Basic information of the Research Area

[External Stimulus Sensing]Deciphering External Stimulus Sensing and Development of Innovative Augmentation Technologies

Strategic Objective

Augmented Senses and Cognition

Overview

"This research area aims to elucidate the mechanisms by which living organisms sense stimuli outside the body, which is an indispensable function that enables organisms to take appropriate survival-oriented actions, and to establish foundational technologies for the mimicry, augmentation, and transmission of those functions.
Humans sense a variety of external stimuli, —ranging from the five senses to temperature, noxious inputs, and even magnetism—integrate the resulting stimulus information, and then adapt to external stimuli in order to live. In other words, human beings cannot survive without sensing stimuli.
However, many aspects of the sensing mechanisms remain unclear, and some senses—such as pain, taste, and smell—lack objective evaluation indices. Although information interfaces that objectively transmit sensory stimuli have been developed and some senses are seeing progress in applications such as robotics of sensory-mimicking devices , for many senses—particularly pain and itch, taste and smell, and temperature—the elucidation of molecular mechanisms of stimulus sensing has not advanced well , and the expansion toward applied studies is also lagging for many senses, particularly pain and itch, taste and smell, and temperature.
For these reasons, it is necessary to promote basic research on sensing mechanisms for diverse external stimuli and to broaden research toward the practical use of technologies based on such basic research. The advancement of this research area can only be achieved through the interaction between biological and physical/engineering researches, and also by incorporating diverse approaches such as mathematical and computational sciences to pursue the essence of sensation; we believe it will lead to answers to the question, “What is human nature?”

Research Area Advisors

Now under consideration.

Schedule of Selection Process

Deadline for application	2026/05/26 at 12:00 noon, Japan time
Document-based review	Late June – Middle of July
JST will contact to the interviewees no later than	Early July - Middle of July
Interview-based review（ONLINE） ※Interview date and time will be assigned by JST.	Middle of July – Early August

Research Supervisor's Policy

Research Supervisor's Policy of this Research Area can be downloaded from below.