<div dir="ltr"><br clear="all"><div>CALL FOR APPLICATIONS <br>
<br>
<font size="2"><span style="font-size:10pt"></span></font><font size="2">**<span style="font-size:10pt">Apologies for cross posting ** <br><br></span></font></div><font size="2"><span style="font-size:10pt">We are pleased to call for applications for the <b>JST-CREST / IEEE-RAS</b> spring school on:<br></span></font><div><div>
<b><br></b>"<b><span style="color:rgb(0,0,255)">Social and Artificial Intelligence for User-Friendly Robots</span></b>"<b><br>
<br>
Which will be held from 17-24 March, <span class="gmail-m_5759965006897758422gmail-m_6581805013301392961gmail-m_9207522180183320732gmail-m_-1904693661836521243gmail-m_4760527829350454564gmail-m_-3206076764321443009gmail-m_-3562096058764224599gmail-m_-3015333830113775924gmail-m_-2869128526675034758gmail-m_-2106559306391198922gmail-m_-3653695929294890241gmail-m_-8277367450047095520gmail-il">2019</span> in Shonan Village, Japan </b>after the <b>Human-Robot Interaction (HRI)</b> conference that will be held in the near South Korea. <br></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b>Webpage: </b><a href="https://inic8.bitbucket.io/SoAIR19/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color:rgb(0,0,255)">https://inic8.bitbucket.io/SoAIR19/</span></b></a></div></div><div><br></div><div><font size="2">
</font><b><font size="2">I. Aim and Scope </font><br>
<br></b>Autonomous and intelligent systems are progressively moving into spaces,
which have previously been predominantly shaped by human agency. Unlike
in the past where machines obediently served their human operators,
machines now increasingly act without the intervention of a human.
Artificial intelligence is meeting new challenges in the world, though
human-like intelligence may still be a distant goal. Robots in factories
are coming out of their cages. Autonomous cars are being tested on
streets with regular human-driven cars. The private household is
changing with the appearance of not only robotic vacuum cleaners, but
also with the first-generation of social robots and smart devices.
The challenges that face both the robotics and artificial intelligence
communities are how the necessary intelligence for such new environments
can be created as well as how to make artificial agents capable of not
only solving tasks at hand but also considering social environments
around them during interaction with human users so as to behave
appropriately. Within the school, we plan to address the tension created
by the balance between task-specific artificial intelligence and the
demands of sociability required to function effectively in
human-centered environments.
<br></div><div><br></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,0,255)">** <b>Who should apply?</b></span> We invite <u><b>Masters and PhD students</b></u> as well as<b> </b><u><b>post-doctoral candidates and researchers from industry</b></u> with relevant research background to apply for this spring school. <span style="color:rgb(0,0,255)"><b>Additional support could be available based on eligibility.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>** <b>This spring school is a <span style="color:rgb(0,0,255)">Technical Education Program (TEP)</span> endorsed and supported by <span style="color:rgb(153,0,0)">JST-CREST /</span> <span style="color:rgb(153,0,0)">IEEE-RAS</span></b>. <br></div><div><br></div><div>**<span style="color:rgb(102,0,0)"> <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><b>The
school aims at bridging the gap between social and cognitive
Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Autonomous Vehicles (AV) through
high level talks, tutorials, and <span style="color:rgb(102,0,0)">hands-on workshops</span> (<u><span style="color:rgb(0,0,255)">the program will be announced soon</span></u>).</b></span></span></div><div><br></div><div><b>II. Keynote Speakers:
<br></b><ol><li><b> Takayuki Nagai, </b>Osaka University, Japan</li><li><b> Jun Tani </b>– Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Japan<span id="gmail-m_5759965006897758422gmail-m_6581805013301392961gmail-m_9207522180183320732gmail-m_-1904693661836521243gmail-m_4760527829350454564gmail-m_-3206076764321443009gmail-m_-3562096058764224599gmail-m_-3015333830113775924gmail-m_-2869128526675034758gmail-m_-2106559306391198922gmail-m_-3653695929294890241gmail-m_-8277367450047095520gmail-m_8994980247444862417gmail-m_5968618158578550313gmail-m_-7352720678425214941gmail-m_1226013877283004266gmail-m_3996088395605672243gmail-m_-7127017366041135525gmail-m_-2172179425655542504gmail-m_-7889650702234390913gmail-m_-672752508228771339gmail-m_4908767671415339519gmail-m_3776204211398250598gmail-m_-3015332588374480187gmail-m_2116729354646594805gmail-m_-9085810991432375435gmail-m_-8038260122171374740gmail-m_-4732084815175513257gmail-m_-8437691868412106489gmail-result_box" class="gmail-m_5759965006897758422gmail-m_6581805013301392961gmail-m_9207522180183320732gmail-m_-1904693661836521243gmail-m_4760527829350454564gmail-m_-3206076764321443009gmail-m_-3562096058764224599gmail-m_-3015333830113775924gmail-m_-2869128526675034758gmail-m_-2106559306391198922gmail-m_-3653695929294890241gmail-m_-8277367450047095520gmail-m_8994980247444862417gmail-m_5968618158578550313gmail-m_-7352720678425214941gmail-m_1226013877283004266gmail-m_3996088395605672243gmail-m_-7127017366041135525gmail-m_-2172179425655542504gmail-m_-7889650702234390913gmail-m_-672752508228771339gmail-m_4908767671415339519gmail-m_3776204211398250598gmail-m_-3015332588374480187gmail-m_2116729354646594805gmail-m_-9085810991432375435gmail-m_-8038260122171374740gmail-m_-4732084815175513257gmail-m_-8437691868412106489gmail-short_text" lang="en"><span class="gmail-m_5759965006897758422gmail-m_6581805013301392961gmail-m_9207522180183320732gmail-m_-1904693661836521243gmail-m_4760527829350454564gmail-m_-3206076764321443009gmail-m_-3562096058764224599gmail-m_-3015333830113775924gmail-m_-2869128526675034758gmail-m_-2106559306391198922gmail-m_-3653695929294890241gmail-m_-8277367450047095520gmail-m_8994980247444862417gmail-m_5968618158578550313gmail-m_-7352720678425214941gmail-m_1226013877283004266gmail-m_3996088395605672243gmail-m_-7127017366041135525gmail-m_-2172179425655542504gmail-m_-7889650702234390913gmail-m_-672752508228771339gmail-m_4908767671415339519gmail-m_3776204211398250598gmail-m_-3015332588374480187gmail-m_2116729354646594805gmail-m_-9085810991432375435gmail-m_-8038260122171374740gmail-m_-4732084815175513257gmail-m_-8437691868412106489gmail-"></span></span></li><li> <b>Daniele Magazzeni </b>– King's College London, UK</li><li><strong> Yukie Nagai </strong>–<font size="2"> National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Japan</font><br></li><li> <b> Tetsuya Ogata</b> – Waseda University, Japan<br></li><li><b> </b><b>Mohamed Chetouani </b>– University of Pierre and Marie Curie (UPMC), France</li><li> <b>Silvia Rossi</b> – University of Naples, Italy<br></li><li><b> </b><b>Agnieszka Wykowska </b>– Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Italy</li><li><b> </b><b>Tetsunari Inamura </b>– National Institute of Informatics (NII), Japan</li><li><b> </b><b>Amit Kumar Pandey </b>– SoftBank (Aldebaran) Robotics, France</li><li> <b>Mehul Bhatt</b> – Orebro University, Sweden (Tutorial)<br></li><li> <b>Mohsen Kaboli –</b> Bavarian Motor Works (BMW), Germany (Tutorial)</li><li><b> </b><b>Francesco Maurelli </b>– Jacobs University, Germany (Preparing Marie Curie funding proposal)</li><li> <b>Atsuko Nakatsuka</b> – Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Japan (Preparing JSPS funding proposal)</li></ol>
<b><font size="2">III. Submission <br></font></b></div><div><br></div><div>The
applications must include the following files (combined into one file).
No other documents would be necessary (More information is available on
the school's webpage). <br><ol><li><b>Curriculum vitae</b>: A CV detailing relevant aspects of the candidate's academic career that
demonstrates her/his relevance to the school theme. Please consider
including the list of publications.</li><li><b>Research abstract</b>: A 200-word research abstract that the candidate intends to present during the school. </li><li><b>Letter of recommendation</b>: A brief letter from the academic advisor or the employer of the
candidate supporting her/his application. Please also indicate if additional support would be required to attend the school.</li></ol><font size="2"><b>Application submission</b>: Please use the following EasyChair web link:</font><b><font size="2"> <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><b><a href="https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=soair2019" target="_blank">Application Submission</a></b></span>.</font></b></div><div><b><font size="2"><br></font></b></div><div><b><font size="2">IV. Important Dates </font></b><br><ol><li>Application submission <span style="color:rgb(153,0,0)"><b>[Extended]</b></span>: <span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)"><b>10-January, 2019 <br></b></span></li><li>Notification of acceptance: <span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)"><b>14-January, 2019 </b></span><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)"></span></li><li>Spring School: <span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)"><b>17-24 March, <span class="gmail-m_5759965006897758422gmail-m_6581805013301392961gmail-m_9207522180183320732gmail-m_-1904693661836521243gmail-m_4760527829350454564gmail-m_-3206076764321443009gmail-m_-3562096058764224599gmail-m_-3015333830113775924gmail-m_-2869128526675034758gmail-m_-2106559306391198922gmail-m_-3653695929294890241gmail-m_-8277367450047095520gmail-il">2019</span><strong style="outline:medium none currentcolor;box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:bold;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Roboto;font-size:16px;background-color:rgb(249,249,249)"><span style="outline:medium none currentcolor;box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px none;font-weight:inherit;font-style:inherit;font-family:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(105,17,17)"></span></strong></b></span><br></li></ol><b>V. Organizers </b><br><ol><li><b> </b><b>Amir Aly </b>– Ritsumeikan University – Japan</li><li> <b>Franziska Kirstein </b>– Blue Ocean Robotics, Denmark<br></li><li><b> Shashank Pathak </b>– Visteon Corporation, Germany</li></ol><div>--------------------- </div></div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span><b>Amir Aly, Ph.D.</b><br></span></font><font size="2"><span>Senior Researcher</span></font><font size="2"><span><span><font size="2"><span><span><font size="2"><span><span><font size="2"><span><span><font size="2"><span><br></span></font></span></span></font></span></span></font></span></span></font></span>Emergent Systems Laboratory</span></font><br><font size="2"><span><span><font size="2"><span><span><font size="2"><span></span></font></span></span></font></span>College of Information Science and Engineering</span></font><br><font size="2"><span><span><font size="2"><span><span><font size="2"><span><span><font size="2"><span><span><font size="2"><span><span><font size="2"><span>Ritsumeikan University<br></span></font></span></span></font></span></span></font></span></span></font></span></span></font></span>1-1-1 Noji Higashi, Kusatsu, Shiga 525-8577<br>Japan</span></font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>