Out of Blue Wins Italy's A' Design Award for 'SIXTHVIEW,' an App Visualizing Tsunami Precursors

Out of Blue Inc., a Tokyo-based creative lab led by Midori Yamasaki, has announced that its next-generation disaster prevention IoT platform, 'SIXTHVIEW,' has received the Bronze Award at the world-renowned 'A' Design Award and Competition' in Italy, specifically in the Disaster Relief and Disaster Prevention Design category.

SIXTHVIEW is a GIS-based web application that captures and visualizes infrasound (ultra-low-frequency sound) generated by large-scale natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions in real-time. By transforming inaudible sounds into intuitive visual information, the app is designed to help ordinary citizens detect early signs of disasters without specialized knowledge, making disaster preparedness more accessible.

Midori Yamasaki, the representative and creative director, has an extensive background working with global brands like Adidas, Nike, and Facebook. In addition to her team's win, she served as a member of the grand jury for this year's awards.

Demonstration experiments have been conducted in areas vulnerable to natural disasters, such as the coastal regions of Kochi Prefecture, to verify the effectiveness of infrasound-based early detection against risks like the Nankai Trough earthquake. The project aims to present a new type of infrastructure by fusing disaster-prevention technology with media art.