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Hirable Award 2022

The Hi-Lable Award 2022 is now closed for submissions.

Hi-Lable, Inc., in collaboration with Focus Systems, Inc., is launching "Operation Biological Communication - Friends with All Living Things" to foster research together by connecting children and adults, companies and researchers, with the aim of realizing communication with living things. The Hi-Lable Award is looking for junior and senior high school researchers who have an inquisitive mind about living organisms.

About HiLable, Inc.

Enriching communication through sound environment analysis

When he was a doctoral student, Representative Mizumoto was investigating the chorus mechanism of Japanese tree frogs as one of his research themes. They chirp more than several dozen at once when the paddy fields are flooded, so it was very difficult to examine them by human ears or with a microphone. To solve this problem, we developed a small device called a "frog firefly," which combines an LED and a microphone. By arranging these devices in a paddy field and filming them with a video camera, we can tell "when" and "where" the frogs are singing by their light, even in noisy conditions. Using this method, we have created a system to visualize spatio-temporal structures (Sound Imaging System), measured frog chorus at various locations such as Oki Island and rice paddies at Kyoto University, and published the results in our papers.

What we have found in these studies is that frogs are very smart. Even in high noise environments, where you have to shout to understand what they are saying, they are able to hear the sounds around them as they croak to reproduce. We wanted to realize this high level of auditory ability in a variety of systems, which is why we founded HiLable, Inc.

By focusing on our daily communication through sound and analyzing it quantitatively and objectively, we clarify what happened on the spot and engage in various activities to enrich our communication.

Application Theme

Topic: All kinds of research on living organisms

We are looking for a variety of research topics that seek to elucidate the ecology and communication between organisms, regardless of species, as long as they are animals!

Example of a theme for the call for proposals:

  • How Many Kinds of Birdsong? The Secrets of Their Calls."
  • "Exploring Individuality through the Cries of Cicadas."
  • What do fish make of color information?"

Summary

Subject of application Junior high school students, high school students, and technical college students (3rd year or younger) who are engaged in research activities
Usage Expenses required for research and development (materials, purchase of parts, etc., equipment, transportation, etc., but excluding food and beverage expenses). (excluding food and beverage expenses)
Research Period May - Dec. 2022
Reference URL https://www.hylable.com/dolittle/friends/
Partner Focus Systems Co.

Grant Details and Number of Grants Available

Grant details ①. 50,000 yen for research, etc.
Grant details (2) Research mentoring by Bridge Fellows of Hi-Lable, Inc.
Number of adoptions small number of people

Application Requirements

  • The junior high school student or high school or college of technology student who is applying must take the initiative in applying.
  • Have the consent of the parent or guardian or the school to which the student belongs
  • Be able to provide information (including contact information) to be included in the application
  • Late May 2022The applicant must be able to participate in the kick-off event to be held on the day of the event (the date of the event will be decided upon consultation with the adopter). In addition, we will basically consider holding the event on site, but will make online participation available for those who live far away).
  • December 2022(In the case of remote areas, transportation expenses to attend the presentation will be partially subsidized.)
  • The applicant agrees to allow HIRABLE, Focus Systems, and LIBANES to publish his/her information and research results (including personal information such as name, age, school affiliation, and photograph) on their websites, publications, SNS, and any other media operated by HIRABLE, Focus Systems, and LIBANES.
  • Consent to the sharing of application information with the management team of this research fund (Focus Systems Corporation, Hi-Lable Corporation and its Bridge Fellows, and Liverness Corporation).

Timeline

Application period Wednesday, December 1, 2021 - Monday, February 28, 2022 17:00
Application Deadline February 28, 2022 at 5:00 p.m.
Interview period Mid-March to early April 2022 (online interviews)
Announcement of adoption End of April 2022
Research grant End of April 2022
kickoff May 22, 2022
presentation of results December 2022
Report Submission End of Jan. 2023

Application Process

Confirmation of Terms and Conditions and Application Guidelines

Please review the terms and conditions and the application guidelines on this page, and consult with us if you have any questions about the content.
Science Castle Research Grant Hi-Lable Award Terms and Conditions

Register for a LIVERNESS ID

All middle and high school students who wish to apply are required to register all members of the team, whether they are representatives or not, with their RIBANES ID. The Research Grant Entry screen will appear after you log in to your RIBANES ID, so please register with your RIBANES ID.

Register for a LIVERNESS ID

 

Preparation of Consent Form

If this is part of a school activity, please prepare a consent form for school teachers (for schools); otherwise, please prepare a consent form for the person responsible for the protection of all team members (for individuals). Please download the model of the consent form below.
interpoint (interword separation) Science Castle Research Grant Agreement (for schools and individuals)
Please upload the scanned data of the completed and sealed documents from the application form, and send the original documents to the Science Castle Research Funding Office.

Mailing address: Tachibana, Educational Development Division, Liverness, Inc.
Iidabashi Miyuki Building 5F, 1-4 Shimomiyaibicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0822, Japan

Filling out and applying for research

Application page herePlease proceed with the description and application of your research from

adopter

Research Themes Name of Representative school's name
Dragonfly Research -Uncovering the unique relationships during hatching Akihisa Shibata Tohoku Gakuin Junior & Senior High School
Wavelengths and rhythms of frequencies that cats escape Marina Ikeda Showa High School Attached to Showa Women's University
The role of mushrooms in forest ecosystems and their relationship with other organisms - kino communication. Yasumitsu Fujiyoshi Asano Junior and Senior High School

Science Castle Research Funding Now Open for Applications

There are no Science Castle research funds available at this time.