NPO法人ウェアラブルコンピュータ研究開発機構定例会 (regular meeting of the Wearable Computer Research & Development NPO) held in 東京 (Tokyo, Japan)

In the frame of its regular activities, NPO法人ウェアラブルコンピュータ研究開発機構定例会 (Wearable Computer Research & Development NPO) organised a 4h30 seminar entitled 離陸直前のウェアラブルの諸相 (Various perspectives on wearable computers before takeoff) at 秋葉原ダイビル (Akihabara Daibiru) in 東京 (Tokyo, Japan) on 13 December 2007. It described the state of the art in 2007 and recent Japanese works.

During his talk ウェアラブル離陸直前 (Wearable computers before takeoff), 塚本昌彦 (TSUKAMOTO Masahiko) explained that the general public uses much more pocket computers (e.g. cellular phones, digital cameras, electronic dictionaries, music players) in everyday life and may adopt head-mounted displays as soon as 2008 at home if not in public places. He evoked three critical challenges discussed afterwards by other speakers: system platforms, safety and raw materials (e.g. textiles for smart clothing). As for his research, he still designs smart clothes. As a member of his team, 寺田努 (TERADA Tsutomu) introduced during his talk ウェアラブルのシステム (Wearable systems) an illuminated tree controlled by worn sensors and Wearable Toolkit, a toolkit to create rules for wearables based on sensor data.

During his talk ウェアラブルの安全性 (Safety of wearables), 河合隆史 (KAWAI Takashi) presented in depth investigations on head-mounted displays to understand their physiological and psychological effects on humans. To study fundamentals, his group carried out experiments with young adults in laboratories and outdoors, displaying combinations of stripes, which is standard for vision-related psychological experiments. Penetrating results will require much effort and should involve children and older adults to cover the influences of growth and decline, which is not planned yet.

During his talk ウェアラブルの素材 (Materials for wearables), 脇田玲 (WAKITA Akira) introduced several technologies to create color-changing clothes presented by others at Tokyo Fiber 2007 - Senseware in Paris (France) on 26-28 June 2007 or developed by his group. He then quickly evoked the potential for applications.

Finally two special talks were given: 人間のI/Oを拡張するためのインタフェース技術 (Interface technologies to extend human input/output) and 21 世紀の人類は「i-borg」になる！？：常時装用インタフェースによる脳力強化人間 (21st century humans become i-borg!? Usually worn interfaces that extend human intelligence). 稲見昌彦 (INAMI Masahiko) discussed novel and sometimes artistic input/output paths for human-computer systems, with numerous illustrations from his research, and concluded with a question: "After wearables, will we really get implants?". 福本雅朗 (FUKUMOTO Masaaki) discussed replacements for usual elements of Japanese cellular phones, with a long focus on the detection of typing shocks (using fingers or feet) to replace keyboards with systems such as FingeRing and UbiButton.

The main participants were: 塚本昌彦 (TSUKAMOTO Masahiko) from 神戸大学 (Kobe university), 寺田努 (TERADA Tsutomu) from 神戸大学 (Kobe university), 河合隆史 (KAWAI Takashi) from 早稲田大学 (Waseda university), 脇田玲 (WAKITA Akira) from 慶應義塾大学 (Keio university), 稲見昌彦 (INAMI Masahiko) from 電気通信大学 (The university of electro-communications), and 福本雅朗 (FUKUMOTO Masaaki) from NTTドコモ (NTT Docomo).

HIS seminar #9 - Ubiquitous Computing: location-awareness in ubiquitous computing and human needs in wearable computing, in 東京 (Tokyo, Japan)

Source: Horizons <http://horizons.free.fr/his/eng/seminars/2007-10-04_his-seminar_9.htm>

The 9^th seminar dealt with ubiquitous computing. Mr Hoareau (SOKENDAI, NII) and Dr Duval (NII) presented, respectively, location-awareness in ubiquitous computing and human needs in wearable computing at the 国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics).

Slides of the presentations:

• Mr HOAREAU Christian: Ubiquitous Computing, Location-Awareness and Query Processing (PDF)
• Dr DUVAL Sébastien: Needs in Wearable Computing: a User-centred Approach (PDF)
  

Date: 04 October 2007 (15:30-17:30)
Location: 国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics), Tokyo, Japan
Language: English
Registration fees: None
Attendees: 10 persons
Organization: Dr DUVAL Sébastien (国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics))

IBM avatars to visualize and interact with medical records in 3D

IBM announced on 26 September 2007 the creation of the Anatomic and Symbolic Mapper Engine (ASME), a prototype software that allows medical doctors to visualize medical records as a 3D avatar and to interact with it. The system enables intuitive anatomical queries for a specific patient, with e.g. zooming used to narrow the query space. Possible results include related text records, results of laboratory analyses or medical images such as radiographs. One IBM Researcher compared the service to Google Earth, which is currently dedicated to geographical and astronomical data.

Using advanced machine learning and state-of-the-art 3-D modeling techniques, the IBM researchers are working to overcome key technical challenges including integrating heterogeneous data sources and complex text-based information—so-called unstructured data—and linking that data to the anatomical model in a meaningful and easy-to-navigate way. ASME also uses SNOMED, the systemized nomenclature of medicine that encompasses approximately 300,000 medical terms, to create a bridge between graphical concepts and text documents...
[Read the article]

脇田研究室 第1回展示会 - 情報の官能 (Wakita laboratory 1st Exhibition - The Senses of Information) held in 東京 (Tokyo, Japan)

Source: <http://horizons.free.fr/seikatsu/eng/events/2007-09_jp-tokyo_wakita-expo.htm>

The first exhibition of textiles and garments by 脇田研究室 (Wakita laboratory), entitled 情報の官能 (The Senses of Information), took place in 東京 (Tokyo, Japan) on 8 and 9 September 2007. It featured binary ("0"s and "1"s)-based compositions, tools and artistic works such as dresses based on the Fabcell technology and on the Wearable Synthesis concept.

Fabcell is a square textile created by 渋谷みどり (SHIBUTANI Midori), woven from flexible non-emissive yarns connected to electronic components, whose color can change depending on the temperature. The color of the exhibited dress (see photo) changed from green to red, controlled by the application of specific voltages to its conductive yarns. This technology can be exploited for fashion, or to provide information such as a wearer's emotional state. The application of strong voltages to quickly change the temperature–and thus color–of the textile poses a significant risk to the wearer and bystanders. Additional problems include a limited resistance to washing and the difficulty to create small cells.

The Wearable Synthesis concept defines clothes and accessories as modules with both input (e.g. temperature sensor) and output (e.g. colored LEDs), which connect to each other to provide a variety of effects. For example, a dress may change its color according to other worn items, or to the presence of an acquaintance nearby. Such a model was presented at the exhibition but did not work when I went by.

The 脇田研究室 (Wakita laboratory) was founded by 脇田玲 (WAKITA Akira) at 慶應義塾大学 (Keio university) in 2004 to investigate the future of information design. It is therefore involved in Internet-related technologies, interactions and fashion.

[See photos]

HIS seminar #8 - Linguistic Support: annotation of multilingual biomedical texts and dictionary reversal for German-Japanese, in 東京 (Tokyo, Japan)

Source: Horizons <http://horizons.free.fr/his/eng/seminars/2007-06-14_his-seminar_8.htm>

The 8^th seminar dealt with linguistic support. Dr 川添 (Kawazoe) (NII) and Dr Doan (NII) presented their research on the annotation of multilingual biomedical texts, then Dr Apel (NII) introduced his research on dictionary reversal for German-Japanese at the 国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics).

Slides of the presentations:

• Dr 川添愛 (KAWAZOE Ai): Semantic Annotation in BioCaster: its Design and Challenges (PDF)
• Dr DOAN Son: The Roles of Named Entities and Their Roles in Classifying Annotated Biomedical Texts (PDF)
• Dr APEL Ulrich: Dictionary Reversal – Building a German-Japanese Dictionary from Japanese-German Data, Using Vocabulary Analysis, User Cooperation and Approaches from Natural Language Processing (PDF)
  

Date: 14 June 2007 (15:00-17:00)
Location: 国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics), Tokyo, Japan
Language: English
Registration fees: None
Attendees: 19 persons
Organization: Dr DUVAL Sébastien (国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics))

Remunerations of Researchers in the Public and Private Commercial Sectors

Source: European Commission's Directorate General for Research <http://ec.europa.eu/eracareers/pdf/final_report.pdf>

The results of the study, carried out from May 2006 to March 2007, show the remuneration scheme of the researchers in Europe, and compare it against the situation of researchers in other countries [...].

High differences between the remunerations of researchers throughout the EU25 and Associated Countries, although the gap between the levels of remuneration in each country reduces when considering the cost-of-living. [...] But, even if one considers the PPS (Purchasing Power Standard), the differences between countries are extremely high in most cases and for example, a researcher working in Austria may expect a remuneration level around 60.530 EUR, whilst a researcher in France would receive 47.550 EUR (21,44% less) or a researcher in Slovakia would receive 18.282 EUR (69,80% less). [...]

Only Austria, The Netherlands, Israel, Switzerland and Luxembourg have an average remuneration similar to that of the United States, considering the cost of living in each country. [...] The EU25 average (40.126 EUR) is far below the US average (62.793 EUR). Only Austria (60.530 EUR), The Netherlands (56.721 EUR) and Luxembourg (56.268 EUR) have a similar remuneration level to the United States. If we consider the Associate Countries, only Israel (59.580 EUR) and Switzerland (59.902 EUR) have an average remuneration similar or higher to the United States. Australia, India and Japan have an average of remuneration that is higher than the EU25 in terms of PPS and which is, in the case of Australia and Japan, in a similar range to the level of the United States. In the case of China, its remuneration level is far below the EU25 level.

High differences in expected career progression throughout the EU25 and Associated Countries. [...]

In most of the countries, the remuneration for men is higher than for women. [...]

[Read the report]

デバイスアート CRESTシンポジウム (Device Art CREST symposium) held in 東京 (Tokyo, Japan)

In the frame of 戦略的創造研究推進事業 (CREST) programs, a 1H30 symposium entitled デバイスアート CRESTシンポジウム (Device Art CREST symposium) took place at 秋葉原ＵＤＸ (Akihabara UDX) in 東京 (Tokyo, Japan) the 18th of May 2007. It highlighted interactions and collaborations between artists and researchers.

The device art, art based on devices, is defined by three characteristics: (1) the body of the device is itself-part of-the content, (2) the device is playful, and (3) its aesthetics establishes a bridge between cultures of the past and of the future. Three main threads were followed during the presentations, each indicating the role of research in the development of this new form of art: the creation of interactive gadgets, the creation of functional modules reusable by artists, and techniques/methods of evaluation to foster dissemination among the young and older general public. The three threads are strongly related to three research fields in which Japan is a world leader: virtual reality, robotics, and ubiquitous systems (e.g. wearable computers, intelligent environments).

The main participants were: 稲見昌彦 (INAMI Masahiko) from 電気通信大学 (The university of electro-communications), 児玉幸子 (KODAMA Sachiko) from 電気通信大学 (The university of electro-communications), 土佐信道 (TOSA Nobumichi) from 明和電機 (Maywa Denki), クワクボリョウタ (KUWAKUBO Ryota), 矢野博明 (YANO Hiroaki) from 筑波大学 (University of Tsukuba), 八谷和彦 (HACHIYA Kazuhiko) from ペットワークス (PetWORKs), 前田太郎 (MAEDA Taro) from 大阪大学 (Osaka university), and 草原真知子 (KUSAHARA Machiko) from 早稲田大学 (Waseda university).

Note: The device art has already been introduced in France and in the United States of America. It has notably been the focus of a session at the conference of Laval Virtual (Laval, France) in 2006; devices such as the robots of 稲見昌彦 (INAMI Masahiko) have also been demonstrated there.

HIS seminar #7 - Data Processing: automatic construction of knowledge resources, in 東京 (Tokyo, Japan)

Source: Horizons <http://horizons.free.fr/his/eng/seminars/2007-05-17_his-seminar_7.htm>

The 7^th seminar on Horizons for Information Societies was about data processing. Mr Picard (FT R&D) presented his research on the automatic construction of knowledge resources at France Telecom R&D (France) and at the 国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics).

Slides of the presentation:

• Mr PICARD Etienne: Automatic Extraction from Web Corpora of Characteristic Properties of a Concept (PDF)

Date: 17 May 2007 (14:30-15:30)
Location: 国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics), Tokyo, Japan
Language: English
Registration fees: None
Organization: Dr DUVAL Sébastien (国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics))

HIS seminar #6 - Data Processing: XML similarity, in 東京 (Tokyo, Japan)

Source: Horizons <http://horizons.free.fr/his/eng/seminars/2007-05-10_his-seminar_6.htm>

The 6^th seminar on Horizons for Information Societies was about data processing. Dr Chbeir (LE2I) presented his research on XML similarity at the Laboratoire Electronique, Informatique et Image (France).

Slides of the presentation:

• Dr CHBEIR Richard: XML Similarity (PDF)

Date: 10 May 2007 (15:00-16:00)
Location: 国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics), Tokyo, Japan
Language: English
Registration fees: None
Organization: Dr ANDRES Frédéric (国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics))

HIS seminar #5 - Data Processing: search and clustering, in 東京 (Tokyo, Japan)

Source: Horizons <http://horizons.free.fr/his/eng/seminars/2007-04-26_his-seminar_5.htm>

The 5^th seminar on Horizons for Information Societies was about data processing. Dr Houle (NII) presented his research on search and clustering at the 国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics). This seminar was recommended for any and all users of search, clustering, or classification techniques in their work. No special background in these areas was assumed.

Slides of the presentation:

• Dr HOULE Michael: A Combinatorial Approach to Search and Clustering (PDF)

Date: 26 April 2007 (15:00-17:30)
Location: 国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics), Tokyo, Japan
Language: English
Registration fees: None
Organization: Dr DUVAL Sébastien (国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics))

HIS seminar #4 - Virtual Humans: emotion simulation, in 東京 (Tokyo, Japan)

Source: Horizons <http://horizons.free.fr/his/eng/seminars/2007-04-04_his-seminar_4.htm>

The 4^th seminar on Horizons for Information Societies was about virtual humans. Mr Becker (Universität Bielefeld) presented his research on emotion simulation at the Universität Bielefeld (University of Bielefeld) and 国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics).

Slides of the presentation:

• Mr BECKER Christian: Emotion Simulation for a Virtual Human: Implementing the As-If Body-Loop in a Cognitive Architecture (PDF)

Date: 04 April 2007 (15:00-16:00)
Location: 国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics), Tokyo, Japan
Language: English
Registration fees: None
Organization: Dr DUVAL Sébastien (国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics))

Ethical implications of continuous life recording

Source: Engineering Ethics Blog <http://engineeringethicsblog.blogspot.com/2007/03/who-needs-digital-life.html>

Inspired by the article "A Digital Life" published in March 2007 by Scientific American, Professor Karl STEPHAN (Texas State University, United States of America) discusses the ethical implications of life recording with ubiquitous systems in his post "Who Needs a Digital Life?".

In his opinion, the ethical issues emerge from dependence and deception. Dependence concerns the user herself: reliance on computer support might reduce her memory as well as her ability to memorize. This dependence is even more dramatic if an outsider alters the data and the user believes that version instead of her own memory. Deception concerns the data: texts, photos and videos representing a whole life pose significant risks if stolen, including identity theft, blackmail, disclosure inducing social harm, etc.

To extend Professor Stephan's analysis, a third ethical problem can be added: permanence, and the associated weight of the past. Fumbles, mistakes, and other embarrassing situations are usually forgotten within days or weeks. Human memory is well done in that way; the ability to forget is a blessing. However machines may keep all data and provide it years later to answer standard queries. Sweeping the event-related data from the hard disk only partly solves the problem because (1) it creates a visible gap in the data flow, and (2) bystanders equipped with the same system may have stored similar data about the event, beyond the reach of the concerned person.

Robotic age poses ethical dilemma

Source: BBC News <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6425927.stm>

An ethical code to prevent humans abusing robots, and vice versa, is being drawn up by South Korea. The Robot Ethics Charter will cover standards for users and manufacturers and will be released later in 2007... [Read the article]

HIS seminar #3 - Quantum Information: basic concepts in quantum physics and applications of entanglement and quantum optics, in 東京 (Tokyo, Japan)

Source: Horizons <http://horizons.free.fr/his/eng/seminars/2007-02-22_his-seminar_3.htm>

The 3^rd seminar on Horizons for Information Societies was an introduction to quantum information. Mr Louis (NII) and Dr Van Loock (NII) presented, respectively, basic concepts in quantum physics and applications of entanglement and quantum optics at the 国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics).

Slides of the presentations:

• Mr LOUIS Sébastien: Basic Concepts in Quantum Physics (PDF)
• Dr VAN LOOCK Peter: Applications of Entanglement and Quantum Optics (PDF)
  

Date: 22 February 2007 (15:00-17:00)
Location: 国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics), Tokyo, Japan
Language: English
Registration fees: None
Organization: Dr DUVAL Sébastien (国立情報学研究所 (National Institute of Informatics))