Details of a Researcher - Minamizawa, Kouta

Papers - Minamizawa, Kouta

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“I am both here and there” Parallel Control of Multiple Robotic Avatars by Disabled Workers in a Café

G Barbareschi, M Kawaguchi, H Kato, M Nagahiro, K Takeuchi, Y Shiiba, ...

Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems … 2023

サイバネティック・アバターは電気こたつで夢を見るか?

渡邊淳司，南澤孝太，岩佐明彦，福島佳浩，鍵直樹，伊藤香織，海塩渉， ...

建築雑誌= Journal of architecture and building science 138 (1780), 32-39 2023

ロボットアバターの最新技術動向

川口碧，南澤孝太

映像情報メディア学会誌= The journal of the Institute of Image Information and … 2023

Enhancing Episodic Scene Imagery by Combining Pseudo-Action and Ambient Haptic Stimuli

Ou Nao, Hanamitsu Nobuhisa, Wakisaka Sohei, Mizuguchi Tetsuya, Minamizawa Kouta

Transactions of the Virtual Reality Society of Japan (THE VIRTUAL REALITY SOCIETY OF JAPAN) 28 ( 4 ) 339 - 348 2023

ISSN 1344011X

In the fields of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Virtual Reality (VR), there is an increasing focus on well-being. While research has underscored the potential of multimodal technologies to foster mental tranquility, the integration of scene imagery linked to nostalgic emotions remains under-investigated. In our research, we developed an immersive whole-body haptic experience, guiding participants through scene imagery supplemented by Pseudo-action stimuli, including actions like walking and opening a door, as well as Ambient stimuli, such as wind and everyday sounds. The results confirmed that participants effectively reminisced about serene and comforting places. Pseudo-action stimuli bolstered sensory ownership sensations, whereas Ambient stimuli provided a platform for open interpretation. In conclusion, our study suggests that whole-body haptic technologies in Virtual Reality can offer a nuanced approach to creating scene representations, potentially enhancing user immersion.

Sustained Attention by Haptic Feedback During a Storytelling for Preschool Children

Shibasaki Mina, Kamiyama Youichi, Obata Koichi, Wakamoto Yusuke, Kishi Keisuke, Hasegawa Takayuki, Tsuchiya Shinkuro, Matsuda Soichiro, Minamizawa Kouta

Transactions of the Virtual Reality Society of Japan (THE VIRTUAL REALITY SOCIETY OF JAPAN) 28 ( 4 ) 349 - 359 2023

ISSN 1344011X

Storytelling in libraries is an opportunity to share experiences with parents and children. However, it is challenging in group storytelling to draw children’s attention to a picture book, because children’s sustained attention to picture books is affected by their age, situation, and individual language ability. Therefore, we have developed a cushion that provides haptic feedback during storytelling so that children can feel the picture book world through their bodies. We then investigated the effects of storytelling using haptic feedback compared to normal storytelling. The results suggest the possibility of maintaining children’s sustained attention to picture books by the provided haptic feedback.

Co-Operation of a Dual-Arm Robotic Avatar Through Body Integration of Multi-Person

T Sato, H Yukawa, K Minamizawa, Y Tanaka

2023 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC … 1030 - 1036 2023

ISSN 1062922X

Humans have spatiotemporal limitations. Robotic avatar technology enables the expansion of an individual's innate physical characteristics, physical capabilities, and perceptual and cognitive abilities. Our research group has focused on scalability and co-creativity through co-operation and collaboration between humans, and has developed a system in which two operators are physically integrated into a single robotic arm. In particular, to enable more human-like tasks, such as receiving and delivering, we extended the system to a dual-arm robotic avatar and built a system in which multiple persons can integrate their bodies, with the expectation of further task efficiency and human extension. Specifically, we investigated the workability and operator cognition of the dual-arm robotic avatar when it was operated by one, two, or three individuals. The results showed that stability improved with the three-person operation. Furthermore, it was found that co-operation among multiple persons can overcome the original individual abilities for operation. In the three-person condition, all participants obtained a higher feeling of control than the actual amount of manipulation, which has potential applications in skill transfer. The three-person condition tended to be better, validating the usefulness of multi-person body integration.

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Feel What You Don’t Hear: A New Framework for Non-Aural Music Experiences

A Uyama, D Hynds, D Zheng, G Chernyshov, T Saito, K Kunze, ...

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical … 2023

Project Corvus: A Virtual Reality Horror Tool for Improving Self-Efficacy

H He, CC Kim, YS Pai, K Minamizawa

2023 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Adjunct … 652 - 656 2023

Horror is often associated with a negative connotation. Yet, in today's popular culture, the benefits of thrills have become an engaging topic. Why are people drawn to the supposedly repulsive contents of horror? It is an inherent psychological trait we all possess called morbid curiosity. Can we better investigate this behavior towards horror to confront our fears and help us build confidence? In Project Corvus, we explore the ways in which virtual reality (VR) and psychological programs such as exposure therapy can be combined to inform the psycho-educational opportunities in this horror-themed direction. More specifically, to leverage people's morbid curiosity towards horror for the development of self-efficacy. Through short repetition of horror virtual experiences, the goal is to design an assistive program that can help the participants develop their skills in controlling their emotions even when facing real crises in the future.

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Virtual journalist: measuring and inducing cultural empathy by visualizing empathic perspectives in VR

AA Fernandez, CC Kim, TS Gunasekaran, YS Pai, K Minamizawa

2023 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Adjunct … 667 - 672 2023

The concept of cultural empathy, which entails the ability to empathize with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, has garnered attention across multiple disciplines. However, there has been limited research focusing on the utilization of immersive experiences to deliver journalistic encounters that foster cultural empathy. In this regard, we propose the development of Virtual Journalist, a virtual reality (VR) system that immerses users in the role of a journalist, allowing them to consume 360° video documentaries and capture moments that evoke cultural empathy through photography. Furthermore, this system integrates both cognitive and affective dimensions of empathy by linking physiological data, namely electrodermal activity (EDA) and heart rate variability (HRV), to the captured photographs. Our findings suggest that the impact of Virtual Journalist varies based on the user's cultural background, and we have observed that empathic accuracy can be achieved by combining user-generated photographs with corresponding physiological data.

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Redundant Multi-DoF Robot Arm Co-operation Through the Body Integration System

H Suzuki, H Yukawa, K Minamizawa, Y Tanaka

2023 32nd IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive … 2671 - 2676 2023

ISSN 19449445

The human arm has seven DoF. If the human arm were more redundant, it would improve workability. However, intuitive manipulation of redundant arms is difficult due to the complexity of the input system or the limitations of the human arm. In this study, we constructed a system in which multiple operators integrate their bodies to intuitively operate a redundant multi-DoF robotic arm. The robotic arm was assembled by connecting two arms, and the roles of each section -distal arm and proximal arm- were assigned to different operators. First, vibrotactile feedback methods to the users based on the operation movement were investigated to compensate for the recognition of the partner's movement. Three types of feedback methods - the actions of both oneself and one's partner, the actions of the partner, and none - were compared in order to improve the body awareness. It was shown that feedback of the movement from the partner who operates the proximal robotic arm significantly enhanced the sense of body ownership. Then, the proposed co-operation of the redundant robotic arm was evaluated in the workability. Two types of manipulation methods - a single-operator system that switched the target robotic arm and a multi-DoF body-integration system used by two people - were compared through an object-manipulation task involving obstacle avoidance. It was shown that the two-person co-operation through body integration system to be faster than the single-person operation.

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Embodied coordination based on integration of the body through a collaborative robotic avatar

Hagiwara Takayoshi, Yukawa Hikari, Nishimura Takumi, Tanada Ryohei, Tanaka Yoshihiro, Minamizawa Kouta

Transactions of the Virtual Reality Society of Japan (THE VIRTUAL REALITY SOCIETY OF JAPAN) 27 ( 4 ) 435 - 446 2022.12

ISSN 1344011X

Collaborative action enables individuals to exceed the limits of their abilities, and encourages new creativity. These are promoted by VR, computer-assisted systems, sensory sharing, etc., but the body is independent. In this paper, we propose a Collaborative Avatar, in which two people are integrated into a single robotic avatar, and investigate the possibilities for embodied collaboration through the avatar with others who have different skills and experiences. This system integrates the movements of two people in any ratio, and sharing each other’s senses, to embody them into a single robotic arm. Evaluation test showed that this system induced the equivalent sense of agency, body ownership, and usability as when the robot was operated by alone. We also found that the task performance was improved when the robot was operated by two people, and that the two people’s movements were synchronized. Interestingly, we found a correlation between the sense of agency and usability when the robot was operated by two people, but no correlation when operated by one person. It is expected that the Collaborative Avatar will improve our abilities and induce various embodied coordination between people, which will become a new way of collaboration in the cyber-physical society.

It’s Me: VR-based Journaling for Improved Cognitive Self-Regulation

Y Wang, YS Pai, K Minamizawa

SIGGRAPH Asia 2022 Posters, 1-2 2022.12

Journaling is a well-known evidence-based strategy for practicing better self-regulation and self-awareness in daily life. It is also an effective way for reducing the effects of negative emotions like anxiety and depression. We explore the combination of virtual reality (VR) and a body-tracking mirror as a cognitive activity in the form of VR journaling. VR-based journaling aims to build cognitive reappraisal, self-reflection, and autonomic emotion regulation in a sustainable way. The user performs in front of the mirror, using body-tracking to help them keep a daily journal. Considering that looking into the mirror is already a daily habit for most people, it does not require the users to form a new habit when trying to do journaling. Furthermore, it activates creativity by encouraging the user to use their body language as a story-telling tool.

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Identification of an alternative glycyrrhizin metabolite causing liquorice-induced pseudohyperaldosteronism and the development of ELISA system to detect the predictive biomarker (vol 12, 688508, 2021)

Ishiuchi, K; Morinaga, O; Yoshino, T; Mitamura, M; Hirasawa, A; Maki, Y; Tashita, Y; Kondo, T; Ogawa, K; Lian, FY; Ogawa-Ochiai, K; Minamizawa, K; Namiki, T; Mimura, M; Watanabe, K; Makino, T

FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY 13 2022.11

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SpiceWare: Simulating Spice Using Thermally Adjustable Dinnerware to Bridge Cultural Gaps

S Yang, YS Pai, K Minamizawa

Adjunct Proceedings of the 35th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface … 2022.10

Preference and tolerance towards spicy food may vary depending on culture, location, upbringing, personality and even gender. Due to this, spicy food can often effect the social interaction on the dining table, especially if it is presented as a cultural dish. We propose SpiceWare, a thermally adjustable spoon that alters the perception of spice to improve cross-cultural communication. SpiceWare is a 3D-printed aluminium spoon that houses a thermal peltier that provides thermal feedback up to 45°C which can alter the taste perception of the user. As an initial evaluation, we conducted a workshop among participants of varying cultural backgrounds and observe their interaction when dining on spicy food. We found that the overall interaction was perceived to be more harmonious, and we discuss potential future works on improving the system.

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Sensorimotor control sharing with vibrotactile feedback for body integration through avatar robot

Y Tanaka, T Katagiri, H Yukawa, T Nishimura, R Tanada, I Ogura, ...

IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters 7 (4), 9509-9516 (IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters) 7 ( 4 ) 9509 - 9516 2022.10

ISSN 2377-3766

An avatar robot can be operated by multiple users, augmenting the operation of a single user. In this study, we assembled a collaborative operation system for a 7-DoF robotic arm with a gripper controlled by two users. The users share the role of controlling the robot with one user controlling the arm and the other controlling the gripper. The actions of the two users must be seamlessly coordinated to ensure smooth and precise operations. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate vibrotactile feedback to promote recognition of the actions of a partner. A pick-and-place task was considered as a basic operation. First, an intensity adjustment was developed for vibrotactile feedback to ensure linear sensitivity and its usefulness was verified. An estimation test for the reaching motion showed that the target position was estimated accurately based on velocity feedback, indicating that the participants imaged the arm motion. Subsequently, collaboration tests with and without vibrotactile velocity feedback revealed a potential effect of vibrotactile feedback in terms of reducing the time required for completing the target task. Our experimental results indicate that vibrotactile feedback for partner's motion can be applied to achieve smooth collaborative operations using an avatar robot.

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Frisson waves: exploring automatic detection, triggering and sharing of aesthetic chills in music performances

Y He, G Chernyshov, J Han, D Zheng, R Thomsen, D Hynds, M Liu, ...

Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous … (Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies) 6 ( 3 ) 2022.09

Frisson is the feeling and experience of physical reactions such as shivers, tingling skin, and goosebumps. Using entrainment through facilitating interpersonal transmissions of embodied sensations, we present "Frisson Waves"with the aim to enhance live music performance experiences. "Frisson Waves"is an exploratory real-time system to detect, trigger and share frisson in a wave-like pattern over audience members during music performances. The system consists of a physiological sensing wristband for detecting frisson and a thermo-haptic neckband for inducing frisson. In a controlled environment, we evaluate detection (n=19) and triggering of frisson (n=15). Based on our findings, we conducted an in-the-wild music concert with 48 audience members using our system to share frisson. This paper summarizes a framework for accessing, triggering and sharing frisson. We report our research insights, lessons learned, and limitations of "Frisson Waves".

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Imageflowing-enhance emotional expression by reproducing the vital signs of the photographer

Q Mu, G Chernyshov, Z Wang, D Hynds, D Zheng, K Minamizawa, ...

ACM SIGGRAPH 2022 Emerging Technologies, 1-2 2022.07

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Future Life With Cybernetic Avatar Technologies for Sharing Diverse Skills and Experiences

MINAMIZAWA Kouta

TRENDS IN THE SCIENCES (Japan Science Support Foundation) 27 ( 5 ) 5_71 - 5_73 2022.05

ISSN 13423363

デジタル空間と現実空間とが融合し、人々が空間を超えて社会的活動を行うメタバースの時代において、人々が個人の身体の制約や限界に囚われることなく自由自在に行動することができる「もうひとつの身体」を実現すべく、ムーンショット研究開発事業「身体的共創を生み出すサイバネティック・アバター技術と社会基盤の開発」では、人々が自身の能力を最大限に発揮し、多様な人々の多彩な技能や経験を共有できるサイバネティック・アバター（CA）技術の研究開発に取り組んでいる。技能や経験を相互に利活用する際の制度的・倫理的課題を考慮して、人と社会に調和した、身体的な技能や経験を流通する社会基盤を構築し、CAを通じて人と人との新たな身体的共創を生み出し、誰もが自在な活動や挑戦を行える、2050年の多様性と包摂性の高い未来社会の実現を目指す。

Synesthesia X1-2.44 : A Synesthetic Experience Device Employing Sound, Haptic and Lighting

Hanamitsu Nobuhisa, Tai Hideaki, Motoki Tatsuya, Sato Ayahiko, Shimizu Keitaro, Kamiyama Yoichi, Minamizawa Kouta, evala, Mizuguchi Tetsuya

Transactions of the Virtual Reality Society of Japan (THE VIRTUAL REALITY SOCIETY OF JAPAN) 27 ( 1 ) 51 - 64 2022.03

ISSN 1344011X

This paper proposes a chair-based synesthetic experience device, Synesthesia X1-2.44, which utilizes auditory, haptic, and visual sensations. In order to realize a synesthetic experience, we designed the chair that includes 44 haptic actuators, two speakers and 5 stage lights, and exhibited it at Media Ambition Tokyo 2019. When discussing this work, we observed “sense of stretching and contracting of the body”, “sense of floating/sinking”, and “sense of disappearance of the body”. In addition, the combination of whole-body haptic sensation and spatial acoustics with sounds felt from inside/outside the body affects the autonomic nervous system and induces a pleasant state, and create a representation different from the usual auditory and haptic experiences.

Parallel Ping-Pong: Exploring parallel embodiment through multiple bodies by a single user

K Takada, M Kawaguchi, A Uehara, Y Nakanishi, M Armstrong, A Verhulst, ...

Proceedings of the Augmented Humans International Conference 2022, 121-130 121 - 130 2022.03

We propose Parallel Ping-Ping, a system that realizes "Parallel Embodiment", the experience of a single user controlling multiple bodies simultaneously. The user plays ping-pong by controlling 2 robot arms using a Virtual Reality (VR) controller, while looking at 2 tables through a Head Mounted Display (HMD). The computer constantly calculates the ball trajectory and the motion for the robot arm to hit the balls back automatically through color cameras. Based on this calculation, the system integrates the motion of the user's controller, maintaining the sense of agency of the robot arms even though single user plays ping-pong with two opponents. In addition, the user's view through the HMD is automatically switched to the appropriate table according to the calculated position and direction, so that the user can perceive both tables' situation smoothly. We exhibited a three-day Parallel Ping-Pong demonstration and surveyed 142 participants about their perception while controlling multiple bodies. In this paper, we introduce the Parallel Ping-Pong system framework and the insights from the survey of demonstration. We also discuss the design implication for Parallel Embodiment based on these results.

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