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Realization of Avatar-Symbiotic Society

December 13th, 2022.   Half Day Workshop (14.00-18.00)

Description and Objectives

This workshop aims at presenting the ongoing progress of the challenges on the Moonshot
(MS) human-centered long-term R&D program. It will discuss by focusing on the
goal 1 of the MS dealing with the future realization of an avatar-symbiotic society and
cybernetic avatars (CAs). In the workshop, semi-autonomous tele-operated robots and
CG agents are called CAs. The participants will discuss with speakers who are researchers
related to CAs' technology about the avatar-symbiotic society which enables to
freely and actively participate in society for every person.
In the workshop, we discuss the suitable way of an avatar symbiotic society and the
direction of future R&D. CAs are expected to offer humans a myriad of virtual and
physical services to free them from limitations of body, brain, space, and time in order
to perform active social roles without constraint. The goal for the field of CAs' study is
to develop and implement avatar-symbiosis within a harmonious future society. The
technologies and services will enable a diverse range of social activities via remote
operation where users interacting or teleoperating CAs in the cyber and the physical
worlds seamlessly. These services are expected to augment capabilities and sometimes
compensate for disabilities of people from various social and value backgrounds, in
particular those related to the physical, cognitive, perceptual even gender domains. The
discussion in the workshop will help us to adapt and adjust to a new human-centered
‘Cybernetic Avatar Life.’

List of Topics

  • Cybernetic Avatars (CAs) technologies
  • Tele-operated robots and CG agents as avatars
  • Biological investigation for avatar users
  • Standardization of CAs and its platform
  • Learning methods to model context, behaviors and intentions, emotions and mental states
  • Continuum between Virtual and Physical Locations
  • Haptics and Interaction between physical and virtual objects
  • Planning life and Handling Contingencies with CAs
  • Multiagent systems research for CAs
  • Conversational AI
  • Transparency and Trust in the CAs world
  • Metaverse vs CAs
  • Ethics issues

Time Schedule

14:00-14:05Opening Remark (Dr. Takahiro Miyashita (ATR) and Prof. Takashi Yoshimi (Shibaura-IT))

Session 1: R&D projects for avatar-symbiotic society in the world

14:05-14:25Prof. Hiroshi Ishiguro (Osaka Univ.)Avatar and the future society
14:25-14:40Prof. Alberto Sanfeliu (UPC)The use of Intention for understanding Human-Robot Interaction and Collaboration
14:40-14:55Prof. Christian Becker-Asano (HdM)Android Science arriving from Japan in Germany: The android ANDREA of Stuttgart Media University
14:55-15:00(Short break)

Session 2: Technologies for cybernetic avatars

15:00-15:20Dr. Abdelghani Chibani (UPEC)Endowing cybernetic avatars with context awareness and events anticipation
15:20-15:35Prof. Takayuki Nagai (Osaka Univ.)Cybernetic avatars that can physically support our daily lives
15:35-15:50Dr. Ken Fukuda (AIST)Human Daily Activity as Event-centric Knowledge Graphs: Toward Explainable AI Technology for Older Adults' Support
15:50-16:15(Coffee break)

Session 3: Social implementation of avatar symbiotic society

16:15-16:30Dr. Shinpei Kawaoka (Tohoku Univ.)Multi-omics analysis to understand how the use of robots and avatars affects humans
16:30-16:45Dr. Jun Baba (CyberAgent Inc.)Real Customer Reactions to the Avatar Service Robot Observed in 10 Field Studies
16:45-17:00Ms. Yukiko Horikawa (ATR)Activating social participation on cybernetic avatar platform
17:00-17:15Dr. Yuichiro Yoshikawa (Osaka Univ.)Development of cybernetic avatars for simultaneous dialogue service at multiple points
17:15-17:20(Short break)

Session 4: International standardization of avatar symbiotic society

17:20-17:40Prof. Jaeho Lee (Seoul National Univ.)Agent-Based Model for Social Robots
17:40-17:55Prof. Takashi Yoshimi (Shibaura-IT) and Mr. Koji Kamei (JARA)Standardization for Service Robots and Cybernetic Avatars
17:55-18:00Closing Remark (Dr. Takahiro Miyashita and Prof. Takashi Yoshimi)

List of Invited Speakers

  1. Prof. Hiroshi Ishiguro
    Professor, Osaka University, Japan
    Avatar and the future society
  2. Prof. Alberto Sanfeliu
    Professor, CSIC-UPC Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Spain
    The use of Intention for understanding Human-Robot Interaction and Collaboration
  3. Prof. Christian Becker-Asano
    Professor, Media University in Stuttgart, Germany
    Android Science arriving from Japan in Germany: The android ANDREA of Stuttgart Media University
  4. Prof. Jaeho Lee
    Professor, Department of Artificial Intelligence, Seoul University, Korea
    Agent-Based Model for Social Robots
  5. Prof. Takayuki Nagai
    Professor, Osaka University, Japan
  6. Prof. Takashi Yoshimi
    Professor, OMG & Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan
    Standardization for Service Robots and Cybernetic Avatars
  7. Dr. Abdelghani Chibani
    Associate Professor, University Paris Est Créteil - UPEC, France
    Endowing cybernetic avatars with context awareness and events anticipation
  8. Dr. Shinpei Kawaoka
    Associate Professor, Tohoku University, Japan
    Multi-omics analysis to understand how the use of robots and avatars affects humans
  9. Dr. Yuichiro Yoshikawa
    Associate Professor, Osaka University, Japan
    Development of cybernetic avatars for simultaneous dialogue service at multiple points
  10. Dr. Ken Fukuda
    Team Leader, Artificial Intelligence Research Center, AIST, Japan
    Human Daily Activity as Event-centric Knowledge Graphs: Toward Explainable AI Technology for Older Adults' Support
  11. Dr. Jun Baba
    Chief research scientist, CyberAgent, Inc., Japan
    Real Customer Reactions to the Avatar Service Robot Observed in 10 Field Studies
  12. Ms. Yukiko Horikawa
    Research Engineer, ATR, Japan
    Activating social participation on cybernetic avatar platform

Target Audiences

The target audiences for the workshop are researchers, students, entrepreneurs, and
business start-up managers related to the avatar-symbiotic society. Research fields related
to the avatar-symbiotic society include Metaverse, avatars, teleoperated robots,
semi-autonomous robots, and research on ethical, legal, social, and economic issues in
the avatar-symbiotic society.
The workshop will consist of the following four sessions:

  1. R&D projects for avatar-symbiotic society in the world,
  2. technologies for cybernetic avatars,
  3. social implementation of avatar symbiotic society, and
  4. international standardization of avatar symbiotic society.

Additional Information

In Japan, the Moonshot Research and Development Program was launched in January
2020 by the cabinet office to promote high-risk, high-impact R&D that can achieve
ambitious goals and solve such issues facing future society as the super-aging population
[1]. Moonshot #1 goal is “Realization of a society in which human beings can be
free from limitations of body, brain, space, and time by 2050” [2]. This proposed workshop
is related to Avatar-Symbiotic Society Project to achieve the Moonshot #1 goal,
which is managed by Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University [3].
The purpose of this workshop is to clarify the relevant issues related for Avatar Symbiotic
Society and also to find out social issues by doing the deep discussion for tackle
the myriads of unknown problems. All accumulated information and active discussion
at the site will surely lead to the goal of this project.

References

  1. The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), “Moonshot Research and Development Program,” https://www.jst.go.jp/moonshot/en/about.html, last accessed 2022/09/08.
  2. The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), “Moonshot Goal 1,”
    https://www.jst.go.jp/moonshot/en/program/goal1/index.html, last accessed 2022/09/08.
  3. Avatar-Symbiotic Society, “The Realization of an Avatar-Symbiotic Society where Everyone can Perform Active Roles without Constraint,” https://avatar-ss.org/en/index.html, last accessed 2022/09/08.

Workshop Organizers

Dr. Takahiro Miyashita,
Director,
Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR),
2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto, 619-0237, JAPAN
miyasita@atr.jp

Prof. Takashi Yoshimi,
Shibaura Institute of Technology (SIT),
3-7-5, Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-8548, JAPAN
yoshimit@sic.shibaura-it.ac.jp