Introduction

Computers are now available anytime, anywhere, by different means, and distributed unobtrusively throughout everyday environments in which physical objects/artifacts embedded with invisible computers are sensible and networked locally and globally. Such "any" computers open tremendous opportunities to provide numerous novel services/applications in both real world and cyber spaces, and exist ubiquitously in our daily life, working, learning, traveling, entertainment, medicine, etc. Although it is yet unclear what exactly the real-cyber integrated worlds would be, there is no doubt that they must be safe.

Following the traditions of previous successful UbiSafe conferences, formerly Symposium on Ubisafe Computing, held in Helsinki, Finland (2015), Beijing, China (2014), Melbourne, Australia (2013), Liverpool, UK (2012), Changsha, China (2011), Chengdu China (2009), and Niagara Falls, Canada (2007). The 8th IEEE International Symposium on Ubisafe Computing (UbiSafe 2016) will be held in conjunction with "The 15th IEEE International Conference on Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing and Communications (IEEE TrustCom 2016)". It aims at bringing together researchers and practitioners in the world working on theories and technologies for ubiquitous artifacts to function safely for different purposes; for ubiquitous systems to work safely in various situations; and for ubiquitous environments to behave safely with all people.

Scope and Interests

UbiSafe 2016 is an international symposium for presenting and discussing emerging ideas and trends in aspects of UbiSafe computing, but are not limited to:

(1) Fundamentals

UbiSafe concepts, definitions, basic elements, models, frameworks and methodologies, human-centric paradigms, multi-disciplinary/inter-disciplinary/trans-disciplinary approaches, semantics, ontologies, UbiSafe requirements and formal specifications and validations, information assurance, etc.

(2) Technologies

Security and privacy protection, reliability and fault tolerance, risk analysis, uncertainty and exception handling, socially intelligent agents, intuitive/natural user interface, interaction design, context-awareness, intelligent computing, service-oriented computing, hardware, software, middleware, etc.

(3) Systems

Embedded systems, wearable systems, augmented systems, context-based systems, communication systems, safety-critical systems, survivable systems, persistent systems, autonomous/autonomic systems, proactive systems, network infrastructure, sensor networks, etc.

(4) Applications

Smart objects, smart environments, information appliance and artifacts, everyday gadgets, robots, safety care, healthcare, medical care and services, working, learning, traveling, entertainment, case studies, etc.

(5) Measures and Assessments

UbiSafe attributes and measures for safety, trust, faith, amenity, easiness, comfort, satisfaction and worry, UbiSafe levels and relations, UbiSafe quality, assessment criteria and authority, subjective and objective assessment standards, evaluation methodologies, testing, measuring and monitoring tools, etc.

(6) Human Factors and Social Issues

Human and social aspects of UbiSafe, UbiSafe sources and factors, social rules, regulations and laws, human factors, human behavior analysis, modeling of human feelings, traditional and cultural issues, ethical issues, etc.

Submission and Publication Information

All presented papers in the conference will be published in the proceedings of the conference and submitted to the IEEE Xplore Digital Library. Papers should be written in English conforming to the IEEE conference proceedings format (8.5" x 11", Two-Column). Papers should be submitted through the paper submission system at the symposium website. Each paper is limited to 6 pages (or 8 pages with the pages over length charge). Distinguished papers, after further revisions, will be considered for possible publication in SCI & EI indexed special issues of prestigious international journals. The program committee will select and award one "Best Paper Award" for this symposium. By submitting a paper to the conference, authors assure that if the paper is accepted, at least one author will attend the conference and present the paper.