PROFILE
Munehiko Sato, Ph.D.
Researcher / Engineer / Inventor / Designer
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Human Computer Interaction
- Calm Technology
- Human Interface
- Embodied Interface
- Real World Interaction
- Multi-modal Interaction
- Human Augmentation
- Ubiquitous Computing
- Virtual Reality
- Augmented Reality
- Wearable Computing
- Embedded System
EXPERIENCE
- 2019 -
- CXO at mui Lab, Inc.
- 2023 -
- Visiting Research Scientist at The University of Tokyo
- 2013 -
- Owner at an independent tech and design studio
- 2015 - 2015
- Research Scientist at Camera Culture Group, MIT Media Lab
- 2013 - 2017
- Visiting Research Scientist at The University of Tokyo
- 2013 - 2015
- Postdoctoral Associate at Camera Culture Group, MIT Media Lab
- 2012 - 2013
- Research Assistant at The University of Tokyo
- 2011 - 2011
- Lab Associate at Disney Research Pittsburgh
- 2010 - 2011
- JSPS Research Fellow DC2
- 2009 - 2010
- Research Assistant at JST CREST
“Technology to Create Digital Public Art” Project
About
Dr. Munehiko Sato is a researcher, engineer, inventor and designer working to redefine the human relationship with the physical and digital worlds. At MIT Media Lab, where he serves as a Camera Culture Group researcher, he explores the concept of person-object/computer interaction to create novel sensing technologies that allow people to experience the world in ways that they had never imagined possible. His most recent work involves creating effective methods of recognizing exotic materials commonly found in daily lives, such as glass and transparent plastic, for ubiquitous and wearable computing. His achievements also include devising schemes for gathering and interpreting information from human bodies and the living environment for ubiquitous computing, personal healthcare, security, and many other applications. Over the years, Dr. Sato has pioneered technologies that can enrich human lives, drawing upon his background in computer science and mechanical and electrical engineering to design mechanisms that are conducive to commercialization. Swept Frequency Capacitive Sensing (Touche), on which he worked as a lab associate at the Interaction Group of Disney Research in Pittsburgh under the leadership of Dr. Ivan Poupyrev, received the best paper award at the Association for Computing Machinery Computer-Human Interaction (ACM CHI) 2012 conference.
His work has been featured in such publications as Forbes, Time, Wired, MIT Tech Review, The Verge, Engadget, DesignBoom, Fox News, Popular Science, NewScientist, Tech Crunch, Hack A Day, and Creative Applications.
Having received his Ph.D. in engineering, M.S. in information science and technology, and B.E. in mechanical engineering from the University of Tokyo in 2013, 2009 and 2006 respectively, Dr. Sato has also worked at Helsinki University of Technology in 2006-2007 as part of a 3D virtual reality research group under the supervision of Prof. Tapio Takala.
Patents
- 2014
- One U.S. provisional patent application filed (lead inventor at MIT)
- 2014
- One U.S. patent filed US 20150330905 A1 (lead inventor at MIT. Patent granted US9482622B2)
- 2013
- One U.S. patent issued US 9341659 B2 (co-inventor at Disney)
- 2013
- One Japanese patent application submitted 2014-215616 (co-inventor at the University of Tokyo)
Invited lectures and talks (selected)
- 2016
- Bay Area SID conference, Sunnyvale, CA
- 2015
- The 22nd International Display Workshops, Otsu, Shiga, Japan.
- 2015
- Art, Science and Technology Center for Cooperative Research, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. May
- 2015
- Olympus R&D, Tokyo, Japan. April
- 2014
- Rakuten Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan. June
- 2013
- Spicebox, Tokyo, Japan. January
- 2012
- Dentsu New School, Tokyo, Japan. November
- 2012
- Autodesk Research, Toronto, Canada. October
- 2012
- MIT media lab, Cambridge, USA. October
- 2012
- Columbia University, New York, USA. September
- 2012
- “世界を目指せ! ~トップコンファレンス採択論文紹介~”, The 17th Annual Conference of the Virtual Reality Society of Japan, Keio University, Japan
- 2012
- “Touché: Enhancing Touch Interaction on Humans, Screens, Liquids, and Everyday Objects”, FXPAL, Palo Alto, USA. August
- 2012
- Guest talk, 第7回CHI勉強会 All.CHI, 明治大学, Japan
- 2012
- Interactive Media Division Forum, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.
- 2012
- “Touché: Enhancing Touch Interaction on Humans, Screens, Liquids, and Everyday Objects”, Disney Research Boston, Boston, USA.
- 2011
- Lecture on Prototyping, MsHCI, HCII, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA.
- 2011
- Dorkbot pgh, Brillobox, Pittsburgh, USA.
- 2010
- Brown Bag Lectures “Trends in Digital Art”, AI lab, Department of Informatics, Univ. of Zurich, Switzerland.
- 2010
- Disney Research Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Interviews
- 2012
- テレビブロス(東京ニュース通信社) 2012年11月24日号, わらしべマッドサイエンティスト 第69回
”「なんでもインターフェース」世の中全体を壮大なタッチパネルにする研究” - 2012
- WIRED Japanese Edition TECHNOLOGY, “Disney Researchで次世代タッチセンサー「Touché」開発に携わった東大大学院生”
- 2012
- ダイヤモンド・オンライン 現場力を伸ばす先端IT活用の鉄則, “あの「トゥーチェ」だけではなかった!!
ディズニー・リサーチの「魔法」のあれやこれやを開発者の佐藤さんに聞いてきた” - 2012
- エンジニアType, “Disney Researchで次世代タッチセンサー『Touché』開発に携わった東大大学院生が描く、デバイスレスな世界”
Academic Activities
Associate Chair
- 2016
- ACM CHI (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems) Late-Breaking Work
Invited Reviewers
JOURNALS/MAGAZINES
- 2013
- IEEE Spectrum November
- 2013
- IEEE CGA (Computer Graphics and Applications)
- 2012
- Elsevier Interacting with Computers (The interdisciplinary journal of Human-Computer Interaction)
- 2011
- ACM Computers in Entertainment (CiE)
CONFERENCES
- 2016
- ACM CHI (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems)
- 2015
- ACM ITS (International Conference on Interactive Tabletops and Surfaces)
- 2015
- ACM UIST (Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology)
- 2015
- ACM UbiComp (International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing)
- 2015
- ACM CHI (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems)
- 2015
- ACM AH (Augmented Human International Conference)
- 2014
- ACM CHI (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems)
- 2014
- ACM UbiComp (International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing)
- 2014
- IEEE ISMAR (International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality)
- 2014
- ACM AH (Augmented Human International Conference)
- 2013
- ACM CHI (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems)
- 2013
- IEEE WHC (World Haptics Conference)
- 2013
- IEEE GCCE (Global Conference on Consumer Electronics)
- 2012
- IEEE ISMAR (International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality)
- 2012
- ACM UIST (Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology)
- 2012
- ACM DIS (Designing Interactive Systems)
- 2012
- IEEE Haptics Symposium
- 2012
- ACM APCHI (Asia Pacific Conference on Computer Human Interaction)
- 2010
- ACM ACE (Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology)
RESEARCH GRANTS
- 2013
- NASA SC EPSCoR/IDeA awards
Membership
Honors/Awards
- 2014
- MIT $100K ACCELERATE business contest 2014 finalist
- 2013
- First Prize for Botanicus Interacticus project Nokia Ubimedia MindTrek Award 2013 (NUMA) (collaborator.)
- 2012
- Best Paper Award, ACM CHI 2012 Conference, Austin, TX, May, 2012.
- 2010
- Good Design Award 2010, “Constellation of Departure”, English/日本語
- 2008
- ACM Student Research Competition Semi-Finalist,
“Particle display system: a real world display with physically distributable pixels,” ACM CHI 2008 Conference, April, 2008.
Public Demonstrations/Exhibitions
- 2010
- “Constellation of Departure (出発の星座)” model exhibited (模型展示), Information Processing of Japan 50th anniversary 72nd national conference of IPSJ (情報処理学会創立50周年記念全国大会), 本郷, Tokyo, Japan, March 9 – March 10, 2010.
- 2010
- “Constellation of Departure (出発の星座)”, Digital Public Art Exhibition “Air Harbor”, Haneda Airport, Tokyo, Japan, October 9, 2009 – January 11, 2010.
Planning: Yasuhiro Suzuki
System: Munehiko Sato, Shinya Nishizaka, Yusuke Torigoe, Atsushi Izumihara
LED wiring: Munehiko Sato, Intern Staff
Cooperation: Avago Technologies (LED), Tokyo Electron Device (LED), National Semiconductor Japan (LED Driver IC) - 2009
- “Constellation on the Ground (地上の星座)”, Digital Public Art Exhibition “Air Harbor”, Haneda Airport, Tokyo, Japan, October 9 – November 3, 2009.
Planning: Yasuhiro Suzuki
System: Kunihiro Nishimura, Yusuke Torigoe, Munehiko Sato - 2009
- “Constellation of Chair (星に座る椅子)”, Digital Public Art Exhibition “Air Harbor”, Haneda Airport, Tokyo, Japan, October 9 – November 3, 2009.
Planning: Yasuhiro Suzuki
System: Kim Junghyun, Munehiko Sato
Cooperation:Mechanical Engineering Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. - 2008
- Digita Public Art Project + Hirose-Tanikawa Lab. + Kunihiro Nishimura + Takuji Narumi + Munehiko Sato + Kotaro Hashimoto, “Sharelog::F”, Shinjuku Takashimaya Restaurants Park (新宿高島屋レストランズパーク), Tokyo, Japan, June 11 – July 15, 2008.