Toward the realization of Kansei communications

Against the conventional means of communications for which the main medium has been the telephone, it is necessary to ask whether or not a new means of communications should be sought that is suitable for the present multimedia era. Clearly showing this is the explosive spread of the Internet. Therefore, in what direction should the communications of the future be headed for? To learn the answer, we believe that it is necessary to understand global trends and to consider communications by returning to the basics. From such a viewpoint, we first survey trends for the various media encompassing communications. Then, we explain the causes producing such trends by a model of communications. In addition, based on the above considerations, we consider the essence of communications that the communications technologies of the future should handle. Finally, we describe examples of research progressing at ATR Media Integration and Communications Research Laboratories and consider the relationships of these examples with ways of communications