First Call for Contributions
                        ============================

          Language Speech and Gesture for Expressive Characters

                    Symposium of the AISB'04 Convention

        University of Leeds, Leeds,  UK, 29th March - 1st April, 2004

          http://www.expressivecharacters.com/

                Abstract Submission Deadline: January 9, 2004


SYMPOSIUM DESCRIPTION:
---------------------

Research into expressive characters, for example embodied
conversational agents, is a growing field, while new work in
human-robot interaction (HRI) has also focussed on issues of expressive
behaviour. With recent developments in computer graphics, natural
language engineering and speech processing, much of the technological
platform for expressive characters - both graphical and robotic - is in
place. However, progress is hampered by the need to integrate work in
various sub-fields of psychology, in natural language processing,
speech and in computer graphics, carried out by many different groups
in communities that do not always intersect. Other areas, such as
integrating gesture and facial expression and affective state with
language and speech, are less developed but vital to progress.

The symposium aims to bring together psychologists, experts in natural
language and speech technologies, researchers in embodied agents
(graphical and robotic), affective computing and computer graphics and
animation researchers. It invites contributions on the topic of speech
and natural language processing for expressive characters, including:
- appropriate natural language processing architectures;
- natural language generation;
- dialogue systems and question answering,
- language and gesture coordination;
- language and facial expression coordination;
- language and action integration,
- emotional language;
- personality modelling, language and speech
- lip synchronisation and combination with facial expression;
- affect in speech synthesis and recognition.
- empirical studies of gesture and facial expression;
- frameworks for the specification and analysis of gesture and facial
expression for expressive characters;
- gesture and facial expression modelling and animation;
- evaluation of expressive characters


SYMPOSIUM ORGANISERS:
--------------------

Ruth Aylett
The Centre for Virtual Environments
University of Salford
Salford
MANCHESTER M5 4WT
Tel: +44 161 295 2912
Fax: +44 161 295 2925
Email: [log in to unmask]

Marc Cavazza
School of Computing and Mathematics
University of Teesside
MIDDLESBOROUGH  TS1 3BA
Tel: +44 1642 342631
Fax: +44 1642 230527
Email: [log in to unmask]

Patrick Olivier
Department of Computer Science
University of York
Heslington
YORK YO10 5DD
Tel: 0781 3951637
Fax: 01904 432767
Email: [log in to unmask]


SUBMISSION DETAILS:
------------------

Potential participants who would wish to present their work at the
symposium (poster, demo, or oral presentation) should submit an
extended abstract of no more than 2500 words. Contributions should
describe work in progress, completed work, positions, or give insight
into the current state or perspectives of research in the topic of the
symposium. All submissions must include: title, author(s) name(s),
affiliation(s), mailing and electronic addresses, and telephone and
fax numbers.

The abstracts submission deadline for this symposium is *9th January,
2002* (hard deadline!).

Extended abstracts of no more than 2500 words should be sent by e-mail
(ASCII or URL from which your contribution can be downloaded are
preferred; otherwise attached PDF, UNIX-compatible postscript, or RTF
file) to:

[log in to unmask] AND [log in to unmask]

Authors of accepted submissions will be asked to contribute a paper to
the symposium proceedings, edited by the AISB Society.  The deadline
for camera-ready papers is 1st March, 2004 (hard deadline!). A formal
post-symposium publication is being explored.

Since contributions will be evaluated on the basis of extended
abstracts, it is very important that authors make very clear why and
how their contribution is relevant to the symposium.  Abstracts should
explain clearly:

- What problem you are trying to address.
- Why this is an interesting problem, and how and why it is relevant
   to the theme of the symposium.
- What has been tried before (in your community, in different
   communities) and why/how your contribution is better/different/more
   original.
- How it will help others/contribute to/enrich research or
   applications having to do with the animation of expressive characters
   for social interactions.
- Some results/proof/hint it works (how can your work be evaluated?).

Abstracts will be evaluated for acceptance as long papers, posters,
system demonstrations and expressions of interest.


PROGRAMME COMMITTEE:
-------------------

Ruth Aylett, University of Salford, UK
Daniel Ballin, BTExact Technologies, Radical Multimedia Lab, UK
Paul Brna University of Northumbria
Marc Cavazza, University of Teeside
Suresh Manandhar, Unversity of York, UK
Colin Matheson, University of Edinburgh, UK
Dominique Noel, As An Angel SA, France
Patrick Olivier, University of York, UK
Catherine Pelachaud, University of Paris 8, France
Thomas Rist, DFKI Germany
Judy Robertson, University of Edinburgh, UK
Daniela Romano, University of Sheffield, UK
Tokunaga Takenobu, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan


IMPORTANT DATES:
---------------

- 9th JANUARY, 2004: Submissions (extended abstracts) due
   (hard deadline!)
- 21st JANUARY, 2004: Notification to authors
- 1st March, 2004: Camera-ready papers due (hard deadline!)
- 29th March - 1st APRIL, 2004: AISB'04 Convention dates. The symposium
   will run for two days within that overall period.



Ruth Aylett              Professor of Intelligent Virtual Environments
Centre for Virtual Environments, Business House, University of Salford
Salford, M5 4WT, UK      Tel: 44-161-295 2912     Fax: 44-161-295-2925
http://www.nicve.salford.ac.uk/ruth/               "Life is beautiful"