Thursday, June 15, 2006
8:00 - 9:00 Registration (Tutorials are free to AHS attendees and IEEE Conference on Communications registered attendees, but registration is required due to limited seating.)
  Track 1
Location: Besiktas Campus of the Bahcesehir Universy
9:00 - 10:20 Tutorial 1: Evolvable Hardware
Tetsuya Higuchi, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan
Abstract
This tutorial introduces the basic concept of evolvable hardware and gives the overview of industrial applications of evolvable hardware,including prothetic hand, data compression, semiconductor applications.
10:20 - 10:30 Break
10:30 - 11:50 Tutorial 2:  High Performance Reconfigurable Architectures for SoC era
Tughrul Arslan, The University of Edinburgh, UK
Abstract
The tutorial will provide a review of embedded reconfigurable architectures targeting  applications with strict power/speed/area constraints. Example applications will include image processing, telecomunication, aerospace and speech coding. The tutorial will provide design flow for integrating such architectures within modern system on chip design methodologies. In addition, the tutorial will provide an overview of how such architectures can be reconfigured for applications where on-line real-time adaptation is required for conditions such  as change in channel environments in the case of telecommunication or environmental varaition in aerospace.
11:50 - 12:00 Break
12:00 - 1:20 Tutorial 3: Reconfigurable Computing by Reconfigurable Logic
Jim Torresen, University of Oslo, Norway
Abstract
Swapping of software processes at run-time has been common for a long time. However, it has not yet been
very common having hardware being dynamic and adaptable at run-time. With the recent progress in reconfigurable  technology (typically FPGAs), systems applying run-time reconfiguration has started to appear. This tutorial will give an introduction to run-time reconfiguration of hardware and present what is state-of-the-art today.
  Track 2
Location: Besiktas Campus of the Bahcesehir Universy
10:30 - 11:50 Tutorial 4: Evolvable Hardware in the View of Theoretical Computer Science 
Lukas Sekanina, Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic
Abstract
In this tutorial, the area of evolutionary digital circuit design and evolvable hardware will be briefly introduced. This mainly experimental work will be generalized and the concept of evolvable computational machines will be proposed. Evolvable computational machines will be defined formally and their properties will be investigated. We will ask whether the evolved machines are computational mechanisms and whether they can be simulated on a standard Turing machine. This tutorial presents a non-traditional view on these topics in which the evolved systems are considered as computational machines and investigated from the point of view of theoretical computer science.
11:50 - 12:00 Break
12:00 - 1:20 Tutorial 5:  Hardware Accelerators for Evolving Building Block Modules for Artificial Brains
Hugo de Garis, Wuhan University, China
Abstract
Evolution of neural net circuits  on inexpensive FPGA hardware (~$10,000)  offers speed-ups by a factor of about 50 relative to using an ordinary PC. This makes the evolution of large numbers  of modules (~10,000) each with its own function, doable in a reasonable time. Software to connect up the modules to build artificial brains is needed and will be in the future specified according to the designs of human brain architects. The artificial-brain in the PC could then control the many  behaviors of a robot using 2-way radio antenna, a gripper, a CCD camera on the robot. This may be an affordable alternative to the using PC clusters with thousands of nodes (e.g. the Blue Brain project, CCortex project etc).
1:30 - 2:30 Lunch (on your own)
2:15 - 6:00 Visiting Tour  to Dolmbahce Palace
Free tour to the Dolmbahce Palace, a magnificent 19th centery palace with 14 tons of pure gold used for its interior decoration, a rich collection of Bohemian crystal in addition to its famous Harem section. Transportation will be provided from Conference Venue (departure at 2:15pm) to the Dolmbahce palace and from Dolmbhace palace (departure 6pm) to Welcome Diner.
Visit our Tours and Excursions on your own are also available on the Web Site:  http://www.ahs2006.org/tours.php
7:00 - 9:00 Welcome Diner
Come and enjoy Classical Turkish music and cuisine in an authentic Turkish venue (free for registered attendees of AHS-2006). After diner, transportation will be provided from the Restaurant to Taksim area (Hilton, Swissotel, Tashik, Macka hotels).
Location: Sehzade Mehmed Sofrasi