Biography
Dr Hidenobu Sumioka is attached to the Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratory in ATR, Japan, where he is the group leader of Presence Media Research Group. This group makes use of presence media technologies such as Hugvie, a cushion with a minimalistic human-shape design that transmits human presence, that integrate tactile information and remote conversation in order to improve interaction and reduce stress. With the collaboration of the industry consortium, this technology aims to create new business areas such as remote counseling.
Dr Sumioka is an invited Associate Professor in the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, Department of Systems Innovation at the Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University. He is also an Invited Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Intercultural Studies at Kobe University. He has also been a senior assistant at Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Department of Informatics, University of Zurich, Switzerland, and a fellow of Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).