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Call for Papers, Tutorials and Thematic Workshops

New Conference Feature:  BABYBOT CHALLENGE

IEEE ICDL-EPIROB 2015

The Fifth Joint IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning and on Epigenetic Robotics

Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA 

August 13-16, 2015 

http://www.icdl-epirob.org/

== Conference description

The past decade has seen the emergence of a new scientific field that studies how intelligent biological and 

artificial systems develop sensorimotor, cognitive, emotional and social abilities, over extended periods of time, 

through dynamic interactions with their physical and social environments. This field lies at the intersection 

of a number of scientific and engineering disciplines including Neuroscience, Developmental Psychology, 

Developmental Linguistics, Cognitive Science, Computational Neuroscience, Artificial Intelligence, Machine 

Learning, and Robotics. Various terms have been associated with this new field such as Autonomous Mental 

Development, Epigenetic Robotics, Developmental Robotics, etc., and several scientific meetings have been 

established. The two most prominent conference series of this field, the International Conference on 

Development and Learning (ICDL) and the International Conference on Epigenetic Robotics (EpiRob), are now 

joining forces for the fifth time and invite submissions for a joint conference in 2015, to explore and 

extend the interdisciplinary boundaries of this field.

== BABYBOT CHALLENGE -- CASH PRIZES FOR THE TOP SUBMISSIONS

We are excited to announce a new ICDL-EpiRob conference feature: the BABYBOT CHALLENGE. The

goal of the challenge is to use the tools of developmental robotics to replicate and extend the key findings

from one of three selected human-infant studies. Please visit www.icdl-epirob.org in the coming weeks for the

full announcement, including the three target studies, details on the submission process, and a description

of how the winning submissions will be judged and selected. 

== Keynote speakers (confirmed)

Prof. Dare Baldwin, Dept. of Psychology, University of Oregon, USA

Prof. Kerstin Dautenhahn, School of Computer Science, University of Hertfordshire, UK

== Call for Submissions

We invite submissions for this exciting window into the future of developmental sciences. Submissions which 

establish novel links between brain, behavior and computation are particularly encouraged.

== Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):

* the development of perceptual, motor, cognitive, emotional, social, and communication skills in biological 

  systems and robots; 

* embodiment; 

* general principles of development and learning; 

* interaction of nature and nurture; 

* sensitive/critical periods; 

* developmental stages; 

* grounding of knowledge and development of representations; 

* architectures for cognitive development and open-ended learning; 

* neural plasticity; 

* statistical learning; 

* reward and value systems; 

* intrinsic motivations, exploration and play; 

* interaction of development and evolution; 

* use of robots in applied settings such as autism therapy; 

* epistemological foundations and philosophical issues. 

Any of the topics above can be simultaneously studied from the neuroscience, psychology or modeling/robotic 

point of view.

== Submissions will be accepted in several formats:

1. Full six-page paper submissions: Accepted papers will be included in the conference proceedings and will 

   be selected for either an oral presentation or a featured poster presentation. Featured posters will have 

   a 1 minute "teaser" presentation as part of the main conference session and will be showcased in the 

   poster sessions. Maximum two-extra pages can be acceptable for a publication fee of $100 per page.

2. Two-page poster abstract submissions: To encourage discussion of late-breaking results or for work that 

   is not sufficiently mature for a full paper, we will accept 2-page abstracts. These submissions will NOT 

   be included in the conference proceedings. Accepted abstracts will be presented during poster sessions.

3. Tutorials and workshops: We invite experts in different areas to organize either a tutorial or a workshop

   to be held on the first day of the conference. Tutorials are meant to provide insights into specific 

   topics as well as overviews that will inform the interdisciplinary audience about the state-of-the-art in 

   child development, neuroscience, robotics, or any of the other disciplines represented at the conference. 

   A workshop is an opportunity to present a topic cumulatively. Workshops can be half- or full-day in 

   duration including oral presentations as well as posters. Submission format: two pages including title,

   list of speakers, concept and target audience.

All submissions will be peer reviewed. 

Submission website through paperplaza at: http://ras.papercept.net

== Important dates

March 9, 2015, paper submission deadline

May 15, 2015, author notification

July 1, 2015, final version (camera ready) due

August 13th-16th, 2015, conference

== Program committee

General Chairs:

Matthew Schlesinger (Southern Illinois Univ.)

Dima Amso (Brown Univ.)

Bridge Chairs:

Jeffrey Krichmar (UC Irvine)

Bertram Malle (Brown University)

Program Chairs:

Anne Warlaumount (UC Merced)

Clemént Moulin-Frier (INRIA)

Publications Chairs:

Lisa Meeden (Swarthmore College)

Publicity Chairs:

Lola Cañamero (Univ. of Hertfordshire)

Matthias Rolf (Osaka University)

Benjamin Rosman (Univ. of the Witwatersrand)

Local chairs:

David Sobel (Brown University)

Thomas Serre (Brown University)

Finance chairs:

Clayton Morrison (University of Arizona)

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