Yoshifumi Kitamura / 北村 喜文

Deputy Director and Professor at Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University
Director at Interdisciplinary ICT Research Center for Cyber and Real Spaces
（東北大学 電気通信研究所）

Abstract: In future telecommunications, it is expected that people will be able to communicate with each other in the cyber/virtual space with objects and information from the physical/real space they are located. The successful key to realize such rich telecommunication is to unlock “communication with nonverbal information” by appropriately conveying the subtleties of “non-spoken signals,” which plays an important role in our daily interpersonal understanding.

In April 2023, the Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University has established a new Interdisciplinary ICT Research Center for Cyber and Real Spaces to accelerate research and development of “telecommunication with nonverbal information” through interdisciplinary collaboration. This center will synergize basic and applied AI research, networks and security, human sciences (psychology, brain sciences), human-computer interactions, and VR/AR/MR communication technologies, to impact the society with the research results. I will give an overview of these new research activities.

Bio: Yoshifumi Kitamura is Deputy Director and Professor at Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University. From 2023, he also serves as Director of the  Interdisciplinary ICT Research Center for Cyber and Real Spaces. His research interests include interactive content design, human computer interactions,3D user interfaces, virtual reality, and related fields. He is active in academic and professional communities, and serves in positions such as Japan Liaison for IFIP TC-13, the Liaison for Japan and Chair of ACM SIGCHI Asian Development Committee (2015-2021), Chair of Japan ACM SIGCHI Chapter (2016-2021), Steering Committee Chair of ACM VRST, SIGGRAPH Asia 2015 Conference Chair, and ACM CHI 2021 General Chair. 

Web Page: http://www.riec.tohoku.ac.jp/~kitamura

Ikuo Daibo / 大坊 郁夫

President at Hokusei Gakuen University （北星学園大学）

Professor Emeritus at Osaka University

Abstract: We humans interact with one another, build relationships, and expand our social circles. Based on the code of conduct individuals rely upon, they behave accordingly and communicate various messages laden with many different meanings, using various communication channels. And those interaction processes are regarded as interpersonal communication in the field of social psychology. This talk introduces how verbal and nonverbal messages are exchanged, perceived, and interpreted by referring to the communication rules each individual has. The intersection of social psychology and information science is also mentioned. With technological developments in information and computer sciences, the efficacy and accuracy of communication behavior research in social psychology have been significantly improved, which are contributing to further theoretical understanding of nonverbal dynamics during communication. This kind of interdisciplinary collaborations could help achieve smooth communication between individuals, foster mutual understanding among them, and push us one step closer to the realization of a well-being society.

Bio: Ikuo Daibo is President of Hokusei Gakuen University and Professor Emeritus of Osaka University. He studied at Hokkaido University at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In 2012, he retired from Osaka University and became the president at Tokyo Future University in the same year. Since 2018, he has been the president of Hokusei Gakuen University. He has served as president of the Japanese Society of Social Psychology and the Language and Social Science Society. Currently, he is an honorary member of several academic societies, including the Japanese Psychological Association. He has been also a member of the British Psychological Society, the Asian Association of Social Psychology, and the International Communication Association.

His research focuses on interpersonal communication (both verbal and nonverbal), the development and breakdown of interpersonal relationships, and communication skill training. In addition to numerous journal articles, he has published academic books, including "Communication through Gestures: How People Convey Intimacy," "Interpersonal Communication Aimed at Improving Social Skills," "Interpersonal Social Psychology Aimed at Happiness: Science of Interpersonal Communication and Relationships,"; and "The Psychological Strategies of Communication Design for Well-being: Optimization of Interpersonal Communication." He has also translated relevant works such as "Posture and Gesture" by Bull, P.E (1987; translated in 2001), "The Social Psychology of Personal Relationships" by Ickes, W. & Duck, S (2000; translated in 2004), and "More than Words: The Power of Nonverbal Communication" by Patterson, M. L. (2011; translated in 2013) to promote further enlightenment of the research field in the Japanese psychological community.

In 2022, his book "Communication that Connects People: The Psychology of Well-Being in Interpersonal Relationships" (published by Fukumura Publishing) received the Special Publication Award from the Japanese Society of Social Psychology.

Miao Cheng / 程 苗

Project Assistant Professor at Interdisciplinary ICT Research Center for Cyber and Real Spaces, Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University
（東北大学 電気通信研究所）

Abstract: Motion serves as a subtle yet impactful communicator of social cues, conveying a wealth of information beyond verbal interactions. In exploring the nuanced language of body movement, this talk outlines our institute's commitment to understanding its role in facilitating effective communication. I will introduce the development of the Diverse Bodily E-Motion Database, designed to capture emotional expressions through body movements. In addition, I examine the impact of body language on communication, how it conveys social attitudes and affects interpersonal dynamics and how it is shaped by individual differences. This talk aims to illuminate the intricate and multifaceted nature of nonverbal cues inherent in human body movements.

Bio: Dr. Miao CHENG is a project assistant professor at the Research Institute of Electrical Communication of Tohoku University. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Hong Kong, during which she visited the California Institute of Technology as a visiting student researcher. Then she served as a post-doc in NTT Communication Science Laboratories. Currently, she is working as a psychologist and neuroscientist in the Interdisciplinary ICT Research Center for Cyber and Real Spaces. Dr. Cheng specializes in the study of nonverbal communication, exploring how individuals connect behaviorally and neurally. She is also interested in investigating communication variations across diverse cultural backgrounds and gender perspectives. Her current research focus on bodily emotion expression, eye movement in digital interaction, and social neuroscience.

Sotaro Kita / 喜多 壮太郎

Professor of Psychology of Language

Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor (Research)
Dept. of Psychology, University of Warwick
United Kingdom （英国・ウォーリック大学） 

Abstract: When people speak, they often spontaneously produce gestures. Co-speech gestures can depict action, motion and shape as if to pantomime an action or to draw a sketch in the air; we call such gestures iconic gestures. How do co-speech iconic gestures contribute to communication? I will discuss experimental studies that indicate three ways in which co-speech iconic gestures can communicate. First, perhaps not surprisingly, iconic gestures can convey spatio-motoric contents to the recipient. Second, iconic gestures can bring the recipient's attention to a particular part of the physical context of communication, not unlike pointing gestures. Third, iconic gestures can change the recipient's impression of the gesture producer. More specifically, iconic gestures make the gesture producer look more competent and knowledgeable. Taken together, co-speech iconic gestures contribute to three important aspects of communication: contents, communication event, and sender-recipient relationship.

Bio: Sotaro Kita is Professor of Psychology of Language and Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Warwick, in the UK. After a bachelor and a master's degree in mathematical and information engineering from University of Tokyo. He obtained a PhD in linguistics and psychology from the University of Chicago, in 1993. He established and led the "Gesture Project" at Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, in the Netherlands, from 1993 to 2003. Then, he held a faculty position at University of Bristol and University of Birmingham, before joining University of Warwick. He served as the President of the International Society of Gesture Studies and also as the Editor of the journal, GESTURE.
He has investigated how gesture relates to various aspects of language: motion events (Kita & Özyürek, 2003, Journal of Memory and Language) and metaphor (Argyriou, Mohr & Kita, 2017, JEP: Learning, Memory and Cognition. He has also investigated how gesture varies cross-culturally (Kita, 2009, Language and Cognitive Processes), how gesture production shapes gesturer’s conceptualization (Kita, Alibali, & Chu, 2017, Psychological Review) and how deaf Nicaraguan children turned gesture into an emerging sign language (Senghas, Kita & Özyürek, 2004, Science). 

His current research topics include how children’s word learning can be facilitated by sound symbolism and gesture, how communicative contexts influence infants’ and adults’ gesture production, and how “silent gestures” show language-like features.

Web Page: https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/psych/people/skita/ 

Ken Fujiwara  / 藤原 健

Assistant  Professor
Department of Psychology
National Chung Cheng University
（台湾・國立中正大学）

Abstract: Interpersonal coordination is defined as “the degree to which the behaviors in an interaction are nonrandom, patterned, or synchronized in both timing and form” (Bernieri & Rosenthal, 1991, p. 403), which is subdivided into behavioral matching, interactional synchrony, and behavioral meshing. Social psychologists who study such nonverbal behavioral patterns have suffered from the great cost of manual coding for a long time (Murphy & Hall, 2021; Murphy et al., 2015, 2019), but now benefit from automated coding techniques using computer vision and time series analysis (Fujiwara & Daibo, 2022; Fujiwara & Yokomitsu, 2021). In this talk, I will discuss recent methodological developments and future theoretical challenges in synchrony research.

Bio: Dr. Ken Fujiwara is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan. He received his Ph.D. in Human Sciences, with an emphasis in social psychology, from Osaka University in 2013. Prior to his current position, he had worked as a lecturer at Osaka University of Economics and a visiting scholar at Arizona University and the University of California, Santa Barbara. He studies interactional or nonverbal synchrony, which has been published in communication and psychology journals such as Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, European Journal of Social Psychology, Communication Methods and Measures, Behavior Research Methods, and Computers in Human Behavior. He serves as an associate editor of the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior since 2022.

Web Page: https://sites.google.com/view/socialinteractionlabccu/

Taku Komura  / 幸村　琢

Processor, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering,
The University of Hong Kong （香港大学）

Visiting Professor, Research Institute of Electrical Communication,
Tohoku University （東北大学 電気通信研究所）

Abstract: Human communication and interaction involve much more than just speech. Body gestures, facial expressions, locomotion, and physical contact all play a role in our daily interactions. As technology advances, it becomes increasingly possible to simulate these multimodal interactions, creating virtual humans that can behave like real humans. In this talk, we will explore the challenges of creating such virtual humans and discuss our efforts to overcome them. We will showcase our technology for synthesizing human facial expressions and body gestures from speech, as well as animating characters that can move and walk. Additionally, we will discuss the latest developments in large language models that enable virtual humans to produce realistic and creative conversations. Finally, we will delve into the potential applications of virtual humans and their transformative impact on society. 

Bio: Taku Komura joined Hong Kong University in 2020. Before joining HKU, he worked at the University of Edinburgh (2006-2020), City University of Hong Kong (2002-2006) and RIKEN (2000-2002). He received his BSc, MSc and PhD in Information Science from University of Tokyo. His research has focused on data-driven character animation, physically-based character animation, crowd simulation, 3D modelling, cloth animation, anatomy-based modelling and robotics. Recently, his main research interests have been on physically-based animation and the application of machine learning techniques for animation synthesis. He received the Royal Society Industry Fellowship (2014) and the Google AR/VR Research Award (2017). 

Web Page: https://www.cs.hku.hk/index.php/people/academic-staff/taku

Kin Fung CHU  / 朱　健楓

PhD Candidate, Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University
（東北大学 電気通信研究所）

Abstract: His talk introduces how recent machine learning methods can enrich nonverbal communications on different fronts. Conveying information about our physical surroundings is a crucial aspect of telecommunication. This talk focuses on the transmission and reconstruction of water flow in everyday life. By incorporating water flow reconstruction into online communication, unprecedented interaction experiences between users and the virtual environment become possible. This talk then briefly explores how to accurately capture human motion using a magnetic system and a new machine learning technique.

Bio: Kin Fung CHU is a PhD candidate at the Interactive Content Design Lab. of Tohoku University, advised by Prof. Yoshifumi Kitamura. He received his BEng in Computer Science from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and his MSc in Information Science from Tohoku University. He works on fluid simulation and data-driven physical simulation.

Web Page: https://kennychu.org/

Hong Guang  / 洪　光

Vice Dean & Professor, School of Dentistry, Tohoku University
（東北大学 大学院歯学研究科）

Abstract: Digital technology is a very useful tool in the health care and educational setting. Especially with the recent pandemic of COVID-19 and our society’s shift to the new normal, digital technology has become indispensable in the healthcare and educational setting. This presentation will outline a digital transformation in health care and educational settings. In my presentation will outline a digital transformation in health care and educational settings and share with you the same examples of our efforts through an interdisciplinary and global approach in this area.

Bio: Prof Guang Hong is a Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Dentistry, Tohoku University, and the Professor and Chair of the Division for Globalization Initiative. He is also the Director of the Office of International Affairs at the Liaison Center for Innovative Dentistry. Prof Hong was conferred his PhD from the Hiroshima University Graduate School of Dentistry in 2003. Prof Hong is an executive board member of the Japanese Society for Dental Materials and Devices and an associate editor of the Dental Materials Journal. He serves as the Director of The Japan Denture Care Society. He is also a committee member of the International Standardization Accelerated Project Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and an expert of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the German Institute for Standardization (DIN). Prof Hong’s research interest includes the elucidation of the rheology properties of dental materials, the development of functionality of new dental materials, and dental education. His research is mainly concerned with the international standard institution; improvement and development of oral care and denture care materials, metal-free dental implant materials, and development of dental materials and dental education system according to the Industry-Academia-Government collaboration. He published more than 80 papers in the high Impact Factor Scientific Journal. He received the Tohoku University Presidential Prize for Educational Excellence in 2019.

Frank Steinicke  / フランク・スタイニック

Professor for Human-Computer Interaction
Department of Informatics
Universität Hamburg, Germany
（独国・ハンブルク大学）

Abstract: I will discuss how the fusion of extended reality (XR) and artificial intelligence (AI) will revolutionize human-computer interaction. XR/AI technologies and methods will enable scenarios with seamless transitions, interactions and transformations between real and virtual objects along the reality-virtuality continuum indistinguishable from corresponding real-world interactions. Yet, today’s immersive technology is still decades away from the ultimate display. However, imperfections of the human perceptual, cognitive and motor system can be exploited to bend reality in such a way that compelling immersive experiences can be achieved. In my keynote, we reviewed some mixed reality illusions, which bring us closer to the ultimate blended reality space. 

Bio: Frank Steinicke is a professor for Human-Computer Interaction at the Department of Informatics at the Universität Hamburg. Prior to his current position, he was a professor of Computer Science in Media at the Department of Computer Science at the University of Würzburg and chair of the Immersive Media Group from 2011 to 2014. He studied Mathematics with a Minor in Computer Science at the University of Münster, from which he received his Ph.D. and Venia Legendi in Computer Science. His research interests are focused on understanding the human perceptual, cognitive, and motor abilities and limitations to improve interactions and experiences in computer-mediated realities. For his scientific contributions, he received the IEEE VGTC Virtual Reality Technical Achievement Award in 2023, and was inducted into the prestigious IEEE VR Academy.

Web Page: https://www.inf.uni-hamburg.de/en/inst/ab/hci/people/steinicke.html 

Kazuyuki Fujita  / 藤田 和之

Assistant Professor at Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University
（東北大学 電気通信研究所）

Abstract: His talk introduces a research domain called Human-Workspace Interaction (HWI), which supports various human activities through interaction with the computerized or virtualized workspaces and their components. In particular, the talk will focus on how room-scale virtual reality experiences can be enhanced and made practical by subtly manipulating human perception during locomotion.

Bio: Kazuyuki FUJITA is an Assistant Professor of Research Institute of Electrical Communication (RIEC) at Tohoku University. He received his Ph.D. in Information Science and Technology from Osaka University in 2013. He worked for ITOKI, an office space design company, and was engaged in research and development on future offices for 2013-2018. In 2023, he was granted the title of Prominent Research Fellow at Tohoku University. His research interests include human-computer interaction and virtual reality, and especially Human-Workspace Interaction.

Web Page: https://kazuyukifujita.github.io/

Bruce Thomas  / ブルース・トーマス

Emeritus Professor
Australian Research Centre for Interactive and Virtual Environments
University of South Australia
（豪国・南オーストラリア大学）

Adjunct Science Fellow
Imaging and Computer Vision (ICV) Research Group
part of the Cyber-Physical Systems Research Program at CSIRO’s Data61 Business Unit.

Abstract: User interfaces are the boundary between humans and Augmented/Virtual Reality technology. These user interfaces incorporate the visual presentation of information, virtual controls for the applications, and physical devices to enhance users' abilities to build a mental model that blends the physical world and the virtual world created for them. This is a very difficult problem to solve. Many smart scientists have investigated this problem for decades. This talk will investigate this research from the point of view of where we came from, where we are at the current moment, and possible future directions we could go. Part of this journey is a discussion of why this is a difficult problem. AR and VR user interfaces are more difficult to design than traditional 2D desktops and handheld devices. 

Bio: Professor Thomas is currently Emeritus Professor at the University of South Australia. His current research interests include the following: user interfaces, augmented reality, virtual reality, visualisation, wearable computers, CSCW, tabletop display interfaces, and the use of cognitive psychology in virtual environments research. He has served in many roles for the IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality, IEEE Virtual Reality, and IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Wearable Computers, including program chair, general chair and on the steering committee. He also founded the ACM Interactive Surfaces and Spaces Conference (formerly IEEE Tabletop). He was awarded the ACM International Symposium on Wearable Computers (ISWC) 20-Year Impact Award. Prof. Thomas' academic qualifications include the following: a BA in Physics from George Washington University, an MS in Computer Science from the University of Virginia, and a PhD in Computer Science from Flinders University. Prof. Thomas has over 350 publications and has been cited over 10900 times.

Web Page: https://people.unisa.edu.au/bruce.thomas 

Kazuki Takashima  / 高嶋 和毅

Associate Professor at Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University
（東北大学 電気通信研究所）

Abstract: His talk focuses on the ongoing research exploration of spatial user interfaces that blend virtual and dynamic physical content within the Interactive content design lab. Examples include shape-changing furniture-size displays and room-scale virtual reality interfaces employing mechanical devices, augmenting the user’s spatial design, spatial awareness, and content interactivity.

Bio: Kazuki Takashima: He received a Ph.D from the Information Science and Technology at Osaka University in 2008. He joined the Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University as an assistant professor in 2011, and became an associate Professor in 2018. His research interests include human-computer interaction, virtual reality, spatial user interface, and human-robot interaction.

Web Page: https://sites.google.com/view/kazukitakashima