Human collect external information through the five senses of sight (vision), hearing (audition), touch (tactile sensation), odor (olfaction), and taste (gustation) to perceive, analyze and comprehend the surrounding environment. In other words, based on the detected multiple information by the respective sensing systems simultaneously and independently, we cognize various situations through perception and integration of the sensory information. The human’s senses, and their perception and response mechanisms could be considered exactly as an ultimate sensing device. Thus, the Center attempts to create synergistic innovation through the fusion of gustation and olfaction research, and vision and audition research based on the perceptual psychological fusion strategy of the inter-sensory integration. Using techniques such as perceptual computer simulation, the Center proposes and optimizes an innovative sensing system which integrates periphery sensing and central perception as a unit mimicking the ultimate sensing device of human (fusion of sensory physiology with perceptual and cognitive psychology).
The Center is a completely unique research platform to integrate sensory researches regarding the five senses, which consists of 3 advanced sensory research divisions, ‘Taste and Odor Sensor’, ‘Sensory Physiology and Medical Application Sensing’, ‘Auditory and Visual Perception Research’, and a division to promote integrated research, ‘Division of integrated research for five-sense devices’. The goal of the Center is to create innovative techniques or devices including sensory interaction techniques, alternative or complementary sensing techniques for sensory deficiencies and five-sensory transmission techniques beyond the restriction of time and space. These research outcomes contribute to develop novel devices to complement disadvantages in dementia and sensory deficiencies which remain an important problem to be solved in the modern society.