YOTARO is a baby type robot developed to make possible a virtual sensation of play with a baby. When playing with YOTARO, it has many kinds of emotion and reactions, such as smiling, crying, sleepy, angry, sneeze. YOTARO is controlled by emotion control program based in inputs, such as touching soft and warm face, touching stomach, shaking rattle; after that, interactive reactions are output as voices, expressions change, movement of hands and legs, sniveling, and skin's color change. YOTARO is designed about observation of people's viewpoint to babies aiming to elevate the level of interaction.

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We propose the concept of shape memory alloy motion display (SMD), a new type of physical display, and introduce an interactive art "plant" based on this technology. SMD is a display apparatus taking advantage of existence of an actual object, and gives visual expressions by movement and change in shape of actuators, which are components of this device. Visual expressions resembling tentacles of sea anemone and foliage of grasses and trees are possible by designing the actuators, making way for new expressions by physical display. We built the interactive art plant as a piece of art applying SMD technology. The plant is inspired by the vision of grass blowing in the wind. 169 artificial leaves react to hand's movement and moves slowly. We discuss the possibilities of SMD and the expression of trembling foliage through fabrication of the completed piece of art, plant.

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"Floating Words" is a new device for playing with words generated by CG technology in a small water pool. When a player says words to the megaphone-type microphone, the words drip into the water pool as letters. Then the player can scoop or stir them with a ladle. "Floating Words" is a beautiful and poetic interactive installation art work but also a tactile system with real water. In this system, players feel something comfortable and new although it has no artificial force feedback device.

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"Tuvalu Visualization Project" is a net art work on digital globe that tells the realities of remote place. This work has both the function as a photograph archive and as a communications platform. Our purpose was to create the chance for users of overlapping the event in remote place with daily life of users and re-interpreting it globally. To achieve such purposes, we made a visualization of the real state of affairs in Tuvalu with a digital globe, and added the pseudoand synchronous communications function to it. We think It will have the possibility of supporting the international contribution activity by the individual and nonprofit organization etc.

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"INVISIBLE-The Shadow Chaser-" is an entertainment content that aims the representation of virtual objects by presenting various indirect information of the objects. In this content, we use the combination of shadow, sound, weight, and vibration for representation of invisible creatures. Two players cooperate to capture the creatures. One has a magical spotlight to make the shadow of the creatures. The other estimates a position of the creature from the shadow and the sound of footsteps and captures the creature by a vacuum-like device. When the creature is captured, the player feels a weight of the creature on the backpack. We exhibited the content in IVRC 2005, Laval Virtual 2006, and SIGGRAPH 2006 and inspected the effect of a combination of these information upon the presence of virtual creatures. The collected opinions from these exhibition experiments revealed that the multi-modal presentation of indirect information can make players feel the existence of invisible creatures more effectively than the single sense presentation.

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The use of large visual displays in public spaces has become increasingly popular. Installation of these displays can be challenging, however, especially in already existing buildings because of the large, rigid hardware often required by such displays. In this paper, we discuss a digital public art display called "Constellation of Departure" which is deeply embedded in the ceiling of an airport departure lounge. The overhead art features a moving silhouette of an airplane taking off according to flight timetables and reminds travelers of other passengers' various trips. The pixel arrangement of the LED display is based on the positions of stars on the night when the terminal building first opened, and it is carefully designed and implemented to blend in well with the environment. We then explain the details involved in the production, strategy, and process of the project's implementation and discuss the findings drawn from the course of the three-month installation.

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The friendly amusing mobile (FAM) function in which a robot and a user can interact through a motion is proposed applying the mobile robot step-on interface (SOI) in which the user can direct robot movement or operation by stepping or pointing on the button which shows the contents to desire on the operation screen projected on a floor. HFAMRO-2 mobile robot is developed to realize playing a light tag and three applications-animal tail stepping, bomb fuse stamping, and footprint stepping-are produced as a trial after the design policy.

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In this paper, we proposed the concept to control human behavior implicitly by presenting environmental information and developed the method to control the position of people by presenting thermal sensation personally through wearable devices depending on their location. We made an artwork "Thermotaxis: defined" by using the method. In this artwork, the space is characterized as being cool or warm. Users experience the difference in temperatures while they walk in the space. We proved that the presented thermal sensation influences standing position in a space and walk trajectory based on monitoring behavior of users. Moreover we made an artwork "Thermotaxis: society" based on the knowledge obtained from the user behavior analysis. "Thermotaxis: society" is a system that creates thermal sensory spots around people. Thermal sensory spots are generated based on the knowledge of proxemics and it encourage people to gather together and come in personal distance to increase the potential for social interactions. We suggested that the presented thermal sensation has a potential to control not only standing position but also psychological aspect such as psychological resistance.

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Many digital painting systems have proposed, and its quality is improving. Graphics tablets are the widely used as input device with 2D display for these system. However, the operational feeling is different from that of real painting tools because of its rigid nib. In addition, many users want "direct manipulation" and want to see the moving of the brush tip while painting. Therefore, we realized a digital painting system which has three requirements to solve these problems: (1) It realizes the taste of actual painting brush using tip bending and interactivity with computer, (2) Users can paint both 2D and 3D, (3) Users can hold a real object and paint its surface directly. In this study, we developed BrushDevice for (1), and proposed a painting model that realises a bending tips and stroke effects. In addition, we developed mixed reality (MR) painting system for (2)(3).

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We propose a wellness entertainment system using trampoline interface. In this system, we use a mini trampoline as the input device. The system enables the user to move and jump freely in VR space by exaggerated movement corresponding to walking or jumping on the mini trampoline. Improvements in exercise motivation and support for continuous exercise are achieved in our system, since it is possible to enjoy strolling through a virtual space, which is usually difficult to experience, by exercising on the mini trampoline without injury to the user's joints

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We have long been conducting research on the description and reproduction of body motion based on Labanotation, and developed a system called LabanEditor. Labanotation uses a symbolic description and it is said that the notation can even describe motions of the fine each finger of a dancer. However, since, in this case, the resulting score staff will become extremely complicated, only the basic description has usually been used. On the other hand, there are styles of motion particular to traditional dances, and if we restrict ourselves to handling these dances, the basic notation scheme is insufficient to describe these motions. Based on the above, we investigated a method of describing and reproducing CG animation of highly-stylized traditional Noh plays using plain Labanotation. This has been realized by preparing motion template files which represent specific motions in Noh plays. We can handle any stylized dance motions other than Noh by preparing separate motion template files. In addition, we made improvements in the functionality of LabanEditor as follows: importing VRML models of stages, background sceneries and characters for dancers which correspond to the various types of dance, and controlling the quality of movements. The evaluation showed that both the system and the method satisfied our initial requirements.

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From childhood, we often make stories extemporarily by drawing characters and/or playing puppets by hands. On the other hand, when we make animations using computer software, we usually have to use a mouse and a keyboard. For creating animation stories easily and extemporarily, more intuitive interfaces are needed. To improve these conditions, we focused on tabletop physical objects as an interface and propose a novel support system for creating animations named "Tablescape Animation". In this system, users can draw characters by hands and control the character actions by handling tabletop physical objects as well as playing puppets. In this paper, we describe the system design of Tablescape Animation and workshops using this system.

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We propose an umbrella-like device called Funbrella that entertains people with many types of rain by focusing on an umbrella as a user interface that connects humans and rain. Generally, people experience rain with sound, sight, or sometimes smell; however, in our proposed system, we exploit the vibration perceived through an umbrella's handle so that people can feel the rain. We implemented a vibration-giving mechanism based on a dynamic microphone and a dynamic speaker whose structures are almost identical. With this structure, Funbrella records the vibrations caused by raindrops and plays them. We implemented two applications: Crazy Rain and Tele-rain. One is to feel various kinds of rain, and the other transmits rain to different places in real time. With such applications, people can enjoy rain that is usually annoying.

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We produced an exhibition "Digital Public Art in HANEDA AIRPORT 'AIR HARBOR'-Technology Meets Air: A Sensation of a New World" in Octorber, 2009 at the Haneda Airport in Japan which is public space. This exhibition aims to show the new concept "Digital Public Art" which tries to evolve media art to public art. This exhibition is also an experiment to bring information technology into public spaces as an interactive art works. In this exhibition, we combined virtual reality technologies, human interface methods, and signal processing techniques with art for developing public art artworks. At the exhibition, technology and art direction are important. In addition, for social implementation like a large exhibition in the public space, produce is also important. In this paper, we focus on produce of the exhibition; we analyzed our project management and produce. We also analyzed the log of our activity. We discuss about the scheme when technologies goes to social.

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Device art is a new concept of art that shows essence of technology. Works of device art are often created in bottom-up process. The Device Art Toolkit is a tool for creation of these works. It is intended to achieve usability as well as scalability. The toolkit has modular structure consisting of control modules, input modules, output modules and communication modules. It also has actuator modules. The structure enables easy try-and-error in creation process.

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This paper reports Deviceart Archive, which the authors has been developing, and qualitative analysis using interview videos with some Deviceart artists and researchers. Deviceart Archive records and presents interview videos in which the artists talked about the concept of their artworks for the exhibition "Deviceart Garelly" at The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan), and the videos recorded at Deviceart symposiums. This style is similar to citation system of online academic journal repositories.

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As a display for displaying three-dimensional VR objects in large spaces such as a public space, we have proposed "Controllable particle display" that controls the position and blinking patterns of particles to yield a visual representation and the representation to touch these particles. Also, as a "Controllable particle display", we have proposed a system of using water drops. In this system, VR objects are represented by projecting images upward onto falling water drops designed to form a plane surface, depending on the positions of the water drops. However, this method has a problem in growing the size of display area in terms of the brightness and refresh rate. In this paper, we propose a method by which images are projected onto falling water drops at an angle, and users observe the VR objects from in front of a projector. Based on this method, we implemented a prototype system whose display area was 112mm×238mm×1000mm, and demonstrated the effectiveness of proposed method.

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Dexterous physical interactions with virtual creatures are important to bring fun of playing with animals into arts and entertainments. Virtual creatures are required to react in various ways stands on physical and psychological laws according to highly varied user inputs for reality of interaction. We propose to construct virtual creatures with physics simulator, sensor/attention models and physical motion controllers. Physical simulator and motion controllers generate highly varied reactions with physical reality, and sensor/attention models provide psychologically feasible target selection for motion controllers. We constructed an example of the virtual creature, and communicative physical interactions are realized as guessing and attracting virtual creature's attention by touching them via haptic device. With the example we confirmed effectiveness of the proposal experimentally.

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We developed a device to enable interactive auditory-visual-tactile sensations, consisting of a 50-inch display with a soft down-like feel and CG images for displaying biological sensations. Our objective was to propose a form of communication in which audition and vision were accompanied by touch. "Fur-Fly" is an artistic creation that utilizes a tactile display that, when touched by an experiencing subject, responds interactively to the position touched with National flag forms or simulated cloud images and organism-like movements that occur in synchrony. We suggest the potential of this device as a global communications display, and as a universal display for disabled individuals.

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Visible Breadboard is the Breadboard like interface which shows voltages of each and every hole by full color LED and enable us to make wiring by tracing with finger tips. Users could insert electrical material into the holes and make a circuit on this device. Users could understand what is happening in the circuit and correct the connections with finger tracing. This device could support essential understanding of making a circuit and what happens in a circuit. Visible Breadboard may be applied to many areas such as prototyping, education, designing, media art or entertainment.

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A baggage claim at an airport is an inorganic space where passengers should wait for a brief while. We want to change this space to more attractive, enjoyable, and organic area. We propose a public artwork: "Bird of Luggage". "Bird of Luggage" was set in the Haneda Airport which is one of the biggest airports in Japan. This artwork was exhibited in the context of an exhibition "Digital Public Art in HANEDA AIRPORT 'AIR HARBOR'-Technology Meets Air: A Sensation of a New World" in Octorber, 2009 at the Haneda Airport. "Bird of Luggage" enables passengers to see birds which could bring their bags. The system of the artwork consists of three parts: 1) a camera which can detect a luggage, 2) a projector on a pan head with motors which chase a luggage on the baggage carousel, and project a bird image on a luggage, 3) a hyper sonic sound speaker with its special feature, which enables you to hear the sound of flutter as if the sound came from the luggage. You can see and hear a bird on your luggage and when you bring your bag from the baggage carousel, the bird will fly away. Some passengers could notice the artwork and enjoyed during their waiting time.

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Recently opportunities for researchers to present their works in front of the public are increasing. In spite of its direct influence on the public, most of researchers are not concerned about how they present their works in different contexts such as art and science museums. Here we describe design issues of exhibition "Sensory Circuit Collection", which was aimed to present novel sensations with advanced technologies, and held at Miraikan from Oct. 2009 to Mar. 2010. We hope this paper serves as a precedent for researchers' presentations in science museums.

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We propose a technique for simulating swimming motilities of ammonites that are extinct species and we can never see. We also simulate abnormal species of ammonites that have very odd-shaped shell. Ammonite's husk has a special structure inside; there are a lot of separated partitions. We model the shape of ammonite husks including the special internal structure. And we simulate the swimming motility by treating ammonites as solid bodies, and using a fluid-solid coupling simulation. We compare the result of simulation to real nautilus to verify the validity of our method. And finally, we express the ammonite's swimming motility by using computer graphics.

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It is difficult for users to do a painting with reflecting emotion to a color at all times because users can not change a color while drawing a stroke. We propose a painting tool that allows a user to automatically reflect valence and arousal of emotion to value and saturation of a color by estimating user's emotion from user's physiological data. We conducted an experiment to compare our system with another painting tool that randomly changes a color at regular time intervals by analyzing subjects' physiological data. The results show that our system affects users' arousal more than the randomized color painting tool.

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For virtual reality systems, the enhancement of a sense of presence (a subjective experience of being in one place even when one is physically situated in another) has been the most important issue. Both theoretically and empirically, the sense of presence has been found to relate dominantly to background components contained in a scene. In contrast, the reality or virtuality which can be assumed to link essentially to foreground components in a scene has not been investigated in detail. The present study defined the latter type of sense as vraisemblance (verisimilitude), and made an exploratory investigation into spatio-temporal characteristics responsible for the higher vraisemblance by using a scene containing Shishi-odoshi (a traditional Japanese fountain made of bamboos) in a Japanese garden as audio-visual stimuli. In Experiment 1, the effects of the field size of view and the sound pressure level of the background were investigated. Higher vraisemblance was observed with the middle field size of view with the original sound pressure level of the background, whereas higher sense of presence was observed with the larger field size of view with the larger background sound. In Experiment 2, the effect of temporal asynchrony between the foreground audio-visual stimuli produced by Shishi-odoshi was investigated. The results show that the range of temporal-window for the audio-visual stimuli necessary for high vraisemblance was different from those for high presence. These findings suggest that the sense of vraisemblance can be distinguishable from the sense of presence, and deeply involved to the foreground-based aesthetic impression in a scene.

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We propose a novel classification method of tactile textures using onomatopoeias. The method generates a distribution diagram of haptic onomatopoeias based on subjective impressions on the onomatopoeias, and it enables users to arrange and compare the tactile textures on the diagram. In the current paper, we check the validity of the diagram from the phonological view and discuss the application of the diagram in tactile texture selection.

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Saccade-based Display (SD) can present two dimensional (2D) images only with one dimensional (1D) LED light array based on perceptions during eye movements. Images presented with SD show different perceptual features from normally presented ones. In this paper, therefore, we describe the design issues of image contents in particular for SD and evaluate the change in the impression of the image contents. The results show that the impressions, especially of movement and depth, can be dramatically changed depending on the design of 2D image contents.

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In this paper, we propose a method for generating CG animation of natural hand motion in playing a piano from score data as input. This method employs inverse kinematics and key-frame technique to generate the animation. To achieve this purpose, we analyze actual piano-playing motion and extract the common features. We propose to calculate natural key poses by using a weighted pseudo inverse matrix and the canonical pose (pose in the rest) in the inverse kinematics. We also propose to use pre-keying motions as the key frames. We evaluate the generated piano-playing CG animation using the pair comparison method and verify its naturalness.

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This paper presents a novel model-based blur compensation and shadow removal method in multi-projection environment. For each vertex of the object's surface, the proposed method selects the optimal projector which projects the finest image onto it, based on frequency analysis of the point-spread function (PSF). Shapes of objects to be projected, as well as position and orientation of the projectors, are obtained in advance so that PSFs can be computed. The optimal projector selection is performed without any additional calibrations in case the object is moved. The method is particularly useful in interactive systems where the object to be projected is usually moved and tracked by an attached tracking sensor.

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When a hand is held above boiling water, a sensation of pressure is sometimes experienced in addition to the expected thermal sensation. The underlying cause of this phenomenon is currently unclear. Potential candidates for the causal mechanism of this experience include steam, temperature, humidity and tactile receptor activity. In this paper we investigated the underlying mechanism of this novel non-contact tactile experience. To this end, we tested separate aspects of this experience independently. Our results suggest that stimulation of Merkel cells via sweat duct expansion is the principal cause this perceptual phenomenon.

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