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CFP 8th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies - BIOSTEC 2015

by Calendar Sites

CALL FOR PAPERS 8th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies - BIOSTEC 2015 Website: www.biostec.org January 12 15, 2015 Lisbon, Portugal <http://www.biostec.org/Glossary.aspx#RP> Regular Papers Paper Submission: July 29, 2014 Authors Notification: November 3, 2014 Camera Ready and Registration: November 17, 2014 <http://www.biostec.org/Glossary.aspx#PP> Position Papers Paper Submission: September 30, 2014 Authors Notification: November 6, 2014 Camera Ready and Registration: November 17, 2014 Doctoral Consortium Paper Submission: November 5, 2014 Authors Notification: November 18, 2014 Camera Ready and Registration: November 28, 2014 Special Sessions Paper Submission: November 7, 2014 Authors Notification: November 24, 2014 Camera Ready and Registration: December 3, 2014 Sponsored by: INSTICC - Institute for Systems and Technologies of Information, Control and Communication INSTICC is Member of: WfMC- Workflow Management Coalition OMG - Object Management Group FIPA Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents Logistics Partner: SCITEVENTS Science and Technology Events Media Partner: BMC - Medical Informatics and Decision Making Technical Co-sponsorship by: BMES Biomedical Engineering Society ESEM - European Society for Engineering and Medicine In Cooperation with: EUROMICRO ISfTeH International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth AAAI - The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence EURASIP The European Association for Signal Processing The purpose of BIOSTEC is to bring together researchers and practitioners, including engineers, biologists, health professionals and informatics/computer scientists, interested in both theoretical advances and applications of information systems, artificial intelligence, signal processing, electronics and other engineering tools in knowledge areas related to biology and medicine. BIOSTEC is composed of five co-located conferences, each specialized in at least one of the aforementioned main knowledge areas. International Conference on Biomedical Electronics and Devices BIODEVICES 2015 Program Chair Alberto Cliquet Jr., University of São Paulo & University of Campinas, Brazil Url: http://www.biodevices.biostec.org/ CONFERENCE TOPICS: · Emerging Technologies · Biomedical Instrumentation · Biomedical Equipment · Biomedical Sensors · Biomedical Metrology · Microelectronics · Health Monitoring Devices · Embedded Signal Processing · Low-Power Design · Electrical Bio-Impedance · Bio-Electromagnetism · Biorobotics · Biocomputing and Biochips · Implantable Electronics · Biotelemetry · Wireless Systems · Biomaterials · MEMS · Nanotechnologies · Biomechanical Devices · Artificial Limbs · Technologies Evaluation · Cardiovascular Biomechanics · Electrocardiography and Heart Monitoring · Computational Physiology (virtual organs) · Brain-Computer Interfaces · Spectroscopic Applications · Imaging and Visualization Devices · Computer-aided Detection and Diagnosis · Rehabilitation Technology International Conference on Bioimaging BIOIMAGING 2015 Program Co-chairs Mário Forjaz Secca, CEFITEC, Departamento de Fisica, FCT/UNL, Portugal Jan Schier, Institute of Information Theory and Automation of the ASCR, Czech Republic Url: http://www.bioimaging.biostec.org/ CONFERENCE TOPICS: · Medical Imaging and Diagnosis · Biomechanical Imaging · Image Archiving and Communication · Telemedicine and Virtual Environments · Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) · Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Fmri) · Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) · Positron Emission Tomography (PET) · High Resolution Research Tomography (HRRT) · Magnetoencephalography (MEG) · Ultrasound and Optical Imaging · Optical Elastography · X-ray Microscopy · Biophotonics · Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transferv (FRET) · Fluorescent Microscopy · Quantitative Bioimaging · Structural Biology · Brain Function Analysis · Hemodynamics Imaging · Histology and Tissue Imaging International Conference on Bioinformatics Models, Methods and Algorithms BIOINFORMATICS 2015 Program Co-chairs Oscar Pastor, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain Christine Sinoquet, University of Nantes, France Url: http://www.bioinformatics.biostec.org/ CONFERENCE TOPICS: · Simulation · Computational Intelligence · Genomics and Proteomics · Sequence Analysis · Structural Bioinformatics · Image Analysis · Visualization · Databases and Data Management · Data mining and Machine Learning · Biostatistics and Stochastic Models · Pharmaceutical Applications · Systems Biology · Algorithms and Software Tools · Web Services in Bioinformatics · Computational Molecular Systems · Immuno- and chemo-informatics · Pattern recognition, clustering and classification · Structure prediction · Model design and evaluation · Transcriptomics · Next Generation Sequencing · Structural Variations International Conference on Bio-inspired Systems and Signal Processing BIOSIGNALS 2015 Program Chair Harald Loose, Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany Url: http://www.biosignals.biostec.org/ CONFERENCE TOPICS: · Speech Recognition · Neural Networks · Biometrics · Pattern Recognition · Medical Signal Acquisition, Analysis and Processing · Wearable Sensors and Systems · Real-Time Systems · Evolutionary Systems · Acoustic Signal Processing · Time and Frequency Response · Wavelet Transform · Medical Image Detection, Acquisition, Analysis and Processing · Physiological Processes and Bio-signal Modeling, Non-linear dynamics · Cybernetics and User Interface Technologies · Electromagnetic fields in biology and medicine · Fuzzy Systems and Signals · Monitoring and Telemetry · Cardiovascular Signals · Image Analysis and Processing · Detection and Identification · Motion Control International Conference on Health Informatics HEALTHINF 2015 Program Co-chairs Marta Bienkiewicz, TUM, Technische Universitat Munchen, Germany Christine Verdier, LIG - University Joseph Fourier Grenoble, France Url: http://www.healthinf.biostec.org/ CONFERENCE TOPICS: · Datamining · Knowledge Management · Decision Support Systems · Interoperability · Telemedicine · Medical and Nursing Informatics · Confidentiality and Data Security · Wearable Health Informatics · Semantic Interoperability · Therapeutic Systems and Technologies · Physiological Modeling · Databases and Datawarehousing · Cognitive Informatics · Affective Computing · Human-Machine Interfaces for Disabled Persons · ICT, Ageing and Disability · Design and development methodologies for Healthcare IT · Mobile technologies for Healthcare applications · Evaluation and use of Healthcare IT · Healthcare Management Systems · E-Health · Development of Assistive Technology · Electronic Health Records and Standards · Software Systems in Medicine · Pervasive Health Systems and Services · e-Health for Public Health · Clinical problems and applications · Data Visualization · Pattern recognition and Machine Learning · Practice-based Research Methods for Healthcare IT KEYNOTE SPEAKERS <http://www.biostec.org/KeynoteSpeakers.aspx#1> Erik Meijering, Erasmus University Medical Center, Netherlands <http://www.biostec.org/KeynoteSpeakers.aspx#2> Lionel Pazart, CHU, France PUBLICATIONS All accepted papers will be published in the conference proceedings, under an ISBN reference, on paper and on CD-ROM support. SCITEPRESS is a member of CrossRef ( <http://www.crossref.org/> http://www.crossref.org/) All papers presented at the conference venue will be available at the <http://www.scitepress.org/DigitalLibrary/Default.aspx> SCITEPRESS Digital Library. It is planned to publish a short list of revised and extended versions of presented papers with Springer in a <http://www.springer.com/series/7899> CCIS Series book (final approval pending). The proceedings will be submitted for indexation by Thomson Reuters Conference Proceedings Citation Index (ISI), INSPEC, DBLP, EI (Elsevier Index) and Scopus. AWARDS The awards will be announced and bestowed at the conference closing session. BIOSTEC CONFERENCE CO-CHAIRS Ana Fred, Instituto de Telecomunicações / IST, Portugal Hugo Gamboa, CEFITEC / FCT - New University of Lisbon, Portugal Dirk Elias, University of Porto / Fraunhofer, Portugal Please check further details at the conference website (http://www.biostec.org)

May 22, 2014

Postdoc on EEG data analysis in Cleveland (immediately available)

by Roberto Fernández Galán

A postdoctoral position on the statistical analysis of EEG data from children with autism and epilepsy is immediately available at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, USA. The position is funded by The Hartwell Foundation for a period of up to two years. The selected candidate will work under the supervision of Dr. Roberto F. Galán <http://neurosciences.case.edu/faculty/galan/index> in the department of neurosciences at CWRU. The project involves a collaboration with the department of pediatric neurology at University Hospitals on the same campus. The successful candidate must be a US citizen, have a PhD in biomedical engineering, computational neuroscience, or related discipline. Previous experience with the analysis of EEG, MEG, or MEA data is required. Proficiency in Matlab programming will be considered an asset. To apply for this position please send a cover letter, a CV including a list of publications and the names and contact information of two referees for recommendations to rfgalan(a)case.edu. Related Publications: J. L. Pérez Velázquez and R. F. Galán (2013). Information Gain in the Brain's Resting State: A New Perspective on Autism. *Frontiers in Neuroinformatics, 7(37):1 <http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fninf.2013.00037/abstract>*. A. R. Antony, A. V. Alexopoulos, J. A. González-Martínez, J. C. Mosher, L. Jehi, R. C. Burgess, N. K. So and R. F. Galán (2013). Functional Connectivity Estimated from Intracranial EEG Predicts Surgical Outcome in Intractable Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. *PLoS One, 8(10): e77916 <http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0077916>* . L. G. Domínguez, J. L. Pérez Velázquez and R. F. Galán (2013). A Model of Functional Brain Connectivity and Background Noise as a Biomarker for Cognitive Phenotypes: Application to Autism. *PLoS One, 8(4): e61493 <http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0061493>* . -- Roberto Fernández Galán, PhD Assistant Professor of Neurosciences Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Robbins E-725 10900 Euclid Avenue Cleveland OH, 44106-4975, USA Phone: (001) 216 368 0811 Email: rfgalan(a)case.edu http://www.case.edu/med/galanlab

May 22, 2014

ICTP Winter School on Systems Neuroscience in Trieste, Dec 2014

by Alessandro Treves

The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics is organizing a Winter School on Quantitative Systems Biology with a focus on System Neuroscience, from 1 to 12 December 2014, in Trieste, Italy. New experimental techniques are opening windows on biological mechanisms inside the cell and in the brain, making these systems accessible to quantitative investigation and calling for an understanding of brain functions at the systemic level. The school is targeted to young researchers, especially at the Ph.D and postdoc level who either work in this area or hope to do so. Lecturers include: Winfried Denk (Max Planck Inst., Germany) Stefano Fusi (Columbia, USA) Kate Jeffery (UCL, UK) Etienne Koechlin (ENS Paris, France) Venkatesh Murthy (Harvard, USA) Israel Nelken (Hebrew Univ., Israel) Botond Roska (FMI, Switzerland) Wolfram Schultz (Univ. Cambridge, UK) Tatyana Sharpee (Salk Institute, USA) Misha Tsodyks (Weizmann Institute, Israel) Fred Wolf (Univ. Göttingen, Germany) There is no participation fee for selected participants. DEADLINE for applications June 1st, 2014 Details on http://cdsagenda5.ictp.trieste.it/full_display.php?ida=a13235 -- Alessandro Treves http://people.sissa.it/~ale/limbo.html SISSA - Cognitive Neuroscience, via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy and Master in Complex Actions http://www.mca.sissa.it/

May 21, 2014

PhD student positions in naturalistic visuomotor behavior

by Constantin Rothkopf

Applications are invited for two PhD student positions in the lab of Constantin Rothkopf at the Technical University Darmstadt. The lab focuses on experimental and computational approaches to further the understanding of naturalistic, sequential visuomotor behavior in humans. Current topics include: - statistics of visuomotor behavior in naturalistic tasks, - image statistics in natural visuomotor behavior, - inverse-optimal-control models of human locomotion behavior, - optimal control models of interception behavior, - credit assignment in modular reinforcement learning models, - eye-movements in naturalistic tasks. For further information refer to the website: http://fias.uni-frankfurt.de/~rothkopf/ Ph.D. position applicants need to have a Master's degree in cognitive science, computer science, psychology or related fields. In addition to a general interest in experimental psychology, cognitive science, computational science, and interdisciplinary research, the ideal candidate has a background in eye-tracking or virtual reality technology. Experience with programming (e.g. Matlab, Python, C++) is inevitable. Analytical aptitude as well as awareness of experimental literature is expected. Informal inquiries may be made to Constantin Rothkopf at rothkopf(a)psychologie.tu-darmstadt.de. In your application please include a brief (max. 2 pages) cover letter explaining your research interests, what you are looking for in a PhD, why you would like to study in the lab, your longer term career goals, and contact information for 2-3 references. Applications may be submitted to the Dean of the Department of Human Sciences of the Technical University Darmstadt, Alexanderstraße 10, 64283 Darmstadt, in electronic form as a single pdf document via e-mail at: dekanat(a)humanw.tu-darmstadt.de. More details are available at: PhD position (ref.-no. 170) https://www.intern.tu-darmstadt.de/dez_vii/stellen/stellen_details_128192.d… The Technical University Darmstadt strives for an increase in the number of women in academic employment. Women are therefore especially encouraged to apply and will be preferentially considered under the condition of equal qualification. Disabled candidates are given preference under the provision of equal qualification. -- Prof. Constantin A. Rothkopf, PhD Technical University Darmstadt & FIAS phone: +49 6151 16-76084 mailto:rothkopf@psychologie.tu-darmstadt.de fax: +49 6151 16-6943 http://www.pip.tu-darmstadt.de/

May 21, 2014

Announcement Special Session Neurotechnix 2014

by Martin Bogdan

Dear colleagues, it's my pleasure to announce in behalf of my co-chairs a special session at Neurotechnix 2014, 25- 26 October, 2014 - Rome, Italy (http://www.neurotechnix.org/BrainRehab.aspx) Brain-computer Interfaces and Brain Stimulation for Neurorehabilitation Important Dates Paper Submission: July 17, 2014 Authors Notification: July 31, 2014 Camera Ready and Registration: August 8, 2014 Scope Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) and brain stimulation are unique methods for neurorehabilitation because they allow a direct interaction with the patient's brain. BCIs enable biofeedback approaches for paralyzed patients, while brain stimulation techniques modulate the activity of neuronal circuits to support brain reorganization. However, towards their application as reliable treatment options, important challenges such as a deeper understanding of neural (re-)organization, the design of suitable feedback and stimulation paradigms, the adaptation to individual patients and the transfer from the laboratory to clinical settings need to be faced. We invite neuroscientists, engineers and clinicians to submit papers discussing recent developments and future trends in the fields of neurostimulation and BCIs with a focus on their application towards the rehabilitation of patients. Topics: - Brain-computer interfaces - Decoding of brain activity - Neurofeedback - Brain stimulation - Closed-loop stimulation systems - Chronic pain - Stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases Paper Submission Prospective authors are invited to submit papers in any of the topics listed above. Instructions for preparing the manuscript (in Word and Latex formats) are available at: http://www.neurotechnix.org/GuidelinesTemplates.aspx#paper_templates Please also check the Guidelines and Templates. Papers should be submitted electronically via the web-based submission system at: http://www.insticc.org/Primoris Publication Both complete papers and extended abstracts can be submitted. All accepted extended abstracts will be published on CD-ROM without an ISBN, accepted papers will be published on CD-ROM support and in a special section of the congress proceedings book, under an ISBN reference. The proceedings are submitted for indexation by Thomson Reuters Conference Proceedings Citation Index (ISI), INSPEC, DBLP and EI (Elsevier Index). All papers and extended abstracts presented at the congress venue will also be made available at the SCITEPRESS DIGITAL LIBRARY. SCITEPRESS is member of CrossRef. -- ************************************************************************** Prof. Dr. Martin Bogdan Institut für Informatik Technische Informatik Universität Leipzig Augustusplatz 10 D-04109 Leipzig Germany Postadresse: PF 100920 D-04009 Leipzig Tel: (++49) 341 97 32208 Fax: (++49) 341 97 32252 E-mail: bogdan(a)informatik.uni-leipzig.de www.informatik.uni-leipzig.de/ti/ ************************************************************************** 'Nihil est ab omni parte beatum' (Horaz) **************************************************************************

May 21, 2014

Postdoc in computer vision - joint position at IIT and Harvard

by Diego Sona

IIT-Harvard joint postdoctoral position in computer vision, pattern recognition, and machine learning for the design and development of a virtual foraging system enriched with automatic behavior analysis tools. Available immediately and until filled. The project is highly interdisciplinary, including data analysis, machine learning, computer vision, neuroscience, behavior analysis, and engineering. The aim is to develop a virtual reality (VR) system for mice behavior phenotyping that integrate multiple recording devices and a library of software tools for advanced behavioral data analysis. Strong competences are required both in systems engineering and computer vision / machine learning. The candiate will periodically commute between Genoa (IIT) and Boston (Harvard). Further info can be found at http://www.iit.it/en/openings/research-departments/pattern-analysis-a-compu… Reference: BC 68073 --------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Diego Sona Pattern Analysis & Computer Vision (PAVIS) Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) Genova, Italy www.iit.it/pavis.html ---------------------------------------------------------

May 20, 2014

IEEE International Workshop on Cloud-integrated Cyber Physical Systems 2014 (IEEE Cloud-CPS 2014)

by Sandra Sendra

********************************************************* CALL FOR PAPERS IEEE International Workshop on Cloud-integrated Cyber Physical Systems 2014 (IEEE Cloud-CPS 2014) Submission due July 31, 2014 http://cloudcps.cwins.org Dec 15 � 18, 2014, Singapore Singapore in conjunction with IEEE CloudCom 2014, Dec 15 � 18, 2014, Singapore ******************************************************************** Technology has gone through tremendous changes in terms of computing, communications and control to provide wide range of applications in all domains. This advancement provides the opportunities to bridge the physical components/processes and the cyber space leading to the Cyber Physical Systems (CPS). The notion of CPS is to use computing (sensing, analyzing, predicting, understanding, etc.), communication (interaction, intervene, interface management, etc.) and control (inter-operate, evolve, evidence-based certification, etc.) to make intelligent and autonomous systems. Such systems are playing an increasingly prevalent and important role in this electronic era such as healthcare, manufacturing, civil infrastructure, aerospace, entertainment, transportation and many automated physical systems. Computing and networking are two major components of CPS and Cloud has infinite resources for both. Cloud-integrated CPS will not only enhance CPS itself but also process, analyze! and manage (CPS) big data efficien tly. However, there are many issues and hurdles of Cloud-integrated CPS that need discussions. Our aim is to provide a platform for researchers and practitioners to present their research results in the area of Cloud-integrated Cyber-Physical Systems. The proposed workshop CloudCPS-2014 will serve as a forum for researchers from academia, government and industries to exchange ideas, present new results and provide future visions on these topics. Topics of interest include but not limited to: - Cloud-CPS Architecture - Cloud-CPS Modeling and Simulation - Virtualization of Physical Components in Cloud-CPS - Design and Performance Optimization in Cloud-CPS - Cloud-assisted Situation-aware and decision support - Big-data Processing and Visualization in Cloud-CPS - Mobile Cloud-CPS - Game Theory for Cloud-CPS - Tools and Methods for Cloud-CPS - Sensor-actuator Networks - Security, Privacy, and Trust in Cloud-CPS - Intelligent (Road/Air) Transportation Cloud-CPS - Cloud-CPS in healthcare - Cloud-CPS in energy - Fog computing - Cloud-CPS: Tools, test beds and deployment issues - Opportunistic spectrum access for Cloud-CPS ***************************** SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS ***************************** The authors are advised to submit their research paper following the IEEE CS format: two columns, single-spaced, including figures and references, using 10 fonts, and number each page. Instructions for authors how to format the manuscript can be found at: http://www.computer.org/portal/web/cscps/submission/ http://www.computer.org/portal/web/cscps/formatting/ The following templates below, are general templates designed for conferences using an US Letter (8.5" x 11") trim size. MS Word Template: http://www.computer.org/portal/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=4cc57ba2-39… LaTeX Package: http://www.computer.org/portal/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=cda2f9b2-51… Papers will be carefully evaluated based on originality, significance, technical soundness, and clarity of exposition. The papers, in pdf format, should be submitted electronically through https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ieeecloudcps2014. If there is any problem during submission, please contact the workshop general chairs or db.rawat(at)ieee.org. All accepted papers will be published by IEEE CS Press (submitted to IEEEXplore) and submitted for indexing by EI and ISSN. *********************** Important Dates *********************** Deadline for paper submissions: July 31, 2014 Notification of Paper acceptance: Sept. 2, 2014 Deadline for camera-ready: Sept.16, 2014 Deadline for author registration: Oct. 1, 2014 Conference: December 15-18, 2014 WORKSHOP WEBSITE For more information, please visit the workshop website at http://cloudcps.cwins.org ++++++++++++++++ Organizers ++++++++++++++++ **************** General Chairs **************** Ivan Stojmenovic, University of Ottawa, Canada Danda B. Rawat, Georgia Southern University, USA Jaime Lloret Mauri, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain ****************** Program Chairs ****************** Bhed B. Bista, Iwate Prefectural University, Japan Song Guo, The University of Aizu, Japan ******************* Publicity Chairs ******************* Sandra Sendra, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain

May 20, 2014

Postdoctoral vacancies in London

by Harris, Kenneth

Dear Computational Neuroscientists, We are seeking applicants for 3 postdoctoral jobs at the interface of computational and experimental neuroscience, working with Profs. Kenneth Harris and Matteo Carandini. The closing date for all positions is June 14 2014. For details on how to apply, please see https://www.ucl.ac.uk/cortexlab/positions. Position 1: Large-scale analysis of neocortical activity Modern experimental methods allow for simultaneous recording of thousands of neurons. These methods provide an unprecedented opportunity to study how neuronal populations process information. However, turning this data into concrete conclusions about brain function raises a twofold challenge. First, statistical methods required to characterize, visualize, and test hypotheses about neural data must be developed; second, the data sets involved are so large that they require advanced computational techniques for their efficient processing. We are seeking a postdoctoral scientist to study population coding and circuit function in cortex, by working with data from large-scale electrophysiological and optical recordings. This position would suit an individual with strong quantitative skills together with good knowledge of neurobiology. Position 2: Large-scale simulation of cortical circuits Recent years have seen the development of techniques for rapid simulation of neural circuits, making it at last possible to model how cellular and synaptic properties determine cortical activity in circuits of realistic size. We are seeking a postdoctoral scientist to build large-scale models of recurrent spiking cortical networks, using hardware systems such as large-scale GPGPU clusters or specialized chips such as spiNNaker. Close interaction with experimental neuroscience will be a key part of the project, and the models will be constrained by their ability to both reproduce patterns of population activity measured in vivo, and to perform real-world visual classification tasks. This project involves the use of specialized hardware, and would suit a candidate with strong programming ability as well as neuroscience knowledge. Position 3: Experimental study of cortical population activity Developments in electrophysiology, microscopy, and genetics now make it possible to measure the activity of thousands of neurons simultaneously, while identifying and controlling specific cell classes in real time with light. Combining these experimental technologies with large-scale informatics and computational analysis provides a tremendous tool to understand the function of cortical circuits. We are seeking a postdoctoral scientist to apply these tools to study network activity during a visual discrimination task in behaving mice. This project involves integrating multiple techniques currently in use in our lab including large-scale electrophysiological recordings, optogenetics, two-photon microscopy, and mouse behaviour. This position would suit a candidate with a background in experimental neurobiology, engineering, or experimental physics. --------------------- Kenneth D. Harris Professor of Quantitative Neuroscience Institute of Neurology, Department of Neuroscience, Physiology, and Pharmacology University College London 21 University Street London WC1E 6DE Phone: +44 (0)20 3108 2410

May 19, 2014

new Frontiers journal section "Computational Intelligence"

by Claudius Gros

This is to to call your attention to a new Frontiers journal section "Computational Intelligence" http://www.frontiersin.org/Computational_Intelligence within Robotics and AI. The first articles have been published: --------------------- Rodrigo Echeveste and Claudius Gros Generating functionals for computational intelligence: The Fisher information as an objective function for self-limiting Hebbian learning rules http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/frobt.2014.00001/abstract --------------------- --------------------- Mikhail Prokopenko Grand challenges for Computational Intelligence http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/frobt.2014.00002/full --------------------- We invite you to submit your research! Claudius Gros ***************************************** *** Prof. Dr. Claudius Gros *** *** +49 (0)69 798 47818 *** *** http://itp.uni-frankfurt.de/~gros *** ***************************************** -------------------------------------------------------- --- Complex and Adaptive Dynamical Systems, A Primer --- --- A graduate-level textbook, Springer (2008/10/13) --- --------------------------------------------------------

May 19, 2014

post-doc position: “The informational structure of audio-visuo-motor speech”

by Pierre Bessière

Speech Unit(e)s The multisensory-motor unity of speech Understanding how speech unites the sensory and motor streams, And how speech units emerge from perceptuo-motor interactions ERC Advanced Grant, Jean-Luc Schwartz, GIPSA-Lab, Grenoble, France Proposal for a post-doc position beginning in September 2014: “The informational structure of audio-visuo-motor speech” Context The Speech Unit(e)s project is focused on the speech unification process associating the auditory, visual and motor streams in the human brain, in an interdisciplinary approach combining cognitive psychology, neurosciences, phonetics (both descriptive and developmental) and computational models. The framework is provided by the “Perception-for-Action-Control Theory (PACT)” developed by the PI (Schwartz et al., 2012). PACT is a perceptuo-motor theory of speech communication connecting, in a principled way, perceptual shaping and motor procedural knowledge in speech multisensory processing. The communication unit in PACT is neither a sound nor a gesture but a perceptually shaped gesture, that is a perceptuo-motor unit. It is characterized by both articulatory coherence – provided by its gestural nature – and perceptual value – necessary for being functional. PACT considers two roles for the perceptuo-motor link in speech perception: online unification of the sensory and motor streams through audio-visuo-motor binding, and offline joint emergence of the perceptual and motor repertoires in speech development. Objectives of the post-doc position In a multisensory-motor context such as the present one, a major requirement concerns a better knowledge of the structure of the information. Speech scientists have acquired a very good knowledge of the structure of speech acoustics, capitalizing on large audio corpora and up-to-date statistical techniques (mostly based on sophisticated implementations of Hidden Markov Models, e.g. Schutz & Waibel, 2001, Yu & Deng, 2011). Data on speech rhythms, in relation with the syllabic structure, have been analyzed clearly in a number of works (Greenberg, 1999; Grant & Greenberg, 2003). In spite of strong efforts in the field of audiovisual speech automatic recognition (Potamianos et al., 2003), characterization of the structure of audiovisual information is scarce. While an increasing number of papers on audiovisual speech perception presenting cognitive and neurophysiological data quote the “advance of the visual stream on the audio stream”, few papers provide quantitative evidence (see Chandrasekaran et al., 2009) and when they do, these are sometimes mistaken or oversimplified. Actually, the temporal relationship between visual and auditory information is far from constant from one situation to another (Troille et al., 2010). Concerning the perceptuo-motor link, the situation is even worse. Few systematic quantitative studies are available because of the difficulty to acquire articulatory data, and in these studies the focus is generally set on the so-called “inversion problem” (e.g. Ananthakrishnan & Engwall, 2011, Hueber et al., 2012) rather than a systematic characterization of the structure of the perceptuo-motor relationship. Finally, there is a strong lack of systematic investigations of the relationship between orofacial and bracchio-manual gestures in face-to-face communication. We shall gather a large corpus of audio-visuo-articulatory-gestural speech. Articulatory data will be acquired through ultrasound, electromagnetic articulography (EMA) and video imaging. Labial configurations and estimates of jaw movements will be automatically extracted and processed thanks to a large range of video facial processing. We also additionally plan to record information about accompanying coverbal gestures by the hand and arm, thanks to an optotrack system enabling to track bracchio-manual gestures. A complete equipment for audio-video-ultrasound-EMA-optotrack acquisition and automatic processing, named ultraspeech-tools, is available in Grenoble (more information on www.ultraspeech.com) The corpus will consist in isolated syllables, chained syllables, simple sentences and read material. Elicitation paradigms will associate reading tasks (with material presented on a computer screen) and dialogic situations between the subject and an experimenter to evoke coverbal gestures as ecologically as possible. The corpus will be analyzed, by extensive use and possibly development of original techniques, based on data–driven statistical models and machine learning algorithms, in the search for three major types of characteristics: 1) Quantification of auditory, visual and motor rhythms, from kinematic data – e.g. acoustic envelope, lip height and/or width, variations in time of the principal components of the tongue deformations, analysis of the arm/hand/finger dynamics; 2) Quantification of delays between sound, lips, tongue and hand in various kinds of configurations associated with coarticulation processes (e.g. vowel to vowel anticipatory and perseverative phenomena, consonant-vowel coproduction, vocal tract preparatory movement in silence) and oral/gestural coordination; 3) Quantification of the amount of predictability between lips, tongue, hand and sound, through various techniques allowing the quantitative estimate of joint information (e.g. mutual information, entropy, co-inertia) and perform statistical inference between modalities (e.g. Graphical models such as dynamic Bayesian Framework, multi-stream HMM, etc.) The work will be performed within a multidisciplinary group in GIPSA-Lab Grenoble, associating specialists in speech and gesture communication, cognitive processes, signal processing and machine learning (partners of the project: Jean-Luc Schwartz, Marion Dohen from the “Speech, Brain, Multimodality Development” team; Thomas Hueber, Laurent Girin from the “Talking Machines and Face to Face Interaction” team; Pierre-Olivier Amblard and Olivier Michel from the “Information in Complex Systems” team). Practical information The post-doc position is open for a two-year period, with a possible third-year prolongation. The position is open from September 2014, or slightly later if necessary. Candidates should have a background in speech and signal processing, face-to-face communication, and machine learning, or at least two of these three domains. Candidates should send as soon as possible a short email to Jean-Luc Schwartz (Jean-Luc.Schwartz(a)gipsa-lab.grenoble-inp.fr) to declare their intention to submit a full proposal. Then they must send a full application file in the next weeks. This application file will include an extended CV and a list of publications, together with a letter explaining why they are interested in the project, what their specific interests could be, possibly suggesting other experiments related to the general question of the informational structure of audio-visuo-motor speech, and also how this position would fit into their future plans for the development of their own career. They should also provide two names (with email addresses) for recommendations about their applications. Preselected candidates will be interviewed. Final selection should occur before mid-June.

May 18, 2014