Jun Kato

Technologies for Time-aware Sharing Orchestration in Collaborative Content Production

Grant No.：JPMJPR25I1

Researcher

Jun Kato

Outline

In collaborative content production settings such as anime production, roles and team sizes vary widely across stages. Consequently, the orchestration of information sharing, deciding who shares what, when, and with whom, occurs frequently and remains largely manual, leading to human error and idiosyncratic practices. This project will first conduct field studies to surface the tacit knowledge underlying time-aware sharing orchestration. Building on these findings, we will develop a domain-specific language (DSL) to express these practices and interaction techniques that enable end users to author programs in this DSL, in order to address the above issues.

Kanae Kochigami

A Tutoring Robot that Incorporates Playfulness

Grant No.：JPMJPR25I2

Researcher

Kanae Kochigami

Outline

Teachers often incorporate playfulness into their lessons; for example, by making jokes or occasionally teasing students, to engage them and enhance their learning. This study aims to develop a robot capable of playful one-on-one tutoring for children. First, this project will establish methods for generating lesson content that conveys a sense of playfulness. Next, this project will implement playful teaching that includes real-time interactions. Finally, this project aims to achieve playful teaching based on an understanding of children’s playfulness.

Rui Sakaida

Investigating Adaptive Behaviors of the Visually Impaired in the Ocularcentric Society

Grant No.：JPMJPR25I3

Researcher

Rui Sakaida

Outline

Human society is an ocularcentric society created and operated by the sighted. People with visual impairments are compelled to adapt to interactional norms based on visual perception in their daily lives. In this research, I collect and analyze video data of interactions by the visually impaired and the sighted, and elucidate the methods the visually impaired employ to participate in interactions with the sighted. By doing so, I will contribute to the design of inclusive interaction environments that overcome ocularcentrism.

Haruka Sakai

Elucidation of Everyday Interactional Support for Older Adults

Grant No.：JPMJPR25I4

Researcher

Haruka Sakai

Outline

In Japan’s super-aging society, the lives of older adults are sustained through everyday interactional support from family and local community members. However, the micro-level mechanisms behind such support remain tacit and largely unknown. In this study, I will collect recorded data from everyday settings, analyze their structures and processes, and define the factors that influence whether and how support is provided. In doing so, I aim to contribute to the design of human-like supportive technologies that can flexibly adjust both the provision and manner of support, adapting to the behavior and situation of older adults.

Yukari Jessica Tham

Understanding Fairness in the Division of Labor

Grant No.：JPMJPR25I5

Researcher

Yukari Jessica Tham

Outline

The division of labor often requires people with diverse preferences and abilities to share tasks that vary in type and difficulty. Yet the question of what constitutes a fair division of labor in such complex situations remains unresolved. Through surveys and experiments, this project examines how people perceive fairness in these situations and identifies interventions that can promote fairer outcomes. Its theoretical contribution will be to advance understanding of fairness perceptions, while its practical contribution will be to provide insights into technologies that facilitate fairer divisions of labor.

Jun Nishida

Engineering and Sharing Perspectives through the Synchronization of Somatosensory Experiences

Grant No.：JPMJPR25I6

Researcher

Jun Nishida

Outline

This project aims to develop interactive systems that enable the sharing and synchronization of physical skills and subjective experiences among multiple individuals through somatosensory communication. I will then investigate how such communication facilitates the transfer of skills and subjective experiences, focusing on its effects on bodily self-perception and behavioral modification. Furthermore, I seek to design novel methods and elucidate the underlying mechanisms by which others’ somatosensory experiences can be incorporated into one’s own. By establishing a framework of “somatosensory computing” that fosters inclusive collaboration and co-creation through interconnected bodies, this research ultimately aims to promote broader social participation among diverse individuals.

Yuji Hatada

Embodied Interaction Design Encouraging Reinterpretation of Past, Present, and Future

Grant No.：JPMJPR25I7

Researcher

Yuji Hatada

Outline

The purpose of this research is to realize embodied interactions that positively transform the narrative self—understood as interpretations of one’s past, present, and future—through the use of body transformation technologies such as VR and avatars. Based on fieldwork in metaverses and similar environments, we will develop a technological foundation that intervenes in the recall of the past, anticipation of the future, and present-day relationships. This aims to realize therapeutic interventions to reinterpret fixed negative narratives, preventive interventions to alleviate anxiety and other concerns, and promotive interventions to deepen the meaning of life.

Taku Hachisu

Co-creation Platform for Collaborative Touch

Grant No.：JPMJPR25I8

Researcher

Taku Hachisu

Outline

This project aims to develop a co-creation platform that supports collaborative touch. Touch is an interpersonal interaction that minimizes both physical and social distance. Building on wearable technology that senses multi-person touch and delivers low-latency sensory feedback, I will design interactions that foster interpersonal engagement through collaborative touch in educational and gaming contexts. In the long term, I will open the technology to encourage external contributions and pursue dissemination with industry as educational kits and game controllers.

Kazuyuki Fujita

Adaptive Control of Physical Openness in Working Environments

Grant No.：JPMJPR25I9

Researcher

Kazuyuki Fujita

Outline

This study aims to clarify the effects of dynamically controlling “physical openness”—determined by partitions and ceiling height—on workers, and to establish a methodology for adaptive control of physical openness to maintain high productivity and comfort. To this end, we will develop a roof-type robot system utilizing the space above workers’ heads and, through behavioral observation studies using this system, derive design guidelines for interactions between workers and their work environment.

Yuri Mikawa

Exploring Human Behavior and Experience Transition Using Spatially Distributed Visual Stimuli

Grant No.：JPMJPR25IA

Researcher

Yuri Mikawa

Outline

Coordinated multi-display digital signage in public spaces such as stations and squares represents a common, spatially distributed visual stimulus with the potential to influence the collective experience and behavior of large crowds. This project investigates these effects through an iterative design process. First, we will hold interactive workshops with participants to co-design content that encourages desired changes. Subsequently, we will conduct field experiments in public spaces to test the practical effectiveness of these visual designs. The ultimate goal is to foster more pleasant and walkable urban spaces using subtle, “nudge-like” visual guidance.

Takato Mizuho

Understanding and Controlling the Memory Confusion between Reality and Virtual Reality

Grant No.：JPMJPR25IB

Researcher

Takato Mizuho

Outline

The objective of this research is to elucidate the mechanisms by which memories of real and virtual reality (VR) become confounded, and to develop methods for controlling this phenomenon. This approach focuses on plausibility, defined as the sense of reality in VR arising from perceptual and cognitive congruence. This study will investigate both the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of episodic memory and memory confusion in VR. Based on these findings, this project will conduct further quantitative studies to investigate how manipulations of plausibility impact memory confusion.