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[meetings] [LM2020] Living Machines 2020 - COVID-19 update
by vvouloutsi＠ibecbarcelona.eu April 22, 2020

April 22, 2020

Dear colleagues, we are crossing uncharted territory. The outbreak of COVID-19 is having a significant impact on our life, health and economy but also on how our society communicates and the scientific communities are also affected by this terrible pandemic. On the one hand, we must act in complete observance of safety and ethical practices; on the other hand, we must maintain scientific research and knowledge exchange with new lockdown-proof methods and technologies. *Living Machines deadline is extended to May 1st 2020 and going online on * 28 – 30 July 2020*. Join us!* Apologies for cross-posting but please share this announcement with your colleagues. Looking forward to seeing you online! Stay safe and take good care. ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— *Extended Call for Papers, Satellite Events and Sponsors* *Living Machines. The 9th International Conference on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems* To be hosted online. Further details will be announced soon. Accepted papers will be published in *Springer Lecturer Notes in Artificial Intelligence* *Submission deadline extended: May 1st, 2020* http://livingmachinesconference.eu/2020 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— *ACTIVITIES* The main conference will take the form of a *two-day single-track oral* and *poster presentation program*, *28 - 30th July 2020*, and will be hosted by the Cluster of Excellence “Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS)” at the University of Freiburg, Germany (www.livmats.uni-freiburg.de<http://www.livmats.uni-freiburg.de>). The conference program will include *4 plenary lectures* from leading international researchers in biomimetic and biohybrid systems, and the demonstrations of state-of-the-art living machine technologies. The full conference will be preceded by up to 1 day of *Workshops* hosted by the Cluster of Excellence at the University of Freiburg *SATELLITE EVENTS* Active researchers in biomimetic and biohybrid systems are invited to propose topics for full or 1/2 half-day *tutorials*, *symposia* or *workshops* on related themes to be hosted on the 28 of July by the Cluster of Excellence at the University of Freiburg Attendance at satellite events will attract a small fee intended to cover the online costs of the meeting. There is flexibility about the content, organization, and budgeting for these events. Please contact us if you are interested in organizing a satellite event! Best, V. -- Vicky Vouloutsi, PhD Postdoc Researcher at the laboratory for Synthetic Perceptive, Emotive and Cognitive Systems (SPECS<https://specs-lab.com/>) mail: vvouloutsi(a)ibecbarcelona.eu<https://vvouloutsi@ibecbarcelona.eu> linkedin<https://www.linkedin.com/in/vicky-vouloutsi-28496133/> researchgate<https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Vasiliki_Vouloutsi> tel: +34 934011913 Aquest correu electrònic conté informació confidencial emparada pel secret professional. Qualsevol reproducció, distribució o divulgació del seu contingut estan estrictament prohibides. Si vostè no és el destinatari, li preguem no faci difusió ni copiï el seu contingut i ens ho notifiqui el més aviat possible a l'adreça dataprotection(a)ibecbarcelona.eu Este correo electrónico contiene información confidencial amparada por el secreto profesional. Cualquier reproducción, distribución o divulgación de su contenido están estrictamente prohibidas. Si usted no es el destinatario, le rogamos no difunda ni copie su contenido y nos lo notifique de inmediato a la dirección dataprotection(a)ibecbarcelona.eu This electronic transmission contains confidential information covered by professional secrecy. Any reproduction, distribution or disclosure of its contents is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, you are kindly requested not to disseminate nor to copy this transmission and to notify us as soon as possible by email to dataprotection(a)ibecbarcelona.eu .

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Data Science Master's programme at the University of Vienna
by Moritz Grosse-Wentrup April 22, 2020

April 22, 2020

Dear all, The University of Vienna offers a new Master's programme in Data Science. The programme is taught by internationally renowned scientists from an interdisciplinary range of faculties, including Computer Science, Mathematics, Business, Economics and Statistics, Historical and Cultural Studies, and Philological and Cultural Studies. All courses are taught in English. For further information on the programme, please visit https://datascience.univie.ac.at/masters/master-data-science/ To explore Vienna, consistently ranked as the most livable city in the world, visit https://www.wien.info/en The application deadline for the winter term is *April 30th*. Best regards, Moritz Grosse-Wentrup -- Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Moritz Grosse-Wentrup Research Group Neuroinformaticst Faculty of Computer Science University of Vienna Hörlgasse 6, A-1090 Wien, Austria moritz.grosse-wentrup(a)univie.ac.at +43-1-4277-79610 http://neural.engineering/

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CNS*2020 Online Meeting: abstract submission deadline approaching
by Martin Zapotocky April 21, 2020

April 21, 2020

Organization for Computational Neurosciences 2885 Sanford Ave SW #15359 Grandville, MI 49418 USA* * *Meeting Update* *29th Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting (CNS*2020)* July 18--22, 2020 Due to the continuing restrictions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, *the CNS*2020 Meeting in Melbourne* will be *replaced by an **online meeting of the CNS community*. For the format of the meeting and further updates, please follow https://www.cnsorg.org/cns-2020-quick Registration for the meeting is open and *free of charge*. * The deadline for submission of abstracts* remains as follows: *April 29 *in case a *plenary oral presentation *is requested, **May 6 **in case a **poster-type presentation** is requested. Please see https://www.cnsorg.org/cns-2020-abstract-submission The *call for workshops* currently remains open: https://www.cnsorg.org/cns-2020-call-for-workshops We are glad to announce that the online meeting will feature *keynote presentations* by the speakers originally scheduled to appear in Melbourne: Matt Botvinick <http://clicks.memberclicks-mail.net/ls/click?upn=0q9n39ErOfD80mnaMiQulqGfCi…> Zhaoping Li <http://clicks.memberclicks-mail.net/ls/click?upn=0q9n39ErOfD80mnaMiQulswYUA…> Geoff Goodhill <http://clicks.memberclicks-mail.net/ls/click?upn=0q9n39ErOfD80mnaMiQuluw3UK…> Daniel Polani <http://clicks.memberclicks-mail.net/ls/click?upn=WlHEp4SFVCdIhPrNLw-2BOWTkz…> Upozorneni: Neni-li v teto zprave vyslovne uvedeno jinak, ma tato E-mailova zprava nebo jeji prilohy pouze informativni charakter. Tato zprava ani jeji prilohy v zadnem ohledu ustavy AV CR, v.v.i. k nicemu nezavazuji. Text teto zpravy nebo jejich priloh neni navrhem na uzavreni smlouvy, ani prijetim pripadneho navrhu na uzavreni smlouvy, ani jinym pravnim jednanim smerujicim k uzavreni jakekoliv smlouvy a nezaklada predsmluvni odpovednost ustavu AV CR, v.v.i. Disclaimer: If not expressly stated otherwise, this e-mail message (including any attached files) is intended purely for informational purposes and does not represent a binding agreement on the part of Institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences. The text of this message and its attachments cannot be considered as a proposal to conclude a contract, neither the acceptance of a proposal to conclude a contract, nor any other legal act leading to concluding any contract; nor does it create any pre-contractual liability on the part of Institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

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[Conferences] CFP: IEEE RO-MAN 2020 Special Session on Applied Emotion/Mind-Aware Neuroimaging in Real-world Human-Robot Symbiosis with Heart, Mind, and Soul
by Ker-Jiun Wang April 20, 2020

April 20, 2020

29th IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication(IEEE RO-MAN2020) *SPECIAL SESSION* *Applied Emotion/Mind-Aware Neuroimaging in Real-world Human-Robot Symbiosis with Heart, Mind, and Soul* *(Website: **http://ro-man2020.unina.it/special-sessions.php* <http://ro-man2020.unina.it/special-sessions.php>*)* *CALL FOR PAPERS* *(Download CFP: **https://tinyurl.com/tgvhue5* <https://tinyurl.com/tgvhue5> *)* *Title* *Applied Emotion/Mind-Aware Neuroimaging in Real-world Human-Robot Symbiosis with Heart, Mind, and Soul* *Motivation and goals* Wearable technologies that connect human with the surrounding smart environment could potentially replace the cellphone and other cumbersome tablet/laptops to become the next generation human-computer interface. It opens a new frontier of using stretchable, sticky and flexible body sensors, galvanic skin response (GSR), photoplethysmogram (PPG), inertial measurement unit (IMUs), and neurophysiological electrodes, such as EEG/EMG/ECG/EKG to measure various brain and body activity signals, and decode meaningful information for multi-modal interactions. Such dramatic shift of paradigm can be manifested in many technology development from big companies/startups, like Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Samsung and Neuralink (Elon Musk), etc., to build more mobile, invisible, ubiquitous, compact computing platforms, such as smart watches, smart glasses, smart headphones, VR/AR headsets, and state-of-the-art Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs), in which the devices embed various kinds of sensors and electrodes to directly/indirectly interpret human body states, intentions, emotions and/or even high level motivations from neural signals, while other “out-of-body” sensors, like cameras, could not observe. Along with the scientific and practical implementation challenges of such technology, the personal big data collection also brings a lot of social norms, privacy and ethical issues as well. In this Special Session, we want to solicit impactful paper contributions to push the boundary to the limit, in order to explore the most critical issues in applying this futuristic technology to the real-world environment. Since our human have complex behaviors, which involve multiple disciplinary explanations, the technologies that closely-interact and solve the human-related problems should also reflect such complex multidisciplinary nature. As part of purely theoretical findings, we will also create a multidisciplinary educational and discussion forum, in which we will have industrial applications, art and design, consumer electronics, embedded system and mobile computing, Human-Robot Neural Interaction (HRNI) user experience/interface (UX/UI) design, and social norm and ethical paper presentations to discuss the emotion/mind-aware data collection and the use of AI to fully release the potential of this promising technology. Hopefully our dedicated effort of organizing this Special Session focusing on Emotion/Mind-Aware Neuroimaging could make such futuristic promising technology more human-centered, with more human-like heart, mind, and soul to interact with the people, the robot, and all other smart IoT devices, to enable a seamless Human-Robot Symbiotic society. Areas of interest include but are not limited to: *List of Topics* - Affective Computing - Wearable Platform and Wearable Device Form Factor Design - Soft Robotics - AI, Big Data, IoT, Deep Learning - Machine Learning and Biosignal Processing - Brain-Computer Interface and Physiological Signal Measurement - Invasive and Non-Invasive Brain-Computer Interface - Wearable Computing and Embedded System, IC/SoC design - Consumer Electronics Applications - Cloud/Edge Computing - Human-Robot/Computer Interaction - Neuroprosthesis, Exoskeleton, Rehabilitation robot - Biofeedback/Neurofeedback Training - Human-Robot Neural Interaction (HRNI) User Experience/Interface Design - Human-Centered Natural Interaction Design - Social Norms and Ethical issues of Using Emotion-Aware Big Data *PAPER SUBMISSIONS* Authors are invited to submit a *6~8-page (regular) Special Session paper* via RO-Man 2020 portal in *Papercept* (https://ras.papercept.net/) using *Special Session code* (Code: gxf38). Manuscripts are in double-column IEEE format following the official IEEE Manuscript Formatting guidelines. Review will be single-blind, so please retain all authors information in the submissions. Also consider the IEEE policies for publications. The conference proceedings will be included in the *IEEE Xplore Digital Library* . *Submission link* https://ras.papercept.net/ *Submission Code* *"gxf38"* *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* *Due to COVID-19, we are now accepting "Video Live Streaming" and/or "Video Recording" presentations, so the accepted papers can be presented remotely! **The paper submission deadline has been extended to the 29th of April to provide authors of the time to produce their best work, despite the many additional challenges we are facing at the moment. We are considering alternatives to allow for remote participation to both the main conference and workshops should disruptions still occur in September. All accepted papers will be published in the conference proceedings and uploaded to IEEE Xplore, regardless of whether a physical or virtual presentation will be given.* *IMPORTANT DATES* - *Submission deadline for full papers: April 29, 2020 (extended)* - Notifications: June 15, 2020 - Final camera ready deadline: June 30, 2020 - Conference: August 31 - September 4, 2020 *ORGANIZERS* Ker-Jiun Wang (University of Pittsburgh) Mohammad Shidujaman (Tsinghua University) Caroline Yan Zheng (Royal College of Art) Maitreyee Wairagkar (Imperial College of London) Midori Sugaya (Shibaura Institute of Technology) Zhi-Hong Mao (University of Pittsburgh) Kai-Tai Song (National Chiao Tung University) Kindest regards, *Ker-Jiun Wang, PhD* Department of Bioengineering University of Pittsburgh On Behalf of Organizing Committees of Applied Emotion/Mind-Aware Neuroimaging in Real-world Human-Robot Symbiosis with Heart, Mind, and Soul

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PhD position at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland)
by Milekovic Tomislav April 20, 2020

April 20, 2020

PhD position in the lab of Prof. Gregoire Courtine at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland) A computational approach to personalize and optimize clinical treatments for restoring locomotion to people paralyzed by spinal cord injury Location: The laboratory of Prof. Gregoire Courtine at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland, is looking to fill a fully funded PhD position. The qualified candidate will benefit from joining a very dynamic and multidisciplinary group working at the interface of computational neuroscience, neuroengineering, prosthetics and biology. EPFL provides state-of-the-art facilities and is one of the leading technical universities worldwide. In addition, PhD salaries at EPFL rank the highest in the world. Description: A therapy based on epidural electrical stimulation (EES) of the spinal cord can restore the ability to walk to people paralyzed by spinal cord injury. EES does this by recruiting sensory axons within dorsal spinal roots that enter the spinal cord between the vertebrae. Yet, clinically available electrode arrays used to deliver the EES were not designed to target individual spinal roots. Data driven design of the electrode arrays has the potential to substantially improve the specificity of spinal EES and, therefore, dramatically improve the recovery of people with spinal cord injury. The efficacy of EES could be further enhanced through computational algorithms capable of designing EES protocols that fully utilize the interaction between the electrode array and patient's anatomy. These two developments are critical for deployment of the EES-based therapy to clinics around the world to help millions of people suffering from spinal cord injury. We have created a computational pipeline capable of creating detailed computational models of individual persons' spinal columns from MRI scans and fMRI recordings. These hybrid models are composed of 3D finite element models (FEM) to characterize the electric current and potential in the spinal cord of individuals, and various abstractions of compartmental cable models and network models of spinal cord neuronal populations and their connections to calculate the effects of EES on the spinal networks and, in turn, the activation of muscles. This computational approach has the potential to optimize the efficacy of EES on a personalized basis, lead to novel superior electrode array designs, and further our understanding of the mechanisms by which spinal cord controls movement. The successful candidate will work to automatize our computational pipeline in order to make the described approaches useful in applied clinical practice. They will work on the development of efficient and robust computer vision algorithms to automatically segment medical imaging datasets. They will also further develop our computational pipeline to enable automatic definition of personalized EES stimulation protocols. Furthermore, they will implement a computational framework around our pipeline that can perform a large-scale and diverse sensitivity and uncertainty analysis. This framework will be critical to enhance the efficacy and explore possible novel applications of spinal cord EES. Prerequisites: - Master's Degree in Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics, Microengineering, Electrical Engineering or related - Proficiency in Python, Matlab and C++ - Experience with Finite Element Models, compartmental cable models, neurobiomechanical models and Machine Learning Contact: Applications including a CV and a cover letter should be sent to andreas.rowald(a)epfl.ch

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Human Brain Project-funded Postdoc position on large-scale modeling of hippocampus
by Salvador Bernal April 20, 2020

April 20, 2020

We are seeking extremely motivated applicants for a Human Brain Project-funded postdoc position in the laboratory of Michele Migliore (Palermo, Italy), in collaboration with the Neurosim laboratory at State University of New York Downstate (Brooklyn, USA). The project involves working with a large-scale biologically-detailed simulation of hippocampal CA1 circuit (https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/brain-simulation/hippocampus/) the EBRAINS Brain Simulation Platform (https://ebrains.eu/services/simulation/brain-simulation) and the NetPyNE modeling tool (www.netpyne.org<http://www.netpyne.org>). The position will be based in Palermo, but travel to the collaborating lab in New York will be possible. A PhD in Computational Neuroscience, Physics, Informatics, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field is required. The position is funded by the EU Human Brain Project. Salary follows the National Research Council scale for pre or post-doctoral status. The ideal candidate will have a consolidated experience in Python, NEURON and large-scale biologically-detailed simulations of brain circuits. Applicants should email “michele dot migliore at cnr dot it” a PDF file containing: 1) a CV, highlighting evidence of required skills. 2) a max one-page statement of prior research experience and motivation to be considered for this position. The appointment will be for one year, and it could be extended. Best regards. ________________________________ The contents of this email message and any attachments are confidential and are intended solely for the addressee. The information may also be legally privileged. This transmission is sent in trust, for the sole purpose of delivery to the intended recipient. If you have received this transmission in error, any use, reproduction or dissemination of this transmission is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please immediately notify sender by reply email or by (718) 270-HELP.

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Postdoc position Neuroinformatics/Computational Neuroscience at Radboud University (Nijmegen)
by Paul Tiesinga April 17, 2020

April 17, 2020

The FLAG-ERA project NeuronsReunited is looking for a postdoctoral research associate for a 3 year position at 0.9 fte. Each mental event or voluntary motor act involves the coordinated activity of neurons in areas of the brain far apart. Thin, branched and extremely long cellular processes called axons provide the physical substrate of these interactions. Since a few years it is possible to fully trace these long-range axons one at a time. The goal of the FlagERA research project “NeuronsReunited” is to create tools for speeding up the conversion of experimental data into digital axons, and to precisely place neurons into a digital reference brain to reveal their context. They are applied to existing and new data in mouse, and the resulting insights are incorporated into new models for brain function. The project is a collaboration between five international partners, two experimental partners (Prof. Francisco Clasca, Madrid; Prof. Egidio d’Angelo, Pavia) and three computational/theoretical partners (Prof. Paul Tiesinga, Dr. Rembrandt Bakker, Nijmegen; Prof. Michele Giugliano, Trieste; Prof. Sacha Van Albada, Jülich). As a postdoctoral research associate in Nijmegen you will design pipelines to process the raw anatomical data, create tools for the precise placement of axonal arbors in a digital reference brain and be part of the team that builds models and interprets the results. A key deliverable will be the creation of a gold standard online catalog of precisely placed neurons that future generations of neuroscientists can contribute to and compare data to. The tools make use of an existing body of work that consists of web-based applications (HBP Morphology Viewer and Scalable Brain Atlas, written in JavaScript) and interactive notebooks (Python). Besides being a member of the project team, you will also be part of the European Human Brain Project and have access to the expertise of the large neuroscience community at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior. The position will be embedded within the Donders Centre for Neuroscience (Faculty of Science), in particular in the Department of Neuroinformatics (Paul Tiesinga). The PIs in the department conduct research programs in computational neuroscience, neuroinformatics, large-ensemble electrophysiology/imaging and behavioural neuroscience in the general area of memory dynamics, sensory processing and decision making. What we expect from you • a PhD degree in a quantitative field (engineering, physics, computational neuroscience, etc); • expertise in neuroscience or interest in acquiring it; • excellent programming skills, preferably in JavaScript applications or Python-based pipelines; • experience with neuroinformatics, visualization/3d-graphics, image processing, and/or machine learning; • demonstrated ability to work in a multidisciplinary environment at the forefront of science; • excellent communication skills in spoken and written English. To apply: send an email to p.tiesinga(a)science.ru.nl with cover letter, CV, research statement and names of references, preferably combined into one pdf file or look for the ad at the academic transfer website (https://www.academictransfer.com/nl/, to be posted shortly) and apply there. More information: consult the following websites, • http://www.donders.ru.nl • https://www.ru.nl/science/dcn/research/neuroinformatics/ • https://scalablebrainatlas.incf.org • https://neuroinformatics.nl/HBP/morphology-viewer • https://www.flagera.eu/flag-era-calls/jtc-2019/projects/

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An expert survey on the Futures of Neurosciences
by Jarno Tuominen April 15, 2020

April 15, 2020

Dear colleagues, We are collecting an expert survey on the futures of neurosciences, and would greatly appreciate your time and effort in partaking in this research. The questions range from your perceptions on the current and futures states of the neurosciences to some more metaphysical or epistemological assumptions and beliefs. You can reach the survey here: https://webropol.com/s/futuresneurosciences >From this link you can also volunteer for the second part of this research, consisting of an online expert panel (E-Delphi method). Best wishes, Jarno Tuominen Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology Turku Brain and Mind Center Finland Futures Research Center University of Turku, Finland

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Postdoctoral position at Blue Brain Project in Geneva
by Natalí Barros Zulaica April 15, 2020

April 15, 2020

The Blue Brain Project (BBP) is looking for a postdoctoral researcher in Computational modelling to work on human brain cortical synapses and circuits. The candidate will work in a project which goal is to digitally reconstruct and simulate a human brain cortical microcircuit at the cellular and synaptic level fo detail. The successful candidate would be responsible for: - Gathering data about brain temporal cortex from literature, open-access datasets and international laboratories with which the BBP collaborates. - Interact with experimentalists to validate model predictions. - Provide scientific guidance and expertise to engineering teams and contribute to the on-going refinement of workflows and tools to build data-driven unifying brain tissue models. - Work in collaboration with engineering teams on visualisation, high performance computing, data integration and with project managers to define objectives and timelines to achieve overarching objectives and meet aggressive deadlines. - Collaboration to the general research activities and logistic activities (safety, equipment maintenance, etc.) of the unit. Candidate's profile: - PhD in neuroscience, computational neuroscience, physics or related filed. - Experience in scientific computing programming (python, script, lumpy, hdf5, Linux, ...) - Experience in whole cell electrophysiology - Experience in synapse electrophysiology analysis and research - Experience in model validation - Interest in participating in a collaborative big project - Fluent English speaking and writing. We offer: - One year, renewable contract 100% work rate - An internationally visible project in simulation-based research in neuroscience. - A young, dynamic, inter-disciplinary, and international and modern working environment (Campus Biotech, Geneva). - Possibility to participate in outreach events in Switzerland and abroad. - Very competitive salary. More information and application submission through: https://recruiting.epfl.ch/Vacancies/1036/Description/2

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[meetings] DEADLINE 1st May, CfP - Special session - Hybrid Life III, ALife 2020
by Manuel Baltieri April 14, 2020

April 14, 2020

*** UPDATES in relation to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) *** ********** Call for Papers - NEW Deadline 1st May ********** Special session - Hybrid Life III: Approaches to integrate biological, artificial and cognitive systems https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life-iii/ <https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life-iii/> 2020 Artificial Life conference (ALife) Virtual conference 13-18th July 2020 - http://2020.alife.org/ <http://2020.alife.org/> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DESCRIPTION: The main focus of ALife research is the study of natural systems with the goal of understanding what life is. More concretely, ALife defines ways to investigate processes that contribute to the formation and proliferation of living organisms. In this session we focus on three common approaches used to tackle this investigation, proposing ways to integrate, extend and possibly improve them. More specifically we refer to: 1) the formalisation of the necessary properties for the definition of life, 2) the implementation of artificial agents, and 3) the study of the relation between life and cognition. For this special session we propose to start from these well-established Alife methodologies, and extend them through: a unified formal language to describe and model living, as well as artificial and cognitive systems, e.g. control theory, Bayesian inference, dynamical systems theory, etc. the exploration of biological creatures enhanced by artificial systems (or artificial systems augmented with organic parts) in order to investigate the boundaries between living and nonliving organisms. This includes work from bio-inspired robotics, human augmentation, synthetic biology, etc. the evaluation of coupled biological-artificial systems that could shed light on the importance of interactions among systems for the study of living and cognitive organisms. This methodology welcomes contributions from the fields of human-agent interaction, animal-computer interaction, virtual / augmented reality systems, etc. This special session aims to invite contributions from the fields of psychology, computational neuroscience, HCI, theoretical biology, artificial intelligence, robotics and cognitive science to discuss current research on the formalisation, combination and interaction of artificial/living/cognitive systems from theoretical, modelling and implementational perspectives. Potential topics include, but are not limited to: Mathematical frameworks for life and cognition (e.g. dynamical systems theory, stochastic optimal control, Bayesian inference, etc.) Cognitive robotics Autopoiesis Life-mind continuity thesis Systems biology Origins-of-life theories with relationships to artificial and cognitive systems Animal-robot interaction Bio-inspired robotics Bio-integrated robotics Human-machine interaction Augmented cognition Sensory substitution Interactive evolutionary computation Artificial perception Important Dates 1st May 2020 – Paper submission deadline TBC – Paper acceptance notification TBC – Camera-ready version 13th-18th 2020 – Artificial Life virtual conference (ALife) Paper Submission Papers and abstracts submitted to this special sessions will be reviewed by a selected group of experts from the ALife community as well as from other areas key to our proposal, specifically chosen for this review process. If you are submitting to a special session you will be given the opportunity to select it during the submission process. Submissions to special sessions follow the same format, instructions and deadlines of regular ALife papers. Organizers Manuel Baltieri, RIKEN Centre for Brain Science, Saitama, Japan Keisuke Suzuki, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK Hiryuki IIzuka, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan Olaf Witkowski, Cross Labs, Tokyo, Japan Lana Sinapayen, Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Tokyo, Japan Contacts For questions, enquiries and more information please check our website https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life-iii/ <https://sites.google.com/view/hybrid-life-iii/> or get in touch with manuel.baltieri [at] riken.jp <http://riken.jp/>. All the best, -- Manuel Baltieri Postdoctoral Research Fellow Lab. for Neural Computation and Adaptation RIKEN CBS, Saitama, Japan www.manuelbaltieri.com <https://manuelbaltieri.com/> Twitter: @manuelbaltieri

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