The International Workshop on Intelligent Autonomous Learning Systems is a yearly by-invitation-only workshop on developments within machine learning for robotics and other autonomous systems. The focus lies on fundamental scientific and organizational discussions. The workshop typically takes place in Kleinwalsertal (Austria), a nice location surrounded by the beautiful Alps.

International Workshop of Intelligent Autonomous Learning Systems 2022

Quick Facts

Organizers:Joao Carvalho, Pascal Klink, Joe Watson
Location:Darmstädter Haus, Kleinwalsertal, Austria
Dates:14.08.- 21.08.2022

Schedule

Note, the schedule is subject to change, to optimize the weather during outdoor activites.

Daily Schedule

14/8Sunday:Travel.
15/8Monday:Introductions, Tutorial #1, Networking
16/8Tuesday:Talk #1, Tutorial #2
17/8Wednesday:Talk #2, Group Discussions
18/8Thursday:Hike, Tutorial #3
19/8Friday:Group discussions, Hackathon
20/8Saturday:Discussions / Swimming pool, Sauna
21/8Sunday:Travel back

Detailed Schedule

Note, there will be 30 minute coffee breaks each morning and afternoon, between sessions.

TimeMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday
09 - 10IntroductionHikeOpen-source Reinforcement LearningA Robotic Platform for Air HockeyGeri Neumann (ALR, KIT)
10 - 11Network Speed DatingHikeInformation-Theoretic Sensorimotor Behaviour IInformation-Theoretic Sensorimotor Behaviour IILatent Predictive World Models
11 - 12WIAWIWTBHikeInformation-Theoretic Sensorimotor Behaviour IInformation-Theoretic Sensorimotor Behaviour IILatent Predictive World Models
12 - 13LunchHikeLunchLunchLunch
13 - 14WIAWIWTBHike(IAS) Ops, DevOps & IT DiscussionML for Drug DiscoveryJoni Pajarinen (Aalto)
14 - 15WIAWIWTBHike(IAS) Feedback DiscussionResearch Speed DatingImpactful Research Workshop
15 - 16WIAWIWTBHike (IAS) Teaching Review(IAS) Research Review
16 - 17 Hike(IAS) 360° Feedback (IAS) Research Review

Invited Tutorials

Information-Theoretic Treatment of the Perception-Action Loop

Daniel Polani is a professor of Artificial Intelligence and Director of the Centre for Computer Science and Informatics Research (CCSIR), and Head of the Adaptive Systems Research Group, and leader of the SEPIA (Sensor Evolution, Processing, Information and Actuation) Lab at the University of Hertfordshire. Daniel Polani received the Doctor of Natural Sciences degree from the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany, in 1996.,From 1996 to 2000, he was a Research Assistant with the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Mainz. In 1997, he was a Visiting Researcher with the Neural Networks Research Group, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. From 2000 to 2002, he was a Research Fellow with the Institute for Neuro- and Bioinformatics, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany. From 2002 to 2008, he was a Principal Lecturer with the Adaptive Systems and Algorithms Research Groups, School of Computer Science, University of Hertfordshire (UH), Hatfield, U.K. Since 2008, he has been a Reader in Artificial Life and Member of the Adaptive Systems and Algorithms Research Groups, School of Computer Science, UH. His research interests include the foundations of intelligent behavior in biological as well as artificial agents, especially in terms of informational optimality principles.

A Unified Framework for Developing Curiosity-driven Agents in Hard-Exploration Tasks using Latent-Predictive World-models. (Remote)

Mohammad Gheshlaghi Azar is a research scientist at DeepMind woking on broad range of topics from deep reinforcement learning to self-supervised learning. His main passion is to gain better understanding of the concept of intelligence by looking deeper on its governing mathematical principles.

Contributed Talks

Machine Learning for Drug Discovery

Alexander I. Cowen-Rivers is a PhD student in the Intelligent Autonomous Systems group and Research Scientist at Huawei Research London, working on Reinforcement Learning and Bayesian Optimisation. Alexander joined the lab in November 2019 after receiving his MSc in Machine Learning & Data Science from University College London in October 2018.

A Robotic Platform for Air Hockey

Puze Liu is a PhD student in the Intelligent Autonomous Systems group. His research interests include robotics, reinforcement learning, inverse reinforcement learning, and human-robot collaboration. Puze is looking for new approaches for robots to learn collaborative tasks that enable robots assisting humans in different scenarios.

Open-source Reinforcement Learning

Davide Tateo is a postdoctoral researcher in the Intelligent Autonomous Systems group working on Robotics and Reinforcement Learning.

Workshop Activities

WIAWIWTB (Where I Am & Where I Want To Be)

A series of brief 3 minute lightning talks summarizing your research career so far and future aspirations for all retreat participlants. Talks are up to three minutes long, with two minutes allocated per speaker for discussion. Chair: Joe Watson

Impactful Research Workshop

What makes impactful research? How should we choose problems to work on? This workshop aims to develop strategies for finding the good research questions and classifying dead ends, and discuss the current open questions in Robot Learning. Chair: Joe Watson

Network and Research Speed Dating

Rapid three minutes chats to get to know each other, and establish potential research collaborations. Open to all. Chair: Joe Watson

IAS Workshops

IAS-only meetings to discuss various internal matters. Other participants are free to have their own meetings or use these slots freely. Chairs: Joe Watson and Joao Carvalho

Tooling Tutorials

Contributed workshops looking at a specific problems or software libraries. Chairs: Boris Belousov (Isaac Gym), Daniel Palenicek (JAX) and Joe Watson (RevealJS)

Travel Arrangements

Please contact Pascal Klink for travel advice.