| Head | Shinichi Hirai | Professor, Dept. of Robotics |
| Founded | April, 1996 | |
| Location | Office | Room EW401, EastWing 4F |
| Student Room | Room 245, EastWing 4F | |
| Experiment Rooms | Integrated Machine Intelligence Lab. No.1, 2F, Excel 3 | |
| Integrated Machine Intelligence Lab. No.2, 2F, Excel 3 |
| Biwako-Kusatsu Campus (BKC) | visit | |
| Biwako-Kusatsu Campus (BKC) | map | |
| Schedule |
| Current main research topics (Details can be seen here) | |||
 Soft Haptic Sensing |
 Biological Object Modeling |
 Tensegrity Robots |
 Soft-fingered Manipulation |
 Belt Object Manipulation |
 Micro Parts Feeding |
 Micro Pneumatic Valve |
 Underwater Vision |
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| 2012 | |
| 2012/1/12 | OB presentatin (photos) |
| 2011 | |
| 2011/12/15 | Numerical Methods for Mechanical Systems (ISBN 978-4-339-06094-2), 2nd print, was published by Corona Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 2011/12/10 | Dr. Xubing Zhang was nominated to Finalist of T. J. Tarn Best Paper in Robotics by TPS-SURF-SAC Matching Approach of Feature Point Applied to Deformation Measurement of Nonrigid Tissues from MR Images. |
| 2011/11/21-25 | International Seminar on Ensuring Environmental Sustainablility at Jakarta (photos) |
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| 2011/6/27-30 | RSS 2011 at USC (photos) |
| 2011/5/9-13 | ICRA2011 at Shanghai, China (photos) |
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| 2011/4/7 | Proposal for Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research "Tribology of Soft Tissues" was accepted. (HP) |
| 2011/4/1 | Proposal for Tateisi Science and Technology Foundation "Manipulation of Belt Objects" was accepted. |
| 2011/4/1 | Dr. Wang became a Research Associate of the Department of Robotics. |
| 2011/4/1 | Mr. Ho was selected as a Research Fellowship for Young Scientists (DC2) of JSPS. |
| 2011/3/6-11 | Visited universities in Vietnam (Hanoi Institute of Technology, University of Science, and Ho Chi Ming City University of Technology) (photos) |
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| 2011/1/24 | Tensegrity robots appear in a magazine "Aera". (RS Web) |
| 2010 | |
| 2010/12/14-17 | ROBIO2010 at Tianjin, China (photos) |
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| 2010/12/4-8 | Visited Wuhan Textile University with Dr. Zhang (photos) |
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| 2010/11/19-12/27 | Mr. Ho stayed at Professor Kao's laboratory in State Univ. of New York at Stony Brook for collaborative research. |
| 2010/10/4 | Experienced mixed reality in the festival for 1300 years of capital transfer to Nara (photos) |
| 2010/9/21 | Hirai Lab. was introduced in a TV program Love ☆ Lab. (News 610, NHK Kyoto). |
| 2010/8/28 | Open Campus (photos) |
| 2010/8/1-7 | Visit to universities in Indonesia with Dr. Sumadi (photos) |
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| 2010/7/6-9 | IEEE/ASME AIM 2010 at Montreal, Canada (photos) |
| 2010/6/17 | Introducing Soft Robot - Ritsumeikan University in EXPO21XX - AUTOMATION 21XX |
| 2010/5/26 | Biomimetic Soft Morphing Workshop at Seoul National University (photos) |
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| 2010/5/2-9 | ICRA2010 at Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.A. (photos) |
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| 2010/3/22 | Farewell party (photos) |
| 2010/3/8-19 | Prof. Ma, Hirai, Prof. Shimonomura, and Dr. Ozawa visited universities in China. (Huanzhong Univ. of Science and Technology, Wuhan Univ., Tianjin Univ., Hebei Univ. of Tech., Harbin Inst. of Tech., Shenyang Inst. Automation, and Northeastern Univ.) (photos) |
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| 2010/1/19 | Robotics Seminar "Industrial Robots - Towards New Development", Mr. Norio Kodaira (Chief Technology Officer, Mitsubishi Electric Cooperation) (photos) |
| 2010/1/6 | Dr. Xubing Zhang joined the laboratory as a postdoctoral fellow. |
| 2009 | |
| 2009/12/27 | The 2nd OB/OG Party at Room Senzai, Hotel Granvia Kyoto (photos) |
| 2009/12/21 | Yujiro Yamazaki was nominated to Finalist of 2009 IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Biomimetics Best Paper in Biomimetics by Two-Phased Force and Coordinates Controller for a Pair of 2-DOF Soft Fingers. |
| 2009/12/19-23 | ROBIO2009 at Guilin, China (photos) |
| 2009/11/20 | Experience on Japanese sweet making at Oimatsu. (photos) |
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| 2009/10/7 | Keynote speech on "Simulation of Deformation in Robotics" at Asia Simulation Conference 2009. (PDF) |
| 2009/10/4-5 |
The Fiffh Joint Workshop on Machine Perception and Robotics MPR2009, October 4-5, 2009, Kyoto, Japan (photos) |
| 2009/9/7 | International Robotics Seminar Handling and Manipulating Very Flexible Sheets by Robots Professor Nikos A. Aspragathos (University of Patras, Greece) (HP) |
| 2009/8/1 | Demonstration of unconstrained poppet valves and tensegrity robots in Open Campus. (photos) |
| 2009/7/31 | Talking over on Robotics. (photos) |
| 2009/7/7 | Demonstration of tensegrity robots. (photos) |
| 2009/6/14 | Demonstration of unconstrained poppet valves and tensegrity robots for high school students. (photos) |
| 2009/5/13-15 | IEEE ICRA2009 at Kobe. (photos) |
| 2009/5/12 | International Robotics Seminar Robot Assembly: From Vibratory Manipulation to Self-Organization Professor Kevin Lynch (Northwestern University) (HP) (photos) |
| 2009/3/21-29 | Professor Kawamura and Hirai visited universities in Australia (CSIRO at Brisbane, Monash University, The University of Sydney). (photos) |
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| 2009/1/1 | Mechanics and Control of Soft-fingered Manipulation (ISBN 978-1-84800-980-6) was published by Springer-Verlag London Limited. |
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| 2008 | |
| 2008/12/27 | The 1st OB/OG Party (photos) |
| 2008/12/20 | Seminar at Hanoi Institute of Technology (HIT). Introduction of Dept. Robotics |
| 2008/12/17-20 | ICARCV2008, December 17-19, Hanoi, Vietnam (12/17) (12/18) (12/19) (12/20) |
| 2008/12/6 | Mr. Matsuyama received SICE 2007 SI Division Young Researcher Encouragement Award for his paper Mechanics of Jumping via Body Deformation. (photos) |
| 2008/11/6-7 |
The Fourth Joint Workshop on Machine Perception and Robotics MPR2008, November 6-7, 2008, Beijing, China (photos) |
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| 2008/10/10 | SICE published Special Issue on System Integration in Marine Engineering (Vol.47, Oct, 2008), two years after Hirai's first proposal. |
| 2008/9/22-26 | IROS2008 at Nice, France (photos) |
| 2008/9/10 | Dr. Inoue and Hirai received the 2008 RSJ Best Paper Award for their paper Experimental Investigation of Mechanics in Soft-fingered Grasping and Manipulation. (HP) (photos) |
| 2008/9/10 | Dr. Inoue received the 2008 Young Investigation Excellence Award for his paper A New Object Orientation Control Method Generating Desired Joint Angles. (HP) |
| 2008/9/8 | Dr. Inoue received Best Presentation Award at the 2008 JSPE Intelligent Mechatronics Workshop. |
| 2008/8/28 | Numerical Methods for Mechanical Systems (ISBN 978-4-339-06094-2) was published by Corona Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 2008/7/18 | Demonstration Day for high school students. (photos) |
| 2008/6/25-27 | RSS2008 at Zurich, Switzerland (photos) |
| 2008/6/23 | Visited EPFL and had two seminars. (photos) How Softness Contributes to Human Dexterity organized by Professor Bleuler Jumping via Deformation organized by Professor Floreano |
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| 2008/5/27-30 | Presentation at FOOMA JAPAN 2008 Academic Plaza. (HP) |
| 2008/4/14 | Proposal for Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research "Soft Tissue Mechanics in Human Dexterity via Internal Sensing" was accepted. (HP) |
| 2008/4/14 | Joined collaborative research with Dainippon Screen Co.,Ltd. on underwater robots. (Press) |
| 2008/4/1 | Dr. Shibata moved to Kawamura Laboratory as an Assistant Professor. |
| 2008/3/21 | Fawewell party (photos) |
| 2007 | |
| 2007/12/21 | Dr. Inoue and Hirai received SICE 2007 SI Division Research Encouragement Award. |
| 2007/11/16-17 |
The Third Joint Workshop on Machine Perception and Robotics MPR2007, November 16-17, 2007, Kusatsu, Japan |
| 2007/11/2 |
Workshop on Modeling, Identification, and Control of Deformable Soft Objects November 2, in conjunction with IROS 2007, San Diego, U.S.A. |
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| 2007/9/26 | Model-based Control for Cognition in Technical Systems Prof. Dr. Olaf Stursberg (Technical University of Munich) |
| 2007/9/19 | Optimal Movement Generation Professor Frank Chongwoo Park (Seoul National University) |
| 2007/8/22 | Dr. Shibata's proposal "Investigation of Human Dexterity Generated by Loose Joints via Soft Elements" was accepted for a Grant in Aid for Scientific Research (start-up). (HP) |
| 2007/7/25 | Prof. Hirai was introduced in a book Messages from Robotics Researchers, organized by Robotics Society of Japan. |
| 2007/7/9 | Dr. Shibata and Prof. Hirai's proposal Expansion and Placement of Fabrics using Visual Sensing was accepted by Japan Science and Technology Agancy (JST). (HP) |
| 2007/4/1 | Dr. Inoue moved to Okayama Prefecural University. |
| 2007/4/1 | Dr. Shibata joined the faculty of mechanical systems as an experiment assistant. |
| 2007/3/15 | Dr. Inoue and Prof. Hirai received the Best Paper Award in the 12th Robotics Symposia for their paper Dynamics in Object Manipulation by a Pair of Spft Fingertips. (HP) |
| 2007/1/24 | Research Opportunities in Robotics Professor Tzyh Jong Tarn (Washington University) |
| 2007/1/12 | Workshop on Bridge between Biology and Robotics Professor Mascaro (Univ. Utah) and Professor Sitti (CMU) (photos) |
| 2006 | |
| 2006/12/16 | Mechanical Energy Analysis of Jumping by Body Deformation of Soft Circular Robot received SICE SI2006 Presentation Award. |
| 2006/12/11 | Workshop on Exploration of Intelligence bridging Machines and Nature Professor Slotine (MIT), Professor Osuka (Kobe Univ.), and Professor Mochiyama (NITECH) (photos) |
| 2006/12/6-8 | Exhibition of CMOS+FPGA Vision at 2006 International Technical Exhibition on Image Technology and Equipment (Pacifico Yokohama) with Image Technology Laboratory Corp. and Marubeni Solutions Corp. |
| 2006/12/4 | COE Lecture on How to Find Research Issues |
| 2006/11/30 -12/2 | Exhibition of Unconstrained Poppet Valves at
International Next Generation Robot Fair (INTEX Osaka).
(photos) Nikkan Kougyo Shimbun 2006/11/21 (article) (photo). |
| 2006/11/22 | Soft-fingered manipulation was introduced in Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun 2006/11/22. |
| 2006/7/1 | Hirai started to serve as an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Robotics. |
| 2006/5/17 | Takahiro Inoue was nominated to Finalist of 2006 IEEE Int. Conf. Robotics and Automation Best Manipulation Paper Award by Study on Hemispherical Soft-Fingered Handling for Fine Manipulation by Minimum D.O.F. Robotic Hand. |
| 2006/5/17 | Kazuhiro Shimizu was nominated to Finalist of 2006 IEEE Int. Conf. Robotics and Automation Best Vision Paper Award by CMOS+FPGA Vision System for Visual Feedback of Mechanical Systems. |
| 2006/5/15-19 | ICRA2006 at Orlando, U.S.A. (photos) |
| 2006/4/1 | Dr. Inoue was employed as a JSPS COE Researcher. |
| 2006/4/1 | Dr. Mitani moved to Sapporo City University. |
| 2006/3/22 | Mr. Uehara received JSME Miura Award. |
| 2005 | |
| 2005/12/22 | Mr. Inoue received IEEE Kansai Chapter Student Encouragement Award. |
| 2005/12/6 | ICMT2005 (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) Banquet (photos by Uehara) (1/2) (2/2) |
| 2005/11/30 | Handling Engineering (ISBN 978-4-339-04525-3) was published by Corona Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 2005/7/26-8/7 | Demonstration on Crawling and Jumping Soft Robot KOHARO at the Robot Station, Expo 2005 Aichi Japan. (photos) |
| 2005/6/9-19 | Demonstration on Crawling and Jumping Soft Robot KOHARO at Prototype Robot Exhibition, Expo 2005 Aichi Japan. (photo diary) (demonstration) |
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| 2005/6/10 | ROBOCON Magazine No.40 introduced Hirai Lab. |
| 2005/4/22 | Proposal for Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research "Reality-based Modeling of Deformable Soft Objects via Internal Sensing" was accepted. (HP) |
| 2005/4/20 | Takahiro Inoue was nominated to Finalist of 2005 IEEE Int. Conf. Robotics and Automation Best Manipulation Paper Award by Quasi-Static Manipulation with Hemispherical Soft Fingertip via Two Rotational Fingers. |
| 2004 | |
| 2004/12/07 | Lecture on How Softness Contributes to Dexterity in Object Manipulation at the startup meeting of soft object handling research group, Kagawa University. |
| 2004/10/29 | Farewell Party for Professor Vaz (photos) (photos) |
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| 2004/10/6 | WTEC International Assessment of R&D in Robotics from U.S. visited Dept. Robotics, Ritsumeikan University. (PDF) |
| 2004/7/28 | "Crawling and Jumping of a Deformable Robot" was introduced in Mainichi Shimbun 2004/7/28 "Science TODAT". |
| 2004/7/4 | Robotic wheels that just keep rolling in New Scientists. |
| 2004/6/19 | Yuuta Sugiyama was offered the IFRR Student Fellowship to present his article "Crawling and Jumping of a Deformable Robot" in ISER2004 at Singapore. |
| 2004/6/17 | "Crawling and Jumping of a Deformable Robot" was introduced in Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun 2004/6/17. |
| 2004/6/3 | Project "Crawling and Jumping by a Deformable Soft Robot" was accepted to the NEDO 21st Century Robot Challenge Program. |
| 2004/4/3 | Visit to Professor Vaz's house and Indian Restaurant (photos) |
| 2004/3/11-12 | ISERP Symposium on Intelligent Control of Multi-fingered Hand Based on Sensory-Motor Coordination |
| 2004/3/2-3 | HUT-RITS Joint Symposium on Sensory-Motor Coordination in Robotic Manipulation |
| 2004/1/12-13 | Ski Trip (1/2) (2/2) |
| 2003 | |
| 2003/6/17 | NAIST Ogasawara Lab. Gaze-controlled wheelchair (photos) |
| 2003/6/6 | First Symposium on "Micro Nanoscience Integrated Systems" |
| 2003/4/10 | Project on soft-fingered manipulation was introduced in a Japanese book Coming Astro Boy (ISBN4-410-13828-6). |
| 2003/1/16-17 | Ski Trip (1/2) (2/2) |
| 2002 | |
| 2002/7/25 | SIG Haptic and Deformation in VRSJ (photo) |
| 2002/6/7 | Proposal for Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research Visual and Haptic Rendering for Virtual Rheological Objects was accepted. |
| 2001 | |
| 2001/8/2 | Lab. visit (photo) |
| 2001/7/29-8/11 | Asian Science Instutute 2001 (photos) |
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| 2001/7/4 | Introduced in Yomiuri Shimbun 2001/7/4 "Scientist in new generation". |
| 2001/5/24 | Shinichi Tokumoto was nominated to Finalist of 2001 IEEE Int. Conf. Robotics and Automation Kayamori Best Paper Award by Vision-based Automatic Forming of Rheological Objects Using Deformation Transition Graphs. |
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