Research
Tokyo Institute of Technology merged with Tokyo Medical and Dental University to form Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo) on October 1, 2024.
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Research
Robot Lab
Powerful creativity. Unique artistry. Strong conviction. All these ingredients blend in Tokyo Tech's matrix of world-changing robots.
Tokyo Tech
Wrong! A super-long search and inspection robot.
Giacometti Arm
Topped with a camera and around 20 m long, this robot consists of a lightweight body made of helium-filled film balloons and thin artificial muscles, allowing it to penetrate tall buildings and seek out abnormalities.
Tokyo Tech
Wrong! An aerial inspection drone that opens doors.
Aerial Manipulator
Equipped with a pneumatic arm and leech-like suckers, this insectoid turns the doorknob to search rooms, clinging to ceilings and walls to collect information or to check by hammering. Using a mounted camera, the robot can be remotely operated.
Tokyo Tech
Wrong! An amphibious snake-like scouting robot.
ACM
(Active Code Mechanism)
Created by Prof. Emer. Shigeo Hirose in 2005, this amphibian maneuvers in water and rubble with ease. A camera-equipped model is now scouting the Fukushima nuclear plant site. Assoc. Prof. Masaki Yamakita is also working on autonomous robots.
Tokyo Tech Footage coustesy of ikinamo
Wrong! A minimally-invasive pneumatic surgical manipulator.
Laparoscopic
Surgery Robot
Efficiently handling the affected area, this pneumatic-driven forceps robot provides minimally-invasive assistance during laparoscopic surgery. Its organ-friendly, in situ touch is fed back to the operator.
Tokyo Tech
Wrong! A swimming humanoid that imitates human movements.
SWUMANOID
Swumanoid imitates a swimmer's body shape and complex swimming motions. Through humanoid movement and human movement analysis, this "athlete" aims to optimize swimming methods and help develop high-speed swimsuits.
Tokyo Tech Footage coustesy of ikinamo
Wrong! A learning, thinking, teaching AI Robot.
SOINN
Just ask it to brew a cup of tea and watch! This AI gizmo searches online to learn the tools and procedures required, ponders as necessary, then actually serves tea. It then shares the knowledge it has learned with its peers.
Tokyo Tech
Wrong! A musculoskeletal robot driven by multifilament muscles.
Musculoskeletal Robot
Resilience and suppleness are no longer the sole preserve of the living. Pneumatic-driven artificial muscles allow this skeleton to mimic complicated human movements without machinery or motors.
Robot engineering has been
the final frontier of technical ingenuity.
For centuries, humans have attempted to create
robots and humanoids that mimic what we do.
So what is a robot?
Definitions vary, as do sizes, designs, and functions.
However, one constant remains — the element of "life"
that people strive to instill in inorganic
robotware to both replicate and greatly
exceed human capabilities.
Robot Lab
Published: May 2017