Society 5.0: Human Centric, Decentralized, and Hyperautomated

Abstract

The articles in this special section focus on the concept of Society 5.0. The five articles provide a glimpse of the human-centric applications and approaches in our continuously evolving digital society. With the rapid developments and proliferation of IoT, cyber-physical systems, AI, autonomous and mobility technologies, cyber (virtual) space and physical (real) space are converging. Such advancements in information and communication technology (ICT) have brought progress in industrial automation and economic growth. As things, people, and devices are increasingly connected, another digital revolution that focuses on human, social, and environmental needs is underway. Having its origin in Japan, Society 5.0 attempts to bring social and environmental concerns into the midst of a digital society. Conceptually, Society 5.0 is defined as “a human-centered (smart) society that balances economic advancement with the resolution of social problems by a system that highly integrates cyberspace and physical space.” a For a human-centered society, technologies can contribute significant value to many fields, such as mobility, healthcare and caregiving, manufacturing and infrastructures, food and agriculture, energy and climate, and disaster prevention. All the previous are in complete accordance with IEEE’s core purpose to foster technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity.