Human Augmentation Consortium established and launched

We are pleased to announce that “the Human Augmentation Consortium” (hereinafter, referred to as ”The Consortium”), which aims to solve societal issues through human augmentation technology that enhances human senses of feeling and movements through networks, has been launched by eight companies and four academic experts.

Background

Human augmentation is attracting attention in various industries such as tourism, education, manufacturing, construction, and healthcare as a means to solve societal issues like educational disparities, declining labor population, and the decline of traditional culture. For example, augmenting physical movements could improve the effectiveness of instruction in sports and musical instruments. By sharing physical movements between instructors and students through wearable devices connected to a network, students can directly experience and learn from the instructor’s muscle and joint movements with their own bodies. If this allows students in areas where instructors are not nearby to receive highly effective instruction, it will help to eliminate the educational disparities.

What is the Human augmentation Consortium?

The Consortium was established as part of the Cabinet Office-led national project, Projects of Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP) Phase 3, ”Development of Foundational Technologies and Rules for Expansion of the Virtual Economy”*, with the aim of forming and expanding the human augmentation ecosystem and solving social issues through these human augmentation technologies in cross-industry, industry-government-academic collaboration among companies in various industrial fields. Participating companies and academic experts will work together to verify the elements of systems that realize human augmentation (devices, platforms, and applications), promoting international standardization of technologies necessary for human augmentation, and disseminating information related to human augmentation through symposiums and white papers.

Future Activities

In order to expand the human augmentation ecosystem and solve societal issues through human augmentation technology, cooperation between industry, government, and academia, as well as between companies across diverse industries, and cooperation across national boundaries are essential. This Consortium was established by eight domestic companies and four academic experts from multiple industries. We will continue to solicit members from companies and academic experts in a wide range of industries, including overseas, and encourage cooperation with relevant ministries and agencies. Through these efforts, it will serve as a place for diverse human augmentation-related players to gather, build connections between stakeholders, verify, and demonstrate connectivity of devices, platforms and applications, and match business partners.

Comments from Participating Companies

H2L, inc.

We are engaged in research and development of technology that enables sharing experiences through the transmission of proprioception. We will contribute to the realization and expansion of human augmentation through device and application development, international standardization of technology, and information dissemination.

NTT DOCOMO, Inc.

We are working on ”FEEL TECH” that utilizes the ”Human Augmentation Platform” to share human motions and senses as information personalized for the receiver. Through participation in this consortium, we will collaborate with diverse partners to also provide solutions for societal issues, contributing to building a ”Wellbeing Society” where everyone can shine and pursue all possibilities, reaching out and connecting with each other.
About FEEL TECH

Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc.

Junichi Rekimoto, Chief Science Officer and Fellow

We believe that the ultimate technology will not face or replace humans, but will integrate with humans and expand their intelligence, senses, cognitive abilities, physical abilities, presence, and physical systems (health). We will create a prosperous future together through R & D and social implementation of human augmentation technologies

TOPPAN Inc.

We have been promoting research and development related to human augmentation and working on the development and societal implementation of remote experience services. Through this activity, we will combine XR/metaverse/digital twin with human augmentation technology for sensory sharing to address societal issues and implement solutions in areas such as skill transfer, education, and tourism.

Toyota Motor Corporation Frontier Research Center

We have been researching partner robots that coexist with humans since around 2000. Through participation in this consortium, we aim to accelerate research and development of human augmentation technology and next-generation communication technology to realize ”virtual mobility” that provides an immersive experience as if you were actually there, even from a remote location.

Honda R&D Co., Ltd.

Honda aims to not only solve social issues through its remote-controlled robot technology, but also to create a world in which anyone can take on challenges of their own will, regardless of time or place. We hope to expand the possibilities of human augmentation through collaboration in this Consortium.

Mizuno Corporation

In 2019, we established a new ”Human Augmentation R&D Division” within our Research and Development Department to start researching and developing products and services that remove physical limitations in response to major societal changes such as accelerating declining birthrates, super-aging society, and diversification of lifestyles. We expect that participation in this consortium will further accelerate research and development in human augmentation.

Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc.

Beyond 5G and brain-machine interfaces are just some of the technologies related to human augmentation that we have been monitoring developments in. The insights we have gained through these surveys will fuel our work in the consortium, particularly the standardization of technology and, thus, the solution of societal issues through human augmentation.

Nobuo Kawaguchi, Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Institute of Innovation for Future Society, Nagoya University

We are carrying out research and development to enable anyone to utilize remote robotics at low cost through the metaverse, using general-purpose VR goggles and other devices, to solve various problems in society. Through our participation in this Consortium, we expect to collaborate with various technologies such as haptics, human augmentation, and robotics, and to expand our demonstration sites.

Yuichi Kurita, Professor, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Hiroshima University

We hope that this Consortium will accelerate the social implementation of human augmentation technology, bringing us one step closer to a world where human potential is expanded.

Overview of the Human Augmentation Consortium

Contact Information