Call for Contributions 


                        International Conference
                     Spatial Cognition 2008 (SC'08)

                   Schloss Reinach, Freiburg, Germany
                        September 15-19, 2008

                http://conference.spatial-cognition.de/sc08



Aims and Scope

Spatial Cognition is concerned with the acquisition, organization, utilization, and revision of knowledge about spatial environments, be it real or abstract, human or machine. Spatial Cognition comprises research in very different scientific fields insofar as they are concerned with cognitive agents in spatial environments, such as robotics, artificial intelligence, linguistics, cognitive science, and philosophy.  The aim of this research is to help humans to solve spatial tasks and to improve their spatial skills.  Research issues in the field range from the investigation of human spatial cognition to mobile robot navigation, including aspects such as wayfinding, spatial planning, spatial learning, representations of space, map comprehension, and communication of spatial information.



Conference Topics

Topics relevant for the conference include, but are not limited to:

* Natural language and space
* Conceptualizations of space
* Representations of spatial knowledge and spatial ontologies
* Spatial and spatio-temporal reasoning
* Cognitive processing of spatial information and spatial attention
* Spatial learning and spatial skills
* Human wayfinding, route directions, and spatial behavior
* Diagrammatic reasoning and maps
* Human-machine interaction in spatial environments
* Spatial assistance systems
* Geographic information systems
* Robot navigation and exploration
* Evaluation and benchmarking of spatial theories and systems



Organization

Spatial Cognition 2008 (SC'08) continues a series of international and interdisciplinary conferences on spatial cognition. SC'08 is organized by the Transregional Collaborative Research Center SFB/TR 8 Spatial Cognition in cooperation with the Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center (SILC).

Program chairs:
      Christian Freksa (University of Bremen, Germany)
      Nora S. Newcombe (Temple University, USA)
      Peter Gaerdenfors (Lund University, Sweden)

Local organization:
      Stefan Woelfl (University of Freiburg, Germany)

Workshops:
      Kenny Coventry (Northumbria University, UK)
      Jan M. Wiener (College de France, France)

Tutorials:
      Thomas F. Shipley (Temple University, USA)

Poster session:
      Christoph Hoelscher (University of Freiburg, Germany)

Doctoral colloquium:
      Marco Ragni (University of Freiburg, Germany)
      Sven Bertel (University of Bremen, Germany)



Paper Submissions

Authors are invited to submit a full paper in PDF format by the deadline indicated below. Papers must be written in English and describe original work in at least one of the fields related to the conference topics. The target length of paper contributions is 15-17 pages (including abstract, figures and references) in the Springer LNCS format (see http://www.springer.de/comp/lncs/authors.html). We strongly encourage contributions from interdisciplinary and international collaborations. Papers accepted as full paper will be given 30 minutes for presentation and discussion at the conference.

Authors are also invited to submit new research results or descriptions of technical systems to be presented during the poster session. Submissions of posters and system demonstrations consist of an extended abstract of 4 pages (including abstract, figures, and references).

At least one author of each accepted paper (full paper or poster) must register for the conference and present the contribution. For more detailed and continuously updated information, please visit the conference website at http://conference.spatial-cognition.de/sc08.



Tutorial and Workshop Proposals

SC'08 will include a number of tutorials and workshops. Tutorials should provide an in-depth, but comprehensive survey on special topics strongly related to the conference, which are typically not yet covered by standard textbooks in the field. Workshops should provide a platform for open discussions on new emerging topics in the field of Spatial Cognition.

Since SC'08 places emphasis on interdisciplinary aspects, we encourage tutorial and workshop proposals that link some of the herein before mentioned fields: robotics, artificial intelligence, linguistics, cognitive science, psychology, and philosophy.

Tutorials as well as workshops may be full-day (6 hours) or half-day
(3 hours). Teaching material as well as the workshop proceedings will be printed and distributed by the conference organization.  For further details see http://conference.spatial-cognition.de/sc08.



Dates and Deadlines

Workshop/tutorial proposals:  Feb  15, 2008
Full paper submission: 	      Mar  21, 2008
Notification of acceptance:   May  16, 2008
Final papers:		      Jun   6, 2008
Poster submission:	      Jun  20, 2008
Technical program:            Sep  16-18, 2008
Tutorials:            	      Sep  15, 2008
Workshops:            	      Sep  15 and 19, 2008
Doctoral Colloquium: 	      Sep  19, 2008


Location and Venue

Spatial Cognition 2008 will take place at Schloss Reinach, an estate nearby Freiburg, Germany. Freiburg is located in the southwest of Germany, near to the Black Forest, Strasbourg (France) and Basel (Switzerland), in a region known as one of the main touristic attractions in Germany.


Web Site

For further information visit:
http://conference.spatial-cognition.de/sc08.