Welcome to IWANN2003, the 7th International Work-conference on Artificial and Natural Neural Networks ``Biological and Artificial Computation: Methodologies, Neural Modeling and Bioengineering Applications''.
The global purpose of IWANN conferences has been to provide a broad and interdisciplinary forum for the interplay between neuroscience and computation. Our dream has been, and still is: (1) find ways to understand the physiological, symbolic and cognitive nature of the nervous system (NS) with the help of computational and engineering tools; and (2) find rich and insightful sources of inspiration in biology, to develop new materials, mechanisms and problem-solving methods (PSM) of value in engineering and computation. As all of us know well, this dream started with the Ancient Greeks, reappeared in the foundational stage of neurocybernetics and bionics, and is now broadly accepted in the scientific community under different labels such as computational neuroscience (CN) and artificial neural nets (ANN), or genetic algorithms and hybrid neuro-fuzzy systems.
We have also to recognize that there is a considerable lack of credibility associated with CN and ANN among some researchers, both from biology and from the engineering and computation area. Potential causes of this scepticism could be the lack of methodology, formal tools, and real-world applications, in the engineering area, and the lack also of formal tools for cognitive process modeling. There is also the possibility of the computational paradigm being inappropriate to explain cognition, because of the ``representational'' character of any computational model. Some ``more situated'' approaches are looking back to the ``neurophysiological epistemology'' of the 1960's (mind in a body) to search directly for the mechanisms that could embody the cognitive process, and this means some fresh air for our old dream of connectionism. The tremendous difficulties of these fields (CN and ANN) and of the questions addressed (How does the NS work, and how can we mimic this work in a non-trivial manner?) justify the delay in getting proper answers.
We hope that the papers in these two volumes and the discussions during this seventh working conference will help us to create some new critique and a constructive atmosphere. The neural modeling community and all the people engaged in the connectionist perspective of knowledge engineering would certainly benefit from this new atmosphere.
IWANN 2003, the 7th International Work-Conference in Artificial and Natural Neural Networks took place in Maó, Menorca, Spain, during June 3-6, 2003, focused on the following goals:
Sponsorship was obtained from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología under project TIC2002-10752-E and the organizing university (UNED).
We would like to thank the full support given by the local staff from the Menorca extension and the Balearic Islands Associated Centre of UNED, and also to acknowledge the local sponsorship by the Maó Ajuntament (Town Hall) and Menorca Consell (Council).
JOSÉ MIRA
Dpto. de Inteligencia Artificial
Univ. Nacional de Educación a Distancia (Spain)
MIGUEL ÁNGEL VÁZQUEZ
Extensión del Centro Asociado en Menorca
Univ. Nacional de Educación a Distancia (Spain)
JOSÉ R. ÁLVAREZ
Dpto. de Inteligencia Artificial
Univ. Nacional de Educación a Distancia (Spain)
FÉLIX DE LA PAZ LÓPEZ
Dpto. de Inteligencia Artificial
Univ. Nacional de Educación a Distancia (Spain)
http://www.ia.uned.es/
Erik de Schutter, University of Antwerp (Belgium)
Luigi M. Ricciardi, Universitá di Napoli Federico II (Italy)
Marley Vellasco, Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
Miguel Atencia, Universidad de Málaga (Spain)
Emilia I. Barakova, RIKEN (Japan)
Valeriu Beiu, Washington State University (USA)
Carlos Cotta, University of Málaga (Spain)
Marcos Faúndez-Zanuy, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (Spain)
Miguel Angel Fernández, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (Spain)
Antonio Fernández-Caballero, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (Spain)
Carlos G. Puntonet, Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Gonzalo Joya, Universidad de Málaga (Spain)
Dario Maravall, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain)
Luiza de Macedo Mourelle, State University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
Nadia Nedjah, State University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
Ignacio Rojas, Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Eduardo Ros, Univesidad de Granada (Spain)
Javier Ruiz-del-Solar, Universidad de Chile (Chile)
Moisés Salmerón Campos, Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Jordi Solé-Casals, Universitat de Vic (Spain)
Ramiro Varela Arias, Universidad de Oviedo (Spain)
Changjiu Zhou, Singapore Polytechnic (Singapore)
Ajith Abraham, Oklahoma State University (USA)
Igor Aizenberg, Neural Networks Technologies Ltd. (Israel)
Igor Aleksander, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine (UK)
Amparo Alonso Betanzos, Universidade da Coruña (Spain)
José Ramón Álvarez Sánchez, UNED (Spain)
Miguel Atencia, Universidad de Málaga (Spain)
Antonio Bahamonde, Universidad de Oviedo en Gijón (Spain)
Emilia I. Barakova, RIKEN (Japan)
Senen Barro Ameneiro, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (Spain)
Valeriu Beiu, Washington State University (USA)
Gustavo A. Camps i Valls, Universitat de València (Spain)
Andreu Català Mallofré, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain)
Carlos Cotta, Universidad de Málaga (Spain)
Félix de la Paz López, UNED (Spain)
Angel P. del Pobil, Universitat Jaume-I (Spain)
Ana E. Delgado Garcia, UNED (Spain)
Jose Dorronsoro, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
Richard Duro, Universidade da Coruña (Spain)
Reinhard Eckhorn, Philips University (Germany)
Marcos Faúndez-Zanuy, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain)
Jianfeng Feng, Sussex University (UK)
Antonio Fernández-Caballero, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (Spain)
Jose Manuel Ferrández, Univ. Politécnica de Cartagena (Spain)
Kunihiko Fukushima, Tokyo University of Technology (Japan)
Carlos G. Puntonet, Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Manuel Graña Romay, Universidad Pais Vasco (Spain)
Oscar Herreras, Hospital Ramón y Cajal (Spain)
Gonzalo Joya, Universidad de Málaga (Spain)
Elka Korutcheva, UNED (Spain)
Dario Maravall, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain)
José Mira, UNED (Spain)
Javier Molina Vilaplana, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (Spain)
Juan M. Moreno Aróstegui, Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña (Spain)
Luiza de Macedo Mourelle, State University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
Nadia Nedjah, State University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
Julio Ortega Lopera, Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Alberto Prieto Espinosa, Universidad de Granada (Spain)
John Rinzel, New York University (USA)
Eduardo Ros, Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Javier Ruiz-del-Solar, Universidad de Chile (Chile)
Moisés Salmerón Campos, Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Eduardo Sánchez Vila, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (Spain)
Francisco Sandoval, Universidad de Málaga (Spain)
José Santos Reyes, Universidade da Coruña (Spain)
Luis Manuel Sarro Baro, UNED (Spain)
Jordi Solé-Casals, Universitat de Vic (Spain)
Emilio Soria Olivas, Universitat de València (Spain)
Ramiro Varela Arias, Universidad de Oviedo (Spain)
Marley Vellasco, Pontificia Universidade Catolica (Brazil)
Michel Verleysen, Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium)
Changjiu Zhou, Singapore Polytechnic (Singapore)
| Monday June 2 | ||||
| 16:00
-19:00 |
Registration at Technical Secretariat desk | |||
| Tuesday June 3 | ||||
| Room A | Room B | Room C | Room D | |
| 8:30
- 9:00 |
Conference Opening | |||
| 9:00
-10:00 |
Plenary Session I: Prof. Luiggi Ricciardi | |||
| 10:00
-11:20 |
Neural Modeling I |
Implementation I | AI & Cognition I |
Applications I |
| Coffee break | ||||
| 11:50
-13:30 |
Neural Modeling II |
Self-organizing I | ANN-ICA I | Robotics I |
| Lunch | ||||
| 16:00
-18:00 |
Learning I | Genetic Algorithms I |
ANN-ICA II | Images I |
| 20:00 | Official Welcome Reception | |||
| Wednesday June 4 | ||||
| Room A | Room B | Room C | Room D | |
| 9:00
-10:00 |
Plenary Session II: Prof. Erik de Schutter | |||
| 10:00
-11:20 |
Neural Modeling III |
Self-organizing II | AI & Cognition II |
Robotics II |
| Coffee break | ||||
| 11:50
-13:30 |
Vision | Implementation II | Soft-computing I | Bioinspired Applications |
| Lunch | ||||
| 16:00
-18:00 |
Learning II | Self-organizing II | Soft-computing II | Evolutionary Computation |
| 20:00 | Night boat trip | |||
| Thursday June 5 | ||||
| Room A | Room B | Room C | Room D | |
| 9:00
-10:00 |
Plenary Session III: Prof. Marley Vellasco | |||
| 10:00
-11:20 |
Neural Modeling IV |
Genetic Algorithms II |
Soft-computing III | Applications II |
| Coffee break | ||||
| 11:50
-13:30 |
Posters Session (Room P) | |||
| Lunch | ||||
| 16:30
-21:00 |
Visit to Ciudadela | |||
| 21:00 | Official Dinner at Ciudadela | |||
| Friday June 6 | ||||
| Room A | Room B | Room C | Room D | |
| 9:00
-10:00 |
Plenary Session IV: Prof. Marie Cottrell | |||
| 10:00
-11:20 |
Funtional Models |
Speech Processing |
Applications III | Applications IV |
| Coffee break | ||||
| 11:50
-13:30 |
Learning III | Nets Design I | Applications V | Applications VI |
| 13:30 | Conference closing | |||
The registration form must be returned to the Conference Technical
Secretariat (ESOC, please, see the address in the next page) at your
earliest convenience. The form must be accompanied by the payment
in Euros. No registration will be considered until the payment is
received.
| Registrations fees | Before April 30 th | After April 30 th |
|---|---|---|
| Standard (*) | 420 | 480 |
| Session Organizer (*) | 240 | 270 |
| Accompanying Person (**) | 210 | 240 |
CLAUSTRO DEL CARMEN
Plaza Miranda, s/n.
Maó, Menorca (Spain)
Please, contact the Technical Secretariat for any information or details about registration, accomodation, travels, etc.
ESOC, s.l.
Poeta Vila y Blanco, 8 - 1º
E-03003 Alicante (Spain)
Phone: (+34) 965-22-99-40
Fax: (+34) 965-92-23-46
E-mail: info@esoc.esSince 16:00 h. June 2, and during the Conference, the Secretariat will maintain a desk at the congress venue. Previous registration will be necessary to attend the Conference (http://www.esoc.es/tpv/inscripcion.html).
| Special hotel rates* per night | Twin Room | Single use | dist. |
Hotel S'Algar
 |
88 | 125 | 9,5 km. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel San Luis
|
88 | 125 | 9,5 km. |
Hotel Port Maó
 |
88 | 131 | in town |
| Hotel Capri
|
71 | 101 | in town |
Apts. Royal (1 bedroom) |
88 | 99 | in town |
Hotel La Isla
 |
38 | 53 | in town |
(* Rates per room and night with breakfast included. VAT 7% not included)
The following two Hotels in San Lluis are specially allocated for attendants to the Congress. Free transport will be provided from them to the Conference site by the organisation.
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The most convenient way to get to Menorca is by air, directly
or via Palma de Mallorca, or Madrid or Barcelona. The main Spanish
airline is IBERIA. The airport is 4.5 km. far from the city. A taxi
from the Airport to Hotel Melia costs nearly 8 euros.
An alternative is to arrive at Mallorca Airport and then continue to Menorca by ferry boat (75 minutes). Mallorca Airport provides frequent connections to most European major cities as well as some intercontinental destinations. (It is likely that you will find a less expensive plane ticket to Mallorca than directly to Menorca).
English will be the official languaje of IWANN2003. Simultaneous translation will not be provided.
Menorca is located at about 39.5°N 4.1°W, and at 60 m. above sea level. The climate in Menorca is sunny and warm, the temperature in June can vary from more than 25º C daily to 16º C nightly with an average temperature of 20º C.
Business is transacted from 09:00 to 14:00 h. Monday to Friday. Money can be changed outside normal banking hours at Hotels, Travel Agencies and other business, displaying a ``Cambio/Change'' sign. Take your Passport or Identity Card with you when changing travellers cheques.
The monetary unit in Spain is the EURO. Coins: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents; 1 and 2 Eur. Banknotes: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 Euros. All international Credit Cards (Visa, American Express, Master Card, Eurocard, Diners Club, etc.) are widely accepted by Hotels, Restaurants and Shops.
Since the service charge is normally included in restaurant and hotel bills, tipping is optional.
Electric supply is AC 220 V. / 50 Hz. Standard continental two round pin plugs for appliances.
Participants are advised to make their own arrangements regarding travel insurance and medical assistance during the Conference. Neither the Organization nor the Conference Secretariat is able to accept any responsability whatsoever for damage or injury to persons or their belongings during the Conference.
You can find more information (maps, addresses, etc.) through the web pages:
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| Departamento de Inteligencia | Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología | |
| Artificial (UNED) | CICYT | |
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| IWANN2003 | ||
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| Ajuntament de Maó | Consell de Menorca | |
| Congress Venue: | ||
| Claustro del Carmen (Maó, Menorca) | ||
| Technical Secretariat: | ||
| ESOC, s.l. | ||
| Poeta Vila y Blanco, 8 - 1º | ||
| E-03003 Alicante (Spain) | ||
| Phone: (+34) 965-22-99-40 | ||
| Fax: (+34) 965-92-23-46 | ||
| E-mail: info@esoc.es | ||