Message from Prof. Higashinaka
Nagoya University, Graduate School of Informatics, Department of Intelligent Systems, Higashinaka Laboratory
The Higashinaka Laboratory was newly established in 2020. We welcome those who are interested in human dialogue and those who are proficient or passionate about implementation and experimentation.
Research Content
At the Higashinaka Laboratory, we conduct research on dialogue systems. This field primarily involves dialogue systems, conversation analysis, human-computer interaction, and natural language processing. As dialogue systems are an interdisciplinary field, it is related not only to engineering but also to the humanities (such as linguistics and sociology), so you can also research these areas.
In recent years, the use of voice interfaces has increased, making smart speakers and communication robots more convenient. Enhancing these dialogue functions and enabling them to collaborate with humans has the potential to significantly impact our real-world society.
Acceptance Numbers
For the Master’s program, we accept approximately four students each year (including both external and internal applicants).
For the Doctoral program, applications are accepted at any time.
Policies
Q. How are students’ themes decided after they are assigned to the lab?
A. Themes are decided through consultation within several theme frameworks.
Q. Who provides guidance?
A. Guidance is primarily provided by the faculty, but research is conducted in several teams, and team members, including researchers and senior students, may also provide guidance.
Q. What are your thoughts on advancing to graduate school?
A. Building dialogue systems is akin to creating a human, which takes time. We recommend advancing to graduate school to experience data collection, analysis, and system construction.
Q. What conferences do you submit papers to?
A. The goal is to submit one paper to an international conference each year during the Master’s program. We actively submit to SIGDIAL, a conference related to dialogue.
Q. What skills can be acquired at the Higashinaka Laboratory?
A. The ability to identify important questions, verify them through experiments, and clearly explain the findings. We aim for students to acquire these skills through dialogue system research.
Q. I am interested in dialogue. Could you recommend any books?
A. I have authored several books on dialogue systems. For a general understanding of conversational dialogue systems, “AI no Zatsudanryoku” is recommended. For those interested in system development, “Python de Tsukuru Taiwa Shisutemu” is suitable. Additionally, I have recently written “Taiwa Shisutemu no Tsukurikata,” which summarizes the basic knowledge of dialogue systems. Please read this as well. Although not a book, my contribution to the Journal of the Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence, “My Bookmark,” is also recommended.