Profile:

• Belong to Robot Development Engineering Laboratory(Director),
  Department of Mechanical Engineering and Intelligent Systems, Faculty of Engineering, Tohoku Gakuin University
• Position: Associate Professor
• Degree: Doctor of Engineering (thesis on biped robot), received from Tohoku university (Mar. 2000)
• History: Mar.1974: Born in Sendai
  Apr.1992: Enrolled in Tohoku university(undergraduate)
  Mar.1995: Left Tohoku university(undergraduate) to enter graduate school
  Apr.1995: Enrolled in Graduate School of Tohoku university
  Mar.2000: Received doctor of engineering. Apr.2000-Mar.2003: Research assistant at Tohoku university
  Apr.2003-Mar.2006: Fulltime lecturer at Tohoku Gakuin university
  Apr.2006-Mar.2013: Associate professor at Tohoku Gakuin university
  Apr.2013-(current): Professor at Tohoku Gakuin university
  Apr.2008-Jul.2009, Oct.2010-Mar.2011, July.2011-(concurrently): Regional Corraboration Fellow (Sendai city, academic-industrial alliance position)
  Sep.2009-Aug.2010(concurrently): Visiting professor at Carnegie Mellon university, the Robotics Institute
  
• Qualification: Electrical chief engineer

• Lectures:
  • Freshman seminar(1st grade, 1st semester)
    
  • Mechatronics I,II(2nd to 3rd grade)
    
  • Junior seminar (RDE introduction, 2007) (2005) (2006)
    
  • Robotics(3rd grade)
    
  • Robot development(4th grade)
    
  • Lectures for graduated school students on robotics and signal processing.
  • Computer programming, control (previously)

• Technical/Cultural lectures for outside the campus
  • Linux hardware control, Linux device drivers (several times)
  • Visiting lecture for senior high schools (over 20 times)
    "Creating/Developing/Making Robots"
    Basis of robots, classification, fundamental technology and theory, including how study if want to be a robotic engineer.
    
  • Visiting lecture for kindergarten (4 times)
    "Make Robots!"
    Watch and touch the robot. Univ-Kindergarten joint project.
  • Lectures for citizens
    "Creating/Developing/Making Robots"
    
  • Lectures for Tohoku Electric Power, career course
    "Micro computer control"
    Lectures and practical training of 16bit micro controllers for embedded systems.
  • Lectrues for engineers
    "Sensing system for Robots"
    "Developing Robots - intersection of Mechanism, Electronics, and Computer"
    "Application of accelerometers and angular velocity sensors for attitude control of robot"
    

• Research field
  • Elemental technology of robots
    Sensing, Sensor information processing, Control system, Hardware control based on Linux
  • Motion capture using magnetic field
    Virtual reality, Motion measurement of human
  • High speed digital signal processing
    Multi-purpose digital interface board for robot control and signal processing
  • How to develop robots that students want, see below.

• Developing / Research theme of Bachelor / Master students
  • Biped robots
    Development of machines(Asada 2003, Tamada 2004)
    Walk on slopes, up to 15[deg](Mori 2005)
    Roller skate using passive wheels(Tamada 2006)
    Realtime walking command control(Goto 2006)
    Walk on eneven ground(Itabashi 2007)
    Walk on stairs(Onodera 2007)
    Development of human-size legged robot with rollers(Itabashi 2009)
  • Quadruped robots
    Development of machine(Arikawa 2006)
    Development of quad with active wheels(Okada 2008)
    Development of quad for cribming step(Ujiie 2008)
    
  • Inverted pendulum based robots
    Pipe riding balancing robot(Ito 2004)
    Conveyance robot with two wheel(Tsuchiya 2005)
    Ball riding balancing robot(Ochiai 2007,2009)
    Elemental development of one legged robot(Konno 2007)
    
  • Wheeled robots
    Development of two-wheel-driven robot(Kubota 2003,Imazu 2004)
    Navigation of two wheeled robot using laser range finder(Sugawara 2005)
    Development of Trailer type robot(Abe 2006)
    Cooperation of twin robot for maze(Tanaka 2006)
    Transport assist robot for agriculture(Kon 2008)
    Touch panel navigation of trailer(Onodera 2008)
    Docking mechanism for trailer(Adachi 2008)
    System for drive by wire of EV(Niiho 2008)
    
  • Crowler robot
    Development of machine(Matsuno 2007)
    
  • Sensing
    Application of motion capture(Iwadate and Tagusari 2003)
    Development of obstacle sensor using ultrasound(Ogata 2004)
    Improvement of motion capture using magnetic field(Akamatsu 2004)
    3D depth map sensing using stripe light source(Yoshida 2005)
    Scan matching using laser range finder(Mori 2005)
    Expansion of Motion capture(Akamatsu 2006)
    Remote operation of manipulator using motion capture(Mizuma 2006)
    
  • Image processing
    Generation of all-around image for robotic research(Nogami 2003)
    Matching recognition of parm pattern(Ito 2004)
    Security system using network attached camera(Koduka 2005)
    Position detection using markers(Sato 2006)
    Image based navigation for Trailer(Sugawara 2007)
    Recognition of speed limit sign on road(Ishikawa 2008)
    
  • Signal processing
    Extraction of musical notes from sounds(Atsumi 2007)
    

• Societies belong to:
  • IEEE
  • SICE, The Society of Instrument and Control Engineers(Tohoku chapter Web administrator)
  • JSME,The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers(Robotics and Mechatronics Division)
  • RSJ,The Robotics Society of Japan
  • Intelligent Robot Contest steering committee
  • Mekatoro De Asobukai(Play with mechatronics)
  • Robotics Task Force for Anti-Disaster

• Awards:
  • JSME Tohoku chapter, Students award for creative research(for Ms students)(1997)
    Dynamic walking of human type biped robot using multiple sensors
    
  • SICE Tohoku chapter, Excellent presentation encourage award (2001) Development of virtual enviroment for driving simulator
    
  • SICE System integration division conference SI2003, Excellent presentation award (2003)
    "Potential of Sharing Technical Knowledge as Open Hardware - Response to opened knowledge and their effects -"
  • TOKIN Science and Technology Promotion Foundation, Award for excellent researcher (2004)
    Developement of high-resolution position and attitude detection system (motion capture) using magnetic fields
    
  • SICE Tohoku chapter, Excellent presentation encourage award (2004)
    "Development of a 3D Range Sensor Based on Equiphase Light-Section Method"
  • SICE, Research encourage award
    "Development of a 3D Range Sensor Based on Equiphase Light-Section Method"

• Address:
  Department of Mechanical Engineering and Intelligent Systems,
  Faculty of Engineering, Tohoku Gakuin University
  1-13-1 Chuo, Tagajo city, Miyagi, Japan 985-8537

  Room 8114 (office), Room 2204 (laboratory)
  Tel: +81-22-368-7358 Fax: +81-22-368-7070
  Contact via net: E-mail form. Reply will be sent with e-mail.