At the WIRED CREATIVE HACK AWARD 2025, the work of Fushi Sano (2nd-year Master's student, Graduate School of Media and Governance), a member of Associate Professor Shinya Fujii's laboratory in the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, won the "SONY Award."
The WIRED CREATIVE HACK AWARD was launched in 2013 with the sponsorship of Sony Group and Wacom. It aims to send "next-generation talent"—those who maintain an awareness of issues in the current Japanese creative scene while never ceasing to believe in the potential of creativity—to the next stage. This year marks its 13th edition. Under the theme "Hack the Stereotypes!", the award poses the simple yet profound question: "What did you hack, why, and how?"
On December 8, 2025, 15 groups of finalists who passed the first and second rounds of screening out of a total of 230 entries gave their final presentations, and Mr. Sano's work won the "SONY Award."
Award-winning Work
【SONY Award】
Moving Auricle Device -direct model-
Fushi Sano
Comment from Fushi Sano
I am deeply honored to receive such a wonderful award as the SONY Award at the WIRED CREATIVE HACK AWARD 2025. The winning work, "Moving Auricle Device -direct model-," is a device that uses artificial muscles made of shape-memory alloys to change the shape of the human "auricle" (the outer part of the ear), which normally does not move.
Since my undergraduate years, I have been interested in and creating works focused on the passive and physiological act of "hearing" itself, which precedes the active act of "listening" to sounds. I am proud that my approach of updating the body side—the receiver—rather than the sound source resonated with others, and I am especially proud to be recognized with the SONY Award.
In a future where "hearing" becomes editable, what kind of music and acoustics will we enjoy, and in what kind of environment will we live? I hope this work serves as a catalyst for imagining such a "new relationship between sound and people." Encouraged by this award, I will continue to explore unknown sensations. Finally, I would like to express my deep gratitude to the judges, as well as to the professors and friends who support my research activities on a daily basis.