Hideaki Nii

VIVITA INC. JAPAN

In this paper, we present Synesthesia Wear, a full-body, customizable haptic interface, and demonstrate its capabilities with an untethered spatial computing experience. This wear not only looks as flexible as ordinary cloth, but also the attached modules are powered and controlled through this conductive textile via two-dimensional signal transmis...

The concept of spatial computing has a high potential to augment our lives. We can imagine the expansion of the concept of spatial computing in the future as the expanded visual space will blend into our daily lives. In such a future, how do we feel and interact with another reality that overlaps with real space? We have researched this question fr...

The purpose of this paper is to introduce using scalable autostereoscopic displays that allow users to interact with floating images publicly, such as for digital signage. By tiling multiple display modules, it is possible to project larger autostereoscopic images in the air than by displaying it using a single display module. By projecting autoste...

We introduce a new barometer based room-level positioning system called BaR. This system monitors the air pressure in different rooms to identify the position of mobile sensors with room-level granularity. To disregard air pressure perturbations caused by the environment, BaR relies on a partial correlation of the barometer values and focuses only...

A smart building has an outlet-level power meters for managing the energy consumption of plug-load devices — the devices or appliances connected to the outlets. Identification of the connected devices used to be made by system operators in the traditional building energy management systems (BEMS), but it is no more realistic for such fine-grained p...

As the development of Internet-of-Things is moving towards large scale industry, such as logistic and manifacturing, there is a need for end-users to get involved in the process of creating IoT easily. In this paper, we introduce PaperIO, a paper-based 3D I/O interface, in which a single piece of paper can be sensed and actuated at the same time in...

HaptoMIRAGE is a simultaneous multi-user autostereoscopic display for seamless interaction with mixed reality environments. This system can project 3D contents in mid-air and enable as many as three participants observe the same contents with a 150 degrees wide-angle view. The system can be used in several scenarios, such as superimposition of 3D c...

In the field of glass-free autostereoscopic display, the working area of the display is an important topic for research. It is desirable to have a display that provides a projected image with a large working area. The working area is defined on the basis of two parameters: the distance and the direction from the display to the target user. We have...

HaptoMIRAGE is a visuo-haptic display that provides a wide-angle autostereoscopic 3D image on the content-adjustable haptic display so that it enables us to have an enchant interaction with the virtual world via tangible object with multi-modal sensation not only by one user but also by multi users.

Paper, as a traditional material for art and communication, shows great potential as a medium for organic user interfaces, with its ubiquity and flexibility. However, controlling and powering the sensors and actuators that enable interactive paper-crafts has not been fully explored. We present a method of selective inductive power transmission (SIP...

We propose Fuwa-Vision, a simple interactive auto-stereoscopic display for multiple users, which does not require glasses or mechanical moving components. This system can project auto-stereoscopic images in midair with a simple structure. This provides a proper view of the combination of stereoscopic objects and real objects. In this setup, it can...

Most of the systems for generating taste sensations are based on blending different chemicals appropriately, and there are less proven approaches to stimulate the sense of taste digitally. In this paper, a method to digitally stimulate the sense of taste is introduced and demonstrated based on electrical and thermal stimulation on human tongue. Thu...

We propose a novel full-parallax 3D display system, called RePro3D, that is suitable for interactive 3D applications. The approach is based on retro-reflective projection technology in which several images from a projector array are displayed on a retro-reflective screen. When viewers look at the screen through a half mirror, they see a 3D image su...

We present a method of selective wireless power transferring for paper computing. The novelty of this method lies in the power transmitter can be controlled to selectively activate different receivers in the context of wireless power transferring with multiple receivers. This was achieved by changing the output frequency of the power transmitter an...

We present a method of selective wireless power transferring for paper computing. The novelty of this method lies in the power transmitter can be controlled to selectively activate different receivers in the context of wireless power transferring with multiple receivers. This was achieved by changing the output frequency of the power transmitter an...

In this paper, we introduce a new technology, which allows people to share taste and smell sensations digitally with a remote person through existing networking technologies such as the Internet. By introducing this technology, we expect people to share their smell and taste experiences with their family and friends remotely. Sharing these senses a...

This poster presents an approach to enhance remote multisensory interactions through digital taste (gustation) and smell (olfaction) senses on human. This approach mainly facilitates the digital actuation of taste and smell sensations on human. It utilizes electrical, thermal, and magnetic stimulation technologies to stimulate taste and smell sensa...

Thus far, most of the systems for generating taste sensations are based on blending several chemicals respectively, and there were no definite strategies to stimulate the sense of taste digitally. In this paper, a method for digitally actuating the sense of taste is introduced by actuating the tongue through electrical and thermal stimulations. The...

We present a novel control system that enables digital stimulations of the sense of taste (gustation) on human to enhance remote multisensory interactions. The system uses two approaches to actuate taste sensations digitally: the electrical and thermal stimulations on tongue. The experimental results suggested that sourness and saltiness are the ma...

In this paper, we present a system, which could digitally stimulate the sense of taste (gustation) on human. The system utilizes electrical stimulation on human tongue to produce taste sensations. The initial experiments reveal that the method is viable and deserves further developments. This requires further analyses of the properties of electric...

In this paper, we present three different ways of interrupting people to posture guidance. We developed an ergonomically adjustable office chair equipped with four sensors measuring the office worker's posture. It is important that users do some training after bad posture and be alerted of this; therefore, we implemented three different alert modal...

Today as the rapid development of digital technology is turning our society into a paperless one, the traditional letter-writing has been replaced by digital media, such as EMail and Instant Messaging. However, research has shown that there are still rich advantages of physical paper in our daily life, and they are hard to attain in the realm of pu...

We propose a novel full-parallax three-dimensional (3D) display system-RePro3D-that is suitable for interactive 3D applications with haptic feedback.Our approach is based on the retro-reflective projection technology in which several images projected from a projector array are displayed on a retro-reflective screen. When viewers view the screen thr...

In this paper, we describe a ball game "Earthlings Attack!" that uses the contact between users and an active ball device as an information channel to the game content. When the ball device with built-in transmitter comes in contact with the user who wears the receiver, theis system transmits information from the ball device to the receiver through...

With the continuous advancements in ubiquitous computing and media, the technology has widened to include the multisensory experiences. Although there are quite a lot of systems in auditory, vision, and haptic domains, remarkably few attempts have been made in smell and taste senses in order to facilitate ambient intelligence. We present a novel co...

TELEsarPHONE is a conceptual prototype of a mutual telexistence system, designed for face-to-face telecommunication via robots. Because of the development of telexistence technology, we can acquire a feeling that we are present in several actual remote places using remote robots as our surrogates and can work and act freely there. However, people i...

This paper describes the design of a parallax based Moving Slit Light Field Display (MSLFD). A MSLFD shows multi parallax images, by using vertical slits in an opaque cylinder surrounding multiple static flat panel displays. It allows viewers looking towards the cylinder to see an image from any position. Currently, various forms of D display have...

We propose a novel interface called Twinkle for interacting with an arbitrary physical surface using a handheld projector and a camera. When a user flashes a projection light on an object, the projected images react as if the user touched the object with the light. The handheld device recognizes the features of the physical environment and displays...

Motion parallax is important to recognize the depth of a 3D image. In recent years, many D display methods that enable parallax images to be seen with the naked eye have been developed. In addition, there has been an increase in research to design interfaces that enable humans to intuitively interact with and operate 3D objects using their hands. H...

We propose a haptic feedback system for an arm in order to obtain the sensation of stiffness and the boundary of virtual objects. Powerful haptic displays are large and heavy, interfering with movement in the virtual environment. Here, we focus on an illusion called pseudo-haptic feedback, which provides the results of haptic feedback using only vi...

In this paper, we present a novel position measurement method that makes use of a couple of plane light sources created from an IR-LED matrix array and a photo-detector. The light sources emit light with the same frequency, but different phases, while the optical axes of the sources are set up orthogonally. Then, the signal place is diffused by the...

We propose a new touchpanel which can present haptic information with Electro-Tactile Display. There is electrode array in surface of the panel. When we touch the panel with our finger, haptic sensation is presented by the voltage which applied to the electrodes. The location of the finger is obtained by monitoring resistance value between the elec...

In this paper, we propose a new noise suppression method for telexistence robots that preserves binaural cues. Auditory system of telexistence robot is required to provide the user with adequate binaural cues for sound localization so that the user can feel as if he/she were in a distant place. However, auditory system of robot suffers from interna...

Recently, many small pocket-size projectors have been developed. It is expected that in the near future, such projectors will be installed in portable devices. Meanwhile, intuitive interfaces that operate according to the user's motion have been popular. Therefore, the interfaces that can be used for accessing information using handheld projectors...

A wide field of vision is important for driver safety and vehicle operability. However, the window area of vehicles is limited. Therefore, we developed head-tracked retro-reflective projection technology that displays vehicle blind spot information. The system enables the driver to observe the surroundings in the blind spot as if seeing through the...

It is expected that the use of haptic sensors to measure the magnitude, direction, and distribution of a force will enable a robotic hand to perform dexterous manipulations. Therefore, we have developed a new type of finger-shaped haptic sensor that can measure a three-dimensional force vector field over a contact surface. The sensor consists of a...

The shape recognition of an object is important for dexterous manipulation by humans. Therefore, we have developed a haptic display that integrates both electrotactile and kinesthetic sensations to present shape information. However, the electrotactile display only presents the contact field between the object and the fingertip. Therefore, we propo...

A shape variation of an object is important information to achieve a dexterous manipulation by robotic hand. We consider that detection of the shape variation is possible through measurement of force vector distribution. Shape variation of an object causes spread of uniform force vectors.In order to measure force vector distribution, the robotic ha...

We propose a novel cylindrical interface that treats the force vector distribution to manipulate a robotic hand. This elastic device allows an institutional and dexterous robot manipulation based on vision-based tactile-sensing technology. It provides universal manipulation that can tolerate the personal differences in hand sizes and grasping postu...

We propose a novel force sensor that detects the force distribution as well as its position, rotation and ID. In previous optical force sensors, an elastic body and cameras are fixed together. Contrarily, on our system, users can move tile-shaped elastic bodies freely on a flat face. The sensing process is as follows : first, the system detects its...

For safety and operability of drivers while operating a vehicle, it is very important to obtain a wide field of vision. However, the space available for setting up windows is limited. Therefore, we propose a ";transparent cockpit,"; in which the image of a blind spot is displayed on the inner wall of the vehicle using a retro-reflective projection...

IncreTable is a tabletop game inspired by the Incredible Machine. It provides a multi-modal interaction based on a bi-directional projection tabletop, digital pens, a depth camera, and custom-made physical objects, while attracting users for an active ...

In this paper, we have developed a fast and accurate 3-dimensional registration algorithm using surface gradients for motion tracking of Time-Varying Meshes (TVM). Hierarchical skeleton-based mesh decomposition is used to segment each TVM frame into ...

IncreTable is a tabletop game inspired by the Incredible Machine. It provides a multi-modal interaction based on a bi-directional projection tabletop, digital pens, a depth camera, and custom-made physical objects, while attracting users for an active ...

In this paper, we describe a high speed optical motion capture method that has a simple mechanism. We use a light shielding filter using a pattern of Single-Track Gray Code (STGC) [1] absolute encoder to take location of IR light marker tags instead of high-speed camera or row of binary coded masks. Therefore, this system can convert the position c...

In recent years, the use of augmented reality (AR) systems has become quite common. Many marker-based AR systems can input the positions of physical markers and realize a combination of real-world and computer-generated graphics. However, few systems can recognize other information such as fingertip motions. The objective of our study is to create...

A novel marker-based system for augmented reality that measures not only the 3D positions and IDs of markers, but also the distribution of force vectors applied to the markers. Users can observe overlaid virtual images and control them with their fingers.

BYU-BYU-View is a novel interface realized with the symbiosis of the input/output of wind and the computer graphics. "BYU-BYU" is a japanese onomatopoeia for a howling wind. It adds a new element, that is, "wind", to the direct interaction with a user and a virtual environment, and the communication through a network, by integrating the graphic pre...

We describe a novel motion capture method that is sensitive to incident illumination. We will demonstrate the corresponding system at Emerging Technologies at Siggraph 2007. In this sketch, we focus on the key technical and implementation contributions involved in building a real-time special effects system where a prop is turned into a virtual swo...

In this paper, we present a high speed optical motion capture method that can measure three dimensional motion, orientation, and incident illumination at tagged points in a scene. We use tracking tags that work in natural lighting conditions and can be imperceptibly embedded in attire or other objects. Our system supports an unlimited number of tag...

In order for human beings and robots to live together, it is important to make the stiffness in driving part of robot being variable in real time and arbitrarily like human beings. Especially, we pay attention to the robot arms. In order to realize robot arms with variable stiffness in joint parts, we suggest using pneumatic cylinders for the robot...

This study proposes a combination of electrical and mechanical stimulation as a foundational method to realize a tactile display with a high temporal and spatial resolution. We further confirm the interaction between the electrical and mechanical stimulations. The interaction (1) lowers tactile threshold and (2) reduces the so-called "electrical" s...

We propose a "transparent cockpit" that is aimed toward improving the operativeness, safety, and comfort during controlling a vehicle. In the transparent cockpit, the interior appointments of the vehicle are virtually transparent; this is enabled by using the retro-reflective projection technology.

In this work, we have incorporated a novel LED-projection technology into the simple structure of a spinning-disc television. In order to display a 3D image, we have replaced the conventionally used light bulbs with an LED array. With the aid of this technology, users can view different images from different viewing angles.

We describe the interactive demonstration 'Instant Replay' to be shown at the Emerging Technologies at Siggraph 2006. Instant Replay is an example application of an inexpensive, highly accurate 'motion capture' system that is able to effectively track many fast-moving, rotating objects. The system works at very high frame rates (500Hz), and reduces...

This paper proposes a new type Robotic User Interface (RUI). RUI is a robot that used as physical avatars for Computer-Human Interaction. Hand puppet type RUI is a robot that attached actuators and sensor inside body. A user wears this interface on hand and operates CG model generated by a computer. In this paper, we present the concept of Hand Pup...

A Robotic User Interface (RUI) is part of a concept in which a robot is used as an interface for human behavior. RobotPHONE is a RUI for interpersonal exchanges that uses robots as agents for physical communication. The shape and motion of RobotPHONE is continuously synchronized by a bilateral control method. Using RobotPHONE, users in remote locat...

We present Visual Resonator (VR), an auditory interface that promises to provide an interactive realization of the Cocktail Party Phenomenon. The wearer of this interface can hear a voice or auditory information only from the direction in which he/she is facing, and can send his/her voice only in the direction towards which he/she is facing. In add...

We present an auditory interface called Visual Resonator. The wearer of this interface can hear a voice or auditory information only from the direction in which he/she is facing, and can send his/her voice only in the direction towards which he/she is facing. Therefore, individuals who are within sight of each other can have a conversation, even if...

In this paper, we propose a Gravity Jockey (GJ) system in "Electric Dance Revolution" that allows subjects to experience vestibular sensation by means of galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) synchronized with music rhythms. The Gravity Jockey system enables people using GVS to fell music rhythms not only by the sense of hearing but also by visual...

In this paper, we propose a Gravity Jockey (GJ) system in "Electric Dance Revolution" that allows subjects to experience vestibular sensation by means of galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) synchronized with music rhythms. The Gravity Jockey system enables people using GVS to feel music rhythms not only by the sense of hearing but also by visual...

Galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) induces a sensation of virtual acceleration as vestibular information. GVS is expected as a wearable interface because it does not need a large device like a motion platform. In particular, GVS with alternating current (AC) can influence vision which mainly consists of torsional component. The purpose of this r...

Galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) induces a sensation of virtual acceleration as vestibular information and its application is expected as a wearable interface because it does not need a large device like a motion platform. In particular, GVS with alternating current (AC) can influence vision that mainly consists of a torsional component. This...

The Color Enhanced Emotion system controls the human 'emotion' drastically. The system recognizes the facial expressions and controls skin pigment components using a real-time processor. By implementing the proposed system, an attendee can experience ...

Pedestrian detection is a challenging vision task, especially applied to the automotive field where the background changes as the vehicle moves. This paper presents an extensive study upon human body models and the techniques suitable for being used ...

A Robotic User Interface (RUI) is part of a concept in which a robot is used as an interface for human behavior. Our RUI, which we have been developing for communications, is a system for interpersonal exchanges that uses robots as agents for physical communication. In this paper, we propose a new type of RUI for interactive entertainment. This RUI...

Robots have chiefly been considered as machines that perform work in the place of human beings, such as industrial robots. However, a robot can be used as an interface between the real world and the information world. This concept can be referred to as a Robotic User Interface (RUI). In this paper, we propose a RUI as a haptic feedback interface. W...

A Robotic User Interface (RUI) is part of a concept in which a robot is used as an interface for human behavior. Our RUI, which we have been developing for communications, is a system for interpersonal exchanges that uses robots as agents for physical communication. In this paper, we propose a new type of RUI for interactive entertainment. This RUI...

Time-Followers's Vision is a mixed-reality-based visual presentation system that captures a robotic vehicle's size, position, and environment, allowing even inexperienced operators to easily control it. The technique produces a virtual image using mixed reality technology and presents the vehicle's surrounding environment and status to the operator...

It is difficult to generate the action of stably pinching paper or needle, etc. with the fingertips, which is one of the important functions to be realized by humanoid robot hands. In this paper, the authors propose a new robot hand capable of properly realizing a pinching motion with fingertips, by adding the minimum required degree of supplementa...

CirculaFloor is a locomotion interface using a group of movable floors. The movable floors employ a holonomic mechanism that achieves omni-directional motion. Circulation of the floors enables the user to walk in a virtual environment while his/her position ...

In order to realize artificial tactile sensation, we are researching the natural nerve activity timing of mechanoreceptors. Considering the energy conversion system of the Meissner corpuscle, we insist that the corpuscles encode the normal strain, particularly detecting horizontal normal strain. We observed a clear difference in the thresholds betw...

We will operate three robots by teleportation at the competition: two wheel type and one 4-leg type. Each type of the robots has its own unique con- trol mechanism and possesses different advantages when traveling in various environments. One wheel type is "FUMA" which participated in the last com- petition. We have installed new features: the auto...

Camera / Camera Forsafety andoperability ofdrivers while operating avehicle, it isveryimportant toobtain awidefield ofvision. However, the space available forsetting upwindows islimited. Therefore, we BlindSpot BlSot propose a transparent cockpit," inwhichtheimage ofablind spot isdisplayed ontheinner wallofthevehicle using aretro-reflective project...

A Robotic User Interface (RUI) is a concept wherein robots are used as interfaces for human behavior. We have developed a RUI system for communications and given it the appearance of a teddy bear. This system allows interpersonal communications using robots as physical avatars. In this paper, we propose a new use of the RUI as a physical agent for...