AIU Participates in COI-NEXT Research Project Presentation Event at Osaka-Kansai Expo

At the “Science Exhibition: Connecting You to the Future” event (August 14–19, 2025), organized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as part of the COI-NEXT (Support Program for the Formation of Places for Co-Creation), Akita COI-NEXT (Note 1), represented by Akita Prefectural University, collaborated with AIU and Akita University of Art set up a booth to introduce the research project.

Vice President Yoshitaka Kumagai of AIU, faculty and administration office members also presented research to Expo visitors. On August 14, 2025, for example, 168,000 people visited the Expo, with 11,000 of them attending the Science Exhibition.

Visitors to the Akita COI-NEXT booth had enjoyed touching and trying out exhibits such as “Flexible Wood” and “Wooden Spring Chair (CURVIS)” by Akita Prefectural University and “The World’s Lightest Woodworking Chair (Origami)” by Akita University of Art, etc. The visitors also listened attentively to explanations from AIU staff about the “Vital monitoring device” (Note 2) exhibited by AIU.

(Note 1) Akita COI-NEXT: A collaborative innovation program supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), aimed at creating a platform for co-creation. The program, titled “Realizing a Self-Sustaining Prosperous Society Through the Transformation of Forest Value,” is led by Akita Prefectural University as the representative institution, with AIU and Akita University of Art as collaborating institutions, and began in the fiscal year 2024.

(Note 2) Vital monitoring device: This device, developed by AIU research team, measures and stores data on heart rate, saturation of percutaneous oxygen (SpO?), skin temperature, and skin humidity simultaneously. The data gathered by the device are used for analysis of the biological effects of forest bathing and walking, providing feedback for health promotion based on scientific evidence.