Augmented Senses and Cognition

In recent years, insights from fundamental research on sensory perception including the five senses, have led to the development of technologies such as information interfaces that transmit simulated sensory stimuli. This has advanced the practical application of technologies that “augment human senses and enrich human experience”. However, sensory research remains largely unexplored even in fundamental areas. Approaching it from a single academic discipline is difficult, and grasping its full scope is not straightforward. Against this backdrop, our goal aims to create innovative technologies that imitate and augment our senses through interdisciplinary research, further enhancing and practicalizing technologies that “augment human senses and enrich human experience”. To achieve this, we will pursue an integrated understanding of the biological functions of senses and apply insights from this fundamental research to realize technologies such as devices that enable “human-like” intuitive recognition, imitation, and augmentation of information.