What's HCG

Human Communication Group (HCG), a subsidiary organization of IEICE, contributes development of human-oriented information and communication technology systems in conjunction with other academic societies such as psychology.

Human Communication Group (HCG) is dedicated to progress of academics, technologies and services, to promotion of education, and to creation of enriched communication society through interdisciplinary research survey activities on communications between people and those between human and surrounding environments. 

Greeting from Chair

The widespread outbreak of COVID-19, also known as the new coronavirus, has made the year 2020 an extraordinary one in human history. Currently (in June 2020), new infections are still reported daily. The range of people’s activities is heavily restricted, and their lifestyle has been changed dramatically. One of the technologies that stand out as a crucial player in this situation is communications. Not confined to meetings in the workplace and lectures in universities and senior high schools, even drinking parties among friends and at nightclubs also use remote communication systems that allow many people to share audio and video simultaneously. Such systems have conventionally been used to some extent, but the current outbreak has compelled overnight the implementation of these systems on an unprecedented scale as a kind of enforced social experiment. A far greater number of people than before have begun to use remote systems, with the result that the advantages and shortcomings of the current systems are being revealed. People have recognized in a fresh light the problems related to security and the quality of exchanged information. It has become apparent that it is necessary to select an appropriate interface depending on the number of participants and the purpose of communication. Above all, people have realized that remote systems are more useful than they had previously thought. It was easy for me to imagine that remote systems could be useful for academic meetings and conferences. However, I would never have conceived that they would come in handy and add fun to drinking sessions. Even when the threat of COVID-19 or other infectious diseases has disappeared in the future, I am sure that there will be situations where remote systems continue to be used.

 

From antiquity, humankind has poured its efforts into the development of communication technologies. Starting with such primitive ones as smoke signals and drums, humans have invented mail, telephones, wireless telegraph, mobile phones, pagers, e-mails, smartphones, LINE (hereinafter proper nouns), Skype, Facebook, Zoom, to name just a few. New technologies are emerging in rapid succession. Recent changes are occurring so quickly that it is difficult to keep up. Some days years ago, I received a letter from a retiree in his 70s saying that he wants to enter our graduate school. In contrast, some students asked me whether he can use LINE, instead of e-mail, for daily communication. Whatever means is used, communication is of paramount importance for people everywhere. Even when the outbreak of a pandemic necessitates severe restrictions to be imposed on human behavior, a good part of people’s activities can be maintained, and they can still lead fun-filled everyday lives as long as an environment is in place that allows sufficient communication. The above introduction has become quite long, but the Human Communication Group (HCG) is where researchers working in the field of human communication-related technologies get together.

 

The HCG consists of many conferences: four Conferences Type 1 (Human Communication Science, Human Information Processing, Media Experience and Virtual Environment, and Well-being Information Technology), four Conferences Type 2 (Information Cognition and Behavior, Attractiveness Computing, and Comic Computing), and two Conferences Type 3 (Verbal/Non-verbal Communication, and Language as Real-time Communication). The Group studies human interaction in an agile manner from a variety of perspectives: psychology, sociology, linguistics, medical science, pedagogy, and art. While each of the above conferences normally holds meetings separately, all HCG members come together once a year in an HCG Symposium (which will be held remotely this year!) to enable researchers in different fields to have contact with each other. Through these activities, the HCG aims to develop human communication technology, which is expected to become increasingly diverse. As Chair of the HCG, I will work closely with group members to further energize the group’s activities and call for your cooperation.

 

Hirohiko Kaneko

Chair, HCG 2020

Special Interest Groups

Human Communication Science (HCS)

Human Communication Science is a basic research group which intends to understand human communication and discuss future communication technologies for humans. This group provides interdisciplinary forums. These research fields are acceptable such as welfare studies for human well-being, psychology and cognitive science for basic human information processing, social science and linguistics for inter-personal communication, information engineering for communication technology, and other disciplines related to human communication.

Human Information Processing (HIP)

Understanding the mechanisms and functions of human information processing is the key issue to develop new and attractive information systems around us. This group has five regular meetings and other activities to discuss the researches related to human information processing, which include basic topics, such as visual and auditory perception, multisensory integration, perception and action, and also include application technologies such as virtual reality system, stereoscopic display and interface.

Media Experience and Virtual Environment (MVE)

 The focus of this group is an extended paradigm of multimedia, which includes intelligent human-computer and/or human-human communications based on human senses and actions. We are interested in interactions in the real world, virtual worlds, and mixture of these, so that human abilities of communication are enhanced by information technologies. Our interest also covers fundamental research on devices and human senses, system development and evaluation, and applications. This group organizes five meetings a year to provide opportunities to present and discuss technologies in above fields.

Well-being Information Technology (WIT)

Our research field include various kinds of technologies related to information and communication for challenged and elderly, such as information devices, information technologies, and systems for assistance for those people.

Human Probes (HPB)

Human Probes(HPB) Research Group deals with technical issues about mobile sensing and location based technologies, mobile communications, social networks, amounts of observational data. Every year, our group holds several seminars and a symposium for sharing original research results.

Informatics Science on Cognition and Behaviors (ICB)

TBD

Verbal and Nonverbal Communication (VNV)

Multimodality is one of key concepts necessary for developing information processing technology which enhances human-computer interaction and supports communication between humans such as multiparty conversation. This group discusses the multimodal integration process of interaction composed of verbal and nonverbal behaviors such as language use, gaze, gestures and postures, from cross disciplinary perspectives including cognitive science, informatics, sociology, linguistics, psychology and anthropology, and so forth.

Committee

HCG Committee for Fiscal Year 2020
Chair Kenji Mase Nagoya Univ.
Incoming Chair Masahiro Watanabe

NTT

Vice Chair Munechika Wada Kyushu Tech
Secretary Atsushi Hashimoto Omron SINIC X
Incoming Secretary Hiroshi Yoshida NTT
Treasurer Shigeyoshi Iizuka Kanagawa Univ.
Incoming Treasurer Mannon Ichiki NHK
Planning Shunichi Seko NTT
Incoming Planning Takahiro Miura AIST
Editor (Webmaster) Yanan Wang KDDI Research
Editor (Newsletter) Komei Hasegawa Toyohashi Tech
International Committee Masahiro Watanabe NTT
Research Society Committee Sumaru Niida KDDI Research
Research Society Committee  Junichi Imai Chiba Tech
Finance Committee Shigeyoshi Iizuka Kanazawa Univ.
Service Committee Kenji Mase Nagoya Univ.
Edition Committee Komei Hasegawa Toyohashi Tech
Public Committee Takahiro Miura AIST
Copyright Management Committee 1 Yanan Wang KDDI Research
Copyright Management Committee 2 Hiroshi Yoshida NTT
Webmaster Yanan Wang KDDI Research
HCG Edition Committee Masashi Komori Osaka Electro-Communication Univ.
Liaison to Editorial Committee of the IEICE Trans. (ED) Kohei Matsumura Ritsumeikan Univ.
Liaison to Editorial Committee of the IEICE Trans. (A) Kazuki Takashima Tohoku Univ.
Liaison to Editorial Committee of the IEICE Trans. (D) Keisuke Doman Chukyo Univ.
HB/KB Committee Heitoh Zen Chiba Univ.
FIT Technology Promotion Committee Masahiro Watanabe NTT
CEATEC Organization Committee Kenji Mase Nagoya Univ.
Communication Committee Yanan Wang KDDI Research
Communication Committee Komei Hasegawa Toyohashi Tech
A.D Organization Committee Hiroshi Yoshida NTT
A.D Organization Committee Atsushi Hashimoto Omron SINIC X
Young Researcher's Award Committee Atsushi Hashimoto Omron SINIC X
Representative Committee 1 Kenji Mase Nagoya Univ.
Representative Committee 2 Hirohiko Kaneko Tokyo Tech
Advisor Heitoh Zen Chiba Univ.
Advisor Sumaru Niida KDDI Research
Advisor Takeshi Naemura

Tokyo Univ.

Advisor Hirohiko Kaneko

Tokyo Tech

International Conference Content Operation WG Committee Ichiro Ide Nagoya Univ.