Soft Entrainment: Co-emergence of “Maai” and Entrainment by Rhythm Controller - Emotional Engineering - page 86

First, we need to focus on the fact that entrainment in multiple cycles does not
occur in the rhythm of the purposive action (avatar motion), but in the pre-stored
action (rhythm controller waveform) produced preceding the emergence of this
action while in the process of creation of this action. Such a pre-stored action
functions as the interface that connects the real action expressed outside us with the
image of its action generated in the human mind. In the previous section, we
showed that the operation of this interface or rhythm controller can re fl ect the
internal states of humans. This is a soft interface that changes fl flexibly depending on
the situation. Therefore, the entrainment in multiple cycles that occurs in the rhythm
controller waveform is a soft coherence created between two soft interfaces. In
other words, we believe that the co-emergence of improvisational Maai is realized
by the human ability to create soft coherence between mutual soft interfaces. We
term such entrainment of soft interfaces “soft entrainment” to differentiate it from
the traditional entrainment in the speci ! c cycle (hard coherence).
Next, we consider the requirements of the creation of the soft entrainment we
uncovered in this research. Results of the remote Kendo match indicate that two
kinds of interaction realize the creation of soft entrainment.
• Exchange the cycle and phase of mutual rhythm controller waveforms through
the timing display device (A-interaction)
• Display the degree of the coherence (entrainment) of mutual rhythm controller
waveforms though the coherence image expression (B-interaction)
Soft entrainment is also created in the Kendo match where the participants are in
the same location. In that case, the cycle and phase of the mutual rhythm controller
are transmitted because the rhythm controller emits a sound when the zero-cross is
created on the controller waveform. However, in this co-located case, the degree of
the coherence (entrainment) of mutual rhythm controller waveforms is not shown.
Consequently, we have to consider how humans create such information. The
emergence of the coherence or phase relationship means that the phase difference is
constant. Therefore, if the phase of both controller waveforms or phase difference of
both controller waveforms is constantly transmitted, humans can calculate the
degree of the coherence. In other words, B-interaction can be realized in theory if
A-interaction is realized. However, experimental results indicate that the creation of
soft entrainment requires both interactions at the same time.
Therefore, the single model, as shown in Fig. 17 a, cannot explain the creation of
the soft entrainment; i.e., in the creation of soft entrainment, humans calculate the
degree of coherence through a process that is completely different from the tem-
poral differentiation of the phase difference shown in Fig. 17 a . Therefore, we
believe that humans realize the creation of soft entrainment by means of two types
of interactions that are qualitatively different (Fig. 17 b).