Researcher
Tomoko Imai
Area of Research: Research and consultation on the matters related to accessibility.
Profile
1988-1989: Went abroad to study in Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago,IL) as a Rotary Scholar.
1990: Enrolled in graduate school at Keio University (Japan).
1991: Completed the master's course in Keio University. Received a master's degree in Physical Science,
1992: Joined Hitachi Ltd.
1995: Exhibited the sign language animation at TELECOM95 (in Switzerland) as a part of SIGN LANGUAGE TELEPHONE by HITACHI LTD.
1996: Retired Hitachi Ltd., because of her husband transferred to the U.S.
1997: Enrolled in graduate school at University of Illinois in Chicago(Chicago,IL), Majored in Computer Science
1998: Completed the master's course in University of Illinois at Chicago.
1998-2002: Tokyo Project Manager at a Pacific Interface (USA)
1999: Enrolled in graduate school at Tokyo University (Japan)
2000-2001: Withdrew from school temporarily because of the childbirth.
2003-: Joined UDIT Corporation as a researcher
2004: Obtained a doctorate
Education
PhD candidate at the University of Tokyo (2000-)
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Area of Concentration: Collaborative virtual environment and fabric
simulation. University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago IL (1997 -
1998).
Master of Science in Physics. Area of Concentration: Crystal growth simulation. Keio University, Kanagawa, Japan (1990-1992).
Visiting Scholar as a Rotary Scholar. Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago IL (1988-1989).
Bachelor of Science in Physics. Keio University, Kanagawa, Japan (1985-1990)
Honors
- Excellent Paper Award from APCC(1999)
- Deans List for Academic Excellence in Physics, IIT(1988-1989).
- Rotary Scholar (1988-1989).
- Sign language animation editor "Mimehand" received "97 R&&D 100 Award". Presented by "R&D Magazine" which is edited in Chicago
- Research Assistant at Electronic Visualization Laboratory (1997-1998)
Experience
- Researcher at UDIT (2003-)
- Tokyo Project Manager at a Pacific Interface (USA) (1998-2001)
- Researcher at Hitachi Ltd. (1992-1996)
- Developed a sign language animation for the hearing impaired and evaluated the readability of the sign language gestures.
- Exhibited the sign language animation at TELECOM95 as a part of SIGN LANGUAGE TELEPHONE by HITACHI LTD.
Skills
- Computer Languages: C++, C, SGI/Performer, Turbo Pascal, BASIC, Fortran
Languages
- Japanese and English.
Journal
Imai, Tomoko; Takeo, Hozumi; Yoshimura, Mamiko; Sakata, Akiko; Sakakibarai, Naoki; Sekine, Chika:Improving the usability and learnability of a home electric appliance with a long-term usability study. Journal of Engineering Design, Volume 21, Numbers 2-3, April 2010 , pp. 173-187(15)
Tomoko Imai, Dairoku Sekiguchi, Masahiko Inami, Naoki Kawakami, Susumu
Tachi: Measuring Gaze Direction Perception Capability of Humans to
Design Human Centered Communication Systems. Presence, MIT Press, To be
published in 2006.
International Conferences
Tomoko Imai, Naoki Sakakibara, Chika Sekine1, Takeshi Hoshino, Yukinobu Maruyama, and Junji Nakata, Masaaki Kurosu, and Hideaki Takahashi: Sharing up-to-date accessibility information using a mobile phone with GPS and a camera. UAHCI, July, 2005. (in LasVegas USA)
Tomoko Imai, Takeshi Hoshino, Yukinobu Maruyama, Naoki Sakakibara, Chika Sekine, and Junji Nakata: A handheld map annotation system for sharing accessibility information in communities. CSUN, March, 2005. (in LosAngeles USA)
Tomoko Imai, Dairoku Sekiguchi, Naoki Kawakami, Susumu Tachi: Extracting Essence of Pointing Gesture Perception of Humans to Design a Simple Remote Pointing System. ICAT, 2003
Tomoko Imai, Andrew E. Johnson, Jason Leigh, David E. Pape, Thomas A.
DeFanti:
Supporting Transoceanic Collaborations in Virtual Environment. In
Proceedings of APCC/OECC' 99, Beijing China, pp. 1059-1062 (1999)
<Excellent Paper Award from APCC/OECC>
Tomoko Imai, Andrew E. Johnson, Jason Leigh, David E. Pape, Thomas A.
DeFanti: The Virtual Mail System. In Proceeding of IEEE Virtual Reality '99, 1999.
Others
Tomoko Imai: Activities of UDIT. World Usability Day -Accessibility Channel (2005)
http://www.accessonmainstreet.net/world-usability-day-accessibility-channel/
My Specialty
- Presentation in English
- Dressmaking
- Design Painting