—Virtual Human Project
Saya — handcrafted virtual human, since 2015
From a single line, she is born
Existence cannot be designed
So we
make time.
Plants reach for light,
insects carry life forward.
Whether there is consciousness in that, we cannot know.
And still, each in its own way, they meet the world — and live.
"Saya," rendered entirely in full 3DCG,
has been shared with the world since her first concept image in 2015 —
drawing attention and expectation, her process of growth revealed step by step.
Watching, observing, touching, experiencing — one human studying another,
and little by little, recreating the essence gathered from it.
This process, so deeply tied to human perception,
has become an essential part of what forms Saya.
Today, together with dialogue-intelligence research, AISIN, and other companies and researchers,
development of a multimodal agent is underway.
Jonetsu Tairiku — TELYUKA / Saya, 2020
—Saya's Evolution
2015 — 2026
fig. 01 — 2015 / first portrait2015
Born as a single still image, Saya sparked debate worldwide as "CG indistinguishable from a photograph." It all began with the hands of two people.
fig. 02 — 2016 / in motion2016 —
Movement, expression, and voice. What had been a still image began to live within time. Even a single blink carries the handmade rhythm of its makers.
fig. 03 — 2020 / documentary2020 —
Through research into sensing and real-time CG, Saya moved from being "watched" to "facing" others. Those days of meeting people's eyes and beginning to respond were widely shown through the documentary Jonetsu Tairiku.
fig. 04 — 2023 / dialogue2023 —
Integration with generative AI and agent technology. Saya, now responding in her own words, became a place where art and cutting-edge technology meet in a single body.
fig. 05 — 2026 / public service2026 — present
From the Japan Mobility Show to a city hall service counter and Woven City. No longer an exhibit, Saya is beginning to stand in society as a presence working alongside people.
—Research & Collaborations
joint research & development
Artificial Emotional Intelligence Saya, a dialogue system co-developed with AISIN and a range of partner companies and research teams. As an AI that understands human words and feelings and responds with empathy, she continues to meet people in the real world — from a storefront at Haneda Innovation City, to guiding visitors at the Osaka-Kansai Expo, to conversing with students in a Woven City elementary school classroom.
Project site — aei-saya.jp →Joint research with universities across dialogue AI, speech systems, and voice synthesis — exploring Saya from the scientific side, across many fields.
Field trials of virtual-human reception at service counters, testing acceptance in public spaces.
Systems, speech and image recognition, HPC, character expression, dialogue research — Saya is raised within a team where companies and universities gather across disciplines.
Members →Technical trials, exhibitions, research partnerships — please reach out, regardless of field.
—About & Philosophy
from two pairs of hands
In an age where the pace of time has accelerated, without being swept along,
pouring love and time into realizing each expression, one by one — it seems something reaches the person receiving it, too.
So that Saya can be Saya, and people can be themselves.
Connecting person to person, person to thing, thing to thing —
this social role brings her many kinds of growth,
though it sometimes has to hold back what one might personally wish for.
