TOPPAN Holdings, one of Japan’s largest printing and digital solution companies, has become a significant player in the development and deployment of digital human technology. It is involved in creating realistic AI-driven digital humans for applications ranging from customer service and advertising to education, entertainment, and museum exhibitions. TOPPAN has introduced services like real-time multilingual digital humans, video generation platforms, and AI-powered avatars such as "AN?A" and "CONN." Collaborations with companies such as AVITA and institutions like the Tokyo National Museum and NTT aim to enhance user interaction through digital humans in both virtual and physical environments. TOPPAN is also active in ethical discussions and governance around digital human use, and it supports innovations like face recognition, digital student IDs, and DX (digital transformation) solutions in various industries.
Virtual Human Lab is a research initiative by Couger Inc. that explores the creation of virtual human agents by integrating machine learning, brain science, and game AI. The lab publicly shares portions of its research, including advanced AI models like SmolDocling for document understanding and projects on offensive text detection, decision-making using multimodal LLMs, and demosaicing techniques for imaging. The lab also engages in philosophical discussions on consciousness and AI embodiment, presented through blog posts and podcasts. It emphasizes creating systems that mimic human-like cognitive processes to benefit society. The lab’s activities are supported by a mix of technical experiments and human-centered design approaches.