The Symposium on Moonshot Goals “Mental States in Extreme Situations” Was Held
The Symposium on Moonshot Goals, “Mental States in Extreme Situations,” was held online on May 22nd, 2021. Approximately 350 viewers participated in the event in total. This symposium was held as part of the “Moonshot R&D Program” led by the Cabinet Office.
In this project, the government sets ambitious, captivating moonshot goals for social issues like super-aging societies or global warming, and promotes challenging research and development. In order to select new moonshot targets, the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) publicly invited teams to consider the targets. Twenty-one research teams were selected and are now conducting research and studies to materialize their ideas.
The research team, headed by Seiji Kumagai (Associate Professor, Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University) and led by Noriyuki Miura (Professor, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University), Hiromitsu Awano (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University), and Yoshiyuki Ueda (Senior Lecturer, Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University), is working on the development of the Psyche Navigation System (PNS), which uses sensors and AI technology to estimate a person’s mental and physical state and guide them to maintain an ideal mental state so that they can fully demonstrate their performance. Researchers in the fields of Buddhism, psychology, and information technology are working together to find ways to create peace and vitality by combining traditional wisdom about the mind with the latest technology.
In this symposium, three presenters, Dai Tamesue, (former athlete, CEO of Deportare Partners), Takao Doi (astronaut, Program-Specific Professor, Graduate Schools of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability, Kyoto University), and Hiroshi Amano (Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics, Professor, Institute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability, Nagoya University), were invited to speak about their experience in dealing with emotions in extreme states.
In his opening remarks, Nobuhiro Tokito (Executive Vice-President of Kyoto University) mentioned that Prof. Kumagai’s research team symbolizes the creative research by Kyoto University, and expressed his hope that the knowledge cultivated by our university will be returned to society and that we at Kyoto University will make even greater strides as a world-class integrated academic institution.
In her closing remarks, Sachiko Kuno (Executive Vice-President of Kyoto University) encouraged us with the words “I hope that this project, which is positioned as a 30-year project to save humanity and the planet, will help Japan become a frontier in the world.”
*Captions
Overview of Psyche Navigation System
Presentation by Mr. Tamesue
Presentation by Prof. Doi
Prof. Amano giving a lecture
Speakers of the general discussion
2021/06/30