What is the future of search? To answer this question is our challenge. Yes, big data predicting what we want might be convenient, but our vision involves a more rudimentary sensation – a search system with the human touch. What if a spoken word turns into a physical object? The search could be more exiting. We invented Hands On Search that makes imagination real and gives us inspirational and tangible realities, not just informational results. It was developed by combining the idea of human touch with common 3D printing technology.

This innovation might be something good, but it won’t just spread on its own. A website to promote the project was made, but it was necessary to allow for more personalization of this promotion to make it truly successful.

So, the innovation was first provided to those who need it most – children with sight impairments. Without vision, these kids “view” the world through their hands, recognizing objects via touch.

Also through videos on YouTube, press releases and other PR activity, the project gained lots of publicity and recognition in both Japan and the rest of the world. In addition, with financial support from the Japanese government, teaching material based on the search database 3D data will be made for Japanese educational institutions. With the power of PR, we succeeded in getting people to accept this innovation, putting it well on the way to being an educational standard.

In this case, the creative idea itself actually led to the revolution of the search medium. This media revolution was carried out with three schools for the blind over six months. Many people kept an eye on related activities through PR events and the website. On the website, things the children touched were reported on with comments, while things they wanted to touch but were not saved in the search database were uploaded. The things not in the database were turned into Yahoo advertisements, allowing many people, organizations and companies to upload the data. This means the website also functioned as an aggregator of 3D data for the children. Also through videos on YouTube, press releases and other PR activity, this media innovation gained lots of publicity and recognition in both Japan and the rest of the world.

The product design allows one’s curiosity to take shape right in front of them.

We made a futuristic product that allows things spoken as words to materialize in front of the speaker.

Going beyond just seeing and listening, to actually adding the sense of touch to search. This is our Hands On Search system.

Yahoo! also made Hands On Search available as an open source application. Yahoo’s passion impressed the government, which earmarked funds to convert the project’s 3D data into study material. This innovation thus is now an educational one, going from a service to vital social infrastructure.