Summary of Research Project Results under JSPS FY2003
"Research for the Future Program"


1.Research Institution Kyoto University
2.Research Area Physical and Engineering Sciences
3.Research Field Intuitive Human Interface
4.Term of Project FY 1999 - FY 2003
5.Project Number 99P01401
6.Title of Project Research on Integrative Use of Internal Knowledge and External Information in Human Cognition

7.Project Leader
Name Institution,Department Title of Position
Toshio,Inui Kyoto University,Graduate School of Informatics Professor

8.Core Members

Names Institution,Department Title of Position
Giyoo,Hatano The University of the Air,Faculty of Liveral Arts Professor
Cook,Norman D. Kansai University,Faculty of Informatics Professor

9.Summary of Research Results

First, we investigated interactions of visual and motor control systems in reaching and grasping, which are the basic human actions in human interface. The major research findings are
1. The adaptability of object grasping in various contexts is enabled by the following parallel mechanisms in the brain: extraction of semantic knowledge from an object's global shape, obtaining an object's orientation from its global shape, and determination of hand shape from its local shape,
2. Visual information of external world affects movement characteristics of grasping only for the first 300 ms after the onset of reaching movement,
3. Reaching, hand opening, and wrist rotation are controlled independently, and their latencies are different, and
4. Unlike imitations of arm movements, imitations of finger movements are related to the comprehension of between-object spatial relations. We are now on the way to build a model to account for these findings under the framework of predictive control.
Second, we investigated characteristics of cognition of spatial locations through pointing actions. We have found that
1. Location representations are transformed by perception of direction and magnitude of ones own body rotation through somatosensory cues. We proposed a model producing quantitative predictions of cognitive characteristics in various conditions.
2. Location representations are transformed by perception of direction and magnitude of ones own body rotation through somatosensory cues. We proposed a model producing quantitative predictions of cognitive characteristics in various conditions.
Third, based on music theory, we proposed an algorithm to extract emotions from intonations, which is important in human-to-human interaction.
Finally, regarding the interactions of internal and external information, we devised an experimental paradigm called multiple object permanence tracking. We have found that we understand the external world with a minimum amount of internal model in our memory, with visual attention mechanism extracting necessary external information just in the right time and from the right place.

10.Key Words
(1)Embodiment   (2)Action Understanding   (3)Reaching and Grasping
(4)Spatial Cognition   (5)Visual Working Memory   (6)Visual Attention
(7)Intonations   (8)Sequential Processing   (9)Mental Models

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