To all members of RESNA SIG-11:

Message from: Norman Alm
              MicroCentre
              Dundee University
              Dundee, Scotland, UK     DD1 4HN
              Tel: (44) (382) 344150, 344145
              Fax: (44) (382) 345509
              Email: nalm@mic.dund.ac.uk


           SPECIAL SESSION ON APPLICATIONS FOR DISABILITY AT THE 
               IEEE SYSTEMS, MAN AND CYBERNETICS CONFERENCE,
                       VANCOUVER, 22-24 OCTOBER 1995

I am organizing a special session on disability at the IEEE Systems Man and 
Cybernetics Conference in Vancouver, 22-24 October 1995.

This will be the first time such a session has been held at this Conference, 
and it is a great opportunity to make research in our field known to a wider 
audience of well-established researchers working on advanced computer 
systems.  Also it is an opportunity to recruit new people into thinking 
about doing some work themselves in this area.  I have met, for instance 
robotics people here who were interested in looking into applying some of 
their new techniques in the area of robotics for people with disabilities.  

This is a fairly 'technical' conference -- it covers among other things 
adaptive systems, robotics, biomedical engineering, fuzzy systems, HCI, 
intelligent control and automation, learning systems, AI. You can get an 
idea of the kind of papers they usually have from the IEEE Transactions on 
Systems Man and Cybernetics.  

Please consider putting in a paper for this special session if you are doing 
some work which could be reported here.  We are hoping to get papers on AI 
applications, robotics, AAC, VR applications, systems for help with visual 
impairment, and other topics.  Do get in touch if you want to discuss it 
before doing anything.

The paper submission procedure is quite civilized.  A 2-3 page abstract in 
by 1 February 1995, preliminary acceptances out by 15 April 1995, and full 
paper submitted by 1 July 1995.  If a paper is accepted it will of course be 
expected that one of the authors will attend to give it.

Put at the top of your abstract:  For Special Session on Disability,
Chair: Norman Alm

Send a 2-3 page abstract by 1 February 1995 to:

     Clarence W. de Silva
     Program Chair
     Department of Mechanical Engineering
     University of British Columbia
     Vancouver, British Columbia
     CANADA  V6T 1Z4
     604/822-2403 FAX
     desilva@mech.ubc.ca


I would appreciate it if when you put in an abstract you gave me an email to 
let me know you were submitting one.

Many thanks --- get in touch if you want further info.

Norman Alm