A badge-shaped sensor and feedback system were developed. This system makes it possible to study human and organizational behavior in an office. By prompting changes in workers' behavior, it improves productivity as well as helps to solve individual's problems. Aiming to improve the productivity and quality of project management, the system was applied at a software development company. The results show that the system can improve the human communication process, as well as motivate workers by giving them the chance to reflect on their work styles and to help their colleagues.

Visualization of the actual conditions of an organization is a very challenging issue. We propose a new system called a Business Microscope that senses the activities of people in an organization and provides visual feedback to users. We use name-tag shaped sensor nodes to measure face-to-face interaction between employees. The massive amount of data collected by the sensor-network terminal are signal-processed by the server and displayed as an organization's topographic map that displays the frequencies of organizational activities. To depict the organization's topographic map, our system creates a novel relation tree using the interaction data from all pairs of members. In this kind of map, some groups in the organization hierarchically form islands. Members in those islands who have relationships with many others form mountains that are plotted with contours. We can comprehend the actual conditions of organizations from our topographic map. We tested our technique in several experiments to evaluate this system.

Three-dimensional (3-D) displays are drawing attention as next-generation devices. Some techniques which can reproduce 3-D images prepared in advance have already been developed. However, technology for the transmission of 3-D moving pictures in real time is yet to be achieved. In this paper, we present a novel method for 360/spl deg/ viewable 3-D displays and the Transpost system in which we implement the method. The basic concept of our system is to project multiple images of the object, taken from different angles, onto a spinning screen. The key to the method is projection of the images onto a directionally reflective screen with a limited viewing angle. The images are reconstructed to give the viewer a 3-D image of the object displayed on the screen. The display system can present images of computer-graphics pictures, live pictures, and movies. Furthermore, the reverse optical process of that in the display system can be used to record images of the subject from multiple directions; the images can then be transmitted to the display in real-time. We have developed prototypes of a 3-D display and a 3-D human-image transmission system. Our preliminary working prototypes demonstrate new possibilities of expression and forms of communication.

Three-dimensional displays are drawing attention as next-generation devices. Some techniques which can reproduce three-dimensional images prepared in advance have already been developed. However, technology for the transmission of 3D moving pictures in real-time is yet to be achieved. In this paper, we present a novel method for 360-degrees viewable 3D displays and the Transpost system in which we implement the method. The basic concept of our system is to project multiple images of the object, taken from different angles, onto a spinning screen. The key to the method is projection of the images onto a directionally reflective screen with a limited viewing angle. The images are reconstructed to give the viewer a three-dimensional image of the object displayed on the screen. The display system can present images of computer-graphics pictures, live pictures, and movies. Furthermore, the reverse optical process of that in the display system can be used to record images of the subject from multiple directions. The images can then be transmitted to the display in real-time. We have developed prototypes of a 3D display and a 3D human-image transmission system. Our preliminary working prototypes demonstrate new possibilities of expression and forms of communication.

A novel method for an all-around display system that shows three-dimensional stereo images without the need for special goggles has been developed. This system simply needs a directional-reflection screen, mirrors, and a standard projector. The basic concept behind this system is to make use of the phenomenon called "afterimage" that occurs when screen is spinning. The key to this approach is to make a directional reflection screen with a limited viewing angle and project images onto it. The projected image is made up of 24 images of an object, taken from 24 different angles. By reconstructing this image, a three-dimensional object can be displayed on the screen. The display system can present images of computer-graphics and photographs, full-length movies, and so on.Our aim is to make a system for not only displaying images but also for interacting with them. Several display examples demonstrated that the system will be useful in applications such as guide displays in public places and facilities.