From nivek@ri.cmu.edu Mon Feb 13 11:45:58 EST 1995 Article: 17933 of comp.robotics Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!nivek From: nivek+@cs.cmu.edu (Kevin Dowling) Newsgroups: comp.robotics,news.answers,comp.answers Subject: comp.robotics Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) part 2/5 Supersedes: Followup-To: poster Date: 13 Feb 1995 03:54:05 GMT Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, School of Computer Science Lines: 3917 Approved: news-answers-request@mit.edu Expires: 29 Mar 1995 03:53:11 GMT Message-ID: References: Reply-To: nivek@ri.cmu.edu NNTP-Posting-Host: j.gp.cs.cmu.edu Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked Questions and their answers about robotics. It should be read by anyone who wishes to post to the comp.robotics newsgroup Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.robotics:17933 news.answers:37804 comp.answers:10020 Archive-name: robotics-faq/part2 Last-modified: Mon Dec 12 12:00:54 1994 This is part 2 of 5 of the comp.robotics Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list. This FAQ addresses commonly asked questions relating to robotics. ____________________________________________________________________________ Copyright Notice This FAQ was compiled and written by Kevin Dowling with numerous contributions by readers of comp.robotics. Acknowledgements are listed at the end of the FAQ. This post, as a collection of information, is Copyright 1994 Kevin Dowling. Distribution through any means other than regular Usenet channels must be by permission. The removal of this notice is forbidden. This FAQ may be posted to any USENET newsgroup, on-line service, or BBS as long as it is posted in its entirety and includes this copyright statement. This FAQ may not be distributed for financial gain. This FAQ may not be included in commercial collections or compilations without express permission from the author. Please send changes, additions, suggestions and questions to: Kevin Dowling tel: 412.268.8830 Robotics Institute fax: 412.268.5895 Carnegie Mellon University net: nivek@cmu.edu Pittsburgh, PA 15213 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Part 2/5 [5] Conference and Competitions [5.1] Conferences [5.2] Competitions ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [5] Conferences and Competitions There are dozens of international conferences in the areas of robotics, artificial intelligence, control and related areas. This is a compilation of many of these. ------------------------------ [5.1] Conferences There are a wide variety and number of conferences related to robotics and automation. Some are focused on industrial applications, many are researchy in nature and most are a mixture of both. Proceedings should be available in most good libraries or by interlibrary loan. The conference announcements are listed chronologically. Most conferences now also have ftp: and web locations from more information. Also see news:news.announce.conferences for many postings on conferences. A WWW page for Robotics, AI and Control related conferences, is also at http://www.cee.hw.ac.uk/~acc/conf-list.html. ----- Summary list of conferences: MVA'94: IAPR Workshop on Machine Vision Applications Kawasaki, Japan December 13-15, 1994 ANS 6th Topical Meeting on Robotics and Remote Systems Monterey, California February 5-10, 1995 AAAI Spring Symposium Stanford, Ca March 27-29, 1995 CVRMed'95 First International Conference on Computer Vision, Virtual Reality and Robotics in Medicine, Nice, FRANCE April 3-5, 1995 Symposium on Autonomous Systems in Mine Countermeasures U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California April 4-7, 1995 1995 Florida Conference on Recent Advances in Robotics University of Central Florida Arpil 26-27, 1995 IASTED International Conferencem, MODELLING AND SIMULATION Pittsburgh, PA, USA April 27-29, 1995 RTAS'94 IEEE Real-Time Technology and Application Symposium Chicago, Illinois May 15-17, 1995 ICRA 1995 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION Nagoya, Japan May 21-27, 1995 6th International Scientific and Technical Conference ROBOTICS FOR EXTRAORDINARY CONDITIONS St.Petersburg. June 6-8, 1995 Third IASTED International Conference on ROBOTICS AND MANUFACTURING Sheraton Hotel, Cancun, Mexico June 14-17, 1995 ML95 Twelfth International Conference on Machine Learning Tahoe City, California July 9-12, 1995 SIRS'95, Third International Symposium on Intelligent Robotics Systems Pisa, Italy 10-14 July 1995 ISATP'95, 1995 IEEE International Symposium on Assembly and Task Planning To be held in conjunction with IROS'95 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania August 10-11, 1995, AI-ED 95, 7TH World Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education Washington DC, USA August 16-19, 1995 IJCAI-95 Palais de Congres, Montreal August 20-25 1995. 10th IEEE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON INTELLIGENT CONTROL Monterey Marriot Hotel, Monterey, CA August 27 - 29, 1995 Workshop on Computational Kinematics INRIA Sophia-Antipolis, France September 4-6, 1995 DARS '95 Human-Oriented Design of Advanced Robotics Systems Vienna, Austria September 19-20, 1995 ASI-AA-95 Practice and Future of Autonomous Agents ASI-AA-95, Centro Stefano Franscini Monte Verita, Ticino, Switzerland September 23 - October 1, 1995 EPIA'95 Applications of AI to Robotics and Vision Systems Workshop Seventh Portuguese Conference on Artificial Intelligence Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal October 3-6, 1995 ISIR, 26th International Symposium on Industrial Robots Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Center 4-6 October 1995 ICRA 1996 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation Minneapolis Hilton and Towers, Minneapolis, Minnesota April 22-28, 1996 MFI'96: 1996 IEEE/SICE/RSJ International Conference on Multisensor Fusion and Integration for Intelligent Systems October 1996 Conference Descriptions =------------------------------------------------------------------------- MVA'94: IAPR Workshop on Machine Vision Applications December 13-15, 1994 Kawasaki, Japan The International Association for Pattern Recognition (IAPR) announces the 4th IAPR International Workshop on Machine Vision Applications to be held in Kawasaki on December 13-15, 1994. The workshop is sponsored by the IAPR Technical Committees 6, 8, and 10. The purpose of the workshop is to bring together researchers and practitioners from both academia and industry, and to exchange their knowledge and stimulate each other through intensive discussions on the following research topics: Main Topic: Machine Vision and its Applications Machine Vision Algorithms Feature extraction, Range data / 3D shapes, Motion / Image sequence analysis, Neural network applications, Color image analysis, AI-based vision, Human interface, and related technologies. Special Purpose Architectures Intelligent sensors, VLSI image processor chips, Massively parallel processing, Architectures for 3D and/or motion processing, Image processing systems, Software environment for image processor, and related technologies. Industrial Applications Factory automation, Disaster prevention and rescue, Security control, Navigation, Mobile robots, Civil and construction engineering, Agriculture/Forestry/Fishery, Other applications, and related technologies. Document, Map and Line Drawing Processing Document image processing, Drawing recognition, Multimedia database, Map and engineering drawing database, Map processing and map-based systems, 3D reconstruction from maps or drawings, and related technologies. The workshop will include several invited talks and about 100 papers for oral and poster presentations on the above topics. All presentations will be in English. Those who wish to present a paper are requested to submit four copies of a 500-1000 word extended abstract with at least one main figure by June 15, 1994 to: Prof. Mikio Takagi Institute of Industrial Science University of Tokyo 7-22-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106, Japan FAX: +81-3-3402-6226 The abstract should contain the following in its first page. 1) Title of the paper 2) Author name(s) and his/her(their) affiliation(s) 3) A person's name and address to be contacted, also, phone and fax numbers, Email address if available 4) Answers to the following questions: a) What is the original contribution of this work? b) Why should this contribution be considered important? Authors of papers that are accepted will be notified by August 1, 1994. Final camera-ready papers are due by October 1, 1994. Notice: International Technical Exhibition on Image Technology and Equipment will be held in Tokyo, near the workshop site, on December 7-9, 1994. All participants for the workshop are encouraged to visit the exhibition. For further information, please contact: Prof. Mikio Takagi Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo 7-22-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106, JAPAN PHONE: +81-3-3479-0289 FAX: +81-3-3402-6226 EMAIL: takagi@tkl.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp =---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Call for Abstracts & Call for Exhibitors ANS 6th Topical Meeting on Robotics and Remote Systems February 5-10, 1995 Monterey, California USA Sponsored by: AMERICAN NUCLEAR SOCIETY Robotics and Remote Systems Division and the Northern California Section Cosponsored by o Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory o Electric Power Research Institute o The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers o British Nuclear Energy Society You are invited to submit extended abstracts for review and consideration for the ANS Sixth Topical Meeting on Robots and Remote Systems. The theme of this Topical is "Robots in the Environment," and emphasis will be placed on robot technology and applications in a variety of remote environments, including nuclear, environmental remediation, underwater and space. Sessions are arranged in four primary interest areas or "tracks" so that no two papers in a track are presented concurrently. The tracks and topics of interest for this abstract solicitation are listed below. APPLICATIONS Nuclear power and fuel cycle Environmental Restoration Waste Management Remote Manufacturing and Processing Laboratory Automation Manipulator Applications Medical Application HOSTILE ENVIRONMENTS Hardening and Survivability Technologies Undersea Space Law Enforcement Emergency Response and HazMat Handling Military CONTROL SYSTEMS Control Systems and Architectures Virtual Reality Application to Remote Systems Sensors and Machine Vision Human Factors and the Human/Machine Interface Artificial Intelligence and Smart Systems Remote Viewing and Telepresence RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT Autonomous Systems and Mobility Mechanical Design and Special Tooling Manipulator R&D Remote Engineering The ANS 6th Topical Meeting on Robotics and Remote Systems Symposium, sponsored by the American Nuclear Society, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Monterey in Monterey, California, just minutes from the beautiful California central coast. Updates in the various technology areas will be featured as well as several new special interest sessions which have proven popular in recent years. Both oral and poster papers will be presented, and submissions of your original work are requested. We encourage papers/presentations from European and Pacific Rim countries. Technical Sessions Both oral presentations and poster sessions will be featured for the four-day conference Send Abstracts on new and innovative work to: Program Chairman Scott A. Couture ANS 6th Topical on Robotics and Remote Systems P.O. Box 10333 Pleasanton, CA 94588 Phone: (510) 423-7970/FAX (510) 423-4606 INSTRUCTIONS FOR ABSTRACT PREPARATION AND MAILING Abstracts of new and innovative work are solicited. Submission format is an extended typed abstract of at least 500-900 words. Please send the original and three copies to the program chairman. ABSTRACT DEADLINE - APRIL 1, 1993 - SEND TO: 6th Topical Meeting on Robotics and Remote Systems Attn: Scott Couture, Technical Program Chair P.O. Box 10333 Pleasanton, CA 94588 Acceptance Categories: Papers may be accepted for: 1. Oral presentations for a specified time (20-35 minutes, nominal) 2. Poster presentation with the author expected to be in attendance to explain his or her paper and to answer questions. All papers accepted for the ANS 6th Topical Meeting on Robotics and Remote Systems are eligible for publication in the ANS Transactions issue for the Symposium subject to formal review and acceptance procedures. Return this information sheet Sixth Topical Meeting on Robotics and Remote Systems February 5-10, 1995, Monterey, California ___ I am interest edin attending this Topical Meeting. Please send additional information as it becomes available. ___ I am interested in presenting a paper at this Topical Meeting. Tentative title of paper: ___ I am interested in presenting a poster session ___ I am interested in Exhibit Space for this Topical Meeting. Name: Affiliation: Address: City/State/Zip =--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1995 AAAI Spring Symposium Date: March 27-29, 1995 Place: Stanford, CA Deadline for submission: October 28, 1994 URL: http://tommy.jsc.nasa.gov/er/er6/mrl/symposium.html Lessons Learned from Implemented Software Architectures for Physical Agents =========================================================================== We are interested in organizational concepts for artificial agents that function in the everyday world of manufacturing floors, office buildings, and houses or in the specialized worlds of space or nuclear reactors. In recent years, a sufficient number of researchers have put forth software frameworks for organizing intelligence in agents beyond the original first few who began such investigations [e.g., SOAR and NASREM] that a symposium to discuss the issues outlined below is warranted. We are seeing architectures with as few as three and as many as five layers of cognition or control, for single agents or multiple agents, designed to accommodate hard real-time constraints or involved user interfaces, handling purely reactive or a combination of deliberate and reactive control, which are subsumptive or supervenient, and most of which are designed to function as part of a physical agent. The goal of this workshop is to shed light into reasons for architectural decisions in building artificial agents. Many important questions affect architectural decisions. For this workshop, we ask the following questions only with respect to architectural decisions. Coordination-- How should the agent arbitrate/coordinate/cooperate its behaviors and actions? Is there a need for central behavior coordination? Interfaces-- How can human expertise be easily brought into an agent's decisions? Will the agent need to translate natural language internally before it can interact with the world? How should an agent capture mission intentions or integrate various levels of autonomy or shared control? Can restricted vocabularies be learned and shared by agents operating in the same environment? Representation-- How much internal representation of knowledge and skills is needed? How should the agent organize and represent its internal knowledge and skills? Is more than one representational formalism needed? Structural-- How should the computational capabilities of an agent be divided, structured, and interconnected? What is the best decomposition/granularity of architectural components? What is gained by using a monolithic architecture versus a multi-level, distributed, or massively parallel architecture? Are embodied semantics important and how should they be implemented? How much does each level/component of an agent architecture have to know about the other levels/components? Performance-- What types of performance goals and metrics can realistically be used for agents operating in dynamic, uncertain, and even actively hostile environments? How can an architecture make guarantees about its performance with respect to the time-critical aspect of the agent's physical environment? What are the performance criteria for deciding what activities take place in each level/component of the architecture? Psychology-- Why should we build agents that mimic anthropomorphic functionalities? How far can/should we draw metaphoric similarities to human/animal psychology? How much should memory organization depend on human/animal psychology? Simulation-- What, if any, role can advanced simulation technology play in developing and verifying modules and/or systems? Can we have standard virtual components/test environments that everybody trusts and can play a role in comparing systems to each other? How far can development of modules profitably proceed before they should be grounded in a working system? How is the architecture affected by its expected environment and its actual embodiment? Learning-- How can a given architecture support learning? How can knowledge and skills be moved between different layers of an agent architecture? We invite researchers in intelligent mobile robots, robot manipulators, autonomous creatures (animats), and neuroscience as applied to autonomous agents to join us in discussing these questions. To allow for a more practical discussion of the issues, all submissions should focus on an agent or agents performing a specific task, such as keeping a house clean, maintaining the space station, or delivering parts on a factory floor. Be very specific about how your agent(s) organize(s) its knowledge and skills in order to perform this task and what mechanisms your agent(s) use(s) to invoke the correct knowledge or skill at the appropriate time. Please include the design decisions you made in organizing your agent's architecture for the task. Then, through this specific example, show how your agent's architecture addresses some of the questions listed above. The symposium will consist of presentations, invited talks, and task groups. Based on submissions, we will divide the workshop into specific task groups and, after discussions, come together for synthesis. We are tentatively proposing that the group produce as a minimum a set of answers for a portion of the discussion areas listed above. SUBMISSION INFORMATION Potential attendees should submit either an extended abstract or a full paper, neither of which should exceed 20 pages. If you are submitting a paper, we prefer that it not have been published elsewhere. If you are sending a paper that has already been published, tell us where it appeared. We encourage everyone to submit their papers or abstracts electronically, PostScript or ASCII only. Submission can be made by e-mailing the entire document, e-mailing an anonymous ftp address, or placing the document in the ftp site we give below. E-mail submissions should be sent to: hexmoor@cs.buffalo.edu Anonymous FTP submission: ftp ftp.cs.buffalo.edu and put your submission in users/hexmoor directory If e-mail submission is not possible, please send three copies of the paper or abstract to: Henry Hexmoor Co-chair, AAAI Spring Symposium 226 Bell Hall Dept of Computer Science SUNY at Buffalo Buffalo, NY 14260 ORGANIZING COMMITTEE Ron Arkin Peter Bonasso Henry Hexmoor (co-chair) David Kortenkamp (co-chair) David Musliner GUEST SPEAKERS James Albus George Bekey Mike Brady =---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1995 FLORIDA CONFERENCE ON RECENT ADVANCES IN ROBOTICS APRIL 26-27, 1995 UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA CALL FOR PAPERS CONFERENCE TOPICS The Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering will host the 1995 Florida Conference on Recent Advances in Robotics. This conference will provide a forum for State of Florida researchers and practitioners in robotics, intelligent machines, manufacturing and automation to present and exchange new ideas, recommend research directions while enhancing their professional network and helping them to establish collaborative ventures within the Sunshine State. Topics will include, but not be limited to: Intelligent Machines: Autonomous vehicles, swarm robots, robot learning. Robotic Applications: In industry, medicine, agriculture, construction, and hazardous environments. Robot Sensing: Vision, touch, ranging, multiple sensory perception, sensor fusion. Multi-chain Robot Structures: Hands, legs, arms, parallel manipulators. Automation and Manufacturing: Scheduling, workcell design and control. Robot Theory: Kinematics, dynamics, calibration, design. Telerobotics Micro-Mechanics CONFERENCE FEES There will be no conference registration fee for attendees, however, a $30 filing fee must accompany each submitted abstract. Make checks payable to University of Central Florida. The co-authors of each accepted paper will receive one group copy of the proceedings. Additional copies of the Proceedings may be purchased in advance for $30 or at the conference for $50. ABSTRACT Acceptance to this conference will be based on a submitted abstract. The abstract is limited to one page and only one copy is required. Abstracts are due by January 27, 1995 and must be accompanied by the $30 filing fee for consideration. You will be notified of your acceptance by February 11, 1995. The filing fee will be returned for abstracts not accepted. All authors should furnish their name, paper title, address, phone and FAX numbers, E-Mail address, and research interests, on a separate sheet of paper. We plan to communicate mostly by E-Mail, so it is important that you provide an E-Mail address. SUBMISSIONS All submissions should be sent to Dr. Robert M. Byers Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering University of Central Florida Box 162450 Orlando, FL 32816-2450 Phone:(407) 823-0135 Fax:(407) 823-0208 E-Mail: rmbyers@wizard.engr.ucf.edu PAPER FORMAT This flyer is in proper format, except for title fonts. Two copies of each paper should be submitted in final form with a 2-column format on 8.5 by 11 inch sheets. Each column is limited to 3 1/4 inch in width and 8 7/8 inch in length with a 3/8 inch gutter between columns. The margins are 13/16 inch on the sides, 1 1/16 inch on the top and bottom. Text is to be typed single-space in 10 point Times-Roman (or a face closely resembling this type), with minimum 12 point interline spacing. The first page of the paper, centered on the top below the top margin, should include the paper title, the authors and the authors' affiliation. Eight pages are allowed for each paper. Illustrations, photographs, appendices, references, in short, all page occupancies are counted in the page count. Additional pages will be permitted for a page charge of $10 for each additional page. IMPORTANT DATES Abstract Due Date: January 27, 1995 Acceptance Date: February 10, 1995 Paper Due Date: March 17, 1995 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION For more information contact Dr. Robert M. Byers, Co-Chair Phone: (407) 823-0135 Fax:(407) 823-0135 email:rmbyers@wizard.engr.ucf.edu Dr. Harley R. Myler, Co-Chair Phone:(407) 823-5098 Fax:(407) 823-5835 email: hrm@engr.ucf.edu Formatted versions of this announcement are available at ftp://ftp.engr.ucf.edu/pub/RAR95 =---------------------------------------------------------------------------- IASTED International Conference MODELLING AND SIMULATION April 27-29, 1995 LOCATION: Sheraton Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA SPONSORS: The International Association of Science and Technology for Development (IASTED) - Technical Committee on Modelling and Simulation The International Society for Mini and Microcomputers (ISMM) SCOPE: * Modelling * Animation * Simulation * Visualization * Hardware * Multimedia * Languages * Bond graphs * Numerical methods * Petri nets * Analysis * Stochastic processes * Neural networks * Parallel processing * Design * Distributed processing APPLICATIONS: * Aerospace * Economics * Biotechnology * Control * Reliability * Nuclear reactors * Computers * Quality control * VLSI * Networks * Robotics * Heat transfer * Biomedical systems * Manufacturing * Biomechanics * Healthcare * Circuits and systems * Fluid flow * Chemical engineering * Signal processing * Flight simulators * Civil engineering * Transportation * Airports * Energy systems * Education * Harbours * Power systems * Risk and decision * Others * Environmental systems * Operations research INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM COMMITTEE: M. Alam USA C. Doumanidis USA R.W. Eyerly USA M.H. Hamza Canada C. Hou USA J. Ishii Japan D.O. Koval Canada M. Lotfalian USA M.H. Mickle USA L.C. Monticone USA N.M. Namazi USA S. Popovich Canada K.R. Sliwa Mexico A. Sloley USA S. Szpakowicz Canada S. Vemuru USA D. Wang USA T. Wu P.R. China D. Yoon USA SUBMISSION OF PAPERS: Three copies of the full manuscripts, having a maximum of 12 pages, are to be received by the IASTED Secretary Anaheim not later than November 15, 1994. The papers that may be submitted should not have been previously published, nor should they be presently under review for publication in a journal or for a conference. Papers accepted by the International Program Committee will be categorized as regular or short papers. Please supply four keywords to indicate the area of the paper and provide the name, address, affiliation, telephone and fax numbers of the main author and of the author expected to present the paper. Persons wishing to organize a session or to present half-day tutorials should submit a proposal to the Secretary by November 15, 1994. The preregistration fee is expected to be approximately $US 400. This covers the registration, dinner on April 28, 1995, refreshments and one volume of the proceedings. Authors will be requested to preregister. ****** IMPORTANT DEADLINES ****** November 15, 1994 - Submission of papers February 1, 1995 - Notification of acceptance March 15, 1995 - Camera ready manuscripts due ADDRESS: IASTED Secretariat - MS'95 1811 West Katella Avenue, Suite 101 Anaheim, California 92804 USA Tel: 1-800-995-2161 Fax: (714) 778-5463 Email: iasted@orion.oac.uci.edu =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1995 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION Co-sponsored by The IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Science Council of Japan The Robotics Society of Japan The Society of Instrument and Control Engineers The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers May 21-27, 1995 Nagoya Congress Center Nagoya, Japan Advisory Chair: Fumio Harashima, University of Tokyo, Japan Organizing Chair: Fumio Harashima, University of Tokyo, Japan General Chair: Toshio Fukuda, Nagoya University, Japan Program Chair: Suguru Arimoto, University of Tokyo, Japan Program Vice Co-chairs: Shin'ichi Yuta, University of Tsukuba, Japan Gerhard Hirzinger, German Aerospace Research Establishment, Germany Thomas C. Henderson, University of Utah, U.S.A Local Arrangements Chair: Yoshikazu Suematsu, Nagoya University, Japan Treasurer and Coordinator: Steve Hsia, University of California, Davis, U.S.A Koji Ito, Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan CALL FOR PAPERS The theme of the 1995 Conference is "Robotics and Automation in Exploring New Engineering Disciplines." This year, the Conference celebrates its 12th anniversary and for the first time takes place in the Orient. Therefore, it will be a good time to look into the future with a renewed sense of purpose, enterpreunership, and dedication to the advancement of science and technology. A paradigm shift is emerging in factories, from mass production to customized manufacturing which is based firmly on using flexible automation to manufacture a high variety of items. It inevitably generates a wide range of challenging research problems that impact productivity and quality control in manufacturing sectors. Robotics research is needed to Jprovide greater intelligence and higher versatility f or robotic tasks under the ever-changing constraints of the environment. Applications of advanced robotics research and automation technology have become a key competitive factor in the global economy. The 1995 Conference will bring together researchers and practitioners to present the latest accomplishments, and explore future directions. Special emphasis will be placed on industrial case studies and their scientific background to help identify new "driving forces" for research in the 21st century. Technical papers presented in oral and poster sessions will appear in the bound proceedings. Topics include but are not limited to: Robot sensing and sensor data fusion Reasoning and planning Multirobot coordination Dexterous and redundant manipulation Robot dynamics and control Telerobotics and shared control Autonomous systems Micro electromechanical and micro robotic systems Advanced actuators Mechatronic design issues Learning and adaptive systems Distributed intelligence and self-organizing systems Robot systems in unstructured and hazardous environments Dynamic vision Virtual reality and environments Industrial inspection Design automation and rapid prototyping Computer integrated and agile manufacturing Modeling and performance evaluation of discrete event systems Automated materials processing For any general information about the conference, please contact to the General Chair: Prof. Toshio Fukuda c/o Inter Group Corp. 4-2-7, Sakae, Naka-ku Nagoya 460, Japan Phone: +81-52-263-6261 Fax: +81-52-263-6298 E-mail: ra95@mein.nagoya-u.ac.jp ORGANIZED SESSIONS Organized sessions are intended to provide a cohesive focus for the introduction of new research topics, or for the discussion of successful applications and case studies. Proposals for organized sessions should be submitted by October 1, 1994 to the Program Chair. Each organized session consists of four papers, which will be reviewed through the normal process. The proposal should be submitted by the session organizer, and include a brief statement of the purpose in addition to six copies of each paper. In case paper is not accepted, it will be replaced by a relevant contributed paper. POSTER SESSIONS We are going to introduce poster sessions in this conference. The posters of the selected papers should be prepared by their authors. Papers will be presented with posters prepared by their authors. In the poster sessions, (1) the authors will be notified about the type of their presentation by the Program Committee, (2) the authors and attendees may actively exchange their ideas at the session. PANEL DISCUSSIONS Panel discussions are intended to promote an active and informal discussion of current issues that are of interest to the Robotics and Automation community. Proposals should include a brief statement of purpose, the general topic of discussion, specific issues to be addressed, and a list of participants. They should be sent to the ICRA'95 Secretary Office no later than September 15, 1994. TUTORIALS AND WORKSHOPS Half day and full day tutorials and workshops will be held on Monday, May 22, 1995. Proposals should include: (1) statement of objectives and background expected of intended audience, (2) a complete list of speakers and their affiliations, (3) a detailed list of topics. Two copies of each proposal should be submitted by September 15, 1994 to the ICRA'95 Secretary Office. Organizers are strongly encouraged to write or send e-mail to the Secretary office to obtain the exact proposal format. Proposals not in the proper format may not be evaluated. INDUSTRY FORUM Industry forum will be held on Tuesday, May 23, 1995. Speakers will include representatives from industry, government, and academia. The aim of the forum is to allow attendees to understand more fully possible industrial applications of robotics and automation, discuss problems that have arisen in industrial applications, and to delineate new areas of research and development of robotics and automation applications. PUBLIC LECTURE Public lectures will be held on Saturday, May 27, 1995. The aim of the lectures is to help the public to understand the latest technologies in robotics and automation. The topics of the lectures include Robotics General, Brains for Robotics and Automation, Real World Robotics and Automation, Human Friendly Interface etc. Simultaneous translation both in English and Japanese is available. ANTON PHILIPS BEST STUDENT PAPER AWARD A $1,000 Prize will be awarded for the best student paper. The student must (1) be a member of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, (2) be the first author and primary developer of the ideas, and (3) have done the work as part of an academic degree program. The paper must be submitted no later than one year after the award of the degree for which the work was done. Nine copies of the paper along with a nominating letter from the faculty advisor should be sent by October 1, 1994 to the ICRA'95 Secretary Office. DEVELOPING COUNTRIES FELLOWSHIPS Travel assistance of up to $500 and a waiver of the registration fees will be granted to a limited number of student applicants from developing countries. Preference will be given to university students. Applications should include: (1) the name, postal address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address (if applicable), (2)professional affiliation, position and nature of work, and (3)a brief statement about how attendance at the conference will enhance the applicant's career. Applications should be submitted by October 1, 1994 toJthe ICRA'95 Secretary Office. BEST CONFERENCE PAPER AWARD A $1,000 prize will be awarded to the best conference paper. EXHIBITS There will be exhibits of state-of-the-art hardware and software products at the conference. Reservations for the space and further information may be obtained from the ICRA'95 Secretary Office. LOCAL ARRANGEMENTS The climate in Nagoya in late May is usually agreeable and stable, with average temperature of 16-23C (60-74 F). With an abundance of urban sightseeing attractions such as excellent urban planning and sightseeing routes, and industrial tours, you can find many of the nation's outstanding sightseeing spots in the city's environs. Nagoya castle, famed for its golden "dolphins", Ise Shima, Mikawa Bay, the Hida region, the Kiso River, and the Chubu mountain range are just a few examples.JAlso, Kyoto, the old capital in Japan, is within one hour away by bullet train. In addition, large number of Karakuri dolls, created during the Edo period, can still be found in Nagoya. It was the technology of wooden automated puppets which laid the foundation for the development of the clock industry, the automated weaving machine, the automobile and robot industries in Naogya. Additional information may be obtained from the ICRA'95 Secretary Office. GENERAL INFORMATION For other general information about the conference, contact the ICRA'95 Secretary Office. ICRA'95 Secretary Office c/o Inter Group Corp. 4-2-7, Sakae, Naka-ku Nagoya 460, Japan Phone: +81-52-263-6261 Fax: +81-52-263-6298 E-mail: ra95@mein.nagoya-u.ac.jp CALL FOR VIDEOS As a conference tradition , a video tape session on new and significant experimental results and demonstrations including industrial case studies, will be organized. Accepted contributions will be included in the conference video proceedings, which will be shown during the conference, and also made available to the attendees. This program is intended to enhance and complement the results presented in the regular proceedings. A $1,000 prize will be awarded for the best video. REQUIREMENTS FOR VIDEOS A good video should be dynamic and contain information that cannot be easi ly conveyed in a paper. Length should not exceed 2 to 3 minutes. Showing flow charts, block diagr ams, circuit boards, computers, or motors is discouraged. Operators are fine if they are central element to the concept being illustrated (e.g. in teleoperated systems). Narration is important. Ideas should be expressed without jargon. Music and background noise generally interfere with the presentation. Music should be avoided unless it is generated professionally. The purpose of the video proceedings is to disseminate technical informati on, not for commercial promotion. For example, the obvious display of company logos must be avoided. SUBMISSION Submissions consist of a 2 to 3 minute video segment (preferred formats are 3/4", Betacam or super VHS) and an information sheet including: the title of the presentation, the names, affiliations, and authors (please identify the corresponding author), and a 200 word abstract. They should be submitted by October 1, 1994. Submit to Program Vice Co-chair: Prof. Shin'ichi Yuta Institute of Information Science and Electronics University of Tsukuba Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305, Japan Phone: +81-298-53-5509 Fax: +81-298-53-5206 E-mail: yuta@is.tsukuba.ac.jp =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ IEEE Real-Time Technology and Application Symposium =================================================== May 15-17, 1995 Chicago, Illinois RTAS'94 is the successor to the 11th Workshop on Real-Time Operating Systems and Software. Since the early 80's, we have witnessed an increased interest in real-time technology because of the need for scientific solutions for time-constrained information processing in various applications such as avionics, multimedia, robotics, automated process control, and manufacturing. Founded in 1983, the IEEE Workshop on Real-Time Operating Systems and Software (RTOSS) has been an important annual forum for exchanging information of emerging principles and practices underlying real-time technology. Consequently, we are seeing a substantial number of new researchers tackling the many challenging problems that remain. Due to the interest shown in, and the success of, the RTOSS, the IEEE technical committee on real-time systems has decided to convert RTOSS into a full symposium, the real-Time Technology and Applications Symposium. The purpose of this symposium is to bring together developers and researchers from universities, industry, and government to advance real-time technology and its applications. Papers on all aspects of real-time computing are sought, including operating systems and scheduling, fault-tolerance, databases, programming languages, tools, communication networks, architectures, performance modeling, formal methods, case studies, and applications. Of particular interest are papers detailing experiments and implementations. This year we are planning special sessions in the areas such as Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems and Multimedia. Papers on these topics are especially encouraged. Manuscripts should be limited to 20 double spaced pages. Papers submitted to the Symposium should not be submitted elsewhere. Six copies of the paper should reach the program chair no later than January 7, 1995. Authors will be notified of acceptance by Feb 28, 1995. Final camera-ready manuscripts will be due by March 31, 1995. Proposals for two-hour tutorials in technical areas of the conference are also solicited. Tutorial proposals should be submitted to the program chair by January 7, 1995. Important Dates =============== Paper submission: Jan 7, 1995 Tutorial proposal submission: Jan 7, 1995 Acceptance notification: Feb 28, 1995 Final camera-ready manuscript: Mar 31, 1995 ORGANIZING AND PROGRAM COMMITTEES General Chair: Ted Baker Department of Computer Science (4019) Florida State University Tallahassee, FL 32306-4019 phone: 904 644-5452 email: baker@cs.fsu.edu Program Chair: Wei Zhao Department of Computer Science Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-3112 phone: 409 845-5098 email: zhao@cs.tamu.edu Treasurer: Ted Giering, Florida State University Publicity Chair: Raj Rajkumar, Software Engineering Institute, CMU Local Arrangements Co-Chairs: Jeffrey Tsai, University of Illinois at Chicago Chengwen Liu, DePaul University Ex-Officio: (RTS-TC Chairs) John Stankovic, University of Massachusetts at Amherst Al Mok, University of Texas at Austin Program Committee: Yahya Y. Al-Salqan West Virginia University Sadler Bridge Texas Transportation Institute/TAMU Alan Burns University of York Richard Gerber University of Maryland Prabha Gopinath Honeywell Inc Steve Howell Navy Surface Warfare Center Jiandong Huang Honeywell Inc Arkady Kanevsky Mitre Corporation Doug Locke Loral Federal Systems David Luginbuhl AFOSR Jane Liu University of Illinois at Urbana Steve Liu Texas A&M University Al Mok University of Texas at Austin Kelvin Nilsen Iowa State University Krithi Ramamritham University of Massachusetts at Amherst Lui Sha Software Engineering Institute/CMU Kang Shin University of Michigan John Stankovic University of Massachusetts at Amherst Alexander D. Stoyenko NJ Institute of Technology Lonnie R. Welch NJ Institute of Technology Victor Wolfe University of Rhode Island Hui Zhang Carnegie Mellon University RTAS'95 is sponsored by the IEEE Technical Committee on Real-Time Systems, in cooperation with the Office of Naval Research. =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6th International Scientific and Technical Conference "ROBOTICS FOR EXTRAORDINARY CONDITIONS" Ministry of Science and Technical Policy of Russian Federation State Committee of Russian Federation for Higher Education State Scientific Center of Russia - Central R&D Institute of Robotics and Technical Cybernetics Information and invitation Dear colleagues! Herewith we inform you about the holding of the International Scientific and Technical Conference "ROBOTICS FOR EXTRAORDINARY CONDITIONS". The Conference will take place during June 6-8 ,1995 in St.Petersburg. The Conference subjects are as follows: -conceptual problems of robotics development for extraordinary conditions; -robotic system applications in extraordinary conditions in the national economy, armed forces, outer space, underwater and emergency situations; -theory, calculation and design methods of robotic systems for extraordinary conditions; -control of robotic systems for extraordinary conditions, software; -components of robots for extraordinary conditions (sensors, drives , mechanical systems of manipualtors and vehicles). Chairman of the Program Committee - E. Yurevich, Professor , Doctor of Technical Scieces . Round-table discussions will be held at the Conference, concerning the questions of coordination of research -and- development activities preparation of proposals on the formation of projects and scientific-and-research programs, on the educational questions in this field. Participation at the Conference means establishment and development of scientific and business contacts, extension of knowledge about the results of new theoretical achievements and their practical applications in the advanced foreign and domestic enterprises. It also means that you will visit St.Petersburg during the best season - period of White Nights. The Conference organizers invite you to take part in the formation of the Conference program. Please, inform us about your participation in the Conference and about the title of your paper before January 1, 1995. Abstrasts up to 3 pages in volume ( A4 format, 1.5 line space ) should be submitted to the Oganizing Committee before March 1 , 1995. Organizating Committee address : Russia, 194064 , St. Petersburg , Tikhoretsky pr. , 21 Central R&D Institute of Robotics and Technical Cybernetics A.Kochkarev , Deputy Director Fax :(812) 552-46-72 E-mail : kocha@rtk.spb.su Contact telephones : (812) 552-40-73 (812) 552-41-62. =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CALL FOR PAPERS Third IASTED International Conference ROBOTICS AND MANUFACTURING DATE: June 14-17, 1995 LOCATION: Sheraton Hotel, Cancun, Mexico SPONSORS: The International Association of Science and Technology for Development - IASTED In cooperation with: ITESM (Inst. Tech. y de Estudios Sup. de Monterrey, Mexico) SCOPE: Topics to be covered include: * Adaptive Control * Modelling * AI Techniques * Motion Planning * Architecture * Multirobot Systems * Autonomous Systems * Neural Networks * Bionics/Biomechanics * Process Control * Design Automation * Reliability/Safety/Stability * Expert Systems * Robot Dynamics * Flexible Manufacturing Systems * Robot Control * Fuzzy Control * Robot Kinematics * Human/Machine Interface * Robot Mechanisms * Industrial Automation * Robust Control * Industrial Robots * Scheduling * Intelligent Systems * Sensors * Knowledge-Based Systems * Sensor Data Fusion * Learning/Reasoning Systems * Simulation * Manufacturing Systems * Space Robotics * Mechatronics * Teleoperation * Microrobotics * Virtual Reality * Mobile Robots * Applications - All areas General Chair: T.C. (Steve) Hsia, University of California, Davis, USA Program Chair: Rene V. Mayorga, University of Waterloo, Canada Regional Program Chairs: Francisco Cantu-Ortiz, ITESM, Monterrey Juan Frausto-Solis, ITESM, Morelos INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM COMMITTEE S. Arimoto Univ. of Tokyo, Japan E. Bayo Univ. of Calif., Santa Barbara, USA P. Dario Univ. of Pisa, Italy C. Doumanidis Tufts Univ., USA A. Desrochers Renselaer Polytechnic, USA R.V. Dubey Univ. of Tennessee, USA W.H. ElMaraghy Univ. of Windsor, Canada B. Espiau INRIA, France T. Fukuda Nagoya Univ., Japan H. Furuta Japan A. Goldenberg Univ. of Toronto, Canada E. Gomes EPUSP, Brazil W.A. Gruver Simon Fraser Univ., Canada H. Inoue Univ. of Tokyo, Japan S. Kalaycioglu Canada Space Agency, Canada O. Khatib Stanford University, USA H.N. Koivo Tampere Univ., Finland K. Kosuge Univ. of Nagoya, Japan F. Lobo-Pereira Porto Univ., Portugal A. Maciejewski Purdue Univ., USA H. Miura Univ. of Tokyo, Japan Y. Nakamura Univ. of Tokyo, Japan G. Saridis Rensselaer Polytechnic, USA H. Seraji JPL, USA Y. Shirai Osaka Univ., Japan J.E. Slotine MIT, USA A.C. Sanderson Rensselaer Poly., USA B. Siciliano Univ. of Naples, Italy P.M. Taylor Univ. of Hull, UK S. Tsuji Osaka Univ., Japan A.K.C. Wong Univ. of Waterloo, Canada REGIONAL PROGRAM COMMITTEE J.L. Gordillo ITESM, Monterrey F. Ramos ITESM, Morelos R. Kelly CICESE, Ensenada G. Rodriguez IEE, Cuenavaca J.M. Ibarra CINESTAV J.M. Sanchez ITESM, Monterrey H. Martinez ITESM R. Soto ITESM, Monterrey A. Ramirez CINESTAV L.E. Sucar-Succar ITESM, Morelos A. Pamanes Laguna Tec., Torreon M. Valenzuela ITESM, Monterrey Three copies of the papers (maximum 12 double-spaced pages, including figures, for regular papers; and maximum six double spaced pages for short papers) should be received by FEBRUARY 15, 1995 by Rene V. Mayorga, Dept. of Systems Design Eng., University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1 Canada. Please include four keywords to indicate the area of the paper. Also, include a statement in your cover letter confirming that if the paper is accepted, one of the authors will attend the conference to present it. Please give the full name, affiliation, full address, telephone, and fax numbers, and email address if available. Notification of acceptance and author kits will be mailed by March 15, 1995. The final manuscripts and registration payment are due prior to May 1, 1995. Registration fees not received by that date may result in the paper being excluded from the proceedings. Expanded papers to be considered for publication in the International Journal of Robotics and Automation are to be sent directly to the Editor: Dr. Richard Colbaugh, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Box 30001 - Dept. 3450, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003-0001 USA. IMPORTANT DATES FEBRUARY 15, 1995 - Three copies of the papers due. Please send the papers to: Rene V. Mayorga Dept. of Systems Design Eng. Univ. of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario Canada N2L 3G1 Tel: 519-885-1211 ext: 2604 Fax: 519-746-4791 email: rmayorga@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca MARCH 15, 1995 - Paper acceptance letters mailed to authors. MAY 1, 1995 - Final manuscripts and registration payments due. To be placed on the mailing list write to: IASTED Secretariat RM'95 1811 W. Katella Avenue #101 Anaheim, CA USA 90804 Tel: 800-995-2161 or 714-778-3230 Fax: 714-778-5463 Email: iasted@orion.oac.uci.edu =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PRELIMINARY CALL FOR PAPERS Twelfth International Conference on Machine Learning Tahoe City, California July 9-12, 1995 The Twelfth International Conference on Machine Learning (ML95) will be held at the Granlibakken Resort in Tahoe City, California during July 9-12, 1995, with informal workshops on July 9. We invite paper submissions from researchers in all areas of machine learning. The conference will include presentations of refereed papers and invited talks. REVIEW CRITERIA Each submitted paper will be reviewed by at least two members of the program committee and will be judged on significance, originality, and clarity. Papers submitted simultaneously to other conferences must clearly state so on the title page. PAPER FORMAT Submissions must be clearly legible, with good quality print. Papers are limited to a total of twelve (12) pages, EXCLUDING title page and bibliography, but INCLUDING all tables and figures. Papers must be printed on 8-1/2 x 11 inch paper or A4 paper using 12 point type (10 characters per inch) with no more than 38 lines per page and 75 characters per line (e.g., LaTeX 12 point article style). The title page must include an abstract and email and postal addresses of all authors. Papers without this format will not be reviewed. To save paper and postage costs please use DOUBLE-SIDED printing. REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMISSION Send four (4) copies of each submitted paper to one of the conference co-chairs. Papers must be received by FEBRUARY 7, 1995 . Electronic or FAX submissions are not acceptable. Notification of acceptance or rejection will be mailed to the first (or designated) author by March 22, 1995. Camera-ready accepted papers are due on April 25, 1995. INFORMAL WORKSHOPS Proposals for informal workshops are invited in all areas of machine learning. Send a two (2) page description of the proposed workshop, its objectives, organizer(s), and expected number of attendees to the workshop chair. Proposals must be received by DECEMBER 1, 1994. Conference Co-Chairs Armand Prieditis Department of Computer Science University of California Davis, CA 95616 priediti@cs.ucdavis.edu Stuart Russell Computer Science Division University of California Berkeley, CA 94720 russell@cs.berkeley.edu Program Committee (To Be Announced). Workshop Chair Sridhar Mahadevan Department of Computer Science and Engineering University of Southern Florida 4202 East Fowler Avenue, EBG 118 Tampa, Florida 33620 mahadeva@csee.usf.edu Publicity Chair Jeff Schlimmer School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Washington State University Pullman, WA 99164-2752 schlimme@eecs.wsu.edu http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/~schlimme Local Arrangements Debbie Chadwick Department of Computer Science University of California Davis, CA 95616 chadwick@cs.ucdavis.edu GENERAL INQUIRIES Please send general inquiries to ml95@cs.ucdavis.edu . To receive future conference announcements please send a note to the publicity chair. Current conference information available online on the World-Wide Web as http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/~schlimme/ml95.html . =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM on INTELLIGENT ROBOTIC SYSTEMS '95 Pisa, Italy, 10-14 July 1995 CALL FOR PAPERS Advanced Robotics Technology and Systems Laboratory, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy Institute of Informatics and Applied Mathematics of Grenoble, Grenoble, France EC-DGXII Euroconferences THEME AND TOPICS The theme for this years symposium will be "architec- tures and technologies for functioning autonomous sys- tems." The workshop will combine invited lectures by es- tablished researchers with original presentations by junior scientists about research in progress. Topics included: o Mobile and Autonomous Robots, o Intelligent Control Architectures, o Active and Reactive Computer Vision, o Technologies for Autonomous Systems, o Surveillance Systems and Robots. ORGANISERS General Chairman James L. Crowley, LIFIA IMAG, France, 46 av. Fe'lix Viallet, 38031 Grenoble Cedex, Tel.:(33) 76574655 fax:(33) 76574602, E-mail: Jim.Crowley@imag.fr Chairman Paolo Dario, ARTS Lab, Italy, of the Programme Via Carducci 40, 56127 Pisa Committee Tel.:(39-50) 883207 fax:(39-50) 883215, E-mail: Dario@arts.sssup.it SIRS'95 Carlo Colombo, ARTS Lab, Italy, Secretariat Via Carducci 40, 56127 Pisa Tel.:(39-50) 883207 fax:(39-50) 883215, E-mail: Columbus@shamash.sssup.it Patrick Reignier, LIFIA - IMAG, France, 46 av. Fe'lix Viallet, 38031 Grenoble Cedex, Tel.:(33) 76574609 fax:(33) 76574602, E-mail: Patrick.Reignier@imag.fr The symposium is organised in cooperation with the EC Human Capital and Mobility Network SMART. SIRS'95 is also partially sponsored by the EC-DGXII Eurocon- ferences programme. A limited number of Euroconfer- ence travel grants are available for young (<36) post- graduate researchers who are citizens of the European Union. To apply for Euroconferences support---travel and registration---please contact Prof. J.L. Crowley (address given above). LOCATION The event will take place in Pisa, one of the most en- chanting art cities of Tuscany. A convenient way to reach Pisa is either by car or by airplane_Pisa airport serves both national and international connections. Direct train connections from Rome or Turin are also available. PROGRAMME COMMITTEE A. Borkowski IPPT PAN, Poland H. Christensen Institute of Electronic Systems, Denmark P. Cosoli Tecnopolis Csata Novus Ortus, Italy J.L. Crowley LIFIA - IMAG, France P. Dario Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Italy A. Dubrawski IPPT PAN, Poland F. Ferrari AITEK Srl, Italy R. Fisher University of Edinburgh, Scotland J. Goncalves CEC Joint Research Center, Italy E. Grant Turing Institute, Scotland V. Hlavac Czech Technical University, Czech Republic D. Hogg University of Leeds, England A. Kasi'nski Technical University of Pozna'n, Poland A. Maslowski PIAP-ZUM, Poland G. Sandini Universita' di Genova, Italy J. Sentiero Instituto de Sistemas e Robotica, Portugal F. Solina University of Ljubljana, Slovenia G. Sullivan University of Reading, England F. Wallner University of Karlsruhe, Germany A. Wo'zniak Technical University of Pozna'n, Poland SUBMISSION An extented abstract of four pages should be sent to the programme chairman (Prof. P. Dario, address given above). TIMETABLE Extended abstracts must be received by the programme chairman by February 15 1995. Notification of acceptance will be sent before April 15 1995. Full papers (8 pages) must be received before May 15 1995. All accepted papers will be published in the Proceedings of the Symposium. Detailed information regarding programme, conference fee, accomodation will be given in the second announcement issued in March 1995. =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CALL FOR PAPERS =============== 1995 IEEE International Symposium on Assembly and Task Planning (ISATP'95) - Towards Flexible and Agile Manufacturing - August 10-11, 1995, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Sponsored by the IEEE Robotics & Automation Society To be held in conjunction with IROS'95 Assembly and task planning plays a key role for integrating design and manufacturing. This field has the potential to produce automated and interactive tools which significantly impact the development of advanced manufacturing as well as concurrent engineering environments. The broad theme for this symposium is "Toward Flexible and Agile Manufacturing", recognizing the need for developing manufacturing environments geared to meet the future demands of the industry. The symposium will provide an international forum which draws together researchers working on different aspects of the problem of assembly and task planning in the robotics and manufacturing context. Papers are solicited for all aspect of theories, applications, and case studies related to assembly and task planning as applied to robotics and manufacturing. Topics include but are not limited to: - Design for Assembly - Assembly Representations - Assembly Sequence Planning - Tolerance Accumulation in Assembly - Assembly Cost Evaluation - Assembly Stability and Fixtures - Part Feeding and Reorientation - Workcell Planning - Action Planning - Fine Motion Planning - Gross Motion Planning - Sensor Planning - Distributed Planning - Profuction Planning - Manufacturing Process Planning - Scheduling - Planning under Uncertainty - On-line Planning and Reaction - Plan Monitoring - Error Detection and Recovery - Applications General Chair ------------- Art Sanderson, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Program Chair ------------- Sukhan Lee, JPL/CalTech and University of Southern California Organizing Committee -------------------- Damian Lyons, Philips Laboratories (Chair) Sukhan Lee, JPL/CalTech and University of Southern California Carlos Ramos, ISEP-IPP and University of Porto, Portugal Ulrich Borgolte, FernUniversitaet Hagen, Germany Rajeev Sharma, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Local Arrangements ------------------ Yangsheng Xu, Carnegie Mellon University International Liaisons ---------------------- Europe: Ulrich Borgolte, FernUniversitaet Hagen, Germany Carlos Ramos, ISEP-IPP and University of Porto, Portugal Asia: Takenori Shibata, MEL/MITI, Japan Myung-Jin Chung}, KAIST, Korea PAPER SUBMISSION ---------------- Submit by February 1, 1995 four copies of completed paper in either single column or double column format to the address given below for peer review. Upon acceptance, authors will be requested to prepare a camera-ready manuscript in IEEE format (limited to 6 pages). Submit papers to: Prof. Sukhan Lee, Program Chair Dept. of Computer Science University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA 90089-0781 Phone: (213) 740-7230 / Fax: (213)740-7285 Email: shlee@pollux.usc.edu For general information: ------------------------ Dr. Damian Lyons Philips Laboratories Philips Electronics N. America Corporation Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510 Phone: (914) 945-6444 / FAX: (914) 945-6141 Email: dml@philabs.philips.com =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A I - E D 9 5 7TH WORLD CONFERENCE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN EDUCATION * 16th - 19th August 1995 Washington DC, USA The 7th World Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AI-ED 95) is one of a series of international conferences designed to report the best research in the field of AI in Education and to provide opportunities for the cross-fertilisation of information and ideas on research and applications in this field. The conference is sponsored by the AI-ED Society of the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE) and supported by the leading organizations in the field. You are invited to submit proposals for papers, posters, tutorials, workshops, and panels. All proposals are reviewed for inclusion in the technical program. Scope ----- The technical program focuses on research activities linking Artificial Intelligence theories and techniques with Educational theory and practice. Areas of interest include but are not limited to: Intelligent tutoring systems Learning environments and microworlds Visual and graphical interfaces Human factors and interface design Non-standard and innovative interfaces Intelligent multimedia systems Authoring systems and tutoring shells Collaboration tools Principles/tools for instructional design Natural language interfaces Knowledge representation for instruction Knowledge and skill acquisition Conceptual change/Metacognition Teaching higher-order thinking skills Social and cultural aspects of learning Cognitive development and errors Student modeling, cognitive diagnosis Theories of teaching/Motivation Reading and writing Educational robotics Computer-assisted language learning Evaluation of instructional systems Assessment of learning outcomes Information for Presenters -------------------------- Details of presentation formats are given below. The general principles applying to all are: o All communication will be with the principal presenter who is responsible for communicating with co-presenters of that session. o The conference will attempt to secure all equipment needed for presenters. However, where special equipment is needed, presenters may need to provide their own. o All presenters must pay the registration fee. Proceedings ----------- Accepted papers will be published by AACE in the AI-ED 95 Proceedings. In addition, selected papers will be invited for publication in the Journal of AI in Education. Exhibition ---------- Exhibits are expected to be an integral part of the AI-ED 95 conference. Companies or institutions offering to exhibit AI-ED products are invited to complete and return the Request for Information form below. Invited Speakers ---------------- There will be invited presentations from leading researchers in the field. Conference Background --------------------- The biennial AI-ED conference series is the major international forum for AI-ED research and development. AI-ED 95 is the 7th conference in the series, previous conferences having been held in Exeter (1983, 1985), Pittsburgh (1987), Amsterdam (1989), Chicago (1991) and Edinburgh (1993). It is the second such conference to be organised by the AI-ED Society. ---------------- AI-ED COMMITTEES ---------------- AI-ED 95 Organizing Committee ----------------------------- Sharon Derry (University of Wisconsin, USA) Jim Greer (University of Saskatchewan, CANADA) Alan Lesgold (University of Pittsburgh, USA) Matthew Lewis (RAND Corporation, USA) Gary Marks (AACE, USA) John Self (Lancaster University, UK) Valerie Shute (Brooks Air Force Base, USA) Program Committee ----------------- Chair: Jim Greer (University of Saskatchewan, CANADA) Michael Baker (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, FRANCE) Paul Brna (Lancaster University, UK) Tak-Wai Chan (National Central University, TAIWAN) Susanne Lajoie (McGill University, CANADA) Alan Lesgold (University of Pittsburgh, USA) Riichiro Mizoguchi (Osaka University, JAPAN) Claus Moebus (University of Oldenburg, GERMANY) Valery Petrushin (Glushgov Institute of Cybernetics, UKRAINE) Jacobijn Sandberg (University of Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS) Valerie Shute (Brooks Air Force Base, USA) Elliot Soloway (University of Michigan, USA) Local Organizing Committee -------------------------- Chair: Christopher Dede (George Mason University) Henry Hamburger (George Mason University) Greg Kearsley (George Washington University) Andrea Luddell (Research Development Corporation) Karen McGraw (RWD Technology) AI-ED Society Executive Committee -------------------------------- Chair: John Self (Lancaster University, UK) Joost Breuker (University of Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS) Peter Brusilovsky, (Int'l. Ctr. of Scientific and Tech. Info., RUSSIA) Alex Bykat (University of Tennessee, USA) William Clancey (Institute for Research on Learning, USA) Geoff Cumming (La Trobe University, AUSTRALIA) Christopher Dede (George Mason University, USA) Pierre Dillenbourg (Universite de Geneve, SWITZERLAND) Peter Goodyear (Lancaster University, UK) Monique Grandbastien (Universite de Nancy, FRANCE) Jim Greer (University of Saskatchewan, CANADA) Lewis Johnson (University of Southern California, USA) Alan Lesgold (University of Pittsburgh, USA) Zhongmin Li (Utah State University, USA) Gordon McCalla (University of Saskatchewan, CANADA) Susan Mengel (University of Arkansas, USA) Vittorio Midoro (Istituto Tecnologie Didattiche, ITALY) Riichiro Mizoguchi (Osaka University, JAPAN) Claus Moebus (University of Oldenburg, GERMANY) Jean-Francois Nicaud (Universite de Paris, FRANCE) Rachel Or-Bach (Technion, ISRAEL) Helen Pain (University of Edinburgh, SCOTLAND) Julita Vassileva (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, BULGARIA) Martial Vivet (Universite du Maine, FRANCE) Philip Winne (Simon Fraser University, CANADA) ----------------- TECHNICAL PROGRAM ----------------- Papers ------ Papers should describe original and unpublished results of research work. All accepted papers will be published in the AI-ED 95 Proceedings and will be candidates for Best Paper Awards. Awarded papers will be invited for publication in the Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, the official journal of the AI-ED Society. Submissions: Submissions should be no longer than 8 pages, including all tables, figures, and references but excluding the cover page. Fonts should be at no smaller than 10 point (12 point pica for typewriters). Margins should be at least 1 inch all around. Each submission must include 1 cover page and 6 paper copies of the complete manuscript. The cover page should include: the title of the paper with an abstract of no more than 500 words; keywords giving a clear indication of topic and subtopic; author names with affiliations, addresses, and phone numbers; and the E-mail address of the principal author. Authors are also requested to send an electronic (text) copy of this cover page to the program chair at aied@cs.usask.ca Electronic or fax submissions of complete manuscripts WILL NOT be accepted. Posters ------- Authors are encouraged to submit reports on work in progress to the poster sessions, which provide an informal forum for introducing work in its early stages. Poster sessions enable researchers to discuss their latest results in order to gain feedback and to establish contact with similar projects. Poster sessions do not involve a formal presentation. Submissions: Poster proposals should include an approximately 3-page written description of the planned poster and should emphasize the problem; what was done; and why the work is important. The cover page should include the title of the session with presenter names, affiliations, complete addresses, phone numbers, and E-mail address of the principal presenter. Panels ------ A panel offers an opportunity for 3-5 people to present their views or results on a common theme, issue, or question. Panels should cover timely topics related to the conference areas of interest. Panel selection will be based on the importance, originality, focus, and timeliness of the topic, as well as the potential for informative (and even controversial) discussion. Submissions: Panel proposals should include: - A description of the panel topic, including why this topic is important to the AI-ED Conference attendees; no more than 1 page. - A brief position statement of each panelist; no more than 1 page each. A cover sheet should include the panel title, panelists' names and affiliations, and the panel organizer's name, affiliation, address, E- mail address and phone number. Tutorials and Workshops ----------------------- Tutorials are offered on basic and advanced topics. Tutorials are intended to provide an overview of a field; they should be based on generally accepted and balanced information. Workshops provide participants the opportunity to meet and discuss selected technical topics in an informal atmosphere which encourages the active exchange of ideas among researchers and practitioners. Tutorials/Workshops are usually a half day in length. Submissions: Proposals should include a clear description of the tutorial/workshop objectives, the intended audience, the length in hours, a 200-word abstract, a 1-page topical outline of the content, and a description of the proposer's qualifications related to the tutorial/workshop topic. ***** Submit all PAPERS, POSTERS and PROPOSALS to: ***** AI-ED 95 AACE P.O. Box 2966 Charlottesville, VA 22902 USA +-------------------------------------------------+ | AI-ED 95 Deadlines | | | | Submissions due: 6th January 1995 | | Authors notified: 20th March 1995 | | Camera Ready Copy due: 24th April 1995 | | Pre-Registration deadline: 30th June 1995 | +-------------------------------------------------+ AI-ED Society ------------- The overall aim of the Artificial Intelligence in Education (AI-ED) Society is to advance knowledge and promote research and development in the field of AI in Education. It aims to help members keep up-to-date in the field through supporting Journals, Newsletters, Conferences, and other activities of interest to members. The AI-ED Society is an international society (its 25 member Executive Committee represents 13 countries), and it seeks to support AI in Education developments throughout the international community. The AI-ED Society is a society of the AACE. Benefits of AI-ED Society Membership: - Conference discounts, e.g. for AI-ED 95 - Subscription to the quarterly Journal of AI in Education - Discounts on other AACE journals/books - Newsletters - Opportunity to participate in the development of this important field, by initiating or supporting activities on topics of concern to members. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE) ---------------------------------------------------------------- AACE (established in 1981) is a non-profit, international organization whose purpose is to advance the knowledge and quality of learning and teaching at all levels through the encouragement of scholarly inquiry related to information technology and education and the dissemination of research results and their applications through publications and conferences for its members. AACE publishes five journals: Journal of: - Artificial Intelligence in Education - Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching - Computing in Childhood Education - Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia in Education - Technology and Teacher Education Plus beginning in 1995: - International Journal of Educational Telecommunications AACE Conferences include: SITE--Society for Information Technology and Teacher Ed. International Conference (San Antonio, TX, USA; March 22-25, 1995) ED-MEDIA--World Conference on Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia (Graz, Austria; June 18-21, 1995) AI-ED--World Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (Washington, DC, USA; August 16-19, 1995) ICCE--International Conference on Computers in Education (AACE Asia-Pacific Chapter) (Singapore; December 5-8, 1995) International Headquarters for the AI-ED Society and AACE: AACE, P.O. Box 2966, Charlottesville, VA 22902 USA E-mail: AACE@virginia.edu, (804) 973-3987, FAX: (804) 978-7449 =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: IJCAI-95 IJCAI-95 will take place at the Palais de Congres, Montreal, August 20-25 1995. The biennial IJCAI conferences are the major forums for the international scientific exchange and presentation of AI research. The Conference Technical Program will include workshops, tutorials, panels and invited talks, as well as tracks for paper and videotape presentations. PAPER TRACK: SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES Topics of Interest Submissions are invited on substantial, original, and previously unpublished research in all aspects of AI, including, but not limited to: * Architectures and languages for AI (e.g. parallel hardware and software for building AI systems) * Artistic, entertainment and multimedia applications. * Automated reasoning (e.g. theorem proving, abduction, automatic programming, search, context management and truth maintenance systems, constraint satisfaction, satisfiability checking) * Cognitive modeling (e.g. user models, memory models) * Connectionist and PDP models * Distributed AI, autonomous agents, multi-agent systems and real-time issues. * Intelligent teaching systems * Knowledge Engineering and Principles of AI applications (e.g. for design, manufacturing control, grand challenge applications) * Knowledge representation (e.g. logics for knowledge, action, belief and intention, nonmonotonic formalisms, complexity analysis, languages and systems for representing knowledge) * Learning, knowledge acquisition and case-based reasoning * Logic programming (e.g. semantics, deductive databases, relationships to AI knowledge representation) * Natural language (e.g. syntax, semantics, discourse, speech recognition and understanding, natural language front ends, generation systems, information extraction and retrieval) * Philosophical foundations * Planning and reasoning about action (including the relation between planning and control) * Qualitative reasoning and naive physics (e.g. temporal and spatial reasoning, model-based reasoning, diagnosis) * Reasoning under uncertainty (including fuzzy logic and fuzzy control) * Robotic and artificial life systems (e.g. unmanned vehicles, vision/manipulation systems) * Social, economic and legal implications * Vision (e.g. color, shape, stereo, motion, object recognition, active vision, model-based vision, vision architectures and hardware, biological modeling). Timetable Submissions must be received by 6th January 1995. Submissions received after that date will be returned unopened. Authors should note that ordinary mail can sometimes be considerably delayed, especially over the new year period, and should take this into account when timing their submissions. Notification of receipt will be mailed to the first author (or designated author) soon after receipt. Notification of acceptance or rejection: successful authors will be notified on or before 20th March 1995. Unsuccessful authors will be notified by 27th March 1995. Notification will be sent to the first author (or designated author). Camera ready copies of the final versions of accepted papers must be received by the publisher in the USA by 24th April 1995. Note that at least one author of each accepted paper is required to attend the conference to present the work. General Authors should submit six (6) copies of their papers in hard copy form. All paper submissions should be to the following address. Electronic or fax submissions cannot be accepted. IJCAI-95 Paper Submissions, American Association for Artificial Intelligence, 445, Burgess Drive, Menlo Park, CA. 94025, USA. (telephone (415) 328-3123, email ijcai@aaai.org). Appearance and Length Papers should be printed on 8.5'' x 11'' or A4 sized paper. They must be a maximum of 15 pages long, each page having no more than 43 lines, lines being at most 140mm long and with 12 point type. Title, abstract, figures and references must be included within this length limit. Papers breaking these rules will not be considered for presentation at the conference. Letter quality print is required. (Normally, dot-matrix printout will be unacceptable unless truly of letter quality. Exceptions will be made for submissions from countries where high quality printers are not widely available.) Title Page Each copy of the paper must include a title page, separate from the body of the paper. This should contain: * Title of the paper * Full names, postal addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers and email addresses (where these exist) of all authors. The first postal address should be one that is suitable for delivery of items by courier service * An abstract of 100-200 words * A set of keywords giving the area/subarea of the paper and describing the topic of the paper. This information, together with the title of the paper, will be the main information used in allocating reviewers. * The following declaration: ``This paper has not already been accepted by and is not currently under review for a journal or another conference. Nor will it be submitted for such during IJCAI's review period.'' Policy on Multiple Submissions IJCAI will not accept any paper which, at the time of submission, is under review for a journal or another conference. Authors are also expected not to submit their papers elsewhere during IJCAI's review period. These restrictions apply only to journals and conferences, not to workshops and similar specialized presentations with a limited audience. Review Criteria Papers will be subject to peer review, but this review will not be ``blind'' (that is, the reviewers will be aware of the names of the authors). Selection criteria include accuracy and originality of ideas, clarity and significance of results and the quality of the presentation. The decision of the Program Committee, taking into consideration the individual reviews, will be final and cannot be appealed. Papers selected will be scheduled for presentation and will be printed in the proceedings. Authors of accepted papers, or their representatives, are expected to present their papers at the conference. Distinguished Paper Awards The Program Committee will distinguish one or more papers of exceptional quality for special awards. This decision will in no way depend on whether the authors choose to enhance their paper with a video presentation. Other Calls Calls for tutorial and workshop proposals and video presentations for IJCAI-95 will be issued shortly. =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Call for Papers 10th IEEE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON INTELLIGENT CONTROL August 27 - 29, 1995 MONTEREY MARRIOTT HOTEL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA 93940 USA SCOPE The central theme of the tenth IEEE / ISIC will be threefold: Hybrid Systems, Integrated Control and Diagnostics, and, Non-conventional Robotic Applications. Recent advances in technology and the ever increasing system complexity requires new innovative approaches to systems modeling, analysis, synthesis, and control. Hybrid systems, containing both continuous and discrete state systems interacting with each other, are essential for designing autonomous control systems. Integrated control and diagnostics is required for real-time, on-line failure detection, identification and recovery of complex systems, and requires information fusion from a diverse set of sources, i.e., sensors, controllers, databases, etc. Robotics and automation has matured to the point that robotics based applications are expanding to non-conventional fields including applications in the textiles / apparel industry, composites and the medical field. Virtual Reality and Multi-media are playing an increasing role in telerobotics (telemanipulation, teleoperation), virtual manufacturing and prototyping. Thus, the Symposium objectives are to discuss and present the most recent advances in the field. This year, emphasis will be given to enhance the European participation and encourage scientists and researchers from Europe to submit contributed papers and / or proposals for invited sessions and tutorials. TOPICS Symposium topics include, but are not limited to: adaptive control, applications / implementations (aircraft / spacecraft, automotive systems / IVHS, composites, consumer products, manufacturing systems, process control, robotics, textiles / apparel industry, underwater / land vehicles), architectures for intelligent control, autonomous control systems, CIM and FMS systems, computer control, design techniques for intelligent controllers, discrete event systems, distributed intelligent control, failure detection and identification, fuzzy systems / fuzzy control, hierarchical intelligent control, hybrid systems, knowledge-based and expert systems, linear and nonlinear systems, machine learning / adaptive systems, man-machine systems, mathematical analysis of intelligent systems, modeling of intelligent systems, multi-sensor fusion / integration, neural networks / neural control, numerical methods, planning and scheduling systems, quality control, real-time software, reconfigurable control, telerobotics, virtual prototyping, and virtual reality applications. INVITED SESSIONS / TUTORIALS Four copies of proposals for: invited sessions including all full papers and a cover letter indicating the scope of the proposed session, or, tutorials including a detailed outline of the proposed topic, must be submitted to the Invited Sessions / Tutorials Chair by MARCH 15, 1995. Invited sessions may include survey papers and possibly a panel discussion. IMPORTANT DATES March 15, 1995: Full Papers, Proposals, Due April 30, 1995: Notification of Acceptance / Rejection May 31, 1995: Final, Camera Ready Papers, Due PAPER SUBMISSION FIVE copies of the full paper in final form must be received for peer review by the Program Chair or Program Co-chair by MARCH 15, 1995. Papers should be submitted in final format with a 2-column format on 8.5 by 11 inch sheets. Each column is limited to 3 1/4 inch in width and 8 7/8 inch in length with a 3/8 inch gutter between columns. The margins are 13/16 inch on the sides, 1 1/16 inch on the top and bottom. Text is to be typed single spaced in 10 point Times Roman (or a font closely resembling this type), with 12 point inter-line spacing. The first page of the paper, centered on the top below the top margin, should include the paper title, the authors' names, and their affiliations. Six pages are allowed for each paper. Up to two additional pages will be permitted for a charge of $100 for each additional page. Illustrations are included in the page count. Papers will be reviewed by the International Program Committee. Authors will be notified of acceptance or rejection by APRIL 30, 1995. The final, camera ready papers must be mailed no later than MAY 31, 1995. General Chair: Kimon P. Valavanis Robotics and Automation Laboratory Apparel-CIM Center & The Center for Advanced Computer Studies The University of Southwestern Louisiana Lafayette, LA 70504, USA e-mail: kimon@cacs.usl.edu Fax: (318) 262-5401, Phone: (318) 482-5817 Program Chair: Frank L. Lewis Automation & Robotics Research Institute The University of Texas at Arlington 7300 Jack Newell Blvd. S. Fort Worth, TX 76118, USA e-mail: flewis@arrirs03.uta.edu Fax: (817) 794-5952, Phone: (817) 794-5972 Program Co-Chair: Dr. K. Suzanne Barber Department of ECE, ENS 240 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 78712, USA e-mail: barber@emx.cc.utexas.edu Fax: (512) 471-5532, Phone: (512) 471-6152 Local Arrangements Chair: Dr. Michael J. Lee Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA e-mail: lemi@mbari.org Fax: (408) 633-4580, Phone: (408) 633-7005 European Liaison: Dr. Kostas Kyriakopoulos Department of Mechanical Engineering National Technical University of Athens Athens, Greece e-mail: kkyria@leon.nrcps.ariadne-t.gr Publications Chair: Dr. Chaouki Abdallah Department of ECE University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA e-mail: chaouki@jemez.eece.unm.edu Phone: (505) 277-0298 Publicity Chair: Dr. Denis Gracanin Apparel-CIM Center The University of Southwestern Louisiana Lafayette, LA 70504, USA e-mail: dg@acim.usl.edu Fax: (318) 262-5401, Phone: (318) 482-5817 Invited Sessions / Tutorials Chair Dr. Nick Papanikolopoulos Department of Computer Science The University of Minnesota 200 Union St. SE Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA e-mail: npapas@cs.umn.edu Fax: (612) 625-0572, Phone: (612) 625-0163 Registration / Finance Chair: Ms. Cathy Pomier, Administrative Assistant The Center for Advanced Computer Studies The University of Southwestern Louisiana Lafayette, LA 70504, USA e-mail: cathy@cacs.usl.edu Fax: (318) 482-5791, Phone: (318) 482-6147 INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM COMMITTEE L. Acar, NIST, USA J. Albus, NIST, USA P. Antsaklis, Notre Dame University, USA H. Berenji, NASA Ames, USA D. Bhanu, University of California, Riverside, USA P. Bonissone, General Electric CR & D, USA A. De Luca, Politecnico di Torino, I T. Fukuda, Nagoya University, J M. Gini, University of Minnesota, USA G. Giralt, LAAS, F A. Grammatikos, University of Patras, GR M. Leahy, U.S. Air Force, USA S. Lee, JPL, USA A. Levis, George Mason University, USA P. Lima, Instituto de Sistemas e Robotica, P I. Lovrek, University of Zagreb, HR A. Meystel, Drexel University, USA K. Passino, Ohio State University, USA F.L. Pereira, Instituto de Sistemas e Robotica, P M. Polycarpou, University of Cincinnati, USA S. Ramaswamy, University of Texas, Austin, USA S. Smith, University of Southwestern Louisiana, USA T. Sobh, University of Utah, USA J. Sztipanovits, Vanderbilt University, USA A. Tzes, Polytechnic University, USA P. M. Taylor, University of Hull, UK M. Vajta, University of Twente, NL A. Villa, Politecnico di Torino, I J. Wen, RPI, USA T. Williams, University of Southwestern Louisiana, USA =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS Workshop on Computational Kinematics INRIA Sophia-Antipolis, France September 4-6, 1995 The aim of this workshop is to provide an account of the state of the art in Computational Kinematics. We understand here under this term that branch of kinematics research involving intensive computation not only of the numerical type, but also of a symbolic or geometric nature. The purpose of this workshop is to bring together researchers in the field of kinematics, mathematical computation and computer science to discuss research results and exchange ideas in this newly emerging field. This meeting will be held at INRIA, the french national research institute on computer science which is located on the French Riviera, near Nice. For people planning to attend the IFToMM World Congress on the Theory of Machine and Mechanisms (August 30-September 2) note that Nice and Milan are close. The organizers intend that there will be very reduced fee for this workshop. The maximum number of attendee will be around 70. Scientific Committee Chairs J-P. Merlet INRIA Sophia-Antipolis, France B. Ravani University of California at Davis, USA Members J. Angeles McGill University, Canada J. Canny Berkeley University, USA C. Gosselin Universit\'e Laval, Canada C. Hofmann Purdue University, USA G. Hommel Technische Universit\"at Berlin, Germany M. Husty Montanuniversit\"at Loeben, Austria C. Innocenti Universit\`a di Bologna, Italy D. Lazard LITP, Institut Blaise Pascal, France J. Lenarcic Jozef Stefan Institute, Slovenia N. Maizi Ecole des Mines de Paris, France B. Roth Stanford University, USA M. Wagner Technical University of Wienna, Austria Deadline: Three copies of the full paper (maximum 10 pages, preferably written in LaTeX) should be submitted before December 31, 1994 and should be sent to: European papers: J-P. Merlet E-mail: merlet@cygnusx1.inria.fr INRIA, BP. 93 Fax: (33) 93 65 76 43 06902 Sophia-Antipolis Cedex, France Non-European papers: B. Ravani E-mail: bravani@ucdavis.edu Dpt. of Mechanical Engineering Fax: (916)752-4158 University of California Davis CA 95616-5294, USA Acceptance of the paper after review by the scientific committee will be notified on March 1 and the final version of the paper will have to reach the chairmen by April, 15. =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT and CALL FOR PAPERS International Federation of Automatic Control WORKSHOP Human-Oriented Design of Advanced Robotics Systems (DARS '95) September 19-20, 1995 Vienna, Austria Institute for Handling Devices and Robotics Technical University of Vienna SPONSORED BY IFAC - International Federation of Automatic Control IFAC - TC on Social Impact of Automation (HAC) COSPONSORED BY IFAC - TC on Manufacturing Modelling, Management and Control (MIM) IFAC - TC on Robotics (MIR) IFAC - TC on Components and Instruments (MIC) IFAC - TC on Low Cost Automation (MIL) IFAC - TC on Advanced Manufacturing Technology (MIT) IFAC - TC on Man-Machine Systems (SMM) IFAC - TC on Intelligent Autonomous Vehicles (TVI) IFAC - TC on Automation in Developing Countries (IDE) INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM COMMITTEE (IPC) Chairman: T. Martin (D) Members: M. Armada (E) O. Ladanyi (A) T. Borangiu (RO) H. van der Loos (USA) D. Brandt (D) L. Mårtensson (S) C. Bühler (D) M. Nakamura(J) R. Carelli (ARG) F. Nicolò (I) P.J. Deasley (GB) A. Ollero (E) W. Düchting (D) R. Probst (A) F.Emspak (USA) U. Rembold (D) G. Fagerberg (S) T.Sato (J) J. Forslin (S) T. Sheridan (USA) G.Giralt (F) R. Schraft (D) R. Goebl (A) H.Stassen (NL) W. Gruver (CAN) T. Tarn (USA) A.Halme (SF) C. Willems (NL) P. Kopacek (A) R. vander Vorst (GB) NATIONAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE (NOC) Chairman: P. Kopacek (A) Members: I. Nemetz (A) W.Schachner (A) Workshop Editor: P.Kopacek (A) SCOPE Novel approaches for advanced robotics systems will be applied in the industrial production and in many other areas in the near future. For the employees to be able to work with these systems, new ergonomical, social and cultural aspects must be considered. At the workshop, new aspects of design and case studies shall be overviewed and discussed.All possible application areas and environments will be focussed on, including those that can dispense with human work for difficult activities in harsh, demanding or dangerous environments. Assistance for the disabled or handicapped and new applications in the services sector are particularly demanding. The outlined design aspects should deal with -) the system design, specifically of the man-machine interface, for autonomous, semi-autonomous and tele-operated mode and for tele-existence; -)the organizational and social aspects with respect to the environment in which the system is embedded; -) the cultural aspect due to different living and working traditions and conditions of the people involved; -) the economic aspects.Practical solutions (e.g. demonstrated with video) are preferred to purely theoretical consideration. CALL FOR PAPERS Contributions to the topics mentioned are welcome. Five copies of the abstract (approximately 400 words in English) should be received not later than April 1st, 1995 DEADLINES Submission of abstracts: 1st April, 1995 Notification of acceptance: 15th June, 1995 Submission of full papers: 15th August, 1995 FURTHER INFORMATION More information will be available on the information server of Vienna Technical University via gopher. Point your client to: info.tuwien.ac.at "International Activities" COPYRIGHT The material submitted for presentation at an IFAC meeting (symposium, conferen ce, workshop) must be original, not published or being considered elsewhere. Al l papers accepted for presentation will appear in the Preprints of the meeting and will be distributed to the participants. Papers duly presented will be arch ived and offered for sale, in the form of Postprint volumes, by Elsevier Scienc e Ltd., Oxford, UK. The presented papers will be further screened for possible publication in the IFAC journals Automatica and Control Engineering Practice, o r in other, IFAC affiliated journals. The abstracts of all presented papers wil l also appear in Control Engineering Practice.Copyright in material presented a t an IFAC meeting is held by IFAC. Authors will be sent a copyright transfer fo rm. Automatica, Control Engineering Practice and, after these, IFAC affiliated journals have priority access to all presented contributions. However, if the a uthor is not contacted by an editor of these journals, within three months afte r the meeting, he/she is free to re-submit the material for publication elsewhe re. In this case, the paper must carry a reference to the IFAC meeting wherit was originally presented. Authors in any doubt should consult the detailed AC Copyright conditions available from the IFAC Secretariat. LANGUAGE English will be the official language. MAILING ADDRESS Institute for Handling Devices and Robotics (E318) Technical University of Vienna Floragasse 7A A-1040 Wien Tel.: +43/1/ 504 18 35 Fax: +43/1/ 504 18 35 9 E-mail: dars@ihrt1.ihrt.tuwien.ac.at =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2nd announcement Practice and Future of Autonomous Agents: ASI-AA-95 23 September - 1 October 1995 Centro Stefano Franscini Monte Verit'a, Ticino, Switzerland (Follow-up meeting of the NATO Advanced Study Institute "The Biology and Technology of Intelligent Autonomous Agents", which took place Spring 1993 in Trento, Italy). Sponsored by: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology; Computer Science Department, University of Zurich; SGAICO (Swiss Group for Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science); Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, MIT; Applied AI Systems, Ottawa, Canada; Nippon Signal, Japan; Uchidate, Japan. Goal of the Advanced Study Institute "Practice and Future of Autonomous Agents" The goal of the Advanced Study Institute (ASI) is to bring together the world's leading experts in the field of autonomous agents (AA) for an extended period of time in order to bring the existing research community closer together and to extend it to younger researchers. As a result we expect a state-of-the-art assessment of the field, including a research agenda for the near future. We hope that many joint research endeavors will emerge from the close collaboration in the workshops. Current Situation: Autonomous Agents Research in 1995 Because technical skills about robot building are now widely available, promoting these skills at an ASI is no longer the primary objective. However, from a conceptual point of view there are still many fundamental issues in AA design that we do not yet sufficiently understand. Moreover, there is less need to provide complete coverage of all aspects of the field since by now they are well-known in the research community. For this reason the meeting will be focused on a number of core aspects of real world autonomous agents. When the study institute will take place, roughly 2 1/2 years will have passed since the one in Trento took place. Therefore, it is important to evaluate what has been achieved in the meantime. Main topics of the Advanced Study Institute The field of autonomous agents has significantly matured during the last few years. We are beyond the stage where robots are designed mainly based on intuition. It is therefore a good time to make an assessment of the current state of the theory of autonomous agents. Theory: What are the recent developments in the theory of autonomous agents? Design: How can autonomous agents be designed which show sophisticated kinds of behavior? Performance measures: How can the performance of the agents be quantified? Topic areas: The Cog project; behavioral economics approach; evolutionary approaches; "complete autonomous systems"; self-organization, learning, and grounding; dynamical systems; collective behavior; industrial session. Confirmed speakers (list to be completed): Randy Beer, Case Western Reserve University, US; Ren'e te Boekhorst, University of Zurich, CH; Rodney Brooks, MIT, US; Dave Cliff, University of Sussex, UK; Daniel Dennett, Turfts University, USA; Rodney Douglas, Oxford University, UK; Philippe Gaussier, ENSEA ETIS, F; Inman Harvey, University of Sussex, UK; Charlotte Hemelrijk, University of Zurich, CH; Phil Husbands, University of Sussex, UK; Maja Mataric, MIT, US (Brandeis University, US); David McFarland, Oxford University, UK; Gregor Sch"oner, Marseille, F; Tim Smithers, University of the Basque Country, SP; Luc Steels, Free University of Brussels, B; Takashi Gomi, Ottawa, Canada. Workshop organizers (list to be completed): Rodney Brooks, Jean-Daniel Nicoud, Marinus Maris, Lynn-Andreas Stein, Luc Steels, Tim Smithers, Christian Scheier, Matthew Marjanovic, Ren'e Schaad, Daniel Meier Francesco Mondada, Dimitrios Lambrinos, and others. Format: The ASI consists of the following parts: lectures, workshops, background lectures, poster/demo session, special robot event, panel discussions. Lectures. The lectures will provide a state-of-the-art overview of the field including the currently hottest research topics. They have a tutorial and a research aspect and should be attended by everyone. Workshops. The afternoons and some evenings are reserved for workshops. They are conducted in parallel and will consist of concrete case studies with active contributions of all the participants. This can also include presentations. The case studies will include all three aspects of AA, namely theory, design, and performance evaluation and will address questions like: How could the designs of particular agents be improved? How would the agents look like if viewed from a different design perspective? etc. Because the participants already have experience in the field these workshops will be a main forum for exchanging ideas. A list of the workshops will be announced early next year. Background lectures. To embed the topics of the workshop into a larger framework a number of background lectures will be held in the evenings. Poster/Demo Sessions. The poster and demonstration sessions will give all participants the opportunity to present their own work. This is also a forum to facilitate communication during the ASI. Panel discussions. Panel discussions will be organized to work out the strengths, weaknesses, points of agreement and disagreement of the various approaches. Special event. A special event will be organized which should capture the "spirit" of the ASI. Because the various workshop groups will have their own robots to work with, the goal is having some or all of them work together on a common task (heterogeneous collective robots). This could not only be a lot of fun, but is also of great theoretical interest. More details on this special event will be announced later. Application Procedure Deadline for applications: April 13, 1995 Notification of acceptance: May 15, 1995 The application should include: 1. Statement of contribution. A two-page description of the contribution participants plan to make in terms of demos, contribution to workshops, etc. 2. Poster/Demo. Each participant is expected to contribute a poster presentation. Demonstrations are also of great interest. An abstract should be submitted with the application. 3. Background information. A short description of the research background (CV) should be submitted with the application. 4. Robots and simulations. Participants are encouraged to bring along their own robots and/or simulation environments. It would be great to have a large variety of different types of robots for the special event. They should all think about the special event and prepare their own robots in a way that will make success on a common task/game more likely. Please state if you can bring a robot (and if yes, what kind). This is not a condition for participation. Fees Registration: academic CHF 400.00, industrial CHF 600.00 Room and board: academic CHF 800.00, industrial CHF 1400.00 Note: This includes 8 nights at the hotel, 3 meals a day, and coffee during breaks. The calculation of the costs for room and board are based on the assumption that the participants reside in the conference hotel (double rooms with a superb view of the Lago Maggiore and the Swiss and Italian mountains). If you prefer a single room, there are many local hotels available in Ascona, a nearby village which is a very popular tourist resort. Organization Director: Rolf Pfeifer, University of Zurich, Switzerland Program Committee: Rodney Brooks, MIT, Cambridge, Mass., USA Jean-Daniel Nicoud, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland Tim Smithers, University of the Basque Country, San Sebastian, Spain Luc Steels, Free University of Brussels, Belgium (organizer of the previous ASI in Trento) Takashi Gomi, Applied AI Systems, Ottawa, Canada Local organization: Autonomous Agents Research Group, AI Lab, Department of Computer Science, University of Zurich, Switzerland Further information: Rolf Pfeifer AI Lab, Computer Science Department University of Zurich E-mail: pfeifer@ifi.unizh.ch Winterthurerstrasse 190 Fax: + 41 - 1 - 363 00 35 CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland Phone: + 41 - 1 - 257 43 20/31 WWW information: Consult the following WWW page at URL: http://www.ifi.unizh.ch/asi-aa.html It will always contain the most recent program, additional information about the workshops, travel information, etc. See also ftp://ftp.ifi.unizh.ch/pub/monteverita/ASI-AA-95.txt -- Nikolaus Almassy, Department of Computer Science, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich Tel: +41 1 257 43 47, Fax: +41 1 363 00 35, almassy@ifi.unizh.ch http://josef.ifi.unizh.ch/groups/ailab/people/almassy.html For more information send empty E-mail to with "monte verita" in the subject line. It can also be accessed by World Wide Web the the URL: http://josef.ifi.unizh.ch/asi-aa.html =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ First International Conference on Computer Vision, Virtual Reality and Robotics in Medicine CVRMed'95 April 3-5, 1995 Nice, FRANCE OBJECTIVES The purpose of this first international conference is to present and publish the most innovative and promising research work in computer vision, virtual reality and robotics applied to medical problems: 1) to help diagnosis from multidimensional and multimodal images and 2) to assist therapy, especially in video surgery, interventional radiology, and radiotherapy. This domain has undergone a tremendous increase over the past few years and will be a revolution for medicine in the coming decade. This event follows a successful preliminary AAAI symposium organized in March 1994 at Stanford by N. Ayache (INRIA), E. Grimson (MIT), T. Kanade (CMU), R. Kikinis and S. Wells (chair) (both at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital). The topics addressed by this conference will include: Therapy planning, simulation and control: ----------------------------------------- .virtual and augmented reality applied to therapy control .virtual patients for surgical training .telepresence in medicine, telesurgery .image guided medical robotics .image guided therapy .using electronic anatomical atlases .virtual reality for rehabilitation Registration problems in medicine: ---------------------------------- .3D localization of patients or surgical tools .on line tracking of patient or organ motion .nonrigid matching in medical images .registration of mono or multimodal medical images .registration with electronic anatomical atlases Medical image understanding: ----------------------------- .differential geometry and multidimensional images .motion, shape and texture analysis in medical images .building and using physical deformable models .segmentation of multidimensional medical images .spectral analysis in medical images .detecting measuring pathological evolution .building electronic anatomical atlases .statistical analysis of anatomical features .representation of pictorial anatomical knowledge PAPER SUBMISSION ------------------ Four copies of complete manuscript should be received by Friday September 23, 1994, at the address: Dr. Nicholas AYACHE CVRMed'95 - INRIA 2004 Route des Lucioles - B.P.93 06902 Sophia-Antipolis Cedex - France Papers should include: ---------------------- a) A title page including the names and addresses of the authors (with e-mail), an abstract of up to 200 words, and one or more categories as listed above or other keywords. b) A single page clearly answering the following questions: 1. What is the original contribution of this work? 2. Why should this contribution be considered important? 3. What is the most closely related work by others and how does this work differ? 4. How can other researchers make use of the results of this work? 5. If this work extends or relates closely to some other work you have published, please state precisely how it differs from that work? 6. If any part of this work has been submitted to other conferences or workshops, please state where and how it is different? c) a paper, limited to 18 double space pages (12 points) including figures and references, with a maximum of 7000 words. Language policy: ---------------- Papers will be written in English. The organization will provide a French translation of the abstracts. Oral communications will be done in English. However, follow-up questions and discussions may be held in both languages. CALENDAR ---------- September 23, 1994: Submission deadline for receiving papers at INRIA November 1994: Notification to authors January 2, 1995: Camera ready received at INRIA April 2, 1995: Pre-registration in Nice April 3-5, 1995: Conference in Nice April 6, 1995: Technical tour in Sophia Antipolis PROGRAM COMMITTEE ------------------- Full length papers will be reviewed and selected by the program committee of the conference: Chairman: --------- Nicholas AYACHE (INRIA, France) Members: -------- Fred BOOKSTEIN (University of Michigan, USA) Mike BRADY (Oxford University, UK) Grigore BURDEA (Rutgers University, USA) Philippe CINQUIN (Grenoble Hospital, France) Jean-Louis COATRIEUX (INSERM, Rennes, France) Alan COLCHESTER (Guy's Hospital, London, UK) James DUNCAN (Yale University, USA) Henry FUCHS (University of North Carolina, USA) Guido GERIG (ETH-Z, Zurich, Switzerland) Erik GRANUM (Aalborg University, Denmark) Eric GRIMSON (MIT, USA) Karl-Heinz HOEHNE (University Hospital Eppendorf, Germany) Thomas HUANG (University of Illinois, USA) Takeo KANADE (Carnegie Mellon University, USA) Ron KIKINIS (Harvard Medical School, USA) Jean-Claude LATOMBE (Stanford University, USA) Tomas LOZANO-PEREZ (MIT, USA) Charles PELIZZARI (University of Chicago, USA) Richard ROBB (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA) Paul SUETENS (KULeuven, Belgium) Richard SZELISKI (DEC, Cambridge, USA) Russ TAYLOR (IBM, Yorktown Heights, USA) Demetri TERZOPOULOS (University of Toronto, Canada) Jean-Philippe THIRION (INRIA, France) Jun-ichiro TORIWAKI (Nagoya University, Japan) Alessandro VERRI (University of Genoa, Italy) Max VIERGEVER (University Hospital Utrecht, The Netherlands) William WELLS (Harvard Medical School, USA) SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATION ------------------------- G. MALANDAIN and Epidaure Group (INRIA, France) PRACTICAL ORGANIZATION ------------------------ The conference will take place at Hotel Meridien in Nice, France, at a prestigious address: 1, Promenade des Anglais (the heart of the French Riviera, right in front of the mediterranean sea!) from April 3 to 5, 1995. The conference will be followed, on April 6, by a technical tour in Sophia-Antipolis, to visit the computer vision, graphics and robotics laboratories of INRIA (120 scientists). The meeting will be composed of a single track of oral presentations (long and short) with a number of poster sessions. The proceedings of the conference will be published by Springer- Verlag in the series "Lecture Notes in Computer Science". We plan to have a selection of the best papers to appear in a dedicated book or a special issue of a journal. LOCAL ORGANIZATION -------------------- The organizing body for the conference will be INRIA (National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control) in Sophia Antipolis, France. INFORMATION ------------- INRIA Unite de Recherche de Sophia Antipolis Relations Exterieures Bureau des colloques 2004, route des lucioles - BP 93 06902 SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS CEDEX FRANCE Tel: + 33 - 93 65 78 64 Fax: + 33 - 93 65 79 55 E-mail: Monique.Simonetti@sophia.inria.fr =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PAPERS (ABSTRACTS) SYMPOSIUM ON AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS IN MINE COUNTERMEASURES April 4-7, 1995 U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California With sponsorship from the Office of Naval Research, and with cooperation from agencies including ARPA, the U.S. Army Counter-Mine Program, the U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Warfare Technical Center, and the U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technical Center, the Naval Postgraduate School announces a Technical Symposium to define and explore the present and potential future prospects for autonomous systems in mine countermeasures applications. Both military and environmental applications are considered. This is a major technical symposium on the state-of-the-art and potential for the use of robotics approaches to deal with the problem of mines, booby traps, and other obstacles, toxic waste disposal, environmental monitoring and remediation. Intended Audience. This symposium is for mine warfare and hazardous materials disposal specialists in each of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps plus the Coast Guard); the Service and DoD Acquisition Community; personnel from mission-oriented laboratories of each of the Services; technical specialists from the Department of Energy National Laboratories; the Environmental Protection Agency; the Federal Emergency Management Agency; the Intelligence, and the Academic Communities. The symposium draws upon the research and development activities of the government laboratories, academe, and industrial laboratories. The symposium should prove beneficial to industrial suppliers and manufacturers who seek application of dual-use technology and processes. General Plan and Format of Symposium. The symposium will be held at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, over a 4-day period. The format includes a series plenary sessions on systems requirements and concepts presentations from distinguished speakers and technical sessions that address the technologies of the major systems elements. The symposium will be UNCLASSIFIED. A ÒProceedings of the SymposiumÓ will be prepared and furnished to attendees. A modest registration fee will cover the overhead costs of the symposium plus session meals and refreshments. The plan is to have a mix of invited and submitted papers, and panel discussion sessions. Contributions are requested and will be selected on the basis of a review of an abstract. ABSTRACTS SHOULD BE 500 WORDS IN LENGTH and should be mailed or faxed on or before November 1, 1994 to: Albert M. Bottoms Visiting Professor of Undersea Warfare (Mine Warfare) U.S. Naval Postgraduate School (Code UW) Monterey CA 93943. Tel: (408) 656-2535 Fax: (408) 656-3679 E-mail: ambottom@nps.navy.mil Prospective authors will be notified of acceptance by January 15,1994, and full papers will be due by March 15, 1995. Point papers or original contributions of technical subject material will be accepted on the following topics: A-VEHICLE SYSTEMS: Existing (tethered or semi-autonomous), Bottom crawlers, Swimming, Amphibious/Land, Air, Space; B-POWER PLANTS: Off-board, Air Breathing, Electrical, Chemical, Computation of Energy Budgets; C-SENSORS: Acoustic, Magnetic, UEP, Optical, Tactile, Nuclear, Biological, Sensor Fusion and Image Enhancement; D-MISSION PACKAGES: Destructive, Marking, Classification, Removal, Systems Integration ; E-CONTROL: Off- Board Group Navigation, Obstacle Avoidance and Reporting, Operator Interfaces; F-OPERATIONS RESEARCH / TACTICS: Campaign Analyses, Tactical Analysis, Simulation and Trade-Off Methodologyies, Operational Test and Evaluation; G-ENVIRONMENTS: Surf Zone, Estuarine and Riverine, Physical Characterization, Chemical Characterization, Biological, Geological; H-MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY AND DUAL-USE POSSIBILITIES : Dual-Use and Production Economics, Sources of Manufacturing Technology, Evolutionary Acquisition. Product and Technology Displays. Display areas will be provided for organizations and industrial groups to show video or put up small static displays and provide literature, reprints of papers, etc. Planning Horizons: Research Abstracts due in Monterey: November 1, 1994 Prospective Authors Notified: January 15, 1995 Camera Ready Copy due in Monterey: March 15, 1995 Symposium sponsors emphasize that we are deliberately looking beyond the individuals and organizations that are usually involved on military and Navy R&D. We are convinced that there are many investigators who are following paths very relevant to Navy needs who do not know of those needs; nor do government project people know of all investigators. Users of Internet will find updated Symposium information in the comp.robotics newsgroup and on the World Wide Web NPS Symposium Homepage at the following URL: ftp://ftp.nps.navy.mil/pub/usw/av_mcm.html =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ EPIA'95 WORKSHOPS - CALL FOR PARTICIPATION APPLICATIONS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO ROBOTICS AND VISION SYSTEMS WORKSHOP Seventh Portuguese Conference on Artificial Intelligence Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal October 3-6, 1995 (Under the auspices of the Portuguese Association for AI) INTRODUCTION The Seventh Portuguese Conference on Artificial Intelligence (EPIA'95) will be held at Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal, between October 3-6, 1995. As in previous cases ('89, '91, and '93), EPIA'95 will be run as an international conference, English being the official language. The scientific program includes tutorials, invited lectures, demonstrations, and paper presentations. The Conference will include three parallel workshops on Expert Systems, Fuzzy Logic and Neural Networks, and Applications of A.I. to Robotics and Vision Systems. These workshops will run simultaneously (see below) and consist of invited talks, panels, paper presentations and poster sessions. Applications of Artificial Intelligence to Robotics and Vision Systems Workshop may last for either 1, 2 or 3 days, depending on the quantity and quality of submissions. APPLICATIONS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO ROBOTICS AND VISION SYSTEMS WORKSHOP During the last few years, Artificial Intelligence techniques have been successfully applied to a large number of problems in robotics and computer vision. This workshop aims to provide an overview of such applications specially featuring real prototypes and systems (e.g., robotic insects, autonomous mobile robots, etc.). The availability of demonstrations (robots, vision systems, videos and demonstration software) is highly appreciated and will be taken into account in assessing submissions. The workshop will be divided into two areas: paper presentations and system exhibitions, where prototypes related to the presentations will be demonstrated. The organization invites you to participate in the workshop via paper presentations and/or system demonstrations. EXHIBITIONS In order to illustrate and to support theoretical presentations the organization will provide adequate conditions (space and facilities) for exhibitions regarding the three workshops mentioned. These exhibitions can include software running systems (several platforms are available), video presentations (PAL-G VHS system), robotics systems (such as robotics insects, and autonomous robots), and posters. On the one hand, this space will allow the presentation of results and real-world applications of the research developed by our community and, on the other it will serve as a source of motivation to students and young researchers. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS Authors are asked to submit five (5) copies of their papers to the submissions address by May 2, 95. Notification of acceptance or rejection will be mailed to the first (or designated) author on June 5, 95, and camera ready copies for inclusion in the workshop proceedings will be due on July 3, 95. Each copy of submitted papers should include a separate title page giving the names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses (where available) of all authors, and a list of keywords identifying the subject area of the paper. Papers should be a maximum of 16 pages and printed on A4 paper in 12 point type with a maximum of 38 lines per page and 75 characters per line ( corresponding to LaTeX article style, 12 pt). Double sided submissions are preferred. Electronic or faxed submissions will not be accepted. Further inquiries should be addressed to the inquiries address. ATTENDANCE Each workshop will be limited to at most fifty people. In addition to presenters of papers and posters, there will be space for a limited number of other participants chosen on the basis of a one- to two-page research summary which should include a list of relevant publications, along with an electronic mail address if possible. A set of working notes will be available prior to the commencement of the workshops. Registration information will be available in June 1995. Please write for registration information to the inquiries address. DEADLINES ~~~~~~~~~ Papers submission: ................. May 2, 1995 Notification of acceptance: ........ June 5, 1995 Camera Ready Copies Due: ........... July 3, 1995 PROGRAM-CHAIR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joao Paulo Costeira (CMU, USA) ORGANIZING-CHAIR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jose Santos-Victor (IST, Portugal) SUBMISSION AND INQUIRIES ADDRESS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EPIA'95 Aplic. of AI to Robotics & Vision Workshop INESC, Apartado 13069 1000 Lisboa Portugal Voice: +351 (1) 310-0325 Fax: +351 (1) 525843 Email: epia95-ARVWorkshop@inesc.pt PLANNING TO ATTEND ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ People planning to submit a paper or/and to attend the workshop are asked to complete and return the following form (by fax or email) to the inquiries address standing their intention. It will help the workshop organizer to estimate the facilities needed and will enable all interested people to receive updated information. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ | REGISTRATION OF INTEREST | | (Applications of AI to Robotics & Vision Workshop) | | | | Title . . . . . Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | | Institution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | | Address1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | | Address2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | | Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | | Telephone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fax . . . . . . . . . . | | Email address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | | I intend to submit a paper (yes/no). . . . . . . . . . . . . . | | I intend to participate only (yes/no). . . . . . . . . . . . . | | I will travel with ... guests | +----------------------------------------------------------------+ =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 26th International Symposium on Industrial Robots 4-6 October 1995 Singapore Suntec City Convention and Exhibition Centre Please also note that 1995 is also the official 'Visit Singapore' year, and the tourist promotion board has prepared many other entertaining programs for our foreign visitors and guest. CALL FOR PAPERS =============== 26th International Symposium on Industrial Robots 4-6 October 1995 Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Center Singapore In 1995, The 26th International Symposium on Industrial Robots (ISIR) will take place, for the first time, in Southeast Asia. The ISIR, the prestigious international symposium organised under the auspices of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) is held annually since 1970. This symposium will focus on the economics of robotic applications as well as present emerging technologies from leading researchers and manufacturers. Hence the theme: "Competitive Automation: New Frontiers, New Opportunities" To this end, we invite papers from users on case studies of successful applications of robotics in enhancing manufacturing competitiveness which will encourage the diffusion of robotics in this part of the world. Delegates to the 26th ISIR will thus be able to benefit both from the knowledge and expertise of researchers and manufacturers, as well as experience of users. There are three general areas of interest for 26th ISIR: Management/Business - National policies and programmes - Human resource aspects - Business strategies Applications - Manufacuring - Quality Assurance - Services - Medical - Defence - Construction - Argriculture and mining Technology - Robotic systems and design - Intelligence - Emerging technologies - Computer Integrated Manufacturing - Peripherals - Simulation - Robot Vision You are invited to submit abstract(s) for consideration, which should provide sufficient information to allow the assessment of the scope and contents of the paper, and please include: - Title of the paper - Author's name / Biographical data - Speaker's name / Affiliation - Organisation / Company and address - Telephone / Fax and e-mail id (if available) The deadline for the submission of abstracts is 30 November 1994. Abstracts and any enquiries can be directed to me at Dr. K.B. Lim Chairman, Local Technical Prgramme Committee c/o National University of Singapore Mechanical & Production Engineering Department 10 Kent Ridge Crescent Singapore 0511 Republic of Singapore Tel: (65)-772-2891 Fax: (65)-779-1459 e-mail: mpelimkb@leonis.nus.sg (internet) mpelimkb@nusvm.bitnet (bitnet) or at our conference secretariat The 26th ISIR Secretariat Expoconsult Pte Ltd 100, Beach Road, #26-00 Shaw Tower Singapore 0718 Republic of Singapore Tel: (65)-299-9273 Fax: (65)-299-9782 Looking forward to your support and Do come and visit our island country. An International Showcase of Solutions ====================================== The 26th ISIR is held with ROBOTICS'95, the Asian International Exhibition on Robotic and Vision Technology. It represents an unparallel opportunity for manufacturers of robots and vision systems to market their products and expertise into the vast and rapidly developing Asian Market. Products and services appearing in this exbibition are: Industrial Robots, Machine Vision systems, Peripherals, Automation systems and services. Other related exhibitions held concurrently are: FA'95 Factory Automation machinery, equipment, tools, materials and accessories. MANUSOFT'95 Manufacturing solutions and process software. TRANSFLUID'95 Power transmission pneumatics, hydraulics and fluid control technology. LOGISMAT'95 Material handling, storage, transportation, warehousing and distribution. Together with ROBOTICS'95 and the 26th ISIR, these events give a complete platform serving as an "one-stop shop" for the industrial automation industry. Background of ISIR and IFR ========================== The ISIR is organised by the International Fderation of Robotics (IFR), which, with the membership of twenty-five member of twenty-five member countries, has become recognised as the major representative of robotic interest throughout the world. With its support, this symposium has made significant contributions to the development and application of robotic technology since its inception in 1970. The staging of this event in Singapore - the first Asian country outside Japan to have the honour of hosting it - leads recognition to Singapore role as the gateway to this vast and dynamic market. SINGAPORE 1995 - "Meet in Singapore" year ========================================= 1995 is the 'Meet-in-Singapore" year and a host of exciting activities has been planned by the government and private organisations to welcome visitors to our garden city. We welcome all reseachers, practitioners and users of robotic technology from all over the world to meet in Singapore for the 26th ISIR for a fruitful exchange of ideas and enjoy the gracious hospitability and warmth of exciting Asia. =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1996 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION (sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society) The 1996 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation will take place at Minneapolis Hilton and Towers, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 22 - 28, 1996. The General Chair is Norman Caplan from the National Science Foundation, and the Program Chair is C. S. George Lee from Purdue University. The Deadline for paper submission is September 15, 1995. Six copies of each paper must be sent to: C. S. George Lee 1285 Electrical Engineering Building School of Electrical Engineering Purdue University West Lafayette, IN 47907-1285, U.S.A. Fax: (317) 494-6951 Phone: (317) 494-1384 E-mail: csglee@ecn.purdue.edu The official Call for Papers with the Program Committee members and all conference details is forthcoming soon. =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MFI'96: 1996 IEEE/SICE/RSJ International conference on Multisensor Fusion and Integration for Intelligent Systems (Maybe held in Oct 1996) Main topics: - Algorithms for sensor fusion and integration - Sensing Architectures - Implementation - Applications Further info.: Masatoshi Ishikawa Department of Mathematical Engineering and Information Physics University of Tokyo Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113, Japan TEL: 81-3-5800-6569 FAX: 81-3-5800-6969 Email: ishikawa@k2.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp =------------------------------------------------------------------------------ In addition to those listed above many other annual conferences are held. Here are a few of them: Annual International Conference of IEEE on Robotics and Automation (ICARA) Annual Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems Annual Symposium on Industrial Robots International Symposium of Robotics Research Autonomous Intelligent Systems International Conference on Computer Vision British Machine Vision Conference IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Conference IMAC/SICE International Symposium on Robotics, Mechatronics and Manufacturing Systems. American Association for Artificial Intellignece (AAAI) Probably the largest and most prestigious conference on AI. Now sponsoring a robot competition at the annual AAAI conference. ------------------------------ [5.2] Competitions There are a number of robot gatherings where robot builders can bring their creations to show and compete with others. Competition List AAAI Robot Competitions AUVS International Aerial Robotics Competition AUVS Ground Robotics Competition BEAM Robot Olympics Hong-Kong Robot Ping Pong Competition IEEE Micromouse Competitions IJCAI Robot Competition International Festival of Science and Technology International Fire-Fighting Home Robot Contest SAE Walking Machine Decathalon Sumo Robot Competition Western Candian Robot Games Steve Rainwater also maintains a robot contests and competitions list that is posted regularly to comp.robotics Internet srainwater@ncc.com Fax 214-650-1929 BBS 214-258-1832 ------------------------------ AAAI Robot Competitions: Each year, starting in 1990, at the annual meeting of the American Association of Artificial Intelligence a robotics competition is sponsored. Rules and locations vary from year to year. See conference announcements for details. ------------------------------ AUVS International Aerial Robotics Competition: The AUVS International Aerial Robotics Competitiont is a competition sponsored by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems (See above) to encourage aspiring engineers and scientists to pursue careers in fields allied to unmanned system technology, particularily in the more difficult realm of unmanned aerial vehicles. It is a yearly competition held on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA. The general goal of the competition is to create autonomous flying vehicles capable of carrying out a set of predefined tasks. The vehicles must compete based on their ability to sense the structured enviroment of the Competition Arena. They may be intelligent or preprogrammed, but they must not be flown by a remote human operator. The vehicles must start from a designated starting area within the arena, locate a pick-up ring containing six randomly placed disks, and transfer each disk one at a time to a drop-off ring. A three-foot high central barrier separates the rings that are six feet in diameter and 80 feet apart. The entire arena is 60' x 120'. The FAQ is available at: ftp://usc.edu/pub/nn_robotics/other/auvsarc/auvsarc.FAQ.Z or at: http://www.usc.edu/dept/robotics/other/auvsarc/auvsarc.html or email to auvsarc-request@robotics.usc.edu ------------------------------ AUVS Ground Robotics Competition: The objective of this competition is to build a completely autonomous vehicle capable of navigating itself around a grass track outlined with white lines. There are also obstacles on the track to avoid (so far red and white hay bales, and a sand pit last year). Below is a copy of LAST YEAR's rules: AUVS Competition Rules and Regulations 1994 International Ground Robotics Competition OBJECTIVE: To autonomously navigate around an outdoor obstacle course in the shortest time. PRIZE: Student team with the winning entry will receive a $10,000 prize. TIME & LOCATION: 20-22 May 1994 Oakland University Rochester, Michigan 48309 General Rules: 1. Vehicles must be unmanned and autonomous. They must compete based on their ability to sense the course environment independent of any human operator. 2. Competition is intended for university (graduate/undergraduate) student teams. Only student teams can be awarded prize money. 3. Each vehicle must be equipped with both a manual and remote emergency stop button. The Emergency stop button must engage the vehicle brakes and stop the engine. Vehicles judged to be unsafe will not be allowed to compete. 4. A RF data link will be provided for emergency stop only. All other sensing and control equipment must be carried on board the vehicle. 5. Judges will be assigned to determine compliance with all rules. In the event of any conflict, the judges decision will be final. Judges will stop or disqualify any vehicle which appears to be a safety hazard. Vehicle Entries: The competition is designed for a small rugged outdoor vehicle, such as an All Terrain Vehicle. Vehicle chassis can be fabricated or commercially bought. Entries must conform to the following measurements: Length: Minimum length 3 feet; Maximum length 9 ft. Width: Not to exceed 5 feet. Height: Not to exceed 6 feet (excluding emergency stop antenna) ------------------------------ BEAM Robot Olympics: Contact: Mark Tilden BEAM stands for Biology, Electronics, Art and Mechanics -- which were the original concepts behind BEAM. Draw from biology into electronics and mechanics and make it artful. Tilden advocates using the parts from discarded electronics items such as Walkmans, disk drives, etc., to make machines that moved. He avoids the use of computers and microcontrollers in his machines. The original SolarRunner consisted of parts from a Walkman, a solar cell from a solar calculator, some brass tubing, part of a printer roller, a couple of transistors, a zener diode, a capacitor and a resistor. Most, if not all, of Tilden's machines are solar powered and autonomous. Articles on the BEAM Olympics: Dewdney, A.K. Photovores: Intelligent Robots are Constructed From Castoffs. Scientific American Sept 1992, v267, n3, p42(1) Maylon, John. At the Robot Olympics. Whole Earth Review. Spring 1992, pp 80-84. Smit, Michael C., and Mark Tilden, Beam Robotics. Algorithm, Vol. 2, No. 2, March 1991, Pg 15-19 ------------------------------ Hong-Kong Robot Ping Pong Competition: Contact: Robin Bradbeer ------------------------------ IEEE Micromouse Competitions: In 1979 the IEEE Spectrum ran the first micromouse competition and many hundreds of these contests are run every year. Some are still under the auspices of the IEEE but many more are not. Official IEEE/ABEC Rules and much more are located here: http://www.ceas.rochester.edu:8080/ee/users/weisberg/mouse.html ftp://ftp.ee.rochester.edu/pub/weisberg/Micro-Mouse/* IEEE Robot Olympics and MicroMouse Competition Committee BEAM/IEEE Robot Olympics and MicroMouse Competition Committee BEAM/IEEE Robot Games micro-mouse@ieee.org or mouse@sunee.uwaterloo.ca c/o Edward Spike E & CE Dept. University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L3G1. (519)888-4567, X-3716, fax:(519)888-6197 spike@eestaff.watstar.uwaterloo.ca This year's Australian Micromouse Championship, OZ Mouse '94, is to be held in Sydney on Sunday 27 November, hosted by the Universities of Queensland and Wollongong in conjunction with the IEE and IEEE. For more details contact: Gordon Wyeth < wyeth@elec.uq.oz.au> A copy of rules (a bit old) may be found at ftp://ftp.ece.ucdavis.edu/pub/umouse/admin/rules.txt. Micromouse mazes are available at: ftp://ftp.ece.ucdavis.edu/pub/umouse/mazes. ------------------------------ The Second annual Picnic Day Micromouse Contest at UC Davis. Saturday, April 22, 1995 URL: http://www.ece.ucdavis.edu/ under misc. Last year for this event, we packed a 450 person lecture hall to the bursting point. We had closed circuit TV set up so that even the people in the back could see at least reasonably well. It was a real blast last year, so don't miss out on the fun this year! This contest helps provide a trial run for new mice, so that they will be well prepared to enter officially sanctioned IEEE contests. In our case, the local contest will take place two weeks following Picnic Day. This is an open contest, and anyone may participate. Last year, we had about 8 participants, one from as far away as UC San Diego (~600 miles). The mazes, as last year, will be created by a neutral third party, and will not be revealed until shortly before the start of the contest. If anyone thinks they may be interested in participating, I would appreciate a quick reply, so that I may add you to my mailing list. If anyone has contacts (pref. e-mail) with any school active in micromouse, I would very much appreciate a quick note. Last year, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) sponsored this contest and provided a trophy for the winner. (Last year, that was University of Nevada, Reno.) I am hopeful they will do likewise this year. More information will be forthcoming as the time approaches. This will include an online copy of the rules under which the contest will be run. Jeff Collins -- For more information on Micromousing (rules, past mazes and times, etc.), contact the North American Micromouse Association (NAMA) at: MicroMom aka. Sue Rosenbaum 1086 Central Ave. Plainfield, NJ 07061 tel: 908.757.6749 ------------------------------ IJCAI-95 Robot Competition Raja Chatila (raja@laas.fr) and Dave Miller (dmiller@azrael.mitre.org) are robotic events co-organizers for IJCAI-95 in Montreal next August. If you think you might be interested in participating in any of the events described below, or would like some additional information, please feel free to drop Raja or Dave a line. To get on the mailing list for these events send email to Dave Miller, dmiller@azrael.mitre.org 1) Robot Competition 95: This event will be similar to the robot competition held at AAAI-94. Research robots will compete in a set of generalized navigation and navigation/manipulation tasks. As in the 94 contest, the bulk of the trials will be done offline, and the finals and an exhibition will be held during a public session for the conference. David Kortenkamp (korten@mickey.jsc.nasa.gov) is the point of contact for more details on this event. 2) Intelligent Wheelchair Competition: This is another robot contest, but this time the focus is on a particular application: robotic mobility assistants for the severly disabled. The competition tasks will include things such as room to room navigation, speed trials down crowded hallways and through doorways, and docking with desks and tables. Each robot must be able to carry a human user, and all communications with the robot must be done by the user (no radios, etc). The contest goals are to see who can make the most capable chair with the best user interface (if a user could type well, or operate a joystick competently, than an ordinary wheelchair would do!). Contact: ijcai-wheelchair@azrael.mitre.org To encourage participation in this new event, especially in institutions that have not yet dealt with assistive robotics, KISS Institute for Practical Robotics (kipr@src.umd.edu) has assembled a low-cost intelligent wheelchair starter system and is selling it, at cost, to schools interested in this IJCAI event. Send them some mail for more info. 3) Robot exhibition (not-so-stupid robot tricks) This will be a time and place for some unique robot systems to show off their stuff. The participants in this event should have a demonstration that is dynamic and of wide appeal. Examples might include: bi-pedal walking robots; robot teams playing soccer (football); robot interpretive (non-random) dance. This is not meant to be an industrial robot show, and product demonstrations will not be strongly discouraged. This is meant to be an intelligent and innovative robot show. More information on all of these events will be forthcoming, but his to get everyone started thinking. Hope to see you all in Montral, contact: David P. Miller 7525 Colshire Drive Principal Scientist MS Z421 MITRE Corporation McLean, VA 22102, USA voice: (703) 883-7667 FAX: (703) 883-6435 ------------------------------ International Festival of Science and Technology LA FERTE BERNARD FRANCE ROBOT WORLD CONTEST Introduction: The object of the challenge is to build a robot which is capable of carrying out a series of different movements within a minimum amount of time. The challenge will take place from 22 to 28 May, 1995 at la Ferte Bernard, as part of the "International Festival of Science and Technology", with the Minister for Higher Education and Research, Mr Francois Fillon, presiding. The challenge is restricted to students and, in order to participate, teams must be nominated by their colleges or universities. Teams - which will be made up of five members - will arrive with their robots already assembled. These must then be adapted to the circuit which will be revealed at the start of the challenge. The challenge will take place non-stop over 24 hours in front of an audience. The atmosphere will be very exciting and competitive. The challenge will take place non-stop over 24 hours in front of an audience. The atmosphere will be very exciting and competitive. General Specifications: The teams will be made up of five people. Each team may include one teacher and one past-pupil of the school or institute which it is representing. To ensure that the robot's design is original, there must be evidence of a partnership agreement with either an art college or the design department of a specialist school. The robot must be able to move independently and recognise five red French billiards balls placed along the course. The balls must be brought back to the finishing area. The robot must be able to move independently and recognise five red French billiards balls placed along the course. The balls must be brought back to the finishing area. The track will be laid out in a 10 x 10 m square. The outermost axis of the track will be 66 cm from the edge of the circuit. The minimum radius of curvature on the track will be 100 cm, including the walls and edges of the stage. The track will be painted either black or white and will be made of 3 mm thick plywood fixed to the ground. Different prizes will be awarded for different skills. It is planned to have a number of categories, as follows: * speed category * design and innovation category * audience and spectator category * industry category We hope to see you at the next Science and Technology Festival which will take place from 22 to 28 May 1995. More information: uguen@world-net.sct.fr ------------------------------ International Fire-Fighting Home Robot Contest The Connecticut Robotics Society and Trinity College are again sponsoring the international Fire-Fighting Home Robot contest on Sunday, April 23, 1995 at the Trinity College campus in Hartford, Ct. The contest is open to everyone and has different categories which will enable anyone of any age, ability or experience level to compete and possibly win. The challenge will be to build a computer controlled Robotic device (not radio-controlled) that can move through a model of a single floor of a house, look for fire (a lit candle), and then extinguish it. The model house will be eight feet by eight feet with walls, hallways and rooms. Contestants will be given the exact layout of the house with the official rules. The Robot that searches the house, finds the candle, and extinguishes it in the shortest time will win. The Robots must be less than one foot on a side and can be tethered to a personal computer or controlled by a self-contained microprocessor. There will be different judging criteria so that any Robot can be a winner regardless of its simplicity, complexity or sophistication. This all-day international event will be the culmination of months of work and effort by Robotists of all ages and from all over. Last year's contest generated inquiries and participants from 41 states and 27 foreign countries. The entrants ranged from MIT professors to fourth graders. There will be two divisions in this yearÕs contest. A Junior division for those in High School and younger and a Senior division for everyone else. There will be a prize of $1,000 awarded to the top winner in each division with additional prizes to other winners in those divisions. All entrants will receive an award and there will be separate special prizes for the winners in each category. For a copy of the rules and to be put on the official mailing list, please send $3 (cash, check or money order) to Jake Mendelssohn, 190 Mohegan Drive, West Hartford, CT 06117 For more information contact: jake.mendelssohn@circellar.com ------------------------------ SAE Walking Machine Decathalon The Ninth Annual SAE National Robotic Walking Machine Decathlon Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado April 6-9, 1995 Registration deadline is December 31, 1994. Colorado State University Department of Mechanical Engineering National Walking Machine Decathlon Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523 tel: 303.491.6559 fax: 303.491.1055 net: walk@LANCE.ColoState.Edu http://www.lance.colostate.edu/~chriso/walking.html or ftp://bill.lance.colostate.edu:/pub/walking If you do not have access to the WWW and you would like a text copy of the brochure, send email and I'll mail you a copy. Chris Olson Registration deadline: December 31, 1994 Decathalon: The decathlon is a national competition sponsored by SAE to involve undergraduate engineers in the creative design of machines that walk. The competition includes preparation and presentation of a paper, judging of over-all design merits, and the ten walking events. Judges are representatives >from the robotics industry. Social events, a keynote speaker, and tours are also provided. A detailed rules and registration packet is available. Team Spirit: This competition emphasizes collaboration of engineering disciplines in a teamwork environment. It encourages students to be organized, to cooperate, and to share knowledge from their respective fields, resulting in an experience that closely models the real-world workplace. What is a walking machine? A walking machine is a mobile machine propelled by articulated mechanisms, or "legs." Each leg must have one or more joints or hinges by which it moves relative to all other legs or the frame, supporting the machine discontinuously. A leg may pivot, slip, or slide on the supporting surface during walking motion, but it cannot roll. Wheeled or tracked vehicles are excluded. Walking machines have potential applications in space exploration, undersea missions, mining, radioactive and other dangerous environments, the military, and mobility for the handicapped. Judging and Awards Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three teams based on total points accumulated. All teams will receive recognition awards. History: The National Robotic Walking Machine Decathlon was initiated in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Colorado State University in 1986. The idea was to create a student design competition at the cutting edge of technology with an emphasis on design. In eight years it has gone from a competition in which none of the four machines present were able to complete the first event, to one where there are some very capable machines completing all ten events, and in which there is close competition. The events themselves continue to evolve to reflect relevant applications of robotics technology. The events traditionally have included such tasks as stair climbing, maneuvering through obstacles, and autonomous sensor guidance. ------------------------------ Sumo Robot Competition: Sumo is a traditional Japanese sport in which two very large half-naked men try to push each other out of a circle called the Dohyou. The winner of the game is the guy who has not touched the ground with his hand or hasn't stepped out of the circle before the other guy did. There is a Robot Sumo Tournament in Japan, that is held in December every year in Tokyo. The rule of the Tournament is same as the real Sumo except two robots fight rather than naked guys. The task of the game is quite simple: push the opponent out of the circle. The regulations are as follows: 1. The area of the base cannot exceed 20cmX20cm before game starts, It is unlimited in height and can expand after the game starts. 2. The weight cannot exceed 3kg. 3. Use of internal/external combustion engine is prohibited. 4. Intention to harm the opponent or the Dohyou (playground which includes the circle) is not allowed. 5. Contestants are free to choose control techniques, but they are divided into 2 categories: Radio Controlled: Contestants can use ordinary commercial R/C equipment and remotely guide their robots. Stand-alone: Robots cannot be controlled externally by contestants with the exception of pushing a start button when the contest begins. To avoid interference with the humans who set the robots on the Dohyou, the Stand Alone category has a special rule which says that the game will starts exactly 5 seconds after the official signals the start. It means that the contestant will push a start button (or some- thing else) for the robot the same time as the offical's signal. The robot must keep the start position for 5 seconds, and the person who pushed the button must leave the Dohyou in that time. Therefore, the robots in the Stand Alone category must have at a start button and a means of timing the five seconds. Progression in the competition consists of three game matches between randomly selected robots. Last year [1992] 150 robots were in the Radio Controlled category and 190 were in the Stand Alone category. If you beat six or seven opponents, you can win the first prize of 1,000,000Yen or US$7,700. The second prize is 500,000Yen or US$3,850. [edited from a message by Mato Hattori] A video called "Mostly Sumo" is available from Media Magic at 415-662-2426. Their FAX is 415-662-2225. [As of Dec 1994, the video was sold out - check again in mid-Jan 1995] ------------------------------ Western Canadian Robot Games Fourth Annual! New this year is the addition of 4 BEAM events (Solaroller, Photovore, Walkers, and Aesthetics). More details will be available as soon as the rulebook is available. In the interest of promoting science and technology to the public and foster enthusiasm and creativity amongst students, the Western Canadian Robot Games committee holds an annual robotic contest in a centralized western Canadian location. This email message is sent to you in the hopes you may pass it on to suitable instructors, professors, staff and students to invite them to our next contest! If you would like to be included on our mailing list or receive our brochure, please provide me with an email or postal address. *** SAIT IEEE *** *** WESTERN CANADIAN ROBOT GAMES *** *** Fourth Annual Competition *** *** and Exhibition *** *** April 8, 1995 *** The IEEE student branch at SAIT challenge all SUMO alumni, students, instructors, and inventive individuals to design and enter your robots in one or more of our contests: ROBOTIC SUMO WRESTLING / ATOMIC HOCKEY BEAM Events ROBOTIC SUMO WRESTLING: The Tradition Continues This contest matches your own creation with another robot in the field of combat where brute strength and cat-like reflexes combine to create the ultimate battle! The challenge is to create a robot whose sole purpose is to push, throw, flip, drag, or otherwise move your opponent out of a five foot diameter circular ring within 3 minutes. In the tradition of an ancient Japanese contest of similar name, SUMO wrestling robots can use any trick the creator conceives to get the job done, within the following limits: * No robot may be used which is a physical threat to other contestants or the audience. (i.e., Explosions, fire, bullets, mace etc...) * Robots must fit within a 9" x 9" square when the competition begins, but may expand to a larger size after battle starts. Height is unrestricted at all times. * Robots must be 11 pounds or less in weight. * After the battle is over, contestants are responsible for cleaning up any debris in the ring to the There are two separate classes to SUMO robotic wrestling: Autonomous and Remote-Control. Remote Control robots may be a radio or wired-remote control and may be operated by a biological (human, usually). Autonomous Robots must carry on-board all power and intelligence required to seek and conquer the enemy. Each robot class will be awarded its own prize! (Prizes will also be awarded for the most humorous entry) ATOMIC HOCKEY You have never seen the NHL like this before! A head-to-head game of robot mayhem played out on an atomic scale as each competitor fights for the opportunity to gather more protons than his opponent while avoiding the ever present electrons! Played out in a 5 foot diameter circular ring lined with a 2 inch high wall, the robots must locate and gather Ping-Pong balls (protons) and deposit them in their own goal (the nucleus) within a three minute period while their opponents do the same. Each proton carries a score of +1 point. Unfortunately, the ring also contains an equal number of small metal balls (electrons) worth -1 point each. Each electron in your nucleus reduces your score by one point, so be careful to avoid them (or at least put them in your opponent's nucleus)! * Robots are to be a maximum of 9" x 9" square with unlimited height and have no weight restriction. * Robots must not pose any physical threat to biologicals (see SUMO rules). * Autonomous robots may put any signaling device they wish in their nucleus to help the robot locate the goal. * Aggressive and devious play between robots is encouraged, so long as no damage occurs to the ring or room. As with Robotic SUMO Wrestling, there are two categories: Autonomous and Remote Controlled ( Radio or Tethered ) New for 1994 is the introduction of the BEAM Solaroller, Photovore, Walker and BEAM-Aesthetics events - more details to follow! For a complete rule set for both competitions and application information, please email, phone, fax, or (gasp) write to me at: Craig Maynard Instructor, Electrical/Electronics Department, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology 1301-16th Ave NW Calgary, Alberta T2M-0L4 Phone (403) 284-8401 Fax (403) 284-8184 Email: maynard@trantor.el.sait.ab.ca or Dave Hrynkiw BEAM Coordinator email: hrynkiwd@cuug.ab.ca [Please send updated information and I will update these competitions. Thanks, nivek] ___________________________________________________________________________ End of part 2 -- aka: Kevin Dowling Carnegie Mellon University tel: (412) 268-8830 The Robotics Institute adr: nivek@ri.cmu.edu Pittsburgh, PA 15213 -- aka: Kevin Dowling Carnegie Mellon University tel: (412) 268-8830 The Robotics Institute adr: nivek@ri.cmu.edu Pittsburgh, PA 15213