e-plegona: Red Door Cafe's Interactive Art Installation Brings Yamaha's Vision of Kando to Caltech

The Red Door Cafe at Caltech was transformed into a hub of curiosity and engagement with Yamaha’s e-plegona installation, a groundbreaking piece of interactive art that merges technology, neuroscience, and design. Created by Kip Washio, e-plegona exemplifies Yamaha’s Kando philosophy—a Japanese concept that captures the simultaneous feelings of deep satisfaction and intense excitement. Through this installation, Yamaha invites participants to experience Kando through nonverbal, collaborative interactions.

Dr. Takashi (Taka) Suegami, Ph.D. in Psychology, Human Research Strategy Lead of the Technology Strategy Group within Yamaha Motor’s Technical Research & Development Center, emphasizes the importance of blending excitement with empathy in Yamaha’s projects. When asked about the core of e-plegona, Suegami explained, “Yamaha Motor sees Kando as a blend of excitement, like riding a motorcycle, and empathy, which is about bodily and emotional understanding. e-plegona combines body movement and partner coordination, creating a physical, dance-like interaction that brings excitement and empathy.”

When asked about Kando, Professor Shinsuke Shimojo, the Gertrude Baltimore Professor of Experimental Psychology at Caltech and a research collaborator on e-plegona, explained, “Kando is being emotionally moved, like after watching an impactful movie. It’s part of both companies’ mission to create products that evoke Kando, aiming for experiences that aren’t just functional but deeply interactive and emotionally engaging.” He elaborated, “Music is a big part of this—whether it’s church music, disco, or music in the car. This musical connection has even drawn some criticism from the motor division for being too music-centered. But for motorbike enthusiasts, for example, engine sound is as integral as the ride itself.”

Professor Shimojo highlighted the team’s unique background: “Takashi used to be a postdoc in my lab. He’s an experimental psychologist sent by Yamaha Motor. My lab is a psychology and cognitive neuroscience lab focused on interactions among the human mind, body, and brain.”

Professor Shimojo’s lab focuses on cognitive neuroscience, particularly the states of consciousness and flow—“the zone” that athletes and musicians enter during peak performance. “Part of our interest is consciousness,” Shimojo elaborates. “Another focus—popular in our field—is the ‘social brain,’ which looks at how we communicate and synchronize, both explicitly and implicitly, even at a subconscious level.” This led to a unique examination of “flow,” or a state where game players are so absorbed in an activity that they lose track of time. Shimojo explained, “Flow, or the zone, as athletes say… is a state where you forget time and become fully immersed, finding immense pleasure in the moment.” This phenomenon underpins much of the e-plegona experience, as participants must rely on nonverbal cues and timing to achieve harmony with each other’s rhythms.

Shimojo distinguishes between solo and team flow, stating, “We made a distinction between solo flow and team flow. As a musician, you may experience solo flow when playing alone, and team flow in a jam session where each musician synchronizes with the others.” He added to support this concept scientifically, “We’ve shown that both the body and the brain synchronize with another person’s. Bodies in sync, and specific brain waves sync up, reflecting this ’team flow.’ So, it’s not just a subjective feeling; objectively, we see neural indicators of flow.” Additionally, he noted, “Supported by the Japanese government, we’re exploring how flow and team experiences contribute to happiness and positive attitudes (‘Maemuki’ in Japanese), which are qualities both Yamaha Motor and Yamaha Corporation aim to instill in their products.”

This vision aligns with Yamaha’s mission to create emotionally engaging experiences that transcend the purely functional. Yamaha’s corporate philosophy—often referred to as “Kando Creating Company”—focuses on delivering products and experiences that resonate deeply with people, fostering meaningful connections.

Kazuya (Kip) Washio, Design and Research and Development Manager at Yamaha Corporation of America, is the creator of e-plegona. Kip added, “e-plegona is designed for both musicians and non-musicians to experience the joy of group play without needing musical skill. It’s about intuitive, collaborative play that even children can enjoy.” Shimojo echoed this sentiment, noting, “This experience is often limited to musicians, but e-plegona brings it to everyone, embodying Kando.” He emphasized that “observing this variance [between rhythm-based and button-press activities] is key to understanding engagement.”

Tyler Gatewood (CS ‘27) shared his experience after a round on e-plegona. “It felt good. The vibration feedback was delightful. Hitting the right notes, sending them off—it was more about rhythm and how consistent you could send and receive the notes.” Tyler also mentioned that e-plegona requires teamwork and nonverbal communication, which added a unique layer to the experience. “It’s more or less stimulant communication with your partner,” he said, appreciating how the installation facilitated a shared rhythm and flow.

Ama Obeng (ME ‘26, Lloyd) also shared her thoughts after playing e-plegona. “It was just an enjoyable, exciting feeling. It reminded me of Garage Band and similar games,” she said. “You’re trying to make a beat or some sort of rhythm by sending over beats and catching the beats your partner sends, all done nonverbally. It was a lot of fun and gave me a sense of cognitive stimulation.” Ama also noted the importance of working together to maintain rhythm, saying, “It definitely energized me as well as stimulated my cognition… just feeling very energized and pretty excited.”

Additionally, two female Ph.D. students who played a round felt relaxed and energized, noting how e-plegona’s nonverbal interaction helped them concentrate on their partner. This created a sense of shared intent and mutual understanding, enhancing their experience of focus and connection.

Professor Shimojo further explains that e-plegona is a scientific exploration as much as an artistic one. “College students often feel guilty about gaming, but these personal, physical experiences are fundamental, potentially feeding into neuroscience, psychology, and anthropology,” he notes. By engaging in embodied interactions through installations like e-plegona, students experience the intersections of intuition, physicality, and emotional engagement firsthand. “Understanding yourself is the start,” Shimojo adds, underscoring the relevance of self-awareness in both academic and personal growth.

Moreover, Shimojo shared that his lab is seeking an undergraduate research assistant to work on projects connected to e-plegona and similar research. This opportunity could allow a student to delve deeper into interdisciplinary studies at the nexus of psychology, neuroscience, and human interaction. Professor Shimojo can be contacted at sshimojo@caltech.edu.

The e-plegona has already earned international acclaim, winning a prestigious Red Dot Design Award in 2024 in the Design Concept category. This award underscores Yamaha’s commitment to interdisciplinary innovation, combining cognitive science and artistic design to create experiences that evoke Kando. The installation has been featured at leading technology festivals, including SXSW in Austin and Tech Open Air in Berlin, where it attracted widespread attention for its approach to human interaction and emotional connection.

Reflecting on the impact of early influences, Shimojo shared, “I learned from my best mentor, who chose me as his first postdoc based on my enthusiasm, not my CV or papers. He believed childhood hobbies are better predictors of scientific success than grades or publications.” Encouraging students to draw on their interests, Shimojo hopes that installations like e-plegona will inspire the next generation of researchers to explore the intersections of science, art, and technology. “If people experience Kando together, maybe we can understand each other better,” he noted, emphasizing Yamaha’s commitment to creating understanding through shared experiences.

Through e-plegona, Yamaha, and Caltech, walk-in participants explored the power of nonverbal communication, shared flow states, and emotional resonance. As Shimojo eloquently states, “Kando isn’t just a scientific term; it’s a daily word in Japan about being moved emotionally. Our goal is to Scientifically define it and find ways to measure, enhance, or recreate it. Yamaha wants to understand this scientifically and incorporate it into their products to enrich user experiences.” This installation at Caltech’s Red Door Cafe was a testament to the profound impact of shared experiences and emotional connection in bridging diverse fields and uniting people across cultures.

Tyler, a Caltech computer science sophomore, plays a round of e-plegona with Teruhiro (Teru) Hayashi, design researcher at Yamaha Motor, as Takashi (Taka) Suegami, human research strategy lead at Yamaha Motor looks on. Photo Credit: Gregory Miller