Tokyo Tech News

3rd SSS Promotion Forum focuses on use of latest technologies

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Published: April 30, 2021

Tokyo Tech and other members of the Super Smart Society (SSS) Promotion Consortium held the 3rd SSS Promotion Forum on March 8, 2021 to introduce the latest technological trends that will contribute to the realization of a super smart society. Insights were shared through various lectures and a panel discussion on "The Evolution of Virtual Space (Digital Twin) and New Lifestyles."

Attended by 346 participants from inside and outside the Institute, talks and discussions during the event focused on the specific application and utilization of digital technology, artificial intelligence technology, and augmented and virtual reality technology that can contribute to Society 5.0.

Lectures from experts in various fields

After a greeting by the coordinator of the consortium, Kei Sakaguchi, director of the Tokyo Tech Academy for Super Smart Society and professor at the School of Engineering, five speakers gave lectures on the utilization of technology in their respective fields of expertise.

Keynote speech: Microsoft Technology for Super Smart Society

Presentation by Sakakibara from Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd.
Presentation by Sakakibara from Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd.

Akira Sakakibara

Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd., President, Microsoft Development Co., Ltd.

Sakakibara's presentation introduced the use of various latest technologies provided by Microsoft such as AI, IoT, digital twin computing, and extended reality (XR) to solve new social issues and realize a super smart society.

Lecture 1: NTT Group's Creation of Urban Communities

Talk by NTT Urban Solutions, Inc.'s Ueno
Talk by NTT Urban Solutions, Inc.'s Ueno

Shinichiro Ueno

Senior Vice President / Digital Innovation Department, NTT Urban Solutions, Inc.

Along with the concepts of the Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN) and Digital Twin Computing (DTC), Ueno introduced the new value to be gained from data replication, fusion, and exchange in solving social issues and supporting new urban development.

Lecture 2: Utilization of Digital Twin in Building Air Conditioning

Omagari kicking off his lecture
Omagari kicking off his lecture

Yasuhito Omagari

Manager, Strategic Planning & Development Office for Southeast Asia, Azbil Corporation

Omagari spoke about Azbil Corporation's efforts in building management in Japan and Southeast Asia, as well as examples of digital twin applications in the building air conditioning industry and their relevance to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Lecture 3: Creating a fascinating future with "digital twin"

Oikawa from FUJITSU LIMITED
Oikawa from FUJITSU LIMITED

Hiromitsu Oikawa

Head of Evangelist Office, FUJITSU LIMITED

Based on actual examples of factory line visualization and simulation, Oikawa introduced how the world is expanding with AR and digital twin technology. He also highlighted the importance of being able to reconstruct a created vision.

Lecture 4: OUR Shurijo Project and the future of digital contents in XR

Kawakami's talk on the Shurijo Project
Kawakami's talk on the Shurijo Project

Rei Kawakami

Associate Professor, School of Computing, Tokyo Tech / Senior Researcher, Denso IT Laboratory

Kawakami spoke about a project that aims to digitally restore the entire Shurijo Castle in Okinawa using image data obtained from individual people. She also introduced the technology that helps digitize the formless and shared her thoughts on the future vision of XR contents.

Panel Discussion

Following the lectures, a panel discussion moderated by Associate Professor Takeshi Hatanaka from Tokyo Tech's School of Engineering was held to discuss the future use of technology in various specialized fields. Joining the above five speakers as panelists were Professor Kei Sakaguchi and Professor Eisuke Fukuda of the consortium.

The panelists discussed a wide range of topics, including modeling accuracy and image roughness in digital twin computing, specific issues in applying the technology to buildings and factories in the field, democratization and ethics of data, and industrial applications of XR technology.

Panelists (clockwise from top left): Sakakibara, Ueno, Omagari, Oikawa, Kawakami, Hatanaka, Fukuda, Sakaguchi, Iwatsuki, Mizumoto

Panelists (clockwise from top left): Sakakibara, Ueno, Omagari, Oikawa, Kawakami, Hatanaka, Fukuda, Sakaguchi, Iwatsuki, Mizumoto

After the panel discussion, Professor Nobuyuki Iwatsuki, who chairs the Consortium Steering Committee, gave a briefing on the consortium's progress. His message was followed by a final greeting from Tokyo Tech's Executive Vice President for Education Tetsuya Mizumoto, which brought the forum to a close.

Feedback was once again positive, with participants commenting that they gained a lot of insights from participating in this forum, and look forward to future developments.

Super Smart Society Promotion Consortium

Tokyo Tech founded the Super Smart Society Promotion Consortium in October 2018 to advance the realization of Society 5.0 through a next-generation education and research platform that integrates the development of human resources with joint research and development involving participating institutions. Currently, the consortium consists of 38 members including corporations, research institutions, local government bodies, and individuals.

Contact

Super Smart Society Promotion Consortium Secretariat

Email sss-secretariat@sss.e.titech.ac.jp

Tel +81-3-5734-3625

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