Subject: workshop on embodied conversational character

2nd call for papers the first workshop on embodied conversational characters granlibakken resort & conference center at lake tahoe tahoe city ( north shore ) california , usa october 12-15 , 1998 with the support of aaai cooperation of acm / sigchi recent advances in several core software technologies have made possible a new type of human-computer interface : the conversational character . conversational characters are autonomous , anthropomorphic , animated figures that have the ability to communicate through multiple modalities , including spoken language , facial expressions , and gestures . unlike textual natural language interfaces , conversational characters have the ability to perceive and produce the verbal and non-verbal signals that identify discourse structure and regulate the flow of information between interlocutors . such signals include intonational patterns , gestures , back-channel feedback signals , and turn-taking protocols . these capabilities enable them to engage in complex interactions with human users via natural speech rather than complex command languages , menus or graphical manipulations . research on conversational characters has emerged from a number of disciplines , including , among others , artificial intelligence , computational linguistics , computer animation , computer vision , psychology , cognitive science , virtual reality , cscw , and hci . this diversity is naturally reflected in the broad range of active research areas in conversational character interfaces . the primary goal of this workshop is to advance the state of conversational character research and development by identifying novel approaches to the topics and issues listed below , and integrating them into a framework for embodied , conversational human-computer interaction . selected contributors will be invited to expand and refine their papers for inclusion in a book to be published by addison - wesley . the aims of this book will be to introduce , define , and advance the field ; to give a snapshot of current work in it ; and to suggest future challenges and opportunities . particular topics of interest include , but are not limited to : * multi - modal interaction * autonomy * recognition & perception of speech , * behavior / dialogue planning gesture , facial expressions , etc . * distribution of semantic information * reactivity and opportunism across multiple modalities * rendering techniques * representation * semantic representations for * character individuation non-verbal communication * dialogue planning * affect and personality * turn - taking and back-channel signals * user studies * spoken language processing * tools for character * discourse structure building / authoring * intonation * architectures & applications papers should address one or more of these topics . demonstrations and video presentations of working systems are strongly encouraged . format the two and a half-day workshop will include several paper sessions , organized around emerging themes , with follow-up panel discussions . in addition , there will be a demonstration session for authors to present working systems . attendance attendance will be limited to 35-40 people . preference will be given to authors whose papers have been selected for presentation at the workshop . submission requirements paper submissions are due on june 15 , 1998 , and should be no longer than 6 pages ( 10-12 point font ) . upon acceptance , authors will be given the opportunity to expand their papers to 8-10 pages . electronic submissions in postscript or microsoft word formats are preferred , and should be sent to prevost @ pal . xerox . com . otherwise , send four hardcopies to : scott prevost attn : embodied conversational characters workshop fx palo alto laboratory 3400 hillview avenue , bldg . 4 palo alto , ca 94304 voice : 650 / 813-7701 deadlines submissions due june 15th notification of acceptance august 17th final papers due september 14th workshop october 12th - 15th workshop organizers joseph w . sullivan , fx palo alto lab , usa ( sullivan @ pal . xerox . com ) justine cassell , mit media laboratory , usa ( justine @ media . mit . edu ) workshop program committee committee co - chairs : scott prevost , fx palo alto lab , usa ( prevost @ pal . xerox . com ) elizabeth churchill , fx palo alto lab , usa ( churchill @ pal . xerox . com ) committee members : elisabeth andr , dfki gmbh , germany ( elisabeth . andre @ dfki . de ) gene ball , microsoft research , usa ( geneb @ microsoft . com ) phil cohen , oregon graduate institute , usa ( pcohen @ cse . ogi . edu ) barbara hayes - roth , stanford univ . , usa ( hayes-roth @ cs . stanford . edu ) kenji mase , atr international , japan ( mase @ mic . atr . co . jp ) clifford nass , stanford university , usa ( nass @ leland . stanford . edu ) mark steedman , university of pennsylvania , usa ( steedman @ cis . upenn . edu ) kris thorisson , lego a / s , denmark ( kris @ digi . lego . com ) demos chair : timothy bickmore , isii inc . , usa ( bickmore @ pal . xerox . com ) additional information for more information , please consult the workshop web page : www . fxpal . com / wecc98 /
