Digital Nature Group at the University of Tsukuba, Pixie Dust Technologies Inc. (JP)

How can we redefine our human presence? The Digital Nature Group has focused on researching the relationship between waves, material and intelligence by computational environments towards building feedback loops between human intelligence and machine intelligence. From the viewpoint of computer science research, they are prototyping the systems to combine wave engineering, organic and meta-materials by digital fabrication and deep learning in order to discover the new ecosystem in the digital age.

The Digital Nature Group consists of over forty people, including students, researchers and the professor, who are all interested in wave engineering, machine learning, materials research. They are promoting research and development not only for academic research but also for use in society.

Like their prototype series, they are developing software that can output the alternative clothes designs by famous designers through deep learning in order to form making loops between ordinary designers and machine intelligence, developing automated wheelchairs and prosthetic body aids, and forming loops including the spatial recognition of machine intelligence with the relationship between light, sound and human body. All of these projects are based on the link between digital fabrication technology, wave-engineering technology and machine-learning technology.

What you see in such prototypes is a direction that differs from modern standardized social forms, modern mass-production formats or mass-communication styles. They define their view of the world as computationally incubated diversity, and by tackling the expansion of the body, expansion of the production process, audiovisual communication by holographic wave engineering for individual communication, and machine intelligence. They are trying to use these emerging technologies to figure out the digital-age ecosystem. This is what they always keep in mind in the process of combining art, science and technology, and thereby trying to solve real social problems using such technologies. The technology meme known as technium, which arises here, seems to be Japanese style and has its own cultural perspective as well.

Credits

Yoichi Ochiai, Atsushi Shinoda, Akira Ishii, Keisuke Kawahara, Amy Koike, Junjian Zhang, Kazuki Takazawa, Kensuke Abe, Kotaro Omomo, Natsumi Kato, Ryota Kawamura, Satoshi Hashizume, Ooi Chun Wei, Yaohao Chen, Hiroki Hasada, Keita Kanai, Mose Sakashita, Naoya Muramatsu, Shingo Uzawa, Yuki Koyama, Yuta Sato, Chihiro Murakami, Ippei Suzuki, Kenta Yamamoto, Shinji Sakamoto, Ayaka Ebisu, Daitetsu Sato, Hiroyuki Osone, Kubokawa Kazuyoshi, Riku Iwasaki, Tatsuya Minagawa, Taisuke Ohshima, Akira Hashimoto, Wataru Kaji, Yuta Ito, Kazuki Otao, Kengo Tanaka, Kohei Ogawa, Kent Kishima, Shinnosuke Ando, Shouki Imai, Yusuke Tanemura

All projects are supervised by Prof. Yoichi Ochiai.

Supported by: Digital Nature Group, University of Tsukuba, Pixie Dust Technologies Inc.

DeepWear

Natsumi Kato (JP), Hiroyuki Osone (JP)

We present DeepWear, a method using deep learning for clothes design. DeepWear designing clothes system use DCGAN to generate images and designers make clothes by receiving inspiration from those images.

Coded Skeleton

Taisuke Ohshima (JP), Miyu Iwafune (JP)

Coded Skeleton is a material that transforms into preprogrammed motions by using simple linear actuators. This property of the material is provided by a 3D-printable geometric structure. The motion is designed by original software that generates a 3D-printable structure that is flexible only in the designed motion but stiff in other deformations. We call this property “isolated flexibility.” It realizes precisely controllable elastic motion by using simple linear actuators, and the design system that has been developed enables us to design the motion of the Coded Skeleton.

Stimulated Percussions

Ayaka Ebisu (JP), Yuta Sato (JP)

Electrical stimulation turns muscles into machines. The body controlled by the program produces rhythms. This is a new method for musical performances which aims to beat out rhythms for beginners. It is easy to play different rhythms simultaneously with the right hand and the left hand.

Live Jacket

Yoichi Ochiai (JP), HAKUHODO Inc. (JP), Go inc. (JP), Kenta Suzuki (JP), Shinji Sakamoto (JP)

Our Live Jacket demonstration allows visitors to wear a jacket with built-in speakers and to listen to music over the whole body. There are 22 built-in speakers which play music from every part of the jacket, so visitors can experience wrap-around sound. In addition, the sounds change depending on the movement of the person wearing it.

Immersive Light Field

Kazuki Otao (JP)

This head-mounted display (HMD) system makes it possible to project images directly into human pupils and to see the environment through an HMD. This system provides an unprecedentedly wide angle and shows the possibility of metamaterials that have properties that do not exist in nature.

Printed Absorbent

Kohei Ogawa (JP), Hiroki Hasada (JP), Kensuke Abe (JP), Kenta Yamamoto (JP)

In this work, we fabricated the structure which causes capillary phenomena. These plants are grown by the structure. Look forward to how it will grow.

Telewheelchair

Satoshi Hashizume (JP), Kazuki Takazawa (JP), Ippei Suzuki (JP)

This telepresence system provides remote care by installing functions such as object recognition on a wheelchair.