Avatar Robot Talk

Sunday, Dec. 6th, 16:30-17:10, Room 201, Bldg. 57

Towards Ending Loneliness - The Avatar Robot “OriHime”

Kentaro Yoshifuji, Co-founder, CEO. , Ory Laboratory Co., Ltd.


The avatar robot, OriHime works as voice, ears and eyes of the person controlling it from distance place.It isn't operated by AI. OriHime has been created to become the "additional body" for someone tackling the loneliness, such as bed-bound patients and the elderly. The movement of two wings and face remote-controlled by patients allows them to bring out even their emotions when communicating with others, differentiating OriHime from ordinary video chat systems. OriHime is currently used by patients (including spinal injury and ALS) not only for long distance communication, but for attending schools and working. The project all started when Kentaro felt lonely for the first time: he was also a patient once before. This talk is his journey.


Did not attend school from the fifth grade of elementary school to the third grade of junior high school, but studied under Teacher Kenji Kubota, a master artist of craftsmanship, at Nara Oji Technical High School. His invention of the new mechanism of an electric wheelchair received the prize of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology at JSEC, a Japanese largest scientific contest, and the prize of Grand Award 3nd at ISEF, a world largest scientific contest. Aim at elimination of loneliness based on many consultations given to him after the contests and his experience of medical treatments.

After having done research on artificial intelligence at a technical college, have addressed, from a unique approach, research and development of an avatar robot from 2009 at Waseda University for the purpose of elimination of loneliness. Experienced a youngest member of the Business-Academia Cooperation Office, established Ory Laboratory in 2012, and taken charge of the representative executive general manager.

Selected as the young people's honor award "human ability grand prize", a representative from Japan at Stanford University E-bootCamp, AERA "100 persons who break through Japan", etc.