[robocup-small] IROBOT'2005 - Workshop on Intelligent Robotics - Deadline extension

[Nuno Lau]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        Call for Papers
     1st Workshop on Intelligent Robotics (IROBOT'2005)
               [http://irobot.epia05.di.ubi.pt/]

                       To be held at the
   12th Portuguese Conference on Artificial Intelligence (EPIA'05)
                   [http://epia05.di.ubi.pt/]

          ## EXTENDED SUBMISSION DEADLINE : 10 June 2005 ##

              December, 5-8, 2005, Covilhã, Portugal

Workshop Description
-------------------------

Research in robotics has traditionally emphasized low-level sensing and
control tasks, path planning, and actuator design and control. In contrast,
using robotic simulators, several Artificial Intelligence (AI) researchers
are more concerned with providing real/simulated robots with higher-level
cognitive functions that enable them to reason, act and perceive in an
autonomous way in dynamic, inaccessible, continuous and non deterministic
environments.
Combining results from traditional robotics with those from AI and cognitive
science will be thus essential for the future of intelligent robotics.
The purpose of the 1st International Workshop on Intelligent Robotics
IROBOT'05 is to bring together researchers, engineers and other
professionals interested in the application of Artificial Intelligence
techniques in real/simulated robotics to discuss current work and future
directions. The workshop will also promote discussion on two specific
topics:
* Simulated vs. Real Robotics: Are the simulators really useful for
Robotics?
* Benefits and dangers of robotic competitions to promote scientific
progress?
These topics will be the subject of two panel discussions led by known
researchers with significant experience in organizing/participating in
national/international real or simulated robotic competitions and on
migrating approaches tested on simulators to real robotic platforms.

Topics of Interest
-------------------------

The workshop will be structured around the following themes:
* Robot design, development and control
* Human-robot interfaces
* Intelligent transportation technologies and systems
* Intelligent buildings and warehouses
* Autonomous vehicles
* Robotic surveillance
* Computer vision and object recognition
* Virtual reality
* Learning and adaptation in robotics
* Robot behaviour engineering
* Sensor fusion
* Mobile robot performance measures
* AI Planning for robotics
* Cooperative robotics
* Modelling and simulating complex robots
* Simulation of Multi-Robot systems
* Evolutionary robotics and reactive intelligence
* Real-time Reactivity
This topics list is not exhaustive. Papers may address one or more of the
listed topics, although authors should not feel limited by them. Unlisted
but related topics are also acceptable, provided they fit in the workshop
main subject.

Panel Discussions
-------------------------

Panel Discussion 1:
Simulated vs. Real Robotics: Are Simulators Really Useful for Robotics?

For a long time simulation was not recommended for robotics, mainly due to
robot embodiment, environment complexity, dynamics and uncertainty, noise in
sensors and actuators. It was often said that the world is its own best
model and it was better to experiment with a real robot. With the
development of more
powerful and accurate simulation models and tools, enabling to model and
simulate very complex robotic and multi-robotic systems, it is clear that
simulation is becoming an essential tool for robotics. Simulation tools
enable researchers to perform experiences that would be too dangerous,
expensive or time-consuming if performed using real robots. However, there
are still few reports of AI methodologies developed using simulators
successfully migrated into real robots. This panel discussion, led by
researchers with experience in migrating approaches developed in simulation
into real robotic platforms, intends to discuss the usefulness of using
simulators for developing intelligent robotics methodologies and the
complexities of migrating those methodologies into real robotic platforms.

Panel Discussion 2:
Robotic Competitions: Benefits/Dangers to Promote Scientific Progress?

Robotic competitions, such as Robotic Soccer, Robotic Search and Rescue,
Autonomous Driving, Micro-Mouse or Fire-Fighting, are being used to promote
scientific progress and facilitate teaching within Artificial Intelligence,
Robotics and related domains. They constitute a common research challenge
enabling different research groups to exchange ideas, compare and evaluate
approaches thus stimulating research innovations and continually improving
solutions from year to year. They are also very exciting for students at all
levels. At the same time they impose hard deadlines for the creation of
fully functional robots/robotic teams that must be sufficiently robust to
work outside of the lab. However, competition environments introduce several
potential risks. The main risk is the fascination with winning which may
lead to the use of tricks instead of science. Other dangers come from
deficiently organized competitions (in terms of logistics or rules),
overestimating the importance of competition results or self-contentment of
the same niche of researchers without real scientific progress from year to
year. This panel discussion, led by some of the organizers of known
national/international robotic competitions, intends to discuss the benefits
and dangers from these competitions to promote scientific progress.

Important Dates
-------------------------

Full Paper: 10 June 2005
Author Notification: 15 July 2005
Deadline for Final Camera-Ready Copies: 28 July 2005

Paper Submission and Reviewing Process
-------------------------

Authors are invited to submit original research contributions or experience
reports in English. Scientific or technical articles describing
state-of-the-art techniques, algorithms, systems, environments, problems or
applications relevant to the area of Intelligent Robotics may be submitted.
Papers discussing application transfer from simulated to real robots and
papers showing socially useful robotic applications generated by
participations in robotic competitions are particularly welcome.

Two types of submissions will be considered: full papers and posters. The
poster session will be held for applications, prototype presentations,
robotic demonstrations and other relevant works.The length of submitted full
papers must not exceed 8 pages and posters should be up to 4 pages. The
Springer LNCS format must be used. Authors must prepare their submissions
according to the instructions given by Springer-Verlag
(http://www.springer.de/comp/lncs/authors.htm/). You can find more
information on the website of the Conference under the submission menu.
Submissions will be made by electronic means, in PDF format, through the
submission page available in the EPIA 2005 website.

In order to make blind reviewing possible, submissions must be anonymous.
This requires that authors exercise some care not to identify themselves in
their contributions. When referring to one's own work, authors must use the
third person rather than the first person. References should include all
published literature relevant to the paper, including previous works of the
authors but it should not include unpublished works.
Authors should identify themselves, and their affiliations, in the form
that is filled during electronic paper submission. This information should
be ommited from the paper.
In order to have papers published at least one of the authors should be
registered in the EPIA Conference. At least two program committee members
with recognized expertise in described field will review each submission.
Workshop high quality full papers will be selected for publication in the
main volume of conference proceedings, to be published by Springer, in the
LNAI series. Good quality papers not selected for publication in the main
volume conference proceedings and selected extended abstracts will be
published in local workshop proceedings, in hard-copy, in CD-ROM and in the
web.

Organising Committee
-------------------------

Luís Paulo Reis (University of Porto, Portugal)
Carlos Carreto (Polytechnic Institute of Guarda, Portugal)
Eduardo Silva (Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Portugal)
Nuno Lau (University of Aveiro, Portugal)

Program Committee
-------------------------

António Paulo Moreira (University of Porto, Portugal)
Armando Sousa (University of Porto, Portugal)
Carlos Carreto (Polytechnic Institute of Guarda, Portugal)
Eduardo Silva (Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Portugal)
Estela Bicho (University of Minho, Portugal)
Fernando Lobo Pereira (University of Porto, Portugal)
Fernando Ribeiro (University of Minho, Portugal)
Hans-Dieter Burkhard (Humboldt-University of Berlin, Germany)
Jacky Baltes (University of Manitoba, Canada)
Jelle Kok (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Jorge Dias (University of Coimbra, Portugal)
José Miguel Almeida (Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Portugal)
João Tasso Sousa (University of Porto, Portugal)
Junji Nishino (University of Electro-Communications, Japan)
Luís Paulo Reis (University of Porto, Portugal)
Luís Rocha, (Indiana University, USA)
Luís Seabra Lopes (University of Aveiro, Portugal)
Marco Dorigo (Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium)
Maria Isabel Ribeiro (Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal)
Martin Riedmiller (University of Osnabrueck, Germany)
Mikhail Prokopenko (CSIRO ICT Centre, Sidney, Australia)
Mohammad Sedaghat (Iran University of Science and Technology, Iran)
Nuno Lau (University of Aveiro, Portugal)
Owen Holland (University of Essex, England)
Pedro Lima (Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal)
Pieter Jonker (Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands)
Thomas Rofer (University of Bremen, Germany)
Tomoichi Takahashi (Meijo University, Japan)
Vijay Kumar (University of Pennsylvania, USA)
Xiaoping Chen (University of Science and Technology, China)

Contacts
-------------------------

In order to contact the Workshop Organisers, please send your message to
this email: irobot.epia05 at di.ubi.pt.

Luís Paulo Reis,
University of Porto,
Tel. +351 22 5081829
lpreis at fe.up.pt

Carlos Carreto,
Polytechnic Institute of Guarda,
Tel. +351 271 220155
ccarreto at ipg.pt

Eduardo Silva,
Polytechnic Institute of Porto,
Tel. +351 22 8340500
eaps at dee.isep.ipp.pt

Nuno Lau,
University of Aveiro,
Tel. +351 234 370524
lau at det.ua.pt