Takeshi SAGA
"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together", from African Proverb
Selected Publication
(Visit here for full list)Int'l Journal (w/ review)
Int'l Conference (w/ review)
Biography
Born in 1997 in Aomori, Japan.Graduated National Institute of Technology, Hachinohe College (NIT, HC), 2013 - 2020.Received master's degree from Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), 2022.Doctor candidate at Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST, Augmented Human Communication Lab.).
2013 - 2020 : Undergraduate of National Institute of Technology, Hachinohe College2020 - 2022 : Master candidate of Nara Institute of Science and Technology2020 - 2022 : RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project (AIP)2022 - Present : Doctor candidate of Nara Institute of Science and Technology2023 - Present : JSPS research fellow DC2
Research Interest
Keywords: automatic assessment of human communication, multimodal interaction, communication support
Current theme: Automatic assessment of human language and behavior
To communicate with people, we use languages, body gestures, and facial expressions. Although it is crucial to live in human society, we have to learn through daily lives. However, even for adult people, communication can be difficult and annoying. Especially, communication in working place or school is troublesome.
Topic1: computer-aided communication supportOne solution to acquire better communication skills is social skills training (SST) which is a type of behavioral therapy. Since the number of therapist is not enough to provide SST for everybody who want to take it, we are developping automated SST system in TAPAS project. Specifically, I'm in charge of its automatic assessment of language and behavior, which is vital to provide appropriate feedback.
Topic2: automatic analysis of human communicationComparing physical disorders, investigating characteristics of psychiatric or developmental disorders is more difficult since we cannot directly see what is happening in their brain. To disentangle these complex symptoms caused by those disorders, I am working on their computational analysis based on machine learning techniques. Especially my current interest is in thought disorder, a group of symptoms observed across those disorders.
Research Budgets
NAIST Fellowship (科学技術イノベーション創出に向けた大学フェローシップ創設事業 創発的先端人材育成), FY2022
JSPS Research Fellowship for Young Scientist DC2 (日本学術振興会 特別研究員 DC2), FY2023-FY2024
Awards and Activities
Student Council President at Junior High School, 2012 - 2013
6th TOBITATE (JP, EN) student brand manager at NIT, HC, 2018 - 2019
Best presentation award at graduation research presentation in NIT, HC, 2017 and 2019
Best interactive student presenter (優秀学生インタラクティブ発表賞) at HCG-symposium (Domestic), 2020
NAIST outstanding student (令和4年度 奈良先端科学技術大学院大学優秀学生), FY2021
Fully exempt from repayment of JASSO student loan (日本学生支援機構 奨学金 博士前期課程 返済全額免除), 2022
Financial assist for inter-university exchange from the foundation for NAIST (NAIST支援財団 大学間交流活動支援), 2023
English Proficiency
Test of English and International Communication (TOEIC) 810 points, 2018
Society for Testing English Proficiency (Eiken) grade 2
Programming Languages
Python, C++, C, Scratch (for Arduino)
Technical skills
Skills for general purpose
Machine learning with small datasets using scikit-learn
Deep learning using PyTorch
Image processing using OpenCV
Skills for Human behavior analysis
Embedding-based analysis using BERT or similar approaches
Natural language processing for spoken language
Voice analysis using Praat
Visual human behavior analysis using OpenFace2.0 or OpenPose
Completed Programs
(Ongoing) Internship at PIRoS in ISIR, Sorbonne university (France) with Catherine Pelachaud, '23 Apr. - '23 Jul.
Internship at Active and Attentive Vision laboratory in York University (Canada) with John Tsotsos, '18 Sep. - '19 Mar.
8th period member of TOBITATE young ambassador program, '18-'19
Tradition and Communication Cultural program in Singapore, March 2015 and September 2016
Internship at NTT-ME, focusing on Fibre Optic Cables, 2016
Cool Japan Seminar (Joined as a member of organizers), 2015
And more.
Professional Societies
The Association for Natural Language Processing (言語処理学会)
The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (電子情報通信学会)
Cultural and Sport activities
Track and Field Captain in NIT, HC, 2017
2 Time Tohoku Track and Field 800m (2'08) top eight finalist
International Friendship Club Vice President in NIT, HC, 2017
3 Time Cultural Ambassador for visiting Malaysian and Singaporean students