SAKURA SCIENCE High School Program Group 6
Lecture by Dr. ASAKAWA, Chief Executive Director at the The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan)
On the last day of the program, Friday, December 6, high school students in SSHP Group 6 (Ukraine, Egypt, Cyprus, Kenya, Colombia, Singapore, China, and South Africa) visited The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan). https://www.miraikan.jst.go.jp/
Dr. ASAKAWA Chieko, Chief Executive Director, gave a lecture entitled "Accessibility Research for the Visually Impaired." After losing sight in both eyes during junior high school, she learned programming and became employed by IBM. She also introduced a digital braille editing and sharing system in which she was involved in developing, as well as the world's first practical audio browser for the visually impaired. Furthermore, she explained the navigation robot "AI suitcase" for the visually impaired in which she is currently working on its development as a researcher. The high school students asked a variety of questions about the AI suitcase, such as, "What should we do if it breaks during use? " "What kind of algorithm does it use? " and "How can we make it accessible to everyone with visual impairments? " Their questions clearly demonstrated a high level of interest and curiosity.



After that, the group toured a permanent exhibition at the Miraikan. The participants experienced the latest science and technology while enjoying various exhibitions such as the International Space Station Habitat Building, simulations of iPS cells in the near future, and exploring the universe from neutrinos. Among these experiences, the cute robot dog Aibo was very popular because of its cute gestures.

