I was personally impressed by the phrase a speaker mentioned in the symposium;gWe are stepping out from one age where people approach computers to another age where computers approach people.h
Research and development of information processing technologies are surely keys in the evolution of humankind. Extensive networks are now being constructed and improved, and a variety of information can easily be obtained. Even for the general user, information processing has become a household technology.
I think, however, that we are still at the stage where only improvements in surrounding circumstances make us think of things renewed and fresh. Thanks to great efforts by researchers and engineers, our technologies are improving, step by step. Reallistically, however, the latest results of such improvements have a scant relation to users, if they do not have a basic knowledge of computer science.
In the new phase of the RWC Project,gFundamental Information Technology of the Next Generation,hthe people involved will be working on extensive research and development activities in order to establish new technologies which may serve as the basis for great changes. The project will, hopefully, cause a wonderful advancement in the relationship between computers and human beings someday in the future.
Through the speeches and demonstrations given at RWC f97, I hope you can glimpse the process that is bringing our dreams closer to realization. We will be happy if our readers can experience, if even in a small way, the exciting atmosphere of the symposium through this special issue.
Our future issues will report on the process of research activities in the Project for Fundamental Information Technology of the Next Generation in a timely manner. If you have a request for this publication, do not hesitate to contact us.
We sincerely look forward to hearing from you.
Noriko Namikoshi