News

For Master's Program Applicants:
An online information session is planned for early May, primarily for those applying from distant locations. However, given the nature of our research on human sensation and perception, we strongly recommend that those with specific interests in certain themes or sensors contact us individually to visit the lab.

Prof. Yoshida is briefly featured in the Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese).

We invite you to a small exhibition at Saitama University, where four laboratories will be showcasing research on technology for recording and transmitting haptic sensations. Experience things that feel fluffy, bumpy, squishy, rough, and more. Admission free.

Co-hosted: Japanese Society of Regenerative Medicine and Rehabilitation
Supported by: Saitama University

A student production from Sakuragaoka High School in Mie Prefecture, titled "Goodbye Club Advisor!?", which Prof. Yoshida helped with Prof. Tanaka, advanced to the finals of the 71st NHK National High School Broadcasting Contest and won an Award of Excellence in the Radio Documentary category.

Background:
For broadcasting club members, the club advisor is an indispensable figure. But the reality is that our advisor is so busy. So, they turned their attention to conversational AI and decided to introduce an AI to act as their advisor. Can an AI truly replace a human advisor? They created this program to reaffirm the importance of the advisor's role.

In the Nikkei newspaper's series "Theories of Robot Evolution", Prof. Yoshida discusses "an era where humans adapt to robots."

Prof. Yoshida was featured in the "Meeting this Person" section of Psychology World, the official journal of the Japanese Psychological Association.

Demonstration of haptic virtual reality using soft actuator at IEEE World Haptics 2019.
Li J., Michishio M., Qu Q. & Yoshida T. (2019) Non-metal air actuator based multimodal force sensation exhibitions by continuously varying force. Demo DM 1.03.

Hands-on lecture for junior and senior high school students conducted by four professors on Jan. 26, 2019 at the ELSI Lecture Theatre. A 3D binocular color display system that will hack the eyes and brain will enable students to experience and explore the future of human and artificial brain research.
Co-hosted: Tokyo Tech International Frontier Science and Technology Education Program

National Museum of Emerging Science Open Lab
Who should be held responsible when a robot makes an autonomous judgement that leads to a social accident? The manufacturer? The operator? The robot itself? Where are the limits of current law? How can we balance technological development with social safety? Four researchers in engineering, law, psychology and philosophy discussed these issues with visitors.
Event Calendar
Co-hosted: National Museum of Emerging Science, JST RISTEX

"Counseling Center for Robots" was held for high school students and university applicants at the Open Campus. Who should be responsible when an AI robot causes an accident? Users? Manufacturers? Or the robot itself? We discussed this issue from multidisciplinary perspectives including law, philosophy and psychology.
Event report
Co-hosted: JST RISTEX

Our lab was featured in the university PR pages: "Advances in robotics and AI have led to an integration of interactions between humans and robots. New challenges regarding safe and comfortable operation and liability in the event of accidents are being addressed from both psychological and mechanical engineering perspectives." The video shows our lab's "wearable power support robot that allows brain measurement while being worn," built with soft actuators.
Faces Researchers Vol. 31 — Takako Yoshida

Dr. Yoshida conducted a talk at the RISTEX "Human Information Technology Ecosystem" symposium on "Who should be held responsible when an AI robot causes an accident in society." The pictures showcase our fMRI-compatible wearable power support robot system.
(Provided by: Japan Science and Technology Agency)
"Responsibility and Subject for AI Era"
Part 1: http://logmi.jp/274569
Part 2: https://logmi.jp/274601

The booklet "Towards a Future of Co-evolution between People and AI" features Prof. Yoshida.
Special Tripartite Discussion: What are the responsibilities and the subject of the artificial intelligence era?
Kazuya Matsuura (Toyo University, Philosophy)
Takako Yoshida (Institute of Science Tokyo, School of Engineering)
Tatsuhiko Inatani (Kyoto University Graduate School of Law)
More information and how to obtain this booklet

Our laboratory technically supported the Virtual Reality Thrilling Flight event for kids at Haneda Tokyo airport during Golden Week.
http://flyteam.jp/event/detail/4646
Photo: Hang glider national team athlete Yuji Suzuki.
http://suzukiyuji.com/

In collaboration with Prof. Masayuki Tanaka, we held a hands-on lecture for junior and senior high school students. Through experiencing 3D virtual reality that combines vision, haptics and proprioception, participants learned how humans and machines perceive the world, and explored a future where these technologies are used in daily life such as sports broadcasting.
http://bit.ly/ttopen2017

(Supported by Tokyo Tech Fund, Tokyo Tech COI)

 

Master student Shota Tanaka won the best talk award for "An fMRI study to investigate the brain signatures for user's sensation and experience when using wearable robot" from the System Integration Division, SICE. He built a soft wearable power support suit that allows brain measurement, and presented on its safety and the brain function of its wearer.
Featured in: Soft Robotics Pioneered by Thin Artificial Muscles

Master student Kazuma Horita won the best presentation award for "The brain function of the visual search for self-controlling object" from The Vision Society of Japan.

In collaboration with Prof. Masayuki Tanaka, we held a hands-on lecture for high school students. Focusing on 3D stereoscopic and 360-degree video, participants experienced these through virtual reality and explored a future where Computer Vision and Human Vision merge to create new visual experiences.

In collaboration with Prof. Masayuki Tanaka, participants learned about the brain mechanisms of 3D perception and the principles and safety of head-movement-synchronized display devices.
JSPS Hirameki-Tokimeki Science Kakenhi grant.
http://bit.ly/ttopen2016

In collaboration with Prof. Masayuki Tanaka, we held a hands-on lecture for junior and senior high school students. Using smartphone-based 3D virtual reality, participants learned how humans and machines perceive the world, and explored a future where these technologies are used in daily life such as sports broadcasting.
http://www.ok.ctrl.titech.ac.jp/~mtanaka/lecture/tokyotechopen2016/

In collaboration with Prof. Masayuki Tanaka, we held a hands-on lecture for high school students. Through experiencing 3D stereoscopic aurora images in virtual reality, participants learned the principles of stereoscopic depth measurement, and how humans recognize the world by moving their heads.

The first public exhibition on the fMRI was held in collaboration with Prof. Hiroyuki Akama. A pineapple was scanned with 3T MRI scanner for diffusion tensor tractography to visualize their fibers.

In collaboration with Prof. Masayuki Tanaka, we held a two-day hands-on lecture for high school students on how Computer Vision and Human Vision work together to make machines safe and usable. Through 3D stereoscopic aurora VR, participants learned about the brain mechanisms of 3D perception and the principles and safety of 3D display devices.
Hirameki-Tokimeki Science Kakenhi grant
http://www.ok.ctrl.titech.ac.jp/~mtanaka/lecture/tokyotechopen2015/
DIY recipe to try similar experience at home

In collaboration with Prof. Masayuki Tanaka, we held a hands-on class. One key difference between university and high school is the dissemination of knowledge to the public. High school students visiting the Open Campus created and published their own Change Blindness movies.
Gallery | Change Blindness generator

Hands-on exhibitions related to Dr. Yoshida's course "Laboratory Training on Human Brain Functions and their Measurements" at the Open Campus and Kodai-sai.
Tokyo Tech Open Campus 2013 & Kodai-sai 2013

Some functions of the Android app used in our research are available for download and trial.
Video (RollingBall.mov) Music by Shue Itamoto (c) Tokyo Tech Applied Brain Science Lab.
→Download the app and manual (Zip format, Android only)
Yoshida, T., Tsutsumi, Y., Tanaka, M. & Nakamura, A. (2013) Sequential learning of a tablet-based visuomotor task with conflicting rotational transformations, Asiagraph.