Dear colleagues, Please find below the second call for participation to the 7th edition of Living Machines. Apologies for cross-posting but please share this announcement with your colleagues. Looking forward to seeing you in Paris! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ /Second Call for Papers, Satellite Events and Sponsors/ *Living Machines VII: The 7th International Conference on Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems* *16 – 19 July 2018*** To be hosted at the Museum National D’Histoire Naturelle, Grand Amphitéâtre du Museum,and UPMC, Paris, France, EU Accepted papers will be published in Springer/Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence/ Submission deadline: March 12th, 2018 http://livingmachinesconference.eu/2018 <http://livingmachinesconference.eu/2018> _____________________________________________________________________________ ** *ABOUT LIVING MACHINES 2018* The development of future real-world technologies will depend strongly on our understanding and harnessing of the principles underlying living systems and the flow of communication signals between living and artificial systems. *Biomimetics*is the development of novel technologies through the distillation of principles from the study of biological systems.The investigation of biomimetic systems can serve two complementary goals. First, a suitably designed and configured biomimetic artefact can be used to test theories about the natural system of interest. Second, biomimetic technologies can provide useful, elegant and efficient solutions to unsolved challenges in science and engineering. *Biohybrid*systems are formed by combining at least one biological component—an existing living system—and at least one artificial, newly-engineered component. By passing information in one or both directions, such a system forms a new hybrid bio-artificial entity. The theme of the conference also encompasses biomimetic methods for manufacture, repair and recycling inspired by natural processes such as reproduction, digestion, morphogenesis and metamorphosis. The following are some examples of “Living Machines” as featured at past conferences: •Biomimetic robots and their component technologies (sensors, actuators, processors) that can interact with their physical and social environments. •Biomimetic computers and architectures —neuromimetic emulations of the physiological basis for complex adaptive behaviour. •Active biomimetic materials and structures that self-organize and self-repair. •Nature-based designs and manufacturing processes. •Biohybrid brain-machine interfaces and neuronal implants and neuroprosthetics. •Artificial organs and body-parts including sensory organ-chip hybrids and advanced prostheses and cyber-physical systems. •Organism-level biohybrids and symbiosis such as robot-animal or robot-human systems. ** *ACTIVITIES* The main conference will take the form of a*three-day single-track oral*and*poster presentation programme*, 17th to 19th July 2018,Museum National D’Histoire Naturelle,Grand Amphitéâtre du Museum,and UPMC,Paris, France, EU. The conference programme will include*five 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 two days of*Satellite Events*hosted atÉcole Normale Supérieure, Paris. *SUBMITTING TO LIVING MACHINES 2018* We invite both*full papers*and*extended abstracts*in areas related to the conference themes. All contributions will be refereed, and accepted papers will appear in the Living Machines Proceedings, published in the*Springer-Verlag/Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence/.* Full papers (minimum 8 pages, up to 12 pages) are invited from researchers at any stage in their career and should present significant findings and advances in biomimetic or biohybrid research. More preliminary work is better suited for short paper submission (minimum 4 pages, with a maximum of ten references and no more than three self-citations).Full papers will be accepted for either oral presentation (single track) or poster presentation with a short podium preview. Extended abstracts will be accepted for poster presentation only. Authors of the best full papers will be invited to submitted extended versions of their paper for publication in a special issue of the Taylor & Francis journal*Connection Science*. *Satellite events* Active researchers in biomimetic and biohybrid systems are invited to propose topics for full or half-day*tutorials, symposia*or*workshops*on related themes to be held on the 16^th July atthe École Normale Supérieure in Paris (http://www.ens.fr/en <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.ens.fr_en&d=DwMDaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=0w3solp5fswiyWF2RL6rSs8MCeFamFEPafDTOhgTfYI&m=owvpE4znSZPGG5W_vwYBnslfQCJ1yowtmQDn8YnUlGI&s=KsPp5w8o6dt_Mk0kgmdNRGxEd2GfTE0iMjjHt8EsL60&e=>). Attendance at satellite events will attract a small fee intended to cover the costs of the meeting. There is flexibility about the content, organisation, and budgeting for these events. Please contact us if you are interested in organising a satellite event! ** *EXPECTED DEADLINES* March 12th, 2018 Paper submission deadline April 28th, 2018 Notification of acceptance May 15th, 2018 Camera-ready copy July 16th – 19th, 2018 Workshops and Conference ** *SPONSORSHIP* Organisations wishing to sponsor the conference in any way and gain the corresponding benefits by promoting themselves and their products through conference publications, conference events, and conference publicity areencouraged to contact the organisers to discuss the terms of sponsorship and necessary arrangements. We also offer a number of attractive options to potential sponsors. *VENUE* Consistent with the Living Machines’ tradition of choosing historical venues at the crossroads between life and human sciences, this year the conference will take place at theMuseum National D’Histoire Naturelle(http://www.mnhn.fr/fr <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.mnhn.fr_fr&d=DwMDaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=0w3solp5fswiyWF2RL6rSs8MCeFamFEPafDTOhgTfYI&m=owvpE4znSZPGG5W_vwYBnslfQCJ1yowtmQDn8YnUlGI&s=_4w9IWu62svZFT0KM9oMqpanOcGQc0deFnJWQCMO-hI&e=>) a historical museum located in the heart of Paris that for almost 400 years has focused on nature and its relationship with humans. The museum is immersed in history, yet at the heart of current affairs, and is also working to be projected towards the future. Poster sessions will be organized at UPMC. ** *Organising Committee:* *Jose Halloy*,Université Paris Diderot(Local Organizing Chair) *Paul Verschure*, IBEC-BIST (Co-Chair) *Tony Prescott*, University of Sheffield (Steering Committee) *Vicky Vouloutsi,*IBEC-BIST, Barcelona (Programme Chair) *Michael Mangan*, University of Lincoln (Programme Co-Chair) *Nathan Lepora*, University of Bristol (Communications) *Anna Mura*, IBEC-BIST, Barcelona (Web and Communications) *Local**Organising Committee:* *Stéphane Doncieux*, Prof. UMPC, ISIR *Benoît Girard*, DR CNRS, UPMC, ISIR *Emmanuelle Pouydebat*, DR CNRS, Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle *Vincent Bels*, Prof. Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle -- Vicky Vouloutsi, PhD Postdoc Researcher at the laboratory for Synthetic Perceptive, Emotive and Cognitive Systems (SPECS <http://specs-lab.com/>) mail: vvouloutsi@ibecbarcelona.eu <mailto:vvouloutsi@ibecbarcelona.eu> LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/in/vicky-vouloutsi-28496133/> researchgate <https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Vasiliki_Vouloutsi>