[Humans and Interactions] Year Started : 2018

Tadayoshi Aoyama

Development of interaction technology between people and micro world

Researcher
Tadayoshi Aoyama

Associate Professor
Graduate School of Engineering
Nagoya University

Outline

The goal of this research is the development of interaction technology between people and micro world toward the remote control of microrobots which perform tasks in a human body. Firstly, a view-expanded microscope system that observes 40 million-pixel images in real-time under microscopic environment is developed. Then, an interface to present visual, force sense, and audio information of the micro world to the people from images captured from the view-expanded microscope is developed in order to solve the problems with respect to information presentation for operators of micro-manipulation.

Ota Hiroki

Development of a soft actuator implemented by mechanical control system with flexible sensors

Researcher
Ota Hiroki

tenure associate professor
Graduate School of Engineering Science
Yokohama National University

Outline

In this research, we will develop a soft actuator implemented by mechanical control system with flexible physical sensors. It is difficult to control the precise movement of soft actuators, because the actuators are controlled by solid sensors based on the solid-state electronics. We integrate soft physical sensors having flexibility and stretchability into the soft actuators, and demonstrate monolithic soft actuators with mechanical control system as a proof of concept. Furthermore, new system control engineering composed of soft actuators and sensors will be proposed in this research. Overall, the research will present an important step towards the potential realization of soft actuators and robots with mechanical control systems that offer new form factors and functionality.

Koizumi Ai

Development of mental-accessibility-technologies for individuals with mental disorders

Researcher
Koizumi Ai

Associate Researcher
Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc.

Outline

This research aims to develop mental-accessibility-technologies which enable smoother interaction between individuals with mental disorders and the real world, based on neuroscientific findings. Specifically, I will first conduct neuroscientific research to understand the mechanisms underlying the symptoms of PTSD and Schizophrenia. Based on the research findings, I will develop technologies to alleviate the symptoms, e.g., by filtering the sensory inputs from the external world.

Shoichi Koyama

Spatial Sound Field Recording and Reproduction With Distributed Arrays

Researcher
Shoichi Koyama

Lecturer
Graduate School of Information Science and Technology
The University of Tokyo

Outline

Recording and reproducing a spatial sound field in a large area is an ultimate goal of virtual reality in auditory perception. The objective of sound field recording and reproduction is to reconstruct a sound field physically with many microphones and loudspeakers. Since conventional methods are based on the boundary integral equations for acoustic wave propagation, the array geometry of the microphones and loudspeakers must be a simple shape, and a lot of array elements are necessary for accurate reproduction at high frequencies. This project aims to establish a sound field recording and reproduction technology with distributed arrays. Such technology enables to develop highly-realistic audio systems with flexible, small, and low-cost configuration, which can be used for various applications.

Takagi Atsushi

Sensory feedback of impedance for motor skill transfer, improvement and augmentation

Researcher
Takagi Atsushi

Research Fellow
NTT Communication Science Laboratories
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Outline

Joint impedance is a measure of resistance to movement instability, and is necessary during any kind of contact task. The problem is impedance is invisible to the eye, so it is difficult to control one’s own impedance, and to teach impedance to others. The main objective of this project is to create an impedance feedback system to enable motor skill transfer between an expert and a student, to empower an individual to improve their motor performance, and to augment human sensorimotor function to control a third robotic arm.

Mitsuaki Takemi

Towards strengthen human memories by artificially manipulating brain states

Researcher
Mitsuaki Takemi

Project Lecturer
Faculty of Science and Technology
Keio University

Outline

This research aims to establish non-invasive brain stimulation techniques that enable to vary brain states involved in the context of memories. Recollection of memory is strongly affected by the context in which memory is created. Considering that recent studies indicated that brain state while creating a memory is a neural underpinning of the context, skills acquired under multiple patterns of the brain activities may lead to better retention through more robust memory representation. To achieve the goal, I will utilize both direct current stimulation (manipulating local static brain activities) and alternating current stimulation (manipulating global oscillatory brain networks) and will validate the feasibility with different memory modalities, such as motor skills (procedural memory) and English words (declarative memory).

Akihito Noda

On-body Distributed Electronics

Researcher
Akihito Noda

Associate professor
Faculty of Science and Engineering
Nanzan University

Outline

The goal of this project is to provide an easy-to-use technology for interconnection between on-body distributed tiny devices and ambient networks/devices to enable wearable systems in which many sensors/actuators are embedded in clothing. The project also aims to establish a standard hardware for implementation of on-body measurements and tactile feedbacks all over the body, with an intention to improve productivity of research and development activities in the field of interactions.

Masanori MORISE

Development of human-in-the-loop type singing design

Researcher
Masanori MORISE

Associate Professor
School of Interdisciplinary Mathematical Sciences
Meiji University

Outline

The purpose of this study is to develop an intelligent user interface that users can comfortably manipulate the vocal parameters. Current interfaces realize the singing design but require the complex fine-tuning to improve the naturalness of the result. The tuning places a stress on users. This project challenges to develop an interface to reduce the stress by cooperation between humans and AI. We build a perceptual model to measure the naturalness of singing and a function to constantly maintain the naturalness of singing by automatic tuning. By using the interface with this function, users can concentrate the efforts on manipulating vocal parameters without complex fine-tuning.

Yasuaki Monnai

Establishment of transmissive tactile stimulation for assisting human recognition and motion

Researcher
Yasuaki Monnai

Associate Professor
Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology
The University of Tokyo

Outline

The purpose of this research is to implement transmissive tactile stimulation for assisting human recognition and motion when approaching or touching objects. Specifically, this research aims to electromagnetically augment tactile sensation which we feel from or in the vicinity of the surfaces of objects made of dielectric materials including woods, cloths, and plastics. Ensuring safety for humans, applications such as customizing tactile feeling, expressing the sense of existence of robots, and presenting physical tutorial for music or sport players will be discussed.

Yoshida Shigeo

Computational Perception Design: Designing perceptual experiences using a data-driven approach

Researcher
Yoshida Shigeo

Project Lecturer
Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology
The University of Tokyo

Outline

The purpose of this research is to establish a methodology to represent a target perceptual experience with an interface by deriving a computational model of human perception from a relationship between human perceptual phenomena and sensory stimuli with a data-driven approach such as machine learning. By clarifying this methodology, findings and knowledge of psychology, which has been mainly focusing on understanding human minds and behaviors, can be effectively applied to interface design. Moreover, this methodology enables designers and engineers, who have not studied methods and procedures of psychological experiments, to construct an interface that utilizes human perceptual characteristics including perceptual illusion and multisensory integration.

Quick Access

Program

  • CREST
  • PRESTO
  • ACT-I
  • ERATO
  • ACT-X
  • ACCEL
  • ALCA
  • RISTEX
  • AIP Network Lab
  • Global Activities
  • Diversity
  • SDGs
  • OSpolicy
  • Yuugu
  • Questions