Portfolio / Human-Computer Interaction
大岡 凌
I am a doctoral student working in Human-Computer Interaction. I have loved making things since childhood, and my research is grounded in hands-on prototyping and implementation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I also worked as a freelance web designer. I have spent seven years in the Global Strategy Leader Course, an entrepreneurship education program at the School of Engineering, Tohoku University, where I have also taught financial statement analysis and published a book related to financial statements. Outside work, I enjoy exploring Disney parks.
Works
A selection of research projects, design work, and business-related activities.
My research is driven by an interest in robotics and displays, especially robotic displays. I also study interaction in public and work spaces through robotics, and develop interfaces whose softness or shape can change. More broadly, I work across HCI, including VR experiences with bodily sensation and AI-based devices intended for everyday use.
This project explores a seat device that can dynamically change softness on the same chair, rather than requiring different chairs or cushions for different purposes. The device uses the jamming transition of polystyrene beads sealed in an airtight bag, controlling internal air pressure with a vacuum pump. I investigated how changes in seat softness could support focus and relaxation during desk work.
This study investigates how a robotic display that moves autonomously alongside passersby while presenting information in a public space affects attention and engagement. Through an in-the-wild field study, I examined the effects of physical movement that differ from those of conventional fixed displays. Details will be shared after the related journal submission process is complete.
This bachelor thesis proposed and built a display environment whose size, position, and height can change as a workspace is reconfigured. The system combines a rollable screen mounted on an omnidirectional robot, a height-control mechanism, and a movable projector, enabling more flexible visual presentation for different work styles. I evaluated the system technically and discussed future possibilities for adaptable display environments.
Tempura is a VR experience in which users put their own hand into oil and experience it becoming tempura. ‘Te’ means ‘hand’ in Japanese, and it forms a wordplay with "te"mpura. Through an HMD, users see their hand gradually turning golden brown, while synchronized haptic feedback creates the sensation of the hand being fried. The pot-shaped haptic device is filled with polystyrene particles, and changes in vibration amplitude express how oil splashes over time.
Fantastic Falconer is a room-scale VR experience that simulates falconry. Wearing an HMD, users hold a custom handheld device that presents weight and pressure, making it feel as if a real falcon is perched on their hand. When the falcon flies away, the weight and pressure disappear, while a wind device presents airflow from its wings, creating a more realistic haptic falconry experience.
This application was created and presented in a hackathon-style project during the six-day UBISS Workshop A in Norway. Using the AWARE framework, the system turns walking behavior into a natural unlock key for a smartphone, aiming for ambient security protection that blends into everyday movement.
Re:call Pocket is a concept for a chest-pocket-sized microphone device and smartphone app for people who struggle to recall faces and names in professional or social settings. The system aims to estimate names and conversation history using voice data, schedules, email signatures, and other personal metadata, helping users communicate more naturally. The project was selected for GAP-Fund Pre-BIP and received 500,000 yen (≈ USD 3,300) in support for prototyping, user studies, and market research.
Awarded the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science DC1 fellowship for the project “Investigation and Proposal of Robotic Displays for Information Presentation in Smart Cities,” and conducting the research with JPY 2.5 million (≈ USD 16,000) in research funding and an additional research fellowship stipend.
Selected for a doctoral degree program at Tohoku University and enrolled as a program student.
Awarded for "Seat Device with Dynamically Controllable Softness." The award was given to 3 presentations out of 124.
Awarded at the IVRC 2022 Leap Stage for the VR work "Tempura Hand."
Serve as the Student Volunteer Chair for VRST 2026 (The 32nd ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology), a leading international conference in virtual reality research. [VRST 2026 Committee]
Student member of the JST ASPIRE project "Mental Well-being Intelligence: A Data-driven Research Community for Human Psychological Health." [ASPIRE Team]
Spent three weeks at UC Berkeley for training in research commercialization, customer discovery, and deep-tech commercialization.
Supported operations for a domestic HCI workshop, mainly handling streaming operations.
Selected for and completed the six-day UBISS Workshop A in Norway.
Served on the organizing team of a reading group focused on CHI papers, one of the top conferences in HCI.
Served as a student committee member for a public symposium in Yokohama that introduced the importance of HCI research to high school students and the general public. The event attracted about 200 participants. [CHI 2025 Symposium]
Supported a reading group focused on papers from CHI, one of the top conferences in HCI.
Building on my web development skills, I have worked as a freelance web designer since the COVID-19 pandemic, handling projects from visual design through implementation. My work includes websites, logos, and presentation materials, with an emphasis on connecting information structure and visual expression. I also draw on my interests in business and marketing to design event experiences and products.
I sold educational content for early-career freelance coders. The project addressed the problem that beginners often have few portfolio-ready works, making it difficult to turn learning and experience into client acquisition. I designed web design content that could be used as portfolio work, built repeat-sales channels through social media marketing and LINE (Japanese SNS) Business accounts, and operated a Slack-based community.
When CHI was held in Yokohama, Japan, this symposium introduced the importance of HCI research to high school students and the general public. As a student committee member for the event, which attracted about 200 participants, I handled the overall design, including posters distributed in Yokohama, the website, wayfinding signs, slides, and armbands. I designed the information structure, visibility, promotional flow, and the overall visitor experience.
Since my first undergraduate year, I have participated in the Global Strategy Leader Course at the School of Engineering, Tohoku University, where students analyze real companies through financial statements and propose new businesses. I have presented business proposals to executives at major companies and co-authored a book that documents the program methods and activities. Recently, my focus has shifted toward research commercialization, customer discovery, and venture exploration.
This is an extracurricular Saturday course organized by the School of Engineering, Tohoku University. I have participated continuously for seven years since my first undergraduate year in 2019. In the course, students read public materials such as financial statements and shareholder meeting documents, then propose innovative new businesses. The annual prompt is intentionally ambitious and open-ended, such as "Propose a strategy for SoftBank to surpass Amazon in business scale." Students use financial indicators to develop and present persuasive, feasible proposals that respond to such prompts.
I served as a lead author for "Beyond GAFAM: Innovative Business Proposals by Students: From Financial Statement Basics to Boardroom Proposals," a book that brings together the methods and activities of the Global Strategy Leader Course, which has taught business and strategy skills at Tohoku University for ten years. The book teaches practical skills for collecting data, analyzing it, and presenting persuasive proposals, with the goal of developing the ability to create innovation. Based on the 2023 prompt, "Propose a business through which AEON (a major Japanese retail company) can surpass Amazon," the book covers financial statements, qualitative analysis, design thinking, and other skills essential to business proposals.
In the 2021 Global Strategy Leader Course, I designed nine hours of lectures for about 40 students, including lectures, exercises, and applied problems. The materials mainly covered the income statement and balance sheet, and I also created a three-hour comprehensive exercise using Apple as the target company.
This project designs and studies the market for Re:call Pocket, a chest-pocket-sized microphone device and smartphone app that helps people who struggle to remember faces and names in professional and social settings. The project was selected for GAP Fund Pre-BIP and received 500,000 yen (≈ USD 3,300) in support for one year. The device aims to support natural communication by estimating names and conversation history from voice data, schedules, email signatures, and other personal metadata.
I was selected for a three-week overseas training program organized by the School of Engineering and the Entrepreneurship Education Division at Tohoku University for graduate students seriously aiming to start companies. From February 2026, I was sent for three weeks to the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. While receiving design-thinking-based entrepreneurship education, I conducted customer interviews, explored needs, and tested business model canvas hypotheses.
I gave a poster presentation introducing the entrepreneurship education activities of the Global Strategy Leader Course at Tohoku University. The presentation aimed to build relationships with entrepreneurs and researchers in business and management inside and outside Japan.
As Kashima Antlers planned a new stadium, I developed a business proposal based on the idea of creating additional value for the stadium that would also contribute to the Rokko region of Ibaraki Prefecture, where the stadium is located. I visited the region, exchanged opinions with executives of Kashima Antlers FC, and met with the mayor of Namegata, one of the cities in the region. Two months later, I presented and discussed the proposal with Kashima Antlers FC executives and the chairperson of Mercari, which holds management rights.
I served as one of the personalities for "Konya mo Show-kai Shite Ii Desu ka (May I introduce it again tonight?)," a radio series that invites students at Tohoku University who are doing interesting activities and introduces them through presentation-style conversations.
Final presentation for the 2024 Global Strategy Leader Course prompt: "Propose a business through which Fujifilm can surpass Apple." To reduce cost ratios, I proposed a business for Fujifilm's high-margin cosmetics segment that leverages the company's extensive patent portfolio.
Final presentation for the 2023 Global Strategy Leader Course intermediate course prompt: "Propose Honda's next unique strategy, different from Tesla and Volkswagen." I proposed a platform business for 3D-printed automobiles that uses Honda's engine technology.
A two-hour introductory lecture for the Global Strategy Leader Course, designed to teach what participants would learn and why financial statements matter through exercises. The content was later included in Chapter 1 of the book "Beyond GAFAM: Innovative Business Proposals by Students."
Final presentation for the 2022 Global Strategy Leader Course prompt: "Using the rise and fall of leading S&P 500 companies and their financial statements, and considering international affairs, propose a new business that can become a cornerstone of Japan's revival." Focusing on the VR market, which was beginning to plateau as a hardware market, I proposed a package of more practical electronic devices and a related platform.
Final presentation for the 2021 Global Strategy Leader Course prompt: "Consider the ideal future in 2050 and propose a new business with the potential to reach a market capitalization of 100 trillion yen (≈ USD 660 billion) in order to change Japan's direction." I proposed contact lens AR devices, backcast from a future vision, to BALMUDA, whose technology and vision were the strongest fit. I received the grand prize, awarded to one person among about 30 participants that year.
I proposed a travel clothing rental business as a sustainable new business that could compete globally in the apparel industry. I presented the proposal to executives of a major apparel company. Further details are confidential.