KANSEI Robotics to Open a New Epoch of Human-Machine Relationship - Machine with a Heart -

Information processing technology can be classified into three historical phases. The first phase is the physical information processing to treat physical data from the real world. This technology is often called "signal processing". As the target is mainly physical signal such as sound, brightness and force, the base of the processing is the law of nature. The reality of the system is examined by the physical explanationability of the input-output relations and the causality is important. The second phase is the logical information processing to deal with knowledge and rule. "Artificial intelligence" is included in this phase where symbols and languages are processed according to the rule. The most important is consistency and provability here. We are entering the third phase of information processing that is "KANSEI" information processing to treat human emotion. "KANSEI" is a Japanese word expressing some subjective concept including "sensibility", "feelings", "intuitiveness" and "mood". The term "human factor" has a close relation with KANSEI. However, in the KANSEI information processing, we intend to approach the human emotional world more positively by applying computer technology to the affective information processing and human communication including art, musical performance and entertainment