Currently, the number of patients complaining of dry mouth is increasing due to a stressful society. Decreased salivary secretion is associated not only with oral diseases but also with dysphagia and affects general health. We focused on scent stimulation as a simple and safe way to promote salivation. In this study, we investigated the effects of pineapple scent on salivary secretion and salivary cortisol concentration. Ten healthy adults performed two trials, one without scent and the other with scent. The salivary secretion and the salivary cortisol concentration during the experiment were measured. In the scented trial, a muet with pineapple scent was placed at a position about 3 cm from the nostrils of the subjects, and nasal breathing was performed to stimulate the scent. As a result, the salivary secretion was significantly higher in the scented group than in the unscented group, but no significant difference in salivary cortisol concentration was observed.

In this study, control methods of motion platform to reduce the discomfort related to virtual reality （VR） sickness were investigated experimentally targeted at torsional visual motion stimulus. Motion platform is a device for moving the entire body to add a vestibular sensation and is often used to reduce VR sickness. Torsional visual motion stimulus is generally thought to induce motion sickness easily. In this experiment, the participants were asked to observe the VR torsional visual motion stimulus under three conditions with different control of motion platform, then a questionnaire survey of emotion was conducted using Self-Assessment Manikin. In addition, their torsional eye movement during the experiments was observed. The participants were 20 university students. As a result, it was found that tilting motion platform in the direction of rotation or vice versa of the stimulus was effective in reduction of discomfort. Furthermore, it was suggested that the mechanism of reduction of discomfort was different depending on the control methods of motion platform.

To provide the design guidelines for notification, which are recognized in the peripheral vision by information device users who perform intellectual works, we examined the effect of “motion” in terms of awareness and concentration. Twenty participants performed dual task including mental arithmetic task on the central main-display and awareness task on the peripheral sub-display, and were evaluated by psychological, behavioral indices and eye movement. In the awareness task, participants were presented motion stimuli that had seven kinds of motions: instant, fade-in, expansion, contraction, horizontal, vertical and blink. The results showed that motion of horizontal and expansion significantly caused superior awareness and conveyance of meaning. Furthermore, only horizontal and expansion were not collected less preference votes than the condition of no notification. The relation between performance of awareness task in peripheral visual field and mental arithmetic task in central visual field was a significant positive correlation, not a trade-off. All results considered, this study suggested the motion design for notification that would be better horizontal from the viewpoint of users' preference, and would be better expansion from the viewpoint of conveyance of meaning.

The working posture during milking in dairy farming is a squatting posture in which both soles contact the floor. We suggested a half-kneeling posture, in which the sole of one foot and the other's leg's knee and toes contact the floor, to reduce feelings of tiredness during milking. The area of the “base of support” in a half-kneeling posture is larger than that of a squatting posture. We designed a tool to assist with the knee contacting the floor in barns. Ten healthy young adults did tasks in imitation of milking in two experimental conditions as follows: squatting without the tool（a squatting condition）, and half-kneeling with the assisting tool on the knee（a half-kneeling condition）. The time required for the tests and the feelings of tiredness of the subjects were evaluated. The half-kneeling condition were equivalent to the squat condition in terms of the time required. But the half-kneeling condition reduced feelings of tiredness. As a result, it was indicated that a half-kneeling posture using an assisting tool does not improve the time required, but reduces feelings of tiredness during milking.