Introduction

Dear colleagues,

It is my pleasure to invite you to participate in the International Workshop on Spoken Dialogue Systems, IWSDS 2016, which has the special theme Dialogues with Social Robots: Enablements, Analyses, and Evaluation.

Following the success of IWSDS 2009 (Irsee, Germany), IWSDS 2010 (Gotemba Kogen Resort, Japan), IWSDS 2011 (Granada, Spain), IWSDS 2012 (Paris, France), IWSDS 2014 (Napa, USA), and IWSDS 2015 (Busan, South Korea), the Seventh International Workshop on Spoken Dialogue System (IWSDS 2016) will be held in Saariselkä, Finland, on January 13-16, 2016. The IWSDS 2016 will be the northernmost spoken dialogue workshop ever, and it allows you to enjoy the workshop as well as beautiful winter scenes and activities in Finnish Lapland.

The IWSDS series provides an international forum for the presentation of research and applications, and for lively discussion among researchers as well as industrialists, with a special interest in the practical implementation of spoken dialogue systems in everyday applications. IWSDS 2016 designates Dialogues with Social Robots: Enablements, Analyses, and Evaluation as a special theme of discussion.

On behalf of the organizing committee, I welcome you to the northernmost spoken dialogue workshop ever, and hope that you enjoy the workshop as well as beautiful winter scenes and activities in Finnish Lapland.

Kristiina Jokinen (University of Helsinki and University of Tartu)

IWSDS 2016 Conference Chair