Professor, Graduate School of Social Data Science , Hitotsubashi University / Project Professor, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo
Professor Atsushi Hiyama graduated from the University of Tokyo with a B.Eng. in 2001 and M.Sc. in 2003 in Information Science and Engineering, and received a Ph.D. in Engineering in 2006. His research interests center on designing and implementing virtual reality, Augmented Human, and human-robot interaction systems. He aims to design a society in which we can participate throughout our 100-year life by using such technologies. He invented a fitness-training system for older adults using virtual reality. He is currently promoting the social participation of the elderly through ICT: social networking services, crowdsourcing, and teleworking using virtual reality and robots. He received the Laval Virtual Trophy in 2005 and IFIP Accessibility Award in 2011.
We believe that there are two axes of academic classification. The first axis ranges from theoretical to practical research, and the second axis ranges from linguistic to non-linguistic forms of expression of research. Among the disciplines covered in social data science, engineering, commerce, and law covers from non-linguistic to linguistic expression in practical research fields. In the theoretical research fields, informatics, statistics, and economics covers from non-linguistic to linguistic expression. Through study and research in social data science, students will acquire the ability to intervene to the world from theory to practice, linguistic to non-linguistic, which will give them great confidence in designing the social systems of the future. In particular, our country is entering an unprecedented hyper-aged society. The various challenges facing our society are somewhat caused by this demographic trend, and we will be the first in the world to tackle them.People cannot realize what they cannot imagine. Society is an art of humans, and it will move in the direction that people have envisioned. We must expand the scope of our imagination through learning about how we would like to live, and seeking and creating what is necessary to achieve this will be a sure compass for our future.