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Second Orebro Winter School on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
December 8-12, 2014
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SYNOPSIS
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The fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics were strongly
connected in the early days of AI, but have since diverged. Today,
and with few exceptions, they are regarded as separate fields, with
separate communities and scientific traditions. Typical graduate
student curricula concentrate on AI or on robotics, but rarely on
both. Students in one area are seldom aware of the concepts, methods,
and achievements in the other one. This separation is often
exacerbated by the barriers among traditional academic disciplines.
Despite this separation, many now feel that the two fields ought to be
brought together towards the development of fully integrated
intelligent robots. The 2nd Winter School on AI and Robotics provides
a concrete step to fill this educational gap, and to create the next
generation of researchers who will realize integrated intelligent
robots. These researchers should be familiar with the methods in the
two fields, and should be able to work across their traditional
boundaries. They should combine theoretical insights from both areas
with practical understanding of physical robotic systems.
This School will provide graduate students in AI and in Robotics a
unique training and human experience. Students will be exposed to
technologies at the forefront of research in AI and in Robotics, and
will apply some of these through exercises on real robots. They will
have the opportunity to discuss their research work with top level
scholars as well as other students, and to extend their networks.
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FORMAT
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The School will run for one week, Monday to Friday, December 8-12, and
will offer a mixture of traditional advanced lectures and innovative
features. The latter include:
o Two full-day sessions on specific topics, complemented by hands-on
exercises on real robots.
o A half-day session on evaluation, complemented by hands-on exercises
on real robots.
o A PhD symposium in which students will be given an opportunity to
present their research and receive feedback.
Students will be assigned preparatory work to be done before the
school. This will ensure that all students are sufficiently familiar
with basic tools (e.g., ROS, the Robot Operating System) and theories
needed to fully leverage lectures and the exercises. Assignments will
be made in groups that mix students from different backgrounds.
Ample room will be provided during the School for group discussions,
interactions between students and teachers, and social activities.
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TOPICS (preliminary)
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O Constraint-Based Reasoning for Robots
Full day session with hands-on exercises
Teachers:
- Dr Federico Pecora, University of Orebro, Sweden
- Masoumeh Mansouri, University of Orebro, Sweden
O Answer-Set Programming and its Application to Robotics
Full day session with hands-on exercises
Teachers:
- Prof Torsten Schaub, University of Potsdam, Germany
- Dr Benjamin Andres, University of Potsdam, Germany
o Probabilistic logics for robotics
Teacher:
- Prof Luc De Raedt, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
o Model-driven engineering for knowledge representation
Teacher:
- Prof Herman Bruyninckx, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
o Benchmarking and evaluation of intelligent robotic systems
Teachers:
- Prof Pedro Lima, Institut Superior Tecnico, Lisbon, Portugal
- Prof Daniele Nardi, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
o Deliberation in robotics [to be confirmed]
Teachers:
- Prof Malik Ghallab, LAAS-CNRS Toulouse, France
- Dr Felix Ingrand, LAAS-CNRS Toulouse, France
o AI and Robotics from a commercial perspective
Teacher:
- Dr Amit Kumar Pandey, Aldebaran Robotics, France
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ATTENDANCE AND APPLICATIONS
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PhD students from any institution in any part of the world can apply
to the School. Applications by motivated early-stage postdocs are
also welcome. Applicants are not expected to have any specific
previous experience in the above topics, but they are expected to have
a strong background in robotics or in artificial intelligence, along
with the curiosity and drive in exploring the integration between the
two. Applications by women and minorities are strongly encouraged.
The total number of participants is limited to 30. To apply for
admission, send the following material as a single ZIP file:
1) a full CV, specifying the start date of the PhD
2) a 1/2 page description of the PhD thesis topic
3) a recommendation letter by the PhD advisor
4) a transcript of records of the BSc and MSc courses
5) a motivation letter: what do you expect to gain from the school,
what experience you will bring to the school, not to exceed 1 page
Applications must be received by October 15, 2014. Late applications
will not be processed. Admission decisions will be mailed on October
24. Quality and motivation of the applicant will be the main
selection criteria; field, gender, and geographical balance will be
considered all other things being equal.
There is no registration fee. Admitted students will be offered
accommodation in shared rooms (from December 7 to 13), course
material, lunches and social dinner. All other costs, including
transportation, will need to be covered by the student or her/his
sponsor
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SPONSORSHIP
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This School is fully supported by Orebro University, Sweden, through a
special strategic grant.
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ORGANIZATION
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o Chair:
Alessandro Saffiotti, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
o Advisory committee:
Joachim Hertzberg, University of Osnabrück, Germany
Daniele Nardi, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
Kanna Rajan, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, California
o Local organization:
Federico Pecora, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
o Secretariat:
Åsa Granlund, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
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IMPORTANT DATES
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Oct 15, 2014: Deadline for applying to the school (strict)
Oct 24, 2014: Admission decisions mailed
Dec 7, 2014: Students arrive
Dec 13, 2014: Students leave
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SCHOOL HOMEPAGE
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http://aass.oru.se/Agora/Lucia2014/
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