Special Forum for IROS2024

Prof. Sven Behnke
Male, Germany,
Professor, University of Bonn

Prof. Norihiro Hagita
Male, Japan,
Program Director, JST Moonshot Goal 1 Program, 
Director, ATR Norihiro Hagita Laboratory and 
Professor, Osaka University of Arts

Norihiro Hagita received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Keio University, Japan in 1976, 1978, and 1986. From 1978 to 2001, he was with the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT). He joined the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR) and established the ATR Media Information Science Laboratories in 2001 and the ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories in 2002, and has been serving as the Director, ATR Fellow, ATR Norihiro Hagita Laboratory, respectively. He is also a chair and professor at Art Science departments in Osaka University of Arts. From 2014 to 2022, he served as the research supervisor in the JST CREST research programs on intelligent information processing systems creating co-experience knowledge and wisdom with human-machine harmonious collaboration. He was a member of Science Council of Japan in 2017-2022. Since 2020, he has been serving as the program director in the JST moonshot goal 1 program on realization of a society in which human beings can be free from limitations of body, brain, space, and time by 2050.

Prof. Hiroshi Ishiguro
Male, Japan,
Professor, Osaka University and
Project Manager, JST Moonshot Goal 1 Program

Hiroshi Ishiguro received a Ph. D. from Osaka University, Japan in 1991. He is currently Professor of Department of Systems Innovation at Osaka University, Visiting Director of Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratories at the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute (ATR), Project Manager of　MOONSHOT R&D Project, Thematic Project Producer of EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, and CEO of AVITA, Inc. His research interests are interactive robotics, avatar, and android science. Geminoid is an avatar android that is a copy of himself. In 2011, he won the Osaka Cultural Award. In 2015, he received the Prize for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. He was also awarded the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Award in Dubai in 2015. Tateisi Award in 2020, and honorary doctorate of Aarhus university in 2021.

Prof. Kouta Minamizawa,
Male, Japan,
Professor, Keio University and
Project Manager, JST Moonshot Goal 1 Program

After receiving his PhD. in Information Science and Technology from the University of Tokyo in 2010, he joined Keio University Graduate School of Media Design (KMD) and directs KMD Embodied Media Project, where conducts research and social deployment of embodied media that transfer, enhance, and create human experiences with digital technologies. His areas of research expertise include Haptics, Embodied Interaction, Virtual Reality and Telexistence. He also promotes activities on Haptic design, and Superhuman sports, also serves as a project manager of the Cybernetic being project under the Moonshot R&D program.

Dr. Ryota Kanai,
Male, Japan,
CEO, Araya Inc. and
Project Manager, JST Moonshot Goal 1 Program

Prof. Fumihito Arai,
Male, Japan,
Professor, The University of Tokyo and
Project Manager, JST Moonshot Goal 1 Program

Fumihito Arai is a full Professor of the Department of Bioengineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, at The University of Tokyo, Japan. He is mainly engaging in the research fields of bio-robotics, micro- and nano-robotics, micro- and nano-mechatoronics, MEMS, and Biomedical applications. He received a Doctor of Engineering degree from Nagoya University in 1993. Since 1998, he has been an Associate Professor at Nagoya University. Since 2005, he has been a Professor at Tohoku University. Since 2010, he has been a Professor at Nagoya University. Since 2020, he has been a Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Tokyo. He was the Vice President of Technical Activities, at IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) (2014–2015) and (2016–2017). He is currently an Adcom member of RAS since 2022. He has been the Program Manager of the Moonshot R&D program on In-body Cybernetic Avatars since 2022.

Prof. Yoko Yamanishi,
Female, Japan,
Professor, Kyushu University and
Project Manager, JST Moonshot Goal 1 Program

Yoko Yamanishi received the Ph.D. degree from Imperial College London in 2003. She became Assistant Professor of Dept. of Bioengineering and Robotics, Tohoku University in 2006-2009, mainly have engaged in the researches about Bio-medical Science and Engineering. She became Associate Professor of Dept. of Micro-Nano Systems Engineering of Nagoya University and also a member of PRESTO JST during 2010-2012, and have started her work of a needle-free bubble injector. She was Associate Professor of Dept. of Mechanical Engineering of Shibaura Institute of Technology during 2013-2015 and became a Professor in Kyushu University on 2016 (Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Kyushu University) and is leading biomedical fluid engineering laboratory. She is also currently the Program Manager of moonshot Goal1(Creating A Society Whose Citizen’s Health is Monitored by Remote Control of Intracellular Cybernetic Avatars). Intracellular Cybernetic Avatar (hereinafter referred to as intracellular CA) technology will allow individuals to improve the state of their bodies by external remote control of intracellular CA constructed of nanometer-scale artificial and natural biomolecules. Remote control of the avatars is expected to keep people’s bodies in good condition at a cellular level using micrometer-scale cell-cell interactions.

Ms. Kumi Fujisawa,
Female, Japan,
Chairperson, Institute for International Soio-Economic Studies

Kumi Fujisawa is the Chairperson of the Institute for International Socio-Economic Studies (IISE), the independent think tank of NEC. She serves on the boards of various companies and associations, including The Shizuoka Financial Group, CellSource Co., Ltd., Toyota Motor Corporation, and the Japan Dealers Association. Formerly one of Japan's youngest female entrepreneurs in the financial sector, her company was acquired by Standard & Poor's. She then founded SophiaBank, expanding her influence across multiple sectors. She is also a director and advisor to several companies, governors, mayors, and CEOs. With over twenty books published, she leads numerous projects across public, private, business, sports, and cultural domains, focusing on socio incubation and transforming knowledge paradigms.

Prof. Kyoko Yoshinaga,
Female, Japan,
Project Associate Professor, Institute for Technology Law & Policy, Keio University

Kyoko Yoshinaga is a Project Associate Professor, Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University and a Non-Resident Fellow at Georgetown Law’s Institute for Technology Law and Policy. She was a researcher at Mitsubishi Research Institute assisting Japanese government ministries in policy and rulemaking in the areas of Information Communication Technologies and cybersecurity for over 15 years, and for the last few years, she was in charge of compliance and risk management in the AI development division. She is the first Japanese member to become a Visiting Fellow at Yale Law’s Information Society Project (2010-11) and a Non-Resident Fellow at Georgetown Law’s Institute for Technology Law & Policy (2020-). Kyoko has been an Expert at GPAI (Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence) since 2023. In Japan, she has contributed to making “AI Guidelines for Business 1.0” as a member of METI’s Expert Committee. She also serves as an external expert of the AI Ethics Committee in several AI development companies. From October 2023, she has been engaging in Japan’s national project “Moonshot R＆D Program- Goal 1” (PD: Prof. Norihiro Hagita) promoted by Japan Science and Technology Agency, especially focusing on the ethical, legal and social issues of cybernetic avatars in a project led by Prof. Fumio Shimpo.