Media Design Research Center

Director: Masahiko Inakage (Professor, Graduate School of Media Design (KMD))

Campus: Hiyoshi

With the establishment of the Graduate School of Media Design (KMD), this center will be utilized as a research framework to promote joint research on media design with external institutions. Its establishment is an urgent matter to secure the following two research structures:

System Development

In FY2009, we will conduct technology development, upgrades, and verification to enable content collaboration and networking in larger-scale environments. In particular, as part of technology development from the perspective of recording user experiences, we will upgrade and verify the LIFE data linkage system for operation in a larger-scale environment. Furthermore, as a prerequisite for enabling large-scale system development, we will improve the development environment so that users can develop systems more easily.

Content Creation

In FY2009, we will continue to prototype ubiquitous content with the xtel platform, as we have done in previous years, and present our work at domestic and international conferences and festivals to enhance the international movement in this field, including xtel. Furthermore, this fiscal year, we aim to design an integrated human life where multiple ubiquitous contents exist in daily life. We will exhibit the ubiquitous content that has received domestic and international acclaim in the Ubiquitous Content Tours 2009, which will be the culmination of our final year's efforts. By allowing many people to actually experience a future life where multiple contents exist, we will verify the effectiveness of the xtel platform in daily life.

Design Theory Formulation

In FY2009, we will compile and publish a theory for practicing phenomenological design theory based on the ubiquitous content created so far and materials from their creation process. As an effort to compile and disseminate these design theories, we will launch a website to publish case studies and practical theories based on examples of various ubiquitous content creations. Furthermore, we will aim to popularize the theory with a view to publishing a book based on the website's articles.

System Development

To support the production of ubiquitous content, we have built the following development environments to date.

Until now, these environments have supported the production of various individual contents and applications. In FY2008, to expand this platform to social content and applications, we upgraded the system for large-scale operation, developed and verified small modules, and improved the development environment. As a prerequisite for social content development, we also developed a data linkage system called LIFE, which serves as a foundation for multiple contents to collaborate across multiple networks, and conducted development and verification in a small-scale environment.

Content Creation

We have prototyped numerous ubiquitous contents closely related to daily life from the perspectives of clothing, food, housing, and entertainment, and have presented them at international conferences and art festivals both in Japan and abroad. In FY2008, we proceeded with content creation while actually using xtel, an integrated development platform for ubiquitous content developed mainly by the system research group, and examined the practical usefulness of xtel.

Design Theory Formulation

In FY2008, many works and presentations that practiced phenomenological design theory were accepted at international conferences. Research also progressed on context search theory and technology, which is the technical core of the design theory, by merging it with Bayesian network theory and activity theory, leading to the completion of an applied prototype.