Research Activities: For Human

How can we improve well-being where we can be physically, mentally, and socially healthy? According to the World Happiness Report, which compares subjective well-being by country, there are six important indicators for improving well-being including GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, material and psychological support received from others, and freedom of life choices. We are pursuing our basic research activities in the physical, mental, and social aspects of well-being with the aim of developing IT services that help extend healthy life expectancies, accelerate material and psychological support, and expand human potential.

Research Activities

Physical Well-being

To maintain a state where one is not ill and has no functional disabilities, it is important to have technologies for appropriately visualizing a person's state. We will contribute to the improvement of physical well-being by conducting research to clarify a person's state based on medical imaging and biometric data gathered by wearable devices so that such visualization technologies can be used for the early detection and treatment of illnesses through joint efforts with medical institutions and for improving lifestyles by nudging individuals.

Mental Well-being

One's mental state impacts various factors such as bodily health and work capabilities. Based on self-determination theory, we are working on research to improve engagement by improving an individual's motivation from internal factors and research to contribute to improved user satisfaction by exploring factors that impact people's aromatic preferences, with the overall aim to contribute to improved mental well-being.

Social Well-being

Support from society and one's organization are also important to maintain and improve one's physical and mental health. To build a smart hospital that helps improve the well-being of the community around the hospital, we are identifying issues through ethnography(*1) and creating a vision by using future insights(*2). In addition, with an eye towards Japanese society and organizations that are moving towards a highly diverse future, we will pursue research to propose solutions for improving the well-being of employees based on an organization's culture and environmental data.

(*1) "ethnography"
A method for observing and recording the behavior of a group or society based on field work. It is said to be effective towards identifying potential needs and issues.

(*2) "future insights"
A method for imagining multiple discrete futures by combining signs of future change and potential problems that may arise in the future.