ANI 2026: 1st Frontier Workshop on Adaptive Neural Intelligence
ANI 2026 will be held in the Cross-AI Symposium 2026.
Introduction
The convergence of biological neural systems, artificial intelligence, advanced sensing, and edge computing is opening a new frontier in human-machine intelligence. Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs), high-density EEG, fNIRS, wearable neurotechnology, and multimodal sensing are moving beyond controlled laboratories toward clinical, consumer, robotic, and extreme environments.
This workshop focuses on the frontier of neural intelligence across this continuum. It begins with robust neural sensing and structured representations of noisy, non-stationary signals, advances toward adaptive representation that can generalize across users, sessions, and environments, and brings these capabilities to edge intelligence for resource-constrained, real-time inference. These foundations enable reliable human-machine systems and ultimately extend neural intelligence into extreme environments, including future space missions.
This progression connects machine learning, neuroscience, neuroengineering, robotics, embedded systems, and aerospace technology around fundamental advances in geometric and statistical neural representations, dynamic covariance modeling, self-supervised learning, continual adaptation, zero-calibration decoding, neuro-AI-hardware co-design, and efficient neural computing.
The workshop aims to advance neural intelligence from static laboratory decoding toward adaptive, resource-aware, and robust systems capable of operating across users, sensors, environments, and missions.
Topics
Adaptive Neural Learning
- Riemannian geometry, Symmetric Positive Definite (SPD) learning, and covariance estimation
- Dynamic neural-state and covariance-trajectory modeling
- Self-supervised and contrastive neural representation learning
- Continual learning and test-time adaptation
- Zero-/few-calibration and cross-subject neural decoding
- Domain generalization and robust neural representations
Neuro-AI and Edge Systems
- TinyML and ultra-low-power neural decoding
- Quantization, pruning, and knowledge distillation
- Hardware-aware neural representation learning
- Adaptive sensor selection and multimodal fusion
- EEG-fNIRS, ear-EEG, wearable, and novel neural sensors
- Real-time closed-loop neural control
Extreme and Space Environments
- Astronaut cognitive-state and workload monitoring
- Neural decoding under altered physiology and motion
- Robust neural sensing under resource constraints
- Human-machine teaming in extreme environments
- Neural interfaces for autonomous systems and space habitats
- Terrestrial analogues and validation methodologies for space deployment
Safety, Privacy, and Responsible Neurotechnology
- Privacy-preserving and federated neural learning
- Neural-data security and governance
- Fairness and cross-population robustness
- Uncertainty estimation and safe adaptive neural systems
- Clinical and operational validation
ANI particularly encourages contributions combining new theory, algorithms, datasets, hardware, and reproducible experimental systems.
Important Dates (AoE)
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| October 26, 2026 | Full/Short Paper Submission |
| November 2, 2026 | Poster/Demo Paper Submission |
| November 16, 2026 | Acceptance Notification |
| November 30, 2026 | Video Submission; E-Poster Submission; Camera-Ready Submission |
| December 2, 2026 | Author Registration Deadline |
| December 14-16, 2026 | Cross-AI Pre-Conference Symposium |
Submission
1. Papers
Papers follow the IEEE conference manuscript templates (Overleaf or US Letter), in English, as PDF, and are reviewed double-blind.
| Category | Length (including references) |
|---|---|
| Full paper | 8–10 pages |
| Short paper | 5–7 pages |
| Poster paper | 3–4 pages |
| Demo paper | 2–3 pages with a link to a 2-minute demo video |
2. E-Posters and Demo Videos
Electronic posters and demo videos are reviewed.
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| E-Poster | 1-page electronic poster (PDF); Optional for all submissions (Full, Short, Poster, and Demo) |
| Demo Video | up to 2-minute demo video |
3. Presentation videos
Accepted submissions provide a pre-recorded video.
| Category | Presentation | Q&A |
|---|---|---|
| Full paper | 15 minutes | 3 minutes |
| Short paper | 10 minutes | 2 minutes |
| Poster | 6 minutes | 2 minutes |
| Demo | 5 minutes (system description + showcase) | 2 minutes |
All submissions are made through the AirBalloon conference management system and evaluated through a unified process. All accetpted papers will be published in the indexed Cross-AI conference proceedings.
At least one author must register for the workshop. Authors may optionally have their papers considered for further publication in an IEEE-published Cross-AI Special Edition in 2027, subject to Cross-AI approval and an additional publication fee.
Cross-AI Group
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If you are interested in serving on the workshop program committee or paper reviewing, please apply online.