Evolutionary transitions of brain-body couplings
The objective of this workshop is simple: to attract good scientists so that we may engage in highly informative (yet informal and friendly) discussion about the evolution of brain-body couplings. This field is pretty diverse and has been around for some time now; what we want to do is go back to "primitive" basics and elucidate in a somewhat biological fashion, precisely how the body plan morphologies and nervous system architectures of primitive animals have co-evolved and developed. How do nervous systems evolve in concert with body plan morphology? How are changes in the coupling between these two components reflected by changes in the environment? As a start, we can turn to very simple animals like the hydra, and discover the "how" and "why" of the most elementary of nervous system architectures and body plan morphologies. We can then attempt to model the evolution of these coupled structures in silico and begin to uncover some of the early evolutionary transitions of primitive nervous systems. So, come along to the workshop, let's have a discussion and a think about how we can build some computational models of these processes. Potential topics of interest are provided on the workshop website.
Organizers:
- Dr. Ben Jones
- Prof. Dr. Yaochu Jin
Workshop website: http://www.bhjones.com/sabWorkshop/
Smarter sensors, easier processing
Perceptual research in artificial intelligence usually focusses on the central processing of sensor data. The sensors (or sensor models) are often simplified and abstracted analogues of the sensorial systems of real animals. This approach places the burden of perception on the central nervous system. Moreover, it neglects the fact that sensors are important parts of the perceptual systems of animals integrated both with central processing and expressed behaviour.
Indeed, as proposed by Rudiger Wehner (1987) and others, many sensorial sytems found in nature have evolved to offload part of the perceptual processing to the periphery. Furthermore, some animal sensors have associated sensory behaviours that constrain or generate rich interactions that make perceptual interpretation easier, for example rat whiskers.
Specificaly, through their physical interaction with the environment sensors select and preprocess data thereby substantially reducing the need for elaborate central processing. For example, insect photoreceptors provide the animal with a coarse image of the outside world in which details that are unimportant to the behavior are reduced and relevant features are enhanced.
In this workshop we want to bring together people working on smart perceptual systems that reduce the need for central processing both in animals and animats.
Organizers:
- Herbert Peremans, University Antwerp
- Dieter Vanderelst, University Antwerp
- John Hallam, University of Southern Denmark
Workshop website: http://smartsensors.webnode.com/
Predatory and anti-predatory behaviors: from structures to simulation
The aim of the workshop is to characterize the mechanisms that govern predatory (food and prey prehension) and antipredatory behaviors (escape) in term of using the locomotor and trophic systems by living organism. It will assess the importance of three regulatory mechanisms that may constrain the evolution of these relationships: (i) stabilizing genetic and environmental factors, (ii) environmentally-determined phenotypic plasticity, and (iii) developmental constraints. Determining the relative importance of these modes will improve our understanding of the evolution of predatory and antipredatory behaviors. Three approaches can be used to integrate biological data and provide the basis for biomimetic approach of the behavioral activities: (i) experimental and field observations, (ii) modeling, and (iii) comparative, statistical, evolutionary analyses using time-calibrated reference phylogenies. In this workshop, presentations will provide valuable examples reflecting the strong need of understanding the mechanism permitting to organism to adapt in uncertain environments. Main topics will be: (i) experimental study of the predator and anti-predator behaviours in model species and humans, (ii) musculo-skeletal modelling of the systems used to generate and control the motor behaviors, (iii) comparative analysis of simulated and observed prey and predator strategies, and (iv) evolutionary analysis of these behaviors in an explicit phylogenic context. These topics will provide basis of a multidisciplinary discussion required to understand adaptive and evolutionary trends of the prey/predator interactions. The workshop will benefit on comparative approaches between field, experimental, and simulated data, and will integrate them into an evolutionary perspective. Biomimetic approaches will be in the form of robotic development as well as tools for generation of procedural animation of human or animal avatars.
Organizers:
- Pr Vincent Bels, UMR7179, Museum of Natural History, Department "Ecologie et Gestion de la Biodiversite" Paris, France
- Dr Pierre Legreneur, CRIS, Universite Lyon, France
Information
Please contact sab_workshops@isir.fr for any request regarding the workshops.
Workshops will be held the 24th of August on the UPMC campus in Paris.
All workshops attendees will get a copy of the workshop CD-ROM. Workshop organizers will be invited to send their workshop materials (articles and videos) before July the 15th for inclusion in this CD-ROM.
(Poster's © Jean Solé)
