. Bruyninckx,
and Y. Nakamura.

In addition, You can also register separately to
a visit to the Historical Building of the
University of Padua, on November 5, where in the
ancient MAIN Hall You can attend the Special
Session of main SIMPAR Conference, on New
Perspectives on Humanoids Research given by H.
Ishiguro, and G. Sandini.

Please contact directly the Workshops Organizers
for submission of papers, as indicated in the web
site

Looking forward to meeting You in Venice,
Best Regards

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Dr. Eng. Enrico Pagello
SIMPAR General Chair
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Professor of Computer Science, University of Padua,Italy
--------------------------------------------------------
Visiting JSPS Senior Fellow, Keio University,
Graduate School of Science and Tecnology
Department of System Design Engineering
Yokohama, Japan

******************************************
First International Conference on Simulation, Modeling
and Programming for Autonomous Robots (SIMPAR-2008)

CALL for WORKSHOPS:

- The Universe of RoboCup Simulators
- Standards and Common Platform for Robotics
- Omnidirectional Robot Vision
- Mini and Micro UAV for Security and Surveillance
- Brain Computer Interface
- Teaching with robotics

Deadline for Workshops paper submission (extended):

                    Friday, September 12, 2008

http://www.simpar-conference.org/

TELECOM Future Centre, Venice, Italy, November 3-7, 2008

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The Universe of RoboCup Simulators
Implementations, Challenges and Strategies for Collaboration

Creating realistic simulators for robotics
research is a difficult and time-consuming task.
Nevertheless, almost every robotics group is
working on custom simulation solutions for their
specific robots, often re-inventing the wheel and
investing time that could be used for research on
the concrete problems at hand. This is no
different within the RoboCup community where many
teams are building simulators for their robots
from scratch again and again. Given the
ambitions, goal and time-frame of the RoboCup
initiative, it would be beneficial if these
resources could be put to other use. Therefore,
this workshop is intended to bring together
researchers from within RoboCup and relevant
companies to survey the state of the art in
mobile robot simulation, get a clear picture of
what teams require for their robot simulations,
what is missing from existing solutions, and to
explore possibilities for collaborations, e.g.
through standards and project mergers.
Co-Chairs:
Heni Ben Amor, TU Freiberg, Germany
Joschka Boedecker, Osaka University, Japan
Oliver Obst, CSIRO, Australia

----------------------------------------------------
Standards and Common Platform for Robotics
Application fields of robotics has been
widely-spreading now, so that required
functionalities of robots becomes varied and
complex. In order to handle such complexity,
several activities for standardizations platform
developments is attracting researchers and
developers. The goal of the Workshop is to
provide a forum for discussion and exchange of
ideas among them on the topic about common
framework for robotics that enhance abilities of
robotics for complex applications.
Chair:
Itsuki Noda, AIST, Japan

---------------------------------------------------
Omnidirectional Robot Vision
We invite scientists from omnidirectional vision
and robotics communities to attend the “Workshop
on Omnidirectional Robot Vision" and to discuss
sensors, algorithms and applications of
omnidirectional vision for robotics.
Omnidirectional vision research was always
greatly stimulated by mobile robotics and it was
finding its major applications there. Recently, a
broader community has started working with
omnidirectional sensors and commercial
applications appeared also in surveillance and
automotive industry. We wish to encourage active
collaboration of computer vision and robotic
researchers to develop more robust, practical and
applicable systems in robotics and elsewhere. A
special issue will be edited starting from the
best contribution to the workshop
Co-chairs:
Emanuele Menegatti, University of Padua, Italy
Tomas Pajdla, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic

----------------------------------------------------
Brain Computer Interface
The aim of the workshop is to discuss Brain
Computer Interface (BCI) systems for people with
severe disabilities. The workshop will concern
the reliability and the performance of adaptive
systems, represented by the interaction between
the BCI and robotic machine, in real-time. This
could be used as a basis for developing devices
involved in various everyday activities such as
environmental control and computer assisted
communication.
Co-Chairs:
Konstantinos Priftis, University of Padua, Italy
Francesco Piccione, IRCCS San Camillo, Venice, Italy

----------------------------------------------------
Mini and Micro UAV for Security and Surveillance
Mini and Micro UAV are small and very small
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles that can carry sensors
for remote information acquisition and can
operate by remote control or in a partially
autonomous mode. They can be useful in many
applications and, in particular, for security and
surveillance, where they can provide an
inexpensive and flexible solution for gathering
and delivering real-time information from a site.
In addition, Mini and Micro UAVs allow for
overcoming many of the mobility, speed and
perception constraints of ground vehicles (e.g.,
ground obstacles, rough terrain and limited field
of view).
Co-Chairs:
Luca Iocchi, Sapienza University of Roma, Italy
Daniele Nardi, Sapienza University of Roma, Italy

---------------------------------------------------
Teaching with robotics: didactic approaches and experiences
Teachers can exploit the educational potential
and emotional appeal of robots. Educational
robotics offers lots of interesting links to
curriculum subjects such as mathematics, physics,
natural sciences, and even humanistic subjects.
It is therefore able to support the learning of a
broad range of concepts and theories in an
effective, pleasant and practical way, enforcing
self-estimation. This workshop aims at
investigate questions about the right way of
using robotics in education. The goal cannot be
simply to add robotics to the curriculum, but to
adopt effective methodologies to help teachers
using robotics as a really multi-valued learning
tool. This workshop  is aimed to promote an
exchange of experiences in order to address the
outstanding issues related to robotics in
education.
Co-chairs:
Dimitris Alimisis, Department of Education,
School of Pedagogical and Technological
Education, Patras, Greece
Michele Moro, Univ. of Padova, Italy

**************************************************************
SIMPAR Invited Speakers

Simulation, modeling, and programming for
autonomous robots: the Open Source perspective
Herman Bruyninckx
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering,
Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven (Belgium)

Studies on humanlike robots - Humanoid, android and geminoid
Hiroshi Ishiguro
Dept. of Adaptive Machine Systems,
University of Osaka (Japan)

Modeling, Understanding, and Interacting with Humans
Yoshihiko Nakamura
Department of Mechano-Informatics,
University of Tokyo(Japan)

Humanoids, Brain and Cognitive Science
Giulio Sandini
Italian Institute of Technology, and
University of Genoa, Genoa (Italy)

SIMPAR Tutorial

USARSim/MOAST: Highly Realistic Simulation,
Control, and Performance Measurement for Multi
Robot Systems
Stephen Balakirsky
National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA

*************************************
SIMPAR Program Committees

      General Chair
Enrico Pagello, University of Padua (Italy)

      International Program Co-Chairs
Oskar von Stryck, Technische Universitaet Darmstadt (Germany)
Stefano Carpin, University of California, Merced (USA)
Itsuki Noda, Nat. Inst. of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Japan)

     International Steering Committee
Hans-Dieter Burkhard, Humboldt University (Germany)
Maria Gini, University of Minnesota at Minneapolis (USA)
Tamio Arai, The University of Tokyo (Japan)

Local Chair
Monica Reggiani, University of Padua (Italy)
      Workshop Chair
Emanuele Menegatti, University of Padua (Italy)
     Tutorial Chair
Antonio Cisternino, University of Pisa (Italy)
     Award Chair
Paolo Fiorini, University of Verona (Italy)

International Program Committee
        America
Steve Balakirsky, NIST, USA
Joseph Fernando, Microsoft Research, USA
Andrew Howard,  Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA
Mike Lewis, University of Pittsburgh, USA
Michael Quinlan, University of Texas at Austn, USA
Bill Smart, Washington University in St. Louis, USA
Richard Vaughan, Simon Fraser University, Canada
        Asia
Noriaki Ando, AIST, Japan
Joschka Boedecker, Osaka University, Japan
XiaoPing Chen, University of Science and Technology of China
Gal Kaminka, Bar Ilan University, Israel,
Takayuki Kanda, ATR Intelligent Robotics & Communication Labs, Japan
Mohammed Jarrah, American University of Sharjah, UAE
Ota Jun, University of Tokio, Japan
Alexei Makarenko, Australian Centre for Field Robotics, USYD, Australia
Takashi Minato, Osaka University, Japan
Masaki Takahashi, Keio University, Japan
Ryuichi Ueda , The University of Tokyo
Changjiu Zhou, Singapore Polytechnic
       Europe
Rachid Alami, LAAS/CNRS, France
Davide Brugali, University of Bergamo, Italy
Sven Behnke, University of Bonn, Germany
Andreas Birk, Jacobs University Bremen, Germany
Antonio Chella, University of Palermo, Italy
Alessandro Farinelli, University of Southampton, UK
Giuseppina Gini, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Frans Groen, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Martin Huelse, University of Wales, UK
Luca Iocchi, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Italy
Alexander Kleiner, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Germany
Gerhard Kraetzschmar, Univ. of Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, Germany
Pedro Lima, Lisbon Technical University, Portugal
Olivier Michel, Cyberbotics, Switzerland
Rezia Molfino, University of Genoa, Italy
Oliver Obst, University of Newcastle, UK
Antonio Sgorbissa, University of Genova, Italy
Mohan Sridharan, The University of Birmingham, UK

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     Important Deadlines

Submission of Conference papers: closed
                (29 papers accepted for Springer LNAI Proceedings Book)
Submission of Workshops papers: Sept. 12, 2008
Notification of acceptance of Workshops papers: Oct. 5, 2008
Submission of final camera-ready Workshops papers: Oct. 20, 2008

*************************************
      Publishing Policy

SIMPAR Conference's Proceedings will be published
as a Volume of Springer Lecture Notes on A.I.
Series. A further selection of best SIMPAR papers
will appear as a Special Issue of an
International Journal. Workshops' Proceedings
will be distributed during Conferences on CD-ROM

*************************************
        Program Schedule

Monday, November 3, 2008
Telecom Italia Future Centre, Venice (Italy), 9:00-18:00

Tutorial on USARSim/MOAST
Workshops on Standards and Common Platform for
Robotics, and Teaching with robotics

Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Telecom Italia Future Centre, Venice (Italy), 9:00-18:00
      Workshops on The Universe of RoboCup
Simulators, Omnidirectional Robot Vision, Mini
and Micro UAV for Security and Surveillance, and
Brain Computer Interface

      Afternoon
Conference Opening - Invited Talks (H. Bruyninckx, Y. Nakamura)
     Welcome Reception

Wednesday, November 5, 2008
    Morning:
    Telecom Italia Future Centre, Venice (Italy)
        Main Single-Track Conference Sessions

    Afternoon:
    Palazzo del Bo', Archivio Antico, University of Padua, Padua (Italy)
   Special Invited Talks Session on New Perspectives on Humanoids
Research (H. Ishiguro, G. Sandini)

    Evening:    Social Dinner

Thursday, November 6, 2008
Telecom Italia Future Centre, Venice (Italy), 9:00-18:00

      Main Single-Track Conference Sessions

     Farewell Reception

Friday, November 7, 2008
Telecom Italia Future Centre, Venice (Italy), 9:00-18:00

Open Day:
       Presentation of advanced autonomous robots,
Meeting with High-School students and Teachers,
Round Tables, Media Press Conference

***************************************************************
--
-------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Eng. Enrico Pagello,
Professor of Computer Science, University of Padua,Italy
--------------------------------------------------------
Visiting JSPS Senior Fellow until September 14, 2008
Keio University,
Graduate School of Science and Tecnology
Department of System Design Engineering
3-14-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama
223-8522 Japan
e-mail: Enrico Pagello<pagello at yoshida.sd.keio.ac.jp>

Permanent address
Department of Information Engineering (DEI)
Faculty of Engineering, The University of Padua
Via G. Gradenigo 6/a, I-35131 Padova, Italy
Ph. +39-049-827.7687   Fax +39-049-827.7799
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cellular phone in Japan:  +81 - (0)90-9820-6585
e-mail at vodafone: pagello at t.vodafone.ne.jp

regular e-mail: Enrico Pagello <epv at dei.unipd.it>
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