CALL FOR PAPERS AND PARTICIPATION Speechreading by Man and Machine: Models, Systems and Applications NATO ADVANCED STUDY INSTITUTE AUGUST 28 TO SEPTEMBER 8, 1995, CHATEAU DE BONAS, FRANCE OBJECTIVE This ASI will be the first forum on the interdisciplinary study of speechreading (lipreading) -- production, perception and learning by both humans and machines. The central aim is to explore and promote the incorporation of visual information into acoustic speech recognizers for improved recognition accuracy (especially in noisy environments), while drawing on and further elucidating knowledge of the psychology of speechreading by humans. PURPOSE AND SCOPE Automatic speech recognition (ASR) promises to be of great importance in human-machine interfaces, but despite extensive effort over decades, acoustic-based recognition systems remain too inaccurate for the vast majority of conceivable applications, especially those in noisy environments (automobiles, factory floors, crowded offices,...). While incremental advances may be expected along the current ASR paradigm, additional, novel approaches --- in particular those utilizing visual information as well --- deserve serious study. Such hybrid (acoustic and visual) ASR systems have already been shown to have superior recognition accuracy, especially in noisy conditions, just as humans recognize speech better when also given visual information (the "cocktail party effect"). But first some crucial questions must be addressed and research directions set by the unique international team of experts assembled for the ASI workshop: * What visual features and strategies do human speechreaders rely upon? Which ones can be learned from raw video input by an artificial ASR system? What is the underlying motor (muscle) representation of speech and its visual manifestation and is it appropriate for artificial systems? * What are the best representations for the acoustic and visual information to facilitate bimodal integration? (neural networks, Hidden Markov models,...) How can visual speech subsystems be integrated with highly developed existing acoustic recognizers? * What can/should be learned from human models that will improve artificial A/V ASR systems? Conversely, how can artificial systems illuminate human performance? * What standards and databases are needed for developing A/V ASR systems? What applications are both technically solvable and commercially viable? * Since at present there is no single disciplinary "home" for this work the need for the proposed ASI is clear. WORKSHOP FORMAT At the ASI, 10-15 lecturers will summarize in 90 minute talks the current state of the research in their respective subfields. In addition, up to 30 contributed talks of 30 minutes (including 5-10 minute discussion) will be presented. There will also be several panel discussions on topics of general interest as well as adequate time for individual discussion. The proceedings will be published by Springer-Verlag as part of the NATO ASI series and will consist of longer tutorial papers by the instructors as well as shorter (8-10 pages) contributed papers. This promises to be the first single volume devoted exclusively to the interdisciplinary field of speechreading. SUBMISSION There are three levels of participation: * Invited lecturers * Contributing presenters * General attendees Those wishing to contribute a paper must first submit by April 1, 1995 a two page proposal for review by the organizers. Decisions will be based on quality of work and its relevance to the workshop, coverage of subfields and other constraints imposed by NATO. Final decisions will be announced by April 15. Full papers will be due by September 29, 1995, three weeks after the meeting. We strongly urge submission of papers typeset in LaTeX or MS Word, for which we will provide style sheets. Paper proposals consist of a cover page and an extended abstract. The cover page should include the name, affiliation, complete postal and e-mail addresses and/or fax numbers, and optionally telephone number and URL of the corresponding author. It should also include a short biography and a list of references to the authors' relevant papers and up to ten keywords. The extended abstract should be about 1-2 pages in length. Please submit the paper proposals via e-mail to asi-submit@crc.ricoh.com. Accepted formats are: plain ASCII, LaTeX, and PostScript. You may also submit printed proposals via regular mail or fax to: Dr. David G. Stork NATO ASI Proposals Ricoh California Research Center 2882 Sand Hill Road Suite 115 Menlo Park, CA 94025-7022 USA Fax: +1 415 854 8740 PARTICIPATION The workshop is open to all interested persons from around the world, including non-NATO countries. It will be assumed that registrants will be staying at the Chateau de Bonas. This will allow us to arrange a package deal. Please notify us at the time of registration if you wish to stay off site, however. Registration forms can be obtained from ftp://ftp.crc.ricoh.com/asi/register.ps.Z Or you can register online via the World Wide Web at http://www.crc.ricoh.com/asi/register.html You may also request and submit an ASCII version of the form via e-mail to asi-register@crc.ricoh.com. The final list of participants will be submitted for approval to the Scientific Affairs Division of NATO. Therefore, the strict deadline for registration is May 23, 1995. COSTS This workshop is sponsored to a large extent by NATO Scientific Affairs Division as well as the Ricoh California Research Center. A certain amount of NATO funds has been set aside for travel grants. Distribution of these grants is based on need and travel distance and the awarded grants usually cover only part of the actual travel costs. Preference is given to those students who will attend both weeks. ASI students from non-NATO countries which are not among the Cooperation Partners, as well as those employed by industrial and/or commercial undertakings, are not eligible to receive funds from the NATO grant. Please request funding as part of your paper proposal or when registering. IMPORTANT DATES Submission of proposals: April 1, 1995 Notification of acceptance: April 15, 1995 Registration: before May 23, 1995 Workshop: August 28, 1995 to September 8, 1995 Final paper due: September 29, 1995 LECTURERS The following lecturers were invited to speak at the ASI: * D. G. Stork, Ricoh & Stanford, USA * C. Benoit, ICP-CNRS U. Stendhal, France * M. N. Brooke, U. Bath, UK * D. Massaro, UC Santa Cruz, USA * H.-H. Bothe, Inst. fuer Elektronik, Germany * M. Caldognetto, U. di Padua, Italy * R. Campbell, U. London, UK * B. Dodd, MRC Psychology, UK * P. B. Kricos, U. Florida, USA * E. Monte, ETSE Telecomunicacio, Spain * A. A. Montgomery, U. S. Carolina, USA * M. K. Pichora-Fuller, U. Brit. Col., Canada * J. Robert-Ribes, ICP-CNRS, INPG, France * P. Smeele, Delft U. of Tech., Netherlands Director/Editor: Co-directors: David G. Stork Christian Benoit Chief Scientist Institut de la Communication Parlee - Ricoh California Research Center Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Universite Stendhal Consulting Associate Professor N. Michael Brooke Electrical Engineering Department of Mathematics Stanford University University Bath FOR MORE INFORMATION For more information please or FTP version We have also established a mailing list concerning the organization of the ASI. To subscribe, send e-mail to asi@crc.ricoh.com. Submissions to the mailing list should be sent to asi-list@crc.ricoh.com NATO countries Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States NATO Cooperation Partner countries Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovak Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan REGISTRATION MATERIALS Speechreading by Man and Machine: Models, Systems and Applications NATO ADVANCED STUDY INSTITUTE AUGUST 28 TO SEPTEMBER 8, 1995, CHATEAU DE BONAS, FRANCE Invited lecturers do not need to register, as their participation has been confirmed and their registration fees waived. HOW TO REGISTER To register for this event, complete the registration form. Please make sure to provide all necessary information. NATO requires us to submit the final list of participants for approval to the Scientific Affairs Division 90 days prior to the meeting (May 30). The lecturers and all participants from non-NATO countries have to be commited by May 23 and for this a minimum deposit of US$300 or FF1500 is required. Participants from NATO countries will also have to register by May 23, but no deposit is required. Registrations after the deadline will be considered only from applicants from NATO countries, and on a space available basis. WHAT'S INCLUDED Registration includes attendance at all sessions, as well as accommodations and meals, and one copy of the resulting NATO ASI SERIES volume. EXPECTED LENGTH OF STAY Attendees are strongly encouraged to stay at the Chateau de Bonas for the entire duration of the workshop. If you are not able to attend both weeks, we may provide the option to register for only one week. However, you should note that for the distribution of any grants, strong preference is given to those who stay both weeks. Most of the attendees will arrive at the Chateau on Sunday, August 27 and leave Saturday, September 9. Optionally, attendees may arrive one day early or depart one day late. Please indicate in the registration form if you wish to do so. PAYMENT The registration fees for the workshop are: * Two weeks: FF4620 = US$890 * One week: FF2970 = US$570 * Arriving Saturday: Add FF400 = US$75 * Departing Sunday: Add FF400 = US$75 * Corporate attendance (except for contributors of papers): Add FF2600 = US$500 In order to make reservations final, participants from non-NATO countries must transfer a minimum deposit of FF1500 = US$300 before May 23, 1995. However, to save bank charges you may want to transfer the entire registration fees in one transaction. All payments should be made in French Francs to the following account: Owner: NATO-ASI SPEECHREADING Bank: Credit Lyonnais Address: 1 rue Moliere, 38000 Grenoble, France Bank Code: 30002 Agency Code: 02600 Account No: 795376F SWIFT code: CRLYFRPPGRE RIB Key: 55 Guichet No: 02600 For participants with a bank account in the United States we offer the option to make payments in US dollar to the following account: Owner: Ricoh Corporation Bank: Union Bank Address: 716 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA Bank Code: 1-144 Account No: 44-049064 ABA#: 122 000 496 Transfering money between banks in a world with a multitude of currencies is a pain and can be expensive. Here are some points to consider when preparing the transaction: * All checks and money orders must have the words "NATO ASI" written on them. * Beside the exchange fee, total bank commissions are usually in the range of US$15 to US$50. * Checks in French Francs from French banks are most welcome, no fees at all. * Eurochecks in French Francs are acceptable as well, without fees. * Participants with an account in the USA should send a check payable to Ricoh Corp. made out in US$ to the US account. Include the words "NATO ASI" on the memo line. * Otherwise, you should use the SWIFT network for money transfer to the French account. It is faster and the fees are lower. * If you use traditional money transfer, you will have to pay the extra fees for the commission (FF200). In the last two cases, you must send a copy of the transfer order to Christian Benoit Room C001 - Universite Stendhal BP 25X 38040 Grenoble Cedex 9 France Fax: (+33).76.82.43.35 who administers the French account. CANCELLATION POLICY Cancellations received prior to May 23, 1995 will be refunded all charges and deposits. Cancellations received after May 23, 1995 will be refunded all charges less the deposit. Applicants from NATO countries will have their deposit refunded. All cancellations must be in writing either by mail, e-mail, or fax. NATO countries Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States NATO Cooperation Partner countries Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovak Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan REGISTRATION FORM SPEECHREADING BY MAN AND MACHINE: MODELS, SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS NATO ADVANCED STUDY INSTITUTE AUGUST 28 TO SEPTEMBER 8, 1995, CHATEAU DE BONAS, FRANCE Invited lecturers do not need to register, as their participation is implied. PERSONAL DATA Last Name: ___________________________________ First Name: ___________________________________ Mailing Address (include institution or company name if applicable): __________________________________________________________ Business Phone: __________________ Home Phone: __________________ Fax: __________________ Email (optional): __________________________________________________ LENGTH OF STAY Attendees usually arrive at the Chateau on Sunday, August 27 and leave Saturday, September 9. I will stay * ___ both weeks (August 28 to September 8) Rate: FF4620 = US$890 * ___ only the first week (August 28 to September 2) Rate: FF2970 = US$570 * ___ only the second week (September 3 to September 8) Rate: FF2970 = US$570 Attendees may wish to arrive one day early (on Saturday) and depart one day late (on Sunday). When do you plan to arrive and depart? Arrival: Departure: ___ Saturday (add FF400 = US$75) ___ Saturday ___ Sunday ___ Sunday (add FF400 = US$75) Will you be applying for a travel grant? ___ Yes ___ No