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Workshop on Computational Spatial
Language Interpretation (CoSLI)
In conjunction with Spatial Cognition 2010
Mt Hood / Portland Oregon, Aug 15 2010
http://www.cosli.org
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WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
Competence in spatial language modelling is a cardinal issue in
disciplines including Cognitive Psychology, Computational Linguistics,
and Computer Science. Within Cognitive Psychology, the relation of
spatial language to models of spatial representation and reasoning is
considered essential to the development of more complete models of
psycholinguistic and cognitive linguistic theories. Within Computer
Science and Computational Linguistics, the development of a wide class
of so-called situated systems such as robotics, virtual characters, and
Geographic Information Systems is heavily dependent on the existence of
adequate models of spatial language in order to allow users to interact
with these systems when standard graphical, textual, or tactile modes of
communication are infeasible or inconvenient.
Competence in spatial language requires that we assign appropriate
meaning to spatial terms such as projective, perspective, topological,
distance, and path descriptive markers. However, it is not the case that
a given linguistic unit such as a spatial preposition has a meaning that
can be described in terms of a single qualitative or quantitative model.
The same preposition can have multiple meanings, and such variance must
be handled through either underspecified models that can be stretched to
particular situations, or models which incorporate multiple disparate
meanings that are assigned to terms as a situation invites, or models
that take into account vague interpretations in situated contexts. In
spite of some formal proposals in this area, such heterogeneous meaning
accounts are rarely seen in practical computational systems. Moreover,
while early models of spatial term interpretation focused on the
geometric interpretation of spatial language, it is now widely
recognized that spatial term meaning is also dependent on functional and
pragmatic features. Competent models of spatial language must thus draw
on complex models of situated meaning, and while some early proposals
exist, it is not at all clear how geometric, functional and pragmatic
features should be integrated in computational models of spatial
language interpretation.
AIMS
The aim of this workshop is to draw together the often orthogonal views
on formal symbolic and embodied spatial language interpretation in order
to foster theories which adequately draw on both geometric and
functional spatial language meaning. On one hand, formal symbolic
approaches have attempted to assign meaning to spatial terms through
well defined theories that provide a natural symbolic backbone to
connect spatial meaning with heterogeneous sources of knowledge and
reasoning. These symbolic models, however, often simplify and generalize
spatial term meanings and ignore their various situated interpretations.
On the other hand, embodied quantitative interpretation models assign
meaning to spatial terms through spatial templates which relate the
symbolic level to sub-symbolic knowledge such as sensory-motor
information and spatial representations more suited to real situated
systems. These quantitative models, however, often define templates in a
rigid way that allows only few generalizations. By drawing together
these formal symbolic and embodied models of spatial meaning we wish to
move the research community towards models of spatial meaning which
couple embodied geometric and functional features in order to improve
and support situated natural language interpretation systems.
Submissions:
TOPICS
We particularly welcome contributions that address the following:
* Computational models of spatial language that incorporate both
geometric and functional or pragmatic context either in terms of
implemented systems, computational models, empirical findings, or
position papers that make clear a novel approach to this problem
More generally we also invite papers that address topics including:
* Computational models of spatial language interpretation based on
formal symbolic and qualitative theories
* Computational models of spatial language interpretation based on
embodied or quantitative models
* Connectionist theories of spatial language meaning
* Dynamic systems models of spatial term meaning
* Empirically motivated models of spatial term meaning
* Implemented robotics and situated systems which incorporate models
of spatial language interpretation
* Computational models of spatial language interpretation based on
spatial calculi or spatial ontologies
* Uncertain or vague theories and applications for spatial language
interpretation systems
SUBMISSION
All papers should be submitted in English as PDF documents. We welcome
papers of length 6-8 pages formatted in accordance with the Springer
LNCS style (see http://www.springer.de/comp/lncs/authors.html).
Submissions can be made via the EasyChair website at:
https://www.easychair.org/login.cgi?conf=cosli2010
IMPORTANT DATES:
Submission Deadline 1 May 2010
Notification 15 June 2010
Final Version Deadline 15 July 2010
Workshop 15 August 2010
ORGANIZERS:
Robert Ross
Artificial Intelligence Group
Dublin Institute of Technology
Ireland
Joana Hois
SFB/TR8 Spatial Cognition
University of Bremen
Germany
John Kelleher
Artificial Intelligence Group
Dublin Institute of Technology
Ireland
PROGRAM COMMITTEE:
* John Bateman, University of Bremen, Germany
* Brandon Bennett, University of Leeds, UK
* Kenny Coventry, Northumbria University, UK
* Max J. Egenhofer, University of Maine, USA
* Carola Eschenbach, University of Hamburg, Germany
* Ben Kuipers, University of Michigan, USA
* Reinhard Moratz, University of Maine, USA
* Philippe Muller, Université Paul Sabatier, France
* Robert Porzel, University of Bremen, Germany
* Terry Regier, UC Berkeley, USA
* David Schlangen, University of Potsdam, Germany
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Joana Hois
University of Bremen - Research Center on Spatial Cognition SFB/TR8
Postfach 330 440
28334 Bremen / Germany
http://www.informatik.uni-bremen.de/~joana
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