2040 Aging Society Innovation Center

The previous project page ishere.

By 2040, Japan's elderly population is projected to reach approximately 40 million, coupled with a significant decline in the workforce. While this poses a challenge to critical national infrastructures like the social security system, it also presents an opportunity for Japan to lead global efforts in addressing the issues of a super-aged society and setting new international standards for living. This project collaborates with researchers and companies both within and outside the university to tackle various social challenges anticipated in 2040.

From 2021 to 2023, the "Research Project Keio 2040" emphasized the importance of promoting and maintaining behavior changes to extend healthy life expectancy. To facilitate this, the project is developing digital platforms that encourage such changes and are building an ecosystem that integrates technologies, products, services and social impact. Advancing superior sensing technology is especially crucial in digital healthcare. Our focus has shifted from developing metal-based devices to soft-material based devices in our pursuit of novel sensing technologies. Recent breakthroughs include a transparent skin device, made from a new material called 'soft matter'--a flexible, biocompatible material--, which seamlessly integrates with the human body, unnoticed by the wearer.

The project aims to advance these devices from laboratory experiments to real-world applications, incorporating them into the aforementioned platforms and ecosystems. Beyond digital healthcare, enhancing living environments is also key, targeting the management of offices, residences, and urban areas. Through these initiatives, we aim to extend healthy life expectancy and mitigate the workforce decline.

Addressing the workforce reduction also involves employing humanoid and caregiving robots that feature artificial intelligence and can perform life-like, flexible movements, moving beyond traditional semiconductor- and metal-based technologies. This project seeks to integrate these innovations into living environments and social systems, contributing to solving the social challenges of 2040. It emphasizes the integration of technology development with social system design, ensuring societal acceptance through public engagements like citizen forums and exhibitions.

Moreover, the Water Visualization Project will connect food and health sectors by collecting, analyzing, and visualizing data to aid individuals in managing their health and improving dietary habits. This effort not only promotes healthy living but also enhances water resource efficiency and quality management, offering a holistic approach to tackling the social challenges of 2040.

About Project Members, Researchers.pdf

Note: ◎ indicates the project leader