COTOWA
COTOWA: the road to our prototype
From research collecting the language of clinical settings, through two patents and running our own accommodation, to starting the COTOWA prototype.
The name COTOWA
COTOWA combines two Japanese words: kotoba, meaning language, and wa, meaning harmony. The name expresses our wish to reach across the language barrier and bring travellers, hotels, medical providers and local communities together in harmony.
Where it began
Through work in medical interpreting and translation, our Representative Director saw how heavily the language barrier weighs on foreign patients and the medical staff who treat them. When symptoms are not understood correctly, treatment can be delayed or go wrong. The wish to solve this with a system, not just goodwill, is where COTOWA began.
The road to our prototype
Collecting the language of clinical settings
In commissioned research for one of Japan's leading national university hospitals, in Tokyo, Phase 1 (October 2014 to May 2015), we extracted and organised conversations between nurses, pharmacists and patients and the medical terms used in hospital. In July we exhibited our "Smart Medical Interpreting System" at the International Modern Hospital Show 2014.Presenting our results
In May we presented the development and field testing of a multilingual translation system for pharmacies at the 54th Annual Conference of the Japanese Society for Medical and Biological Engineering. In December, Phase 2 of the research began, continuing until March 2019.Exhibiting at HOSPEX Japan 2016
We introduced systems built on our research to people working in healthcare.Two patents granted
"Dialogue support system, dialogue support method and program" (Japanese Patent No. 6565032) was registered in August, and "Medical data management system" (No. 6601603) in October: one clarifies the intent of a question and lets people reply by choosing from candidates; the other gives immediate access to medical information through a QR code.A place where travellers stay
We opened D-RYOKAN Kabukicho in December, followed by D-RYOKAN Myogadani in July 2024, and now run accommodation where guests from many countries actually stay.Starting the prototype
Building on trustworthy knowledge of medical language from our research with one of Japan's leading national university hospitals, in Tokyo, and on our two patents, we began the prototype of COTOWA, a safety guidance system for hotels and inns. Guests scan a QR code in their room to call for help, find a hospital, show medical details and translate, all in their own language. We are testing it at D-RYOKAN Myogadani Korakuen.
The prototype
✅ Already Tested at D-Ryokan Tokyo · D旅館で実証中
Need Help in Japan?困ったことはありますか？
Scan this QR code anytime you need help in Japan.
日本滞在中に困ったらいつでもご利用ください。
A reproduction of the prototype screens being tested at D-RYOKAN Myogadani Korakuen. Details may differ from the actual screens.
What comes next
Through testing at D-RYOKAN we will refine COTOWA for both guests and staff, and develop a commercial version that other hotels and inns can introduce. Alongside this, we are developing, in a closed environment, our own AI engine that understands Japanese descriptions of symptoms, onomatopoeia included, and presents them in Japanese that doctors understand correctly.