Let's create a pedestrian space that brings smiles while walking.
Social Infrastructure (Saitama University Research Seed Collection 2025-27 p.8)
Keywords: walking space evaluation, traffic safety, facial expression sensor
In recent years, as the concept of compact cities and human-centered urban development has spread, the importance of pedestrians in transportation planning has increased. However, the main method used to measure pedestrian comfort, surveys, relies on the willingness of pedestrians to cooperate, making random sampling of subjects impossible. Furthermore, requesting participation in surveys may disrupt the positive mood of pedestrians. To address these issues, by observing and quantifying pedestrians' "smiles," we can theoretically evaluate the quality of pedestrian spaces based on these values, allowing us to encompass all pedestrians in the target area (at least enabling random sampling) and conduct evaluations without the subjects being aware that they are participating in a survey. We are developing a system using advanced image analysis technology and facial expression recognition sensors to analyze pedestrians' expressions, studying how various elements of walking spaces influence pedestrians' happiness.
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Aya Kojima, Associate Professor Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Department of Environmental Social Infrastructure, Field of Environmental Planning 【Recent Research Themes】 ● The relationship between exercise experiences of the elderly and traffic accidents ● Utilization of fully electric bicycles ● The relationship between regional temperament differences and traffic accidents ● Research on the utilization of rising bollards
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【Appeal Points to the Industry】 ● It does not inconvenience pedestrians to gather their opinions. ● It has become possible to randomly sample subjects. ● Information quantifying smiles is accumulated as digital data, making processing easy. ● With appropriate awareness, it is expected to be utilized in combination with security cameras. ● The data on smile levels can be treated as information without personal identifiers. 【Examples of Practical Use, Applications, and Utilization】 ● Evaluation of pedestrianized roads (Journal of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers, D3, 2014) ● Evaluation of the improvement in sidewalk quality after the establishment of bicycle lanes (Journal of Civil Planning, Vol. 50, 2014) ● Evaluation of the improvement in quality of life through electric vehicles (34th Traffic Engineering Research Presentation, 2014) ● Participation in the formulation of the 2019 "Street Design Guidelines - A Reference for Creating Comfortable and Walkable Streets."
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Factors that influence the smile level of pedestrians
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The Saitama University Open Innovation Center is a center that functions as a liaison office for industry-academia-government collaboration. It consists of three departments: the Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration Department, the Intellectual Property Department, and the Startup Support Department, each staffed with coordinators well-versed in various fields. The center's activities include solving technical challenges in companies, supporting the implementation of joint research, and conducting technology transfer aimed at introducing and utilizing Saitama University's intellectual property.