From dblank at cs.brynmawr.edu Tue Aug 14 11:24:11 2007 From: dblank at cs.brynmawr.edu (Douglas S. Blank) Date: Tue Aug 14 11:27:20 2007 Subject: [DevRob] First Conference on Artificial General Intelligence Message-ID: <46C1C91B.6040203@cs.brynmawr.edu> [I've heard that they are looking for participation from Developmental Roboticists. -Doug] The First Conference on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI-08) http://www.agi-08.org/ March 1-3, 2008, Memphis, Tennessee, USA Paper Submission Deadline: Sept 30, 2007 The field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) was initially directly aimed at the construction of "thinking machines" --- that is, computer systems with humanlike general intelligence. But this task proved very difficult, and so as steps in this direction, AI researchers focused on producing AI systems displaying intelligence regarding specific tasks in relatively narrow domains. In recent years, however, the situation has been changing. More and more researchers have recognized the necessity - and feasibility - of returning to the original goals of the field. Increasingly, there is a call for a transition from the current focus on highly specialized "narrow AI" problem solving systems, back to confronting the more difficult issues of "human level intelligence" and more broadly "artificial general intelligence (AGI)." The purpose of the AGI-08 conference is to gather together academic and industry researchers who are doing serious scientific and engineering work aimed directly toward the goal of artificial general intelligence. By putting our minds together, we will be able to move yet more rapidly toward the creation of new and powerful artificial minds. Topics will include (but are not restricted to): * Foundations and Theory of AGI * The Role of Embodiment in AGI * Key Enabling Applications for AGI * Management of Complex Goal Structures * Lifelong and Multi-Strategy Learning * Case-by-case Problem-Solving * AGI-based Natural Language Processing * Connecting Sensorimotor and Concept-level Cognition * Coherence of Integrative/Hybrid AGI Systems * Evaluation and Comparison of AGI Projects Organizing Committee: * Stan Franklin (Chair), University of Memphis * Sidney D'Mello, University of Memphis * Ben Goertzel, Novamente LLC * Bruce Klein, Novamente LLC * Lee McCauley, University of Memphis * Pei Wang, Temple University Program Committee: * Ben Goertzel (Co-Chair), Novamente LLC * Pei Wang (Co-Chair), Temple University * Sam S. Adams, IBM Research * James Anderson, Brown University * Mike Anderson, Franklin & Marshall College * Mark H. Bickhard, Lehigh University * Yaneer Bar-Yam, New England Complex Systems Institute * Eric Baum, Baum Research Enterprises * Henry Brighton, Max Planck Inst for Human Development * Nick Cassimatis, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute * Hernan Castro, Intel Corporation * Andrew Coward, Australian National University * Hugo de Garis, Wuhan University * Debbie Duong, Science Applications International Corp * Wlodzislaw Duch, Nicolaus Copernicus University * Richard Duro, Universidade da Coru?a * Stan Franklin, University of Memphis * David Friedlander, Behavior Recognition Systems * Phil Goetz, National Library of Medicine * Josh Storrs Hall, Institute for Molecular Manufacturing * Marcus Hutter, Australian National University * Cliff Joslyn, Los Alamos National Laboratory * Nikola Kasabov, Auckland University of Technology * Randal Koene, Boston University * Christian Lebiere, Carnegie Mellon University * Soo-Young Lee, Korea Advanced Inst of Science & Tech. * Douglas Lenat, Cycorp * Moshe Looks, Science Applications International Corporation * Bruce MacLennan, University of Tennessee * Don Perlis, University of Maryland * Matthias Scheutz, University of Notre Dame * Juergen Schmidhuber, Dalle Molle Institute for AI * Lokendra Shastri, International Computer Science Institute * Aaron Sloman, University of Birmingham * David G. Stork, Ricoh Innovations * John Gerald Taylor, King's College London * Karin Verspoor, Los Alamos National Laboratory * Paul Vogt, Tilburg University * Mark Waser, Books International * Mary-Anne William, University of Technology, Sydney From giulio.sandini at iit.it Sat Aug 18 02:56:44 2007 From: giulio.sandini at iit.it (Giulio Sandini) Date: Sat Aug 18 09:45:35 2007 Subject: [DevRob] PhD fellowships on Robotics and Neuroscience at IIT Message-ID: <000a01c7e164$f6cce1f0$e466a5d0$@sandini@iit.it> The University of Genova, in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Technology IIT, is offering 50 research positions for PhD students in the multidisciplinary Doctoral School on Robotics, Neurosciences and Nanotechnologies The Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) is a research institution in Italy that is currently in an advanced start-up phase. The fellowships assigned by IIT to the University of Genova are part of the start-up strategy of the Institute and have the specific goal of forming the first generation of IIT?s research fellows. Following the start of the Research Labs in the IIT?s Headquarters in Genova Morego and the appointment of the first scientists, this year?s research topics are proposed by the Research Directors and their senior collaborators. The candidates are asked to prepare a research project of their choice with explicit reference to the Theme proposed. The soundness of the project will be part of the evaluation process and will be considered preferential for the choice of the individual scientific theme that will be made jointly by the tutor and the candidate. This year?s students will have the opportunity to contribute to the start-up of the IIT headquarters laboratories in Morego (near Genoa ? Italy) while attending the school?s educational and research activities. The description of the specific topics of research offered can be found in Annex-A of the application?s documents that can be retrieved from one of the web-pages indicated below. The successful candidates should have a background in Robotics, Bioengineering, Computational Neurosciences, Computer Sciences, Physics, Biology, or a related field. The fellowships have duration of minimum three years. Salary is, according to the Italian public service regulation, approximately ? 12,500 per year. On top of that up to ? 4,000 per year will be available as a support to accommodation expenses. Travel funding to attend conferences and schools is also available. According to the Italian public service regulations candidates should send an application letter and accompanying documents as described here: http://www.iit.it/phd_positions http://www.studenti.unige.it/dottorati http://www.liralab.it/IIT_school/CICLOXXIII/Concorso.htm Applications deadline: October 1st, 2007 The School will start in January 2008, in Genova (Italy). For More information: Scientific: Giulio Sandini ( giulio.sandini@iit.it) Administrative: Anastasia Bruzzone and Ingrid Sica (dottorato@liralab.it) --- Prof. Giulio Sandini Italian Institute of Technology Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department Phone: +39 010 7178101 - Fax +39 010 720321 and LIRA-Lab, University of Genova Phone: +39 0103532779 - Fax: +39 010353.2948 http://www.liralab.it http://sandini.liralab.it -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://emergent.brynmawr.edu/pipermail/devrob/attachments/20070818/886e8d13/attachment-0001.htm From giulio.sandini at iit.it Sat Aug 18 03:27:06 2007 From: giulio.sandini at iit.it (Giulio Sandini) Date: Sat Aug 18 09:45:36 2007 Subject: [DevRob] Brain Machine Interface - PhD Fellowships Message-ID: <004c01c7e169$32e1e830$98a5b890$@sandini@iit.it> The Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences (RBCS) Department of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) is offering fellowships for the in-vivo studies of BRAIN MACHINE INTERFACE. These fellowships are part of a multidisciplinary project aiming at 'reading' the brain to understand and extract motor signals which may be used to control an artificial limb. The project will be developed jointly at RBCS department of IIT by a group of scientists coordinated by Luciano Fadiga and including: Stefano Panzeri, Alessandro Vato, Gytis Baranauskas, Davide Ricci and Franco Bertora. The BMI project addresses topics such as the design of microelectrode and microelectronics devices for chronic in-vivo recording, electrophysiological and brain signals recording, investigation of the coding/decoding issue, functional identification of brain motor/premotor areas, and direct connection to artificial actuators. More specifically the seven research themes proposed are (short abstract and scientist in charge are included at the end of the message): . Theme 5.8: The Neural Interface Problem: Enhanced in-vivo electrodes by nanomaterial coatings . Theme 5.9: The Signal Treatment Problem . Theme 5.10: The Brain Signal Decoding Problem . Theme 5.11: The Movements vs. Actions Problem . Theme 5.12: The Neurophysiology of the Human Brain . Theme 5.13: The Role of Sensory Feedback in Brain Machine Interface . Theme 5.14: Machinery for Functional Brain Analysis Interested applicants should refer to one of the following website to download instructions on how to apply and/or contact directly the scientists in charge (below) for more information regarding the individual research plans. http://www.liralab.it/IIT_school/CICLOXXIII/Concorso.htm http://www.iit.it/phd_positions --- Prof. Giulio Sandini Italian Institute of Technology Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department Phone: +39 010 7178101 - Fax +39 010 720321 and LIRA-Lab, University of Genova Phone: +39 0103532779 - Fax: +39 010353.2948 http://www.liralab.it http://sandini.liralab.it -------------------------------------------- RESEARCH TOPICS PROPOSED Theme 5.8 - The Neural Interface Problem: Enhanced in-vivo electrodes by nanomaterial coatings Tutor: Dr. Davide Ricci. N. of available positions: 1 Within the Brain Machine Interface research project of IIT, that has the ultimate goal of extracting and decoding brain signals to drive artificial actuators, a key issue is the investigation on how such brain signals can be extracted from electrical recordings with the necessary temporal and spatial resolutions. Nanomaterial coatings, such as carbon nanotubes, both unmodified or bio-functionalized, offer the possibility to improve the recording properties of traditional metal electrodes. Through direct integration of nanomaterials in the electrode fabrication process, this Ph.D. research project will deal with the following tasks: (1) designing efficient, long-term recording microelectrodes; (2) investigating the possibility to record signals from the surface of the cortex; (3) investigating the problem of input impedance and making attempts to reduce it without loss in signal-to-noise ratio; (4) studying how to minimize tissue reactions, such as glyosis. The ideal candidate would have a background in one or more of the following fields: material science, electrochemistry, micromechanics, nanotechnology, physics. For further details concerning the research project, please contact: davide.ricci@iit.it) Theme 5.9 - The Signal Treatment Problem Tutor: Dr. Gytis Baranauskas N. of available positions: 1 Any brain signal has to be amplified and processed before it can be used to control a prosthetic device or a robotic manipulator. Moreover, the device that amplifies and elaborates brain signals should be as small as possible. We already have an integrated circuitry that is smaller than a finger nail and that amplifies 64 independent neuronal signals. The goal of this largely electronic engineering project is to build a single chip powered by radio-waves that amplifies and processes signals from hundreds of neurons in such a way that the chip output can be directly fed into the artificial system driving a robotic arm. We expect to test this chip in animals as well as in human patients. Thus, we are looking for a PhD student interested in analog and digital microelectronics for biomedical applications and preferentially with background in physics. The selected student will be working in close collaboration with the project 5.8 team (see above). For further details concerning the research project, please contact: baranauskas@elet.polimi.it Theme 5.10: The Brain Signal Decoding Problem Tutor: Prof. Stefano Panzeri N. of available positions: 1 A fundamental question in the development of brain-machine-interfaces is how to extract information about sensory stimulus or motor commands from a single-trial observation of neuronal activity. This mathematical-analysis PhD project will aim at addressing this question by investigating systematically which features of different types of recordings of neural activity (such as spike trains of well isolated neurons, field potentials, multiple-unit activity or other) convey the most information about sensory stimuli or motor actions. We will develop data analysis techniques based on the principles of information theory and then apply them to recordings of brain activity provided by our experimental collaborators, with the goal of determining how best to decode these brain signals. The ideal candidate for this PhD studentship will a have a strong degree in a numerate discipline such as physics, statistics, mathematics or computer science. No previous knowledge of neuroscience is needed, although a strong motivation to contribute to brain research is essential. For more details concerning the research project, please contact: stefano.panzeri@manchester.ac.uk Theme 5.11: The Movements vs. Actions Problem Tutor: Prof. Luciano Fadiga N. of available positions: 1 Apart from very few exceptions, the research groups currently working at BMI are doing their attempts by recording from the primary motor cortex. Their goal is to decode directional tuning and individual muscles control signals. We consider this approach quite risky. First of all because several researchers are now disputing the idea that the motor cortex codes the direction of reaching in absolute terms, second because recent neurophysiological evidence shows that actions and not movements are mainly coded by the brain. Within this field of research, one PhD student will be involved in cortical electrophysiology to record single neurons' signals. The aim is twofold: to study and understand the motor commands generated by the brain during goal-directed acts and to set up long-term chronical recording techniques, firstly in monkeys and then in humans. Backgrounds in computer science, electronics and basic neuroscience are required. For further details concerning the research project, please contact: luciano.fadiga@iit.it Theme 5.12: The Neurophysiology of the Human Brain Tutor: Dr. Elisa Molinari N. of available positions: 1 This work will concern brain imaging (functional magnetic resonance) to investigate the cortical and subcortical activity of the motor system during goal-directed actions. Through this project we will better understand the functional correlates of motor planning/execution by analyzing data and developing new single-subject analysis techniques. This will be done by taking into account both the statistical significance and the intensity (signal-to-noise ratio) of the activations. We are looking forward for one PhD student which should be competent in physics, computer science and basic neuroscience. For further details concerning the research project, please contact: elisa.molinari@iit.it Theme 5.13: The Role of Sensory Feedback in Brain Machine Interface. Tutor: Dr. Alessandro Vato. N. of available positions: 1 Within this field of research we will study in animal models (and then in human patients) the relevance of sensory afferents for controlling an artificial effector. Somatosensory real-time feedback is fundamental for motor planning and for executing "on-line" errors correction during movements. In people with sensory motor disabilities, the sensory information that cannot reach the brain, can be "substituted" through an intact sensory channel (i.e. eyes or ears) different from the damaged one. Alternatively, the damaged sensory pathway can be "replaced" trying to achieve the same sensation in an artificial way. The goal of this project is to design an encoder interface to stimulate the sensory cortex of behaving rats conveying sensory information related to the state of an external device. The encoder will be part of a Bidirectional Brain Machine Interface System in which neural signals recorded directly from the rat's motor cortex will control an external device and real-time feedback will be provided via electrical stimulation of the sensory cortex. The candidate for this PhD position will be required to have a background in computer science, electronics and basic neuroscience. For further details concerning the research project, please contact: alessandro.vato@iit.it Theme 5.14: Machinery for Functional Brain Analysis Tutor: Dr. Franco Bertora N. of available positions: 1 In addition, and in parallel with the preceding themes, there is at IIT an ongoing program to investigate the frontiers of functional MRI. Any fMRI of the motor cortex has so far been performed on subjects confined in a supine/prone position in the limited volume of a traditional scanner. There are reasons to think that the analysis of subjects performing motor tasks in a more "natural" environment could produce different and more meaningful results. A study is currently in progress to determine the feasibility of a scanner allowing functional brain analysis of a human adult in a standing or sitting position. We are looking for one PhD student with background in physics, electronics, signal processing and MRI to explore the possibly novel imaging techniques (MRI sequences, data acquisition modalities and image reconstruction) to be included in the development of the scanner. For further details concerning the research project, please contact: franco.bertora@iit.it -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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