CALL FOR PAPERS AND PARTICIPATION
SoCS 2013
The Sixth International Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS 2013)
SoCS 2013 is the sixth installment of the International Symposium on Combinatorial Search. For more information on the event see http://socs13.search-conference.org/. Heuristic search and other forms of combinatorial search are currently very active areas of research in artificial intelligence, planning, robotics, constraint programming, operations research, bioinformatics, and other areas of computer science. SoCS is meant to bring researchers from these areas together to exchange their ideas and cross-fertilize the field.
Topics of Interest
Topics of interest include but are not limited to the following:
- Analysis of search algorithms
- Automated synthesis of lower bounds
- Bounding and pruning techniques
- Combinatorial puzzles
- Continuous problem solving
- External-memory and parallel search
- Incremental and active learning in search
- Meta-reasoning and search
- Methodology and critiques of current practice
- Model-based search
- Random vs. systematic search strategy selection
- Portfolios of search algorithms
- Real-time search
- Search focus in goal-directed problem solving
- Search space discretization for continuous state-space problems
- Self-configuring and self-tuning algorithms
- Symmetry handling
- Time, memory, and solution quality trade-offs
Special Scope This Year: Graph Search Engineering
Previous SoCS events have provided a special focus on automated planning (2010), search in robotics (2011), and grid-based path planning (2012). This year, SoCS specifically invites submissions from researchers in the algorithm engineering community and related areas that work on graph search problems and other combinatorial search problems that fit the scope of SoCS.
In the past, a large part of the audience of SoCS has had an AI background, and SoCS has traditionally collocated with the AAAI and IJCAI conferences. Our aim with this special scope is to build bridges between AI researchers and algorithmicists who work on similar topics and usually present their work at venues like the Symposium on Experimental Algorithmics.
Paper Submission
We encourage researchers to submit two categories of papers to the symposium: original papers and recently published papers from other venues.
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Original papers: we welcome technical papers that report
on substantial original research as well as position papers discussing
ideas and concepts related to search. Examples of position papers could
include thoughtful critiques of the field, historical perspectives and
analysis, technical discussions of various implementation techniques,
methodological contributions, and insightful reports on new and demanding
applications.
Please read the section "Requirements for Original Papers" for formatting and submission requirements for original papers.
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Previously published papers: in order to foster the
exchange of ideas at SoCS, we encourage authors to submit papers
describing new research which has been reported in other venues in the
last year. Papers that have been accepted for publication at another
venue but are not yet officially published can also be submitted in this
category. Papers that are currently under review cannot be submitted.
Papers in this category are not republished in the SoCS proceedings.
However, an extended abstract can be published if the authors desire this.
Please read the section "Requirements for Previously Published Papers" for formatting and submission requirements for previously published papers.
Papers related to the special scope of this year's symposium are welcome in both categories.
SoCS papers should be submitted to EasyChair.
All submissions must be formatted in AAAI style .
SoCS 2013 is held in cooperation with AAAI and has formal archival proceedings published by AAAI Press.
Requirements for Original Papers
Original papers will be carefully peer-reviewed by at least three reviewers. SoCS 2013 will follow a double-blind review process for original papers, and hence authors of original papers are required to omit author information from their submissions and anonymize obvious self-references. Non-anonymous submissions may be rejected without review.
Original papers can be submitted as full papers or research abstracts:
- Full papers may be up to 8 pages in length, plus an additional page for references only.
- Research abstracts may be up to 2 pages in length
including references. They should report on ongoing but already mature
work.
Publication of a research abstract in the SoCS 2013 proceedings generally allows publishing a full paper on the same line of research at SoCS 2014 or other venues.
If the work cannot be thoroughly evaluated on the basis of the abstract alone, authors may attach a longer version (up to 8 pages plus 1 page for references), which will be considered by the reviewers but not included in the SoCS proceedings. Such an attachment must also be anonymized. In this case, upload the research abstract as the "paper" and the longer version for the reviewers as the "attachment" in EasyChair.
Requirements for Previously Published Papers
Previously published papers will undergo a light reviewing process in order to ensure that they are of interest to the SoCS community and that the optional extended abstract (see below) meets the required quality standards. Because they are already published, these papers cannot be submitted anonymously.
Previously published paper are submitted via the conference's EasyChair submission site just like original papers. Please fill in the original title and a complete and meaningful abstract. The abstract should mention the venue at which the paper was previously published if this is not obvious from the paper itself.
Previously published papers may be submitted with or without an original extended abstract. Extended abstracts may be up to 2 pages in length including references. We emphasize that this is an upper limit. A minimal abstract of less than one column is perfectly acceptable.
In EasyChair, please submit the extended abstract as the "paper" and the originally published paper as the "attachment". If you do not wish to publish an extended abstract, please upload this dummy PDF file as the "paper" because EasyChair does not allow uploading an attachment without a paper.
If the paper is accepted for presentation at the symposium, the extended abstract (if one was submitted) will be included in the SoCS 2013 proceedings. The paper itself will not be reprinted in the proceedings.
Travel Support for Students
SoCS is a student-friendly event. We strongly encourage students to attend.
Students who have a submission accepted for the SoCS program can apply for travel support by contacting the conference chairs. Details about the application process have been sent to all authors by email.
Dates and Location
SoCS will be collocated with AAAI 2013 and SARA 2013 and will take place in Leavenworth, WA, USA. The symposium will start with an opening reception on the evening of July 11 and will finish in the late afternoon of July 13.
Transportation to the AAAI conference will be provided at the end of the symposium. The SARA symposium will be held at the same venue as SoCS, and a joint program is planned for July 12 (the second day of technical sessions for SARA and the first day of technical sessions for SoCS).Important Dates
Abstract submission deadline: April 8, 2013, 11:59PM UTC-12
Paper submission deadline: April 15, 2013, 11:59PM UTC-12
Notification: May 17, 2013
Early registration deadline: May 22, 2013
Camera-ready papers due: May 31, 2013
Late registration deadline: June 24, 2013
SoCS conference: July 11-13, 2013 (technical program: July 12-13)
Conference Chairs:
Malte Helmert,
University of Basel, Switzerland
Gabriele Röger,
University of Basel, Switzerland
Local Arrangements:
Mausam, University of Washington, USA