Welcome to IEEE R10-HTC2013
President Message
Conference President : Dr. Fumio Harashima, IEEE Life Fellow
He is the president of Tokyo Metropolitan University.
He has a lot of experiences in IEEE volunteer works, including HQ secretary, society president and also Tokyo Section chair.
It is a great privilege for me to serve as President of Humanitarian Technology Conference of IEEE Region 10, to be held in Sendai, Japan, in August 26-29, 2013. I think that the top two priorities of IEEE are technological innovation for humanity and globalization of the IEEE. The IEEE’s vision is “Advancing Technology for Humanity”. The goal of modern human society is to create a worldwide community in which health, safety and justice are guaranteed. We should provide all IEEE members with an opportunity to equally participate in achieving our common goal through technical innovation. We have a responsibility to show how our technology can create a better quality of worldwide human life. Today’s key technologies are energy, IT, robotics and bio- and nanotechnology. I know that IEEE has played a significant role in the advancement of these technologies. The IEEE should be continuously involved in exploring new engineering disciplines, which contribute to the benefit of humanity.
Why did we choose Sendai City as the conference location? Sendai City is the center of North-East part of Japan, which was attacked by "March 11 earthquake and Tsunami" in 2011. We know the earthquake and Tsunami are natural phenomena. However, the disasters followed, including nuclear power accident, are human-made.
We, engineers, have made serious mistakes in harmonizing nature and civilization. We have learned a lot from this experience.
My hope is that the R10-HTC2013 participants from all over the world will have discussions and exchange opinions on Humanitarian Technology for the reconstruction of disaster-free society for long range future.
Fumio Harashima, President,
IEEE Humanitarian Technology Conference 2013
Welcome address
Organizing Chair： Dr. Tomonori Aoyama, IEEE Life Fellow
He is a professor of Keio University.
He has experienced in IEEE activities, especially in Communication society.
He was the IEEE Tokyo Section chair 2011-12.
He also served as the president of IEICE Japan.
On behalf of the HTC2013 organizing committee, we are honored to announce that the first Humanitarian Technology Conference of IEEE Region 10 will be held in Sendai, Japan, in August 26-29, 2013.
The HT, Humanitarian Technology, is the technology to improve the life of the underserved or underprivileged people, who have not been receiving much benefit of the scientific and engineering development. The underserved/underprivileged people include those in developing countries, the physically challenged ones, those in disasters, and others in needs. The HT includes technologies related to electricity, health, education, disaster and many other areas.
Pursuing HT Activities, HTA, is along one of the main IEEE activity guidelines. Thus, Region 10 proposed Japan chapters to host the very first HT Conference in the Asia Oceania area, in this special period of the history, after the 2011 March 11 Earthquake.
We regret that the scientists and engineers could not serve enough to protect, prevent, and recover from the disaster. We have become aware that the HTA are not only for the developing countries, but also for the scientifically and technologically advanced countries such as Japan. Therefore, we have decided to host the very first R10-HT Conference in Sendai, to invoke the HTA in this area.
Our main focus is on the areas for ICT (Information and Communication Technology) related to disaster, but we also have sessions for general HTs such as health ones. We also have sessions for affinity groups, such as SAC, Student Activity Committees. We also plan some tutorials, exhibits and a tour to the disaster-stricken area.
Although HTC2013 is a Region 10 event, we welcome participants from all over the world. Considering the nature of the conference theme, we will not make it luxurious, but innovating and exciting to start a new research field of HT.
Please come and join us, and share the excitement !
Tomonori Aoyama, Organizing Committee Chair,
IEEE Humanitarian Technology Conference 2013
TPC Chair's Message
Technical Program Committee Chair: Kazuo Hagimoto, IEEE Fellow
He is the president & CEO of NTT Electronics Corporation.
He had been in charge of R&D management on cutting edge technologies of NTT until June 2013.
He has experienced in IEEE activities, including current Japan Council Chair of IEEE Communications Society.
He also served as the president of the IEICE Communications Society, Japan.
On behalf of the R10-HTC2013 Technical Program Committee, we would like to welcome you all to IEEE R10-HTC2013 in Sendai, Japan.
First, I wish to express my deepest sympathy to everyone affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
In disasters, engineering and technologies have shown both indispensability and insufficiency. There have been, and still are, many problems to be solved, not just technologically but also socially. What technologies can prepare and serve in the critical moments, and how we engineers and researchers shall collectively contribute our utmost wisdom to resolve difficulties; that certainly ought to be one of Humanitarian Technology Challenges. Thus we set the conference theme, "lessons learned from Japan's 2011 earthquake and other natural disasters around the world."
The R10-HTC2013 Technical Program Committee received 75 technical paper submissions from 8 countries and regions, and selected 46 papers for oral presentation. We also selected 13 papers for the poster-style presentation. For this selection, each paper was carefully peer-reviewed by two reviewers who are experts on relevant technical areas. In addition, we invited 17 speakers who will give talks on emerging topics related to disaster-resilience and Humanitarian technologies. These papers and talks will be presented in 13 lecture-style sessions and one poster session.
This remarkable program would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many volunteers. We are most grateful to the reviewers, the session chairs, and TPC co-chairs and members. Moreover, our sincere gratitude should be given to all authors who submitted their work to IEEE R10-HTC2013. We hope that the whole program will be beneficial and stimulating to you all.
Kazuo Hagimoto, Technical Program Committee Chair,
IEEE Humanitarian Technology Conference 2013