Our research group creates navigation contents for Expo'70 Commemoration Park in Osaka, and develops navigation systems using the contents. Since it takes much monetary cost and human resources to useful/interesting navigation contents, it is difficult to create such high-quality contents for single small-scale system. Therefore, we propose a framework for constructing multiple navigation systems without drastic modification on contents and systems, by using our proposed event-driven platform. In this paper, we construct four navigation systems using the proposed framework with navigation contents for Expo'70, such as a wearable navigation system, AR navigation system, and Kiosk-style navigation system. The implemented systems received high commendation from users in experimental demonstrations.

We propose a new method for the creation of indoor map data, as well as of the path planning system that connects outdoor areas with indoor areas. First, taking an example of shopping malls as a public facilities, the expression of indoor map data has been considered from the standpoint of information transmissions and searching. Next, the result is reflected and the indoor map data of Tokyo Midtown was created using the floorplan. In Japan, it is mandatory to submit a detailed floorplan for each floor to the Legal Affairs Bureau in registering a real estate, and the floorplans are made available for the public for viewing. This makes it possible to build a database of indoor maps on a national scale. We propose a new method which anyone can create in a short time as the creation method of indoor map data. Reference to geographical coordinates and network data are given to the indoor map data, in order to do loose coupling on the doorway as a node. Through this process, a path planning system that seamlessly connects outdoor and indoor maps can be created.

In the wearable computing environment, people handles various information any time and anywhere. This means that the input method needs to be prepared for a sudden input request in various situations. We investigated various restrictions for gestures in daily life and clarify the characteristics of gestures from the viewpoints of physical and social restrictions. In this paper, we propose an input method for changing gestures using by 4 modes which are sets of body parts and gestures in 3 condition which are sitting, standing, and walking. We verified the availability of the proposed method by experiments and confirmed the changing modes could be adaptable in various situations.

We have proposed novel interaction devices; ToolDevice, which is for various operations in large electric working space. They use metaphors of real-life tools which are familiar in everyday life. Such tools have good affordance, and at the same time, every user already has a mental model for their operation. These advantages not only guide users to the correct operation, but provide an intuitive operation. They imitate not only the shapes of existing tools and their usages,but also the tactile and audio sensation to increase presences of virtual objects and improve operational feelings. We already had developed TweezersDevice for pick and move manipulations and BrushDevice for painting. In this paper,as a third device,we proposed and developed Knife/HammerDevice for handcrafting operations. Additionally,we constructed a handcrafting system as a usage example of the multiple ToolDevices including Knife/HammerDevice and TweezersDevice. The experiment of this system revealed the intuitiveness of each ToolDevice and their switching operation,but also the difficulty of precise positioning and cutting operation with them. To resolve these problems,we introduced constraints on movement of virtual objects and the devices to the system for assistance of these operations.

During self-motion, the spatial relationship between objects and the observer changes from moment to moment. In such a situation, self-motion information is considered to be one of useful cues to accurately localize sound source positions. In the present study, we conducted two experiments to investigate the effects of visually-induced self-motion perception (vection) on sound localization in front and rear hemispheres. As a result, we found that the perceived position of a sound in the rear hemisphere was shifted in a few degrees in the direction of perceived self-motion. In the front hemisphere, however, no effect of self-motion information was observed. These results suggest space-dependent contribution of self-motion information to auditory spatial perception.

Recently, the succession of operation skill not to reduce the quality of plant operations is widely considered in Japanese oil and chemical industries because many skilled operators who have much operation know-how and many experiences are retiring. Therefore, it is necessary to extract and express the operating skill of skilled operators and to succeed the extracted skill to younger operators. This study deals with a technique based on the ISM (Interpretive Structural Modeling) method to analyze transition patterns of eye fixation points on the symbols of an operation panel for the purpose of extracting the skill of understanding of plant condition in relation with operations. The technique expresses a transition pattern as a causal structure. This study uses the DURESS (DUal REServoir System) as an example plant. The eye movements in DURESS operations are measured and analyzed. The analyzed results show that the transition pattern of a subject at skilled class has balanced causal relations among the symbols of reservoir water level, reservoir water temperature, and heater output and there are two operation strategies in DURESS operation.

Keyboard is mainly used for text input, and has function keys and shortcut keys to reduce the number of manual operation. However, it is difficult and troublesome to memorize relations between keys and functions for beginners. In this paper, we propose two intuitional input methods on the physical keyboard in addition to usual texttyping: stroke that traces a shape on the keyboard, and stamp that presses a shape on the keyboard. Our system automatically classifies user inputs into texttyping, stroke, or stamp from key entry information, enabling us to seamlessly input those commands without additional devices.

Recent advance in visual display terminals forces us to engage in much visual tasks in near sight, which causes asthenopia. The authors have developed a new visual presentation method, in which the distance of visual image from user's eye moves between near and far locations periodically to keep the field of view unchanged. The method can enable the user to relieve eye accommodation strain unconsciously. In this paper, the principal and the developed prototype are introduced followed by preliminary evaluation results measuring the refraction.

It is necessary to design web pages that users can access the information easily. In website design, color scheme is one of important elements.The prediction method of visibility of color scheme has been proposed. In this method, data is collected by paired comparison tests. Visibility of color scheme is evaluated by paired comparison tables. We improve this method and propose how to predict paired comparison tables which show visibility of background and character colors by neural networks. The results obtained from our experiments show that proposed method can predict visibility of others from basic color scheme.

In this paper, we report an android robot system to support medical and welfare fields with communication. An android constituting this system is very similar to a real female and can exhibit various facial expressions such as smile, anger and surprise. Since the android controlled by pneumatic actuators are light, compact and noiseless, it is easy to introduce it into medical and welfare fields. The system has various operation methods. For example, the android can mimic the head and facial motions of a target person captured by a camera. Using this system, we examined impressions about the android in a medical examination room as a bystander at a pain clinic. During the medical examination, the android nodded and smiled at patients synchronously. As a result, it was revealed that about 33% of 70 patients preferred the presence of the android. Patients over 65 years old had more positive impressions compared to patients under 65. In addition, it is suggested that the presence of the android gave effects to form good impressions about the doctor. These results show the potentiality of the android in the medical examination room.

This study examines effects of driving assistance system on driver's workload by measuring brain activity. Driver's brain activity is measured using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Whether the reduction of driving workload by Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system can be evaluated from brain activity was discussed through experiments using a driving simulator. Subjects follow a leading vehicle, which has a certain speed pattern including stop and go situations, with and without ACC system. The results revealed that while the outer portions of the frontal lobe were active in connection with driving performance when the subject drove without ACC, no activity related to driving performance was seen with the use of ACC. These results suggest the possibility of evaluating driving-assistance systems through the evaluation of driving workload from measurement of brain activity using NIRS.

A hazard map provides vital safety information such as predicted areas of hazards, evacuation routes, and emergency shelters. It is desirable for residents to retain such safety information in their own memory (i.e., cognitive map) because it is unlikely that they always have immediate access to a hazard map, printed or electronic. This study investigated the effect of using familiar icons as landmarks on cognitive mapping. Participants read a fictitious map with 10 intersections for 1 minute and 5 minutes later they were asked to sketch the map. Experiment 1 examined the effects of the type and the number of landmarks and found that familiar icons were more effective than black dots but that such superiority disappeared when the number of landmarks increased from 10 to 15. Experiment 2 showed that the effect of using familiar icons extended to the area of the map with no landmarks. Experiment 3 indicated that the use of familiar icons was not sufficient to promote an orientation-free cognitive map. Further research is needed to determine whether the optimal number of landmarks is relative to the complexity of a map or essentially fixed due to the limited capacity of human information processing.