"Next-generation communication" seen in collaboration with NTT DoCoMo

Have you ever thought about communicating with people?

Talking about your favorite movies will bring you closer and closer,
I get nervous because I don't know how to treat people I meet for the first time,
I wanted to apologize, but I ended up getting angry...I think everyone has their own triggers.

We usually convert what we feel into “words” and “facial expressions” to convey to others.
If the emotions emitted by the mind and body are transmitted to the other person in the same form,
How will human communication change?

In November 2019, NOMURA Co., Ltd. started collaborating with NTT DoCoMo to realize "next-generation new communication". In this project, in addition to conventional communication such as language and facial expressions, we will visualize information on the "inner side of people" such as emotions and physical data through IoT and spatial presentation. Our goal is to realize “next-generation communication,” in which people can share their inner emotions with others and understand each other more deeply.

The first prototype "HUMANIC DOME" was exhibited at ICC (NTT InterCommunication Center) from November 12th to December 15th. We will introduce the background of the production and the future prospects, along with a dialogue between Mr. Morinaga, Mr. Tokubo, NOMLAB Takano, and Mochizuki.

1. Collaborative theme: Possibilities of next-generation communication

In the spring of 2018, the two companies began examining the possibility of next-generation communication. We held regular brainstorming sessions and considered what next-generation tools should be for communication with people, including the actual experiences of each member.

Morinaga: The discussion started with saying, "Although communication has become more convenient due to changes in communication methods, people have the negative impression that they are being monitored because they can connect with anyone anywhere." .

Mochizuki
Everyone has a mobile phone, so it's normal to pick up when someone contacts you. Sometimes you let me do it.

Morinaga
It's true that being able to connect anytime, anywhere is now possible, but I feel that everyone is tired of communicating.

Tokubo
You can think that you can't escape from communication, such as you have to return a reply quickly because you have it.

Takano: So, looking back at the current communication issues, I feel like I was thinking in the direction of going back to basics, like, "Connecting with people was a happier thing, wasn't it?"

2. Prototype No. 1 "HUMANIC DOME"

“HUMANIC DOME” removes “facial expressions” and “words” that serve as media for expressing human emotions, and asks the question of how communication should be by visualizing the emotions that are at the root of human beings.
When you sit on a chair inside the dome, your vital data will be extracted, and the sky will change according to your feelings. By comparing the experiencer's data with the data of past experiencers, it is possible to understand the harmony and separation of each other's emotions just by looking at the sky.

Instead of representing the data extracted from people with numbers and letters, I thought it would be possible to see it more abstractly and intuitively.
While communication technology is developing and aiming for a convenient society, all kinds of data are accumulated and it is called a "surveillance society".
While hearing the word, I went back to the origin of communication and pursued a more natural form.

2-1. Production that returns to the origin of communication

Mochizuki
During the discussion, when I was arranging various photos about happy spaces, I noticed a photo of camping in a tent outdoors. I talked about the feeling of being able to freely warp somewhere, and that it's a comfortable space for people.

Morinaga
I feel that the way you look at the scenery of the sky outside is connected to this work. I feel like the word "nature" has always been a keyword.

Takano
It was a story about how to lower the guard of the heart, whether it is a bonfire or a starry sky.

Mochizuki
So I talked with Mr. Morinaga, "When people are lost in thought, worried, or happy, the strange act of looking up at the sky leaves an impression on me." That's where the word "empty" came from.

Morinaga
Speaking of roots, I talked about "what did you get information from when there was no information?" In the past, when people looked up at the sky, they judged what the weather would be like. also came out.

2-2. Connecting hearts and minds with invisible technology

In this work, we have prepared five sensing tools to judge the person's peace of mind and tension. An environmental sensor that measures exhaled air from the carbon dioxide concentration, a respiration sensor that measures the movement of the back, a cushion sensor that measures the movement of the body up to the legs, and a pulse sensor that measures the heart rate. The transition of this data changes the sky in the video.

Morinaga
Originally, I think that this chair was also intended to express the fact that information is being sucked up unconsciously and spread throughout the world. But now I haven't put out any of those elements. In fact, I think there is a possibility that this dome can also have elements that cast such a dark side.

Mochizuki
By creating a picture of the weather, I was able to abstract, in a good way, the image of surveillance, where sensoring is being done arbitrarily.

Morinaga
It gave me a rather soft impression of looking back at myself and looking blankly at the sky to see how it interferes.

Takano
I think it would be stressful to add value to the way people look inside, or to evaluate them. If you show me something like, "You're nervous right now," I feel like I'm going to say something like that. That's why I thought it would be good to put aside one cushion and express the weather and the starry sky.

Morinaga
Today's communication, if asked if it's free will, there are times when it's not. Because I feel that evolution and returning to the origin are being done at the same time, and I feel that I am going beyond the recovery of communication.

Takano
Using Docomo's technology to upload sensing data to the cloud is an idea that would never come up with our technology alone. At that time, we will add more sensors and production elements, and at the present stage we will be able to judge whether a person “matches” or “does not match” on two axes, but if it becomes a little more complicated, we will be happy to meet people who are really on the same wavelength. I think Satoka will change. I think there is joy in being able to enter and experience things together, and in connecting with people who are too far away to meet you.

Morinaga
When you try to connect with people, it's a community, or a hobby, and the people you want to connect with are people with whom you can share something. This is not like that, but you can connect with heart to heart snuggle. It's not something you know and connect with this person, but you don't know what kind of person you are, but you can connect with your heart.

3. Future Goals

In this prototype, I prepared a single place, and thought that it would be possible to face one's inner self and seek harmony with others. However, in the future, when we think about how human communication should be, we are considering how to develop and develop it.

Morinaga
As a space, I feel like it won't be a dome in the future, but the essence is the heart, and I'm sympathetic to people. I want to

Mochizuki
If you have a smartphone, there is an atmosphere where you have to pick up a call anywhere, and even in a world where you feel that kind of annoyance, it is interesting that a place is purposely prepared for the purpose of connecting with people.

Morinaga
You don't have a lot of healing space, do you? But I think it would be nice if there were places like this in the town where people would feel relaxed when they came in and go home. Feels like going to a massage.

Mochizuki
If you dare to leave a space and enter this space, you can create a purpose, such as reexamining yourself or having new communication with someone. Conversely, if we were to remove all the space, it would be fine to develop it so that it could be experienced through content such as AR/MR.

Morinaga
This may be especially the case with MR, but it would be romantic to adjust the data so that it appears in the actual sky. I wonder if there are various directions where the dome goes. Finally, I think it would be nice to have various ways of assimilating with the room as a communication tool, and assimilating with the space. The dome is a transit point for that purpose. I think it's good to have communication tied to places, and now we have mobiles that allow us to communicate anywhere (we can't escape from communication all the time), and it's good to have a place where we can connect when we want to. It's like being able to connect with people without a smartphone.

Takano
It feels like you can create an out-of-range area with your own will.

Morinaga
In that case, I wonder if I can answer the current information overload where I don't know who will contact me.

Takano
When I was asked about this project, "What kind of development are you thinking about going forward?" If there is something that is waiting for people's unhappiness beyond this technology, such as being on the market, I would like to take a moment to look back and think about communication in the direction of technology that makes people happy. I thought I might be able to do it." At that time, I felt like I could see the direction I was aiming for.

designing human communication

Even if you think about the correct way of communication, it is difficult to define psychological things, such as how people receive things differently. However, I thought that there was something interesting about "thinking about and designing things that are invisible."
Currently, we define emotional variation from exhalation, seat movement, and heart rate, but that alone is not enough, and we would like to improve accuracy by adding and updating tools in the future. increase. What I want to emphasize at that time is to be conscious of how to deal with natural communication that does not interfere with discomfort by wearing equipment on the arm or head and directly viewing the numerical data extracted from it. .
If we can go back to the basics and realize the natural way people interact with each other, I think we can enrich communication in various scenes of daily life. I would like to continue to push forward with such a well-being future in mind.

Photo: Hideki Sato/Illustration: Yuka Iyama