Jun Rekimoto

I think that technology ultimately is something that becomes one with human beings themselves and expands their lives. Conventional HCI (human computer interaction) has been an area of research that focuses on the interface between human beings and machines. I focus on a research area dedicated to fitting human beings and technology together, called Human Computer Integration. In particular, I am advocating the view that technology can expand the capacities of human begins, or "Human Augmentation." The scope of 'augmentation' can be thought of not only in terms of intellectual capacities, but also in terms of the amplification of sensory capacities, cognitive capacities, physical capacities, the sense of presence, and physical systems (health). From this standpoint, I am researching a technology called JackIn that allows one person to "piggyback" on the senses of another, enabling out-of-body viewpoints that expand human capabilities. Integrating human to human, and human to computer, across networks to augment capabilities in complementary ways is a vision of the future that I call the Internet of Abilities (IoA). >> Rekimoto Lab (Tokyo Univ.)