CALL FOR PARTICIPATION/PAPERS

1st International Workshop on Vocal Interactivity in-and-between
Humans, Animals and Robots (VIHAR-2017)

25-26 August 2017
University of Skövde, Sweden

http://vihar-2017.vihar.org

Almost all animals exploit vocal signals for a range of
ecologically-motivated purposes: from detecting predators/prey and
marking territory, to expressing emotions, establishing social
relations and sharing information. Whether it?s a bird raising an
alarm, a whale calling to potential partners, a dog responding to
human commands, a parent reading a story with a child, or a
businessperson accessing stock prices using Siri on an iPhone,
vocalisation provides a valuable communications channel through which
behaviour may be coordinated and controlled, and information may be
distributed and acquired. Indeed, the ubiquity of vocal interaction
has led to research across an extremely diverse array of fields, from
assessing animal welfare, to understanding the precursors of human
language, to developing voice-based human-machine interaction.
Clearly, there is potential for cross-fertilisation between
disciplines; for example, using robots to investigate contemporary
theories of language grounding, using machine learning to analyse
different habitats or adding vocal expressivity to the next generation
of autonomous social agents. However, many opportunities remain
unexplored, not least due to the lack of a suitable forum.

VIHAR-2017 aims to bring together researchers studying vocalisations
and speech-based interaction in-and- between humans, animals and
robots from a variety of different fields. The workshop is being
organised by participants of a recent Dagstuhl Seminar on the same
topic, and follows the publication of a short review article:
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frobt.2016.00061/full.
VIHAR-2017 will provide a timely opportunity for scientists and
engineers from different fields to share theoretical insights, best
practices, tools and methodologies, and to identify common principles
underpinning vocal behaviour in a multi-disciplinary environment.

We invite original submissions of four-page INTERSPEECH-style papers
(plus one page of references) or two-page extended abstracts
(including references) in all areas of vocal interactivity. Suggested
workshop topics may include, but are not limited to, the following
areas:
* physiological and morphological similarities/differences between
vocal systems in animals
* properties and functions of animal signals
* evolution of vocal interactivity
* vocal imitation and learning
* conveyance of emotion
* comparative analyses of human and animal vocalisations
* use of vocalisation
* vocal interactivity between non-conspecifics
* spoken language systems
* technology-based research methods

Paper submissions should conform to the format as detailed in the
INTERSPEECH 2017 Author?s Kit
(http://www.interspeech2017.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/IS2017_paper_kit.zip).

Key Dates:
Submission deadline - 2 June 2017
Notification of acceptance - 30 June 2017
Workshop - 25-26 August 2017

Organisers:
Robert Eklund, Linköping University
Angela Dassow, Carthage College
Ricard Marxer, University of Sheffield
Roger K. Moore, University of Sheffield
Bhiksha Raj, Carnegie Mellon University
Rita Singh, Carnegie Mellon University
Serge Thill, University of Skövde
Benjamin Weiss, Technical University of Berlin

VIHAR-2017 takes place immediately after INTERSPEECH in Stockholm
(http://www.interspeech2017.org) and is supported by the International
Speech Communication Association (http://www.isca-speech.org).

For details, visit the VIHAR-2017 website: http://vihar-2017.vihar.org

If you wish to join the VIHAR community, please subscribe to our
mailing list by entering your e-mail address at
http://www.freelists.org/list/vihar and then responding to the
confirmation e-mail that you will receive from the list server.