The Global Open Lab Strategy Office (GOL) is a specialized team that promotes international research activities aimed at creating a society where robots and avatars coexist with humans. The office was established on April 1, 2025.
It plays an important role, in particular, as a foundation that supports international joint research, corporate collaboration, and social demonstration experiments. These experiments will be launched in earnest under JST's Moon Shot Goal 1, the "Avatar Coexistence Society Project."
What is a Global Open Lab?
It is a practical space where we can solve future social issues together through international collaboration and knowledge co-creation.
Research institutions, such as DIL, will lay the groundwork for creating a model society with the rest of the world.
The GOL was established with the specific goal of realizing an avatar coexistence society.
Why is an open lab necessary on a global scale?
Creating a new society based on coexistence that incorporates avatars and robots necessitates integrating knowledge, technology, and social systems that transcend the boundaries of a single country.
At DIL, we promote joint research and social implementation from an international perspective to better understand the interactions between people, robots, and avatars. Collaboration with regions that have different cultural and institutional backgrounds is crucial for verifying the versatility and adaptability of avatar technology, as demonstrated by our joint research with the UAE and Dubai.
The Global Open Lab accelerates these international initiatives.
What does the GOL Strategy Office do?
The GOL Strategy Office focuses on four pillars:
- Promote international joint research: Foster interdisciplinary research that contributes to an avatar coexistence society by collaborating with academic institutions and researchers.
- Establishment and Operation of International Open Labs: Develop real-world evidence points in different countries and regions, providing a research infrastructure to solve common issues.
- International Corporate Collaboration: Collaborate with domestic and international companies to develop projects focused on the commercialization and social implementation of research outcomes.
- Information Dissemination and Symposium Organization: Share research outcomes and insights with the global community to promote international discussion and networking.
GOL is expected to play a core strategic role in the full-scale international expansion of an avatar coexistence society in the future.
What are GOL's achievements?
The activities we are currently working on are as follows:
- An international joint research project aimed at realizing an avatar coexistence society in line with "Moon Shot Goal 1."
- Formulation and implementation of an international strategy.
- Providing a forum for international discussion by holding an international symposium through a corporate consortium.
- Demonstration experiment of an avatar coexistence society at the EXPO 2025 Signature Pavilion, "Future of Life."
We will also engage in the following activities going forward:
- Promote international collaborative research:
Build a common foundation with countries that have different cultural and social backgrounds, taking into account differences in technology, systems, and social acceptability. - International Expansion of Proof-of-Concept Experiments and Social Implementation:
Conduct proof-of-concept experiments not only in Japan, but also overseas, to verify the effectiveness and adaptability of avatar technology. - Innovation Creation Through Collaboration with Businesses and Government:
Work with international companies and local governments to translate research outcomes into products and services for societal implementation.