** Call for Papers **

Cognitive Processing 
(International Quaterly of Cognitive Science; 
published by Springer)

Special Issue on "Cognitive Robotics - Perception-Action-Interaction:
Systems and Architectures"

Cognitive robotics is the increasingly prominent attempt to study cognitive
systems and functions through building robotic embodied artifacts. In this
approach, new kinds of artificial cognitive systems are developed from
programming and learning, based on the integration of lower-level partial
skills and control routines with high level abilities for perception, action, 
and behavior. The goal is to advance the state of robotic systems by drawing
upon principles from natural embodied cognitive systems, as well as to 
elucidate those principles by modeling and testing them in robots or 
software agents.

Cognitive robots are expected to deal with a large variety of tasks, using
their complex bodies to interact with objects and the environment in general
as well as with humans in intuitive and natural ways. In this setting,
learning from and by interaction with the physical and social world is a key
ingredient to acquire knowledge and bootstrap ever more complex behavior.
Cognitive systems therefore must have a number of abilities, to name only a
few: they need to maintain and manipulate suitable representations of the
world, other agents, and themselves; they need to be able to plan and
execute behavior in the real world in real time; they need to communicate
with users; they need to robustly deal with and adapt to environmental
uncertainties; and they need to incrementally extend their abilities by
learning.

Against this background, we invite submission for a special issue of the
journal "Cognitive Procesing" on Cognitive Robotics. In particular we invite
papers that elucidate the investigation and integration of robotic abilities
for perception, action, and interaction -- either based on shared cognitive
mechanisms and principles, or with regard to integrated architectures and
joint developmental paths. The following non-exhausting list of topics and
questions may be addressed:

* Which architectures are suitable to control cognitive robots and what kind
of representations are needed?
* How can skills of perception and action be developed, coupled, and
utilized?
* How is sensori-motor behavior acquired and represented?
* How to model and integrate perception, attention, and action?
* How to learn, also on the system level?
* How to model and scaffold a suitable developmental path for cognitive
robots?
* How can cognitive robots interact with humans?
* How to model language and nonverbal communication in cognitive robots?
* How to build in and embed interaction knowledge and social cognition in
robotic systems?
* How can cognitive robots be used for social tasks, e.g. human-robot
collaboration, entertainment, or assistance in health care?
* What can Cognitive Science and Cognitive Robotics learn from and about
each other, both theoretically as well methodologically?

In accord with the journal's policy, we invite different kinds of submissions for
this special issue:
1) Reviews (no strict page limit) are papers reviewing and discussing recent
scientific literature on the focus of this special issue;
2) Research Reports (no strict page limit) are exhaustive and extensive
presentations of new scientific results on the topics of this special issue;
3) Short Reports (up to 5000 words including references) are brief articles 
reporting important experimental findings that warrant rapid communication
to the scientific community;
4) Letters to the Editor (up to 5000 words including references) present new, 
original ideas from research in progress that require immediate publication;
5) Laboratory Notes (up to 2 pages) are brief, general presentations of the
activities in scientific laboratories

Instructions for authors on how to prepare and submit manuscripts can be
found at the journal's webpage:
http://www.springer.com/biomed/neuroscience/journal/10339

All contributions will be peer-reviewed and selected based on their
scientific quality, relevance, and originality.

Timeline:
September 3rd, 2010- Deadline for paper submission
December 1st, 2010 - Notification
February 10th - Submission of final version of accepted papers
March 2011 - Electronic publication
May 2011- Printed publication

Guest Editors:
S. Kopp
Center of Excellence in Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC) &
Faculty of Technology
Bielefeld University

J. J. Steil
Research Institute for Cognition and Robotics (CoR-Lab) & 
Faculty of Technology
Bielefeld University