Outline of Research Area
The goal of this research area is to conduct advanced research on intelligent functions where interaction with people is essential, to provide those functions in the form of sharable services embedded in the information environment, and to further form the composite functions based on provided services through networking with other services created both inside and outside of the research areas.
More specifically, the research area includes ubiquitous computing, ambient intelligence, intelligent robots, advanced research on intelligent functions to support communication and group activities;
Evaluation research on intelligent functions for users such as usability testing, ethnography, and statistical analysis; and further networking research on intelligent functions using services computing to provide research results to society.
Research Supervisor's Policy on Call for Application, Selection, and Management of the Research Area (FY2010)
Human society in the future will face versatile problems, such as those related to medical care, nursing care, foodstuffs, transportation, energy, and collision of different cultures. For intelligent functions that are conducive to such problems, interactions with people in the real world are essential.
On the other hand, in the information environment as represented by Web sites, formation of collective intelligence by sharing services has already started in addition to the sharing of content. However, there has been no sufficient interaction among research and development work on intelligent functions in the real world and the information environment, and the fusion of such work is now an issue.
The research area is intended to share intelligent functions in the real world by using cyberspace, and calls for proposals concerning the research challenges stated below. It should be noted that any remarkable research plans will be actively adopted even if they are not covered by the specified categories.
We appreciate the many participants.
1. Advanced Research on Intelligent Functions
We call for radical and advanced research challenges that provide key technologies for realizing ubiquitous computing, ambient intelligence, intelligent robots, and support functions for communication and group activities. In particular, research on intelligent functions is important, which actively recognizes, analyzes, and adapts to the real world, to support and guide humans for adequate decision making and action.
In addition, we call for research that expands their own capabilities by sharing content and services in the information environment and proactively and organically collaborates with other intelligent functions . It should be noted that, among individual research subjects, the research area does not require the level at which the research goal is realized in society, but its result should be offered in the form of services that can be used by others, through demonstration of the research results in user environments by drafting application scenarios that is formed with the research result as its components.
2. Evaluation Study of Intelligent Functions
The research area calls for proposals that theoretically and experimentally evaluate acceptability and the potential of new technologies in society by usability testing, ethnography, and statistical analysis. In particular, research is important when based on theories of cognitive processes and communication that explain humans' decision making, actions, and other factors.
3. Study on Networking of Intelligent Functions
The research area calls for proposals that realize composite intelligent functions by the “Web of services.” Once many services are accumulated in the information invironment, research on actively providing services harmonized with humans in the real world will then become important.
For this purpose, it is necessary that the research should have firm assumptions in the fields (medical care,welfare, education, disaster prevention, agriculture, commerce, residence, office, public space, intermediate and mountainous areas, oceans, and so on) where intelligent functions are utilized.
Since the PRESTO should be studies of individuals , no team is formed in advance for the research. However, in the research area, community formation through interaction among researchers will be promoted while taking advantage of individual studies; therefore, we appreciate applications by researchers who aspire to collaborate with other researchers.
The recruitment is as follows: the three-year research period and the five-year research period in PRESTO. If your research requires time to prepare a substantial amount of data, computing facilities, or experimental environments, select the five-year research period and describe the reason for your selection.
In 2010, in particular, this research area calls for challenging research proposals and encourages you to consider the high-impact type that can be applied in addition to three-year research period or the five-year research period. If available, specify the URL of your website in the application to emphasize your previous research results.
