International Workshop on Cognitive Prostheses and Assisted Communication
(CPAC 2006) 

January 29, 2006
Sydney, Australia

To be held in conjunction with 2006 International Conference on Intelligent
User Interfaces (IUI 2006) http://www.iuiconf.org/ 

Introduction

Various prostheses have been developed to help people with physical
impairments, by replacing lost or underdeveloped abilities, and these have
played an important part in facilitating the person's social participation.
Providing prostheses for lost or underdeveloped cognitive abilities, however,
presents a challenge of a different order. Some work on memory aids and daily
schedule management systems has shown promise, but progress in this field
will depend upon keeping up to date with our advancing knowledge about
cognition generally as well as emerging technologies which could be platforms
for various kinds of cognitive support. An interdisciplinary approach to this
programme of work will be essential in order to produce: 

    Intelligent systems for augmenting or replacing impaired or absent
    cognitive functions.  

    User interfaces that makes it possible for cognitively impaired people to
    make effective use of the support offered.  

    Context-awareness that recognizes the situation of the cognitively
    impaired person and detects appropriate moments for offering support.  

This workshop will offer the opportunity for researchers in the fields of
assistive technology, cognitive psychology, user interface design and
context-awareness to present the state of the art in each field and to
discuss an approach and a research agenda for realizing effective cognitive
prostheses.  

While the intended audience for this workshop includes those with experience
or interest in Assistive Technology especially for dementia people and their
care, it is also crucial to have participation by those with expertise in
other areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Intelligent User Interface
Design, Context-aware systems, and Cognitive Psychology.  

Contributed by Vicki L. Hanson

Read the entire announcement at:
http://www.irc.atr.jp/cpac2006/