FLAIRS 2001
The 14^th International FLAIRS Conference

Wyndham Casa Marina Resort
Key West, Florida
May 21-23, 2001

Special Track on Niche Autonomous Robots

Call for papers Submission guidelines Track committee members

Call for Papers

Papers are being solicited for a special track on Niche Autonomous Robots at the 14^th International FLAIRS Conference (FLAIRS2001). In the last several years we have witnessed advances in both the hardware and the software that comprise mobile robots. These advances have impressed observers in both government and private organizations, and the general public. One question in the field of mobile robots is how mobile robots can turn these interested observers into customers. In other words, how can mobile robots be brought into real-world applications? In order to try to answer this question the special track will focus on presenting research on physical robots that perform useful tasks in a given niche application. We invite papers on relevant topics, including but not limited to those listed below:

experiences with mobile robot applications in public venues,
mobile robots in safety and reconnaissance applications,
exploration robots,
service robots,
entertainment robots,
mobile robot - human interaction,
long-term robot autonomy,
commercial applications of mobile robotics.

Submission Guidelines

Interested authors must submit an electronic copy of their completed manuscripts by November 17, 2000. Submissions should be no more than 5 pages (3400 words) in length, including figures, and contain no identifying reference to self or organization. Please submit one separate page containing the title of your paper, author name(s) and contact information (fax, e-mail, postal mail, and phone), an abstract (max. 100 words), and a list of keywords (in decreasing relevance). In case of multiple authors, all correspondence will be sent to the first author unless otherwise specified. All submission for review must be in PDF or MS Word format with any separate graphics in GIF or JPEG format. To make PDF files from LATEX files, we recommend the utility dvipdfm. Please include all files in a ZIP archive. Submit this archive via email. Paper (hardcopy) submissions (5 copies) are acceptable if the electronic format poses problems. Please notify the special track chair at andrew.kun@unh.edu, if you plan to submit a hardcopy.

Papers will be refereed and those accepted for presentation will appear in the conference proceedings. Notification of acceptance will be mailed around January 12, 2001. Authors of accepted papers will be expected to submit the final camera-ready copies of their full papers by February 16, 2000 for publication in the conference proceedings, which will be published by AAAI Press. Authors may be invited to submit a revised copy of their paper to a special issue of an international AI journal.

Questions regarding the track should be addressed to:

Andrew Kun

Address: Electrical and Computer Engineering Department

University of New Hampshire

Kingsbury Hall

Durham, NH 03824

Voice: (603) 862-4175

email: andrew.kun@unh.edu