First Annual Visual and Iconic Language Conference 2007
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held at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque on August 2nd and
3rd, 2007. The VAIL conference focuses on various aspects of the
history, use, misuse, research, and development of visual language,
the impact of modern technologies on the use of visual language, and
fosters open discussion of current and future applications. VAIL-2007
is part of a new research initiative funded by the Office of Naval
Research via the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, San Diego.
VAIL will explore the areas of visual language, gesture, linguistics,
and sign language in order foster interchange and innovation in the
many interdisciplinary fields of visual language, and highlight the
role it plays in our community, communications, and national
defense.
The conference invites the submission of papers on substantial,
original, and unpublished research in disciplines relevant to the
study and design of visual language and visual language linguistics.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
· Historical development and evolution of visual language
· Signed language and gesture
· Visual language linguistics
· Visual language grammar, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics
· Visual metaphor & iconicity
· Designing iconography and representational language
· Human and automated production, perception, and recognition of
visual and gestural language
· Representation, metaphor, and iconicity
· Visual structure & representation
· Visual language specification and standards
· Applications of visual language
· Use of visual language in computing and virtual environments
· Future visions of visual language
See http://cs.unm.edu/~vail or more information on the conference and
submission dates
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initiative and reasons for starting a visual language conference:
This last year, we began a new program to assess and augment tactical
and humanitarian communications capabilities using visual & iconic
language. As you may be aware the US DoD, NATO, Department of
Homeland Security, and many others have each separately devoted
substantial effort to the creation of 'standard' warfighting, hazard,
and security symbology for use within operations visualization systems
(such as the Standard Warfighting Symbology, MIL STD 2525b). These
standard symbols are used to represent various unit and hazard types,
attributes, and states within common operational picture displays.
The symbols within these standards are, however, often ill-suited to
efficient and clear communication in a tactical setting. They appear
sufficient for many mapping systems, providing detailed information
within the context of a terrain or battlefield, but are not easily
used as communicable entities or sequences within messages which may
be primarily textual. This and other issues produce a communications
lapse between individuals which may or may not have access to the same
view of the battlespace or humanitarian operation.
Our primary research goal is to utilize visual language (to include
gesture and sign) to produce integrative, multi-modal technologies to
address communications shortfalls latent within modern communications
techniques in use by the DoD and others, including; email, chat, text-
messaging, DMS, web-based (e.g. wiki, blog, etc), video, audio, and
even direct line-of-sight communications. Scientific methods for the
creation and assessment of visual languages and visual communication
strategies are of particular interest to us, including approaches in
computational linguistics, cognitive science, and theory developed
from the study of the historical evolution of language both natural
and constructed.
Overall, the VAIL conference is intended to foster an open forum,
allowing visual language researchers to gather with other experts and
share research findings and hold open discussions. We have high
expectations for this first year and expect interest to grow during
the next several years.