Creating a Co-mobility Society

Keio University project proposal entitled "Creating a Co-mobility Society" has been selected by MEXT in FY 2007 to receive initial funding for the "Creation of Innovation Centers for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research Areas".

The aim of this project is to organize new, multi-faceted communities based on the convergence of real living and information space, and also to develop a new type of mobility system to provide easier movement inthe real space. The "Co-mobility Society" refers to a comfortable and safe space where the young and old can communicate with each other effectively.

So far, community research has been limited to either the small space provided by local communities, or virtual communities existing only on networks. Many of the traditional regional communities have disappeared and those that remain lack adequate access to information and physical transport. The "Co-mobility Society" combines the support of advanced information systems with new information controlled mobility system to form a new and multi-faced community that can help overcome various problems of daily life such as lack of proper education and care for the elderly.

The project is unique as it is a partnership between Keio University and some of the leading industrial companies in the field of information, telecommunication, broadcasting and mobile technology. Participants from the industrial sector include NEC Corporation, KDDI Corporation, Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd., Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. and Tokyo FM Broadcasting Co., Ltd.

The "Co-mobility Society Research Center" has been established on Keio University Mita campus. The center links the above-mentioned companies with the Graduate School of Science and Technology, the Graduate School of Media and Governance, the Faculty of Business and Commerce and the Faculty of Letters to conduct interdisciplinary projects.

Creating a Co-mobility Society