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2019 March
no.

新版

30
Field Robotics
from the Faculty of Science and Technology
Robots making their marks in extreme environments,
including other planets and active volcanoes

Genya
Ishigami
Associate Professor
Department of
Mechanical Engineering

Bulletin of Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology
http://www.st.keio.ac.jp/kyurizukai
English versions are also available:
http://www.st.keio.ac.jp/kyurizukai/english/index.html

The Research

The latest bulletin features Associate Professor Genya Ishigami,
who develops robots exploring in space, volcanoes, and at the sites of natural disasters.

Development of robots for use in extreme environments
through research in diverse domains
Including robots which will be of service for natural disasters,
agriculture, and logistics chains based on research outcomes“I want to make robots which help people,” says our subject Ishigami-san,
who is also developing robots to take on traditionally human tasks, with aparticular emphasis on robots conducting surveys and other manual tasks, aswell as carrying heavy loads, for use at locations such as the moon, Mars, andthe sites of natural disasters, which cannot easily be accessed by humans.
The four basic fields ofrobot researchTechnologies from various disciplines,
such as mechanical engineering, elect­ronic engineering, control enginee­ring,and computer science, are encapsulated
in a single robot. While most researchers
specialize within either of these particulardomains, Ishigami-san is engaged inresearch and development on the diverse
aspects which relate to robots.
“I started out doing terramechanics,
which is a critical concern when a mobile
robot travels on rough terrain,” says
Ishigami-san. When robots move over thesurface of the moon, the terrain surface
is loose and non-uniform. A dynamic
approach is required to investigate how
a wheel would perform on the surface ofthe moon, scattered as it is with a mixtureof sands and rocks.
Having grasped the terrain, the robot
dynamics came to attract his attention.
He also tackled questions as to how the

bodywork of a robot would dynamicallymove as it attempted to climb overparticular obstacles, or whether it
would in fact overturn, in the field of
multibody dynamics using analyses andcomputer simulations. This is also used insimulations for probes touching down on
the surface of planetary bodies.
Following the body, his interest would
turn to robot intelligence. He moved
on to the field of “autonomous mobility
systems,” hoping to find out how to:“Facilitate a robot in making its own
decisions on how it should move.” Thiskind of research leads in to autonomous
driving, including questions of how tocontrol the wheels of a vehicle and what
would be the safest potential routes.
Computer science deals with this research
topic; however, his knowledge andexperience of mechanics has served him
well and enabled effective analyses andaccurate interpretations of results.
This experience of diverse fields will

Fig. 1: Four basic research fields for robot technologies
Autonomous Mobility

Energy Management

Multibody Dynamics

Terramechanics

2

bear fruit in the development of a “sensor
wheel.” A sensor wheel is essentially avehicle wheel equipped with artificial
intelligence, similar to sensible skin on
the sole of foot. The wheel itself can detect
the terrain stiffness, the extent to which it
has sunk, as well as the degree of traction
beneath the wheel. In addition, the wheel
stores test data and improves its traction
via machine learning. This has beenheralded as an epoch-making outcome in
the field of terramechanics.
Another critical issue is “energ ymanagement.” Streamlining movement
while limiting a robot’s energy consump­tion are imperatives when operating in
extreme environments such as on thesurface of the moon. “We use a machinelearning algorithm to derive an optimum
protocol for power generation control inrobots equipped with solar panels, andto plan a robot motion which takes into
account of quantity of energy generation,energy consumption, and related factors.”
Ishigami-san’s transdisciplinary researchexperience has been leveraged to realize
locomotion which minimizes energy
loss, an undertaking that also requires
terramechanics know-how.
Robots making their mark on
Mars, the moon, and volcanoes
Ishigami-san is putting these fourbasic research areas to use in a variety of
applied fields. He says that he is currently
involved in three space-related projects.
The first is a Mars exploration project
led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency (JAXA), which plans to takesamples of the Martian surface andsubsurface (underground) for a variety
of proposed scientific surveys, including
searching for traces of life. Ishigami-san
has been participating in the capacityof system design and specification for amobile robot equipped with a scientificprobe.
The second project is the MartianMoons eXploration (MMX) project, also
being led by JAXA, which aims to launcha space probe in the early part of the2020s. Like Hayabusa, the project is anasteroid sample-return mission, which
will bring back samples from the two

Martian satellites of Phobos and Deimos
to earth. Ishigami-san tells us that his
team is conducting a landing dynamic
simulation of the probe.
The third project is for exploration of anunderground cavity called a vertical hole,which has been discovered on the moon’s
surface. There is a large cavern resembling
the caves, or lave tube, at the base of
Mount Fuji directly beneath the moon’s
surface. There is expectation that this
could be exploited as a shelter from solar
radiation in future manned explorationon the moon. He also says they are in theprocess of exploring a miniature robot to
be deployed into this vertical hole, andthat they have meanwhile conducted a
volcano monitoring experiment using amobile robot on Mounts Mihara and Aso.
Ishigami’s team are presently equipping
robots with observational muography
devices for surveying cavities inside
volcanoes. Muography is a method toobserve elementary cosmic particles
called muons, which is now in the
spotlight as a means to survey volcanoes,
and has t he p otential to facilit ate
predictions on the size of phreatic
eruptions.
Robots to contribute to load
reduction at natural disastersites and during transportation
operations
Teleoperation technologies for robots
come into their own at locations such as
natural disasters sites. Tough Robotics
Challenges (TRC) is a project which aims
to realize tough robots for deployment atsites of natural disasters that involves ina part of the Cabinet Office’s “Impulsing
Paradigm Change through Disruptive
Technologies Program (ImPACT).”
Ishigami-san is responsible for dynamic
simulations, including those for removal
operations of large volumes of rubble
piles at the sites of natural disasters using
construction vehicles; lifting the roofs
off houses which have collapsed due
to earthquakes; and rescue operations
for any persons trapped inside suchbuildings.
He is also working with robots to assist
with the harvesting of farm produce
and the spreading of pesticides using
autonomous mobility systems. For
example, robots can detect agricultural
workers with a mounted camera andfollow behind them at a fixed distancesuch that the robots transport harvested
heavy crops instead of the workers.
“I would like to be entrusted with[developing] technologies for stablel o c omot i on ove r s of t and u ne ve n
agricultural terrain,” says Ishigami-san. It
appears that the basic technologies which
he has researched can be exploited in thiscontext as well.

Fig. 2: Six applied research fields
Space exploration

Construction robots

Volcano observation

Smart agriculture

Warehouse transportation
robot

Cybathlon(Powered Wheelchair)

All of the research in these six applied fields is supported
by research in the four basic research domains.

He says that, “A similar approach could
also be used in a distribution warehouse.”
In a warehouse in which a single operator
transports several tons in a single day,the assistance of a robot in picking up
and transporting cargo would allow
for load reductions and the mitigationof personnel shortages. These kinds ofrobotization have occasionally been met
by protests that “robots will take people’s
jobs.” To this Ishigami-san replies, “Rather
than robots completely taking over thework of people, this would ideally bea question of a set-up whereby robots
help to realize the coordination andstreamlining to allow people to do what
people can do and robots to do whatrobots can do.”Participation in powered
wheelchair race at international
competition
The development of powered
wheelchairs is research to actively assist
people further. Ishigami-san mentions
that one day he happened to be riding thesame train as Professor Kohei Ito, Deanof the Faculty of Science and Technology.
The original inducement was being asked
by the professor, “Ishigami-san, wouldn’t
you like to compete in the Cybathlon?”
The Powered Wheelchair Race is one
event at the Cybathlon, an international
competition which aims to put robotics
to use for persons with disabilities.
The race involves battling it out
against the clock over an obstacle course
which includes six obstacles typicallyencountered by wheelchair users ineveryday life. These include negotiatingslalom and hills, opening doors using
robot arms while seated, and mounting
slanting pavements. Ishigami-san madea snap decision to take part and willappear in the Japan leg of the Powered
Wheelchair Series set to be held in May
2019.
You cannot leave it at “research
for research’s sake”
According to Ishigami-san, “Whatresearchers working on robots must keep
in mind is that their research should
never be for its own sake.” Althoughemphasizing the importance of basic
research, he says that it is necessary tokeep a keen eye on how this researchmight actually be used on practical realsituation, while his guidance to his lab
students also encourages a continual
awareness of the background to research.
What brought this home to him
most strongly was the Great East Japan
Earthquake. When the accident at the
Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant
occurred, the first robot dispatched for
exploration was a military robot made in
the United States, despite the fact that it
would have been possible to immediately
dispatch a Japanese-made probe robot.
While Japanese technology is actually
superior to that of the United States,
the many people involved with robots
in Japan missed out on the chance tocontribute immediately and ended up justwatching impatiently from the sidelines.
Ishigami-san’s underlying aspiration is
to create robots which are useful to andhelp people at real-world sites.
 (Interview and text writer : Yuko Hiratsuka)
3

The Interview

Associate Professor Genya Ishigami

I would like to share the excitement of the capsule retrieval
campaign during the Hayabusa project with young people
Ishigami-san, whose career has included being a JAXA researcher. While he continues
today to participate in exploration projects, including one intended for Mars and its
satellites, he recounts that his memory of the excitement he tasted during the capsule
retrieval campaign for the Hayabusa asteroid probe, which he experienced immediately
after becoming a JAXA researcher, remains undiminished even today. This was an
outstanding deed realized by the passion of the researchers. “I want the next generation
to taste the delights and excitement of being a researcher,” says Ishigami-san.

Tell me a little about your childhood.
As an elementary school student, I often spent it playing
outside. At home, meanwhile, I would pass the time staring
intently at the turbulence in the twin-tub washing machine or thewaves created in the water as the bathtub emptied. I have fondmemories of beating the sand to make the ground solid and usinga spirit level to ensure the foundations were fully horizontal when
I helped build a storage room with my father.
During junior and senior high school I busied myself with bothbasketball and my studies. However, in the spring of my thirdyear of senior high school, I severed a ligament in my leg duringa training match with university students. This was a real blow, as
I had been intent on appearing in the final tournament that June.
You went on to join a space robot lab at university.
I had it in mind to study abroad at the University of California,
Los Angeles (UCLA). At the time—the latter half of the 1990s—
CG was in its ascendancy there, and I particularly liked movies
when I was in senior high school. I put together a fairly detailed
plan that also took in scholarships and then spoke to my parents.
Unfortunately, as it turned out, there were too many difficulties
on the funding end, and this had to be abandoned.
Then, just as I was contemplating university entrance exams, I
learned that there was a space robotics lab at Tohoku University
in my hometown of Sendai, and decided to set my sights ongetting in there. I got into Tohoku University under a designatedschool recommendation, and succeeded in entering thelaboratory of my choice of Professor Kazuya Yoshida as a thirdyear undergraduate.
I was surprised to discover that they had the CG software 3ds
Max at the lab. This was a genuine source of delight, as this isa sophisticated piece of software which is actually used by film
production companies.

4

When were you finally set on taking the researcher route?
In April of the second year of my master’s, Yoshida-sensei
asked me: “Wouldn’t you like to do a doctorate?” This proved
the turning point, as I was reassured by Yoshida-sensei’s faith in
my ability. In the first year of my master’s, a number of events
also reinforced my own sense that I had indeed made substantial
progress.
For example, when I did a short-stay study abroad program inAustralia at the University of New South Wales during spring
break, my research was received more favorably by the professors
and students there than I would ever have imagined.
I was motivated by my interest in where it might lead me if I
studied even harder for a Ph.D., which decided me on entering
the doctorate program.
After getting your doctoral degree you made your way to
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
This was because MIT’s Karl Iagnemma was producing
consistently spectacular papers, and I had already aspired toworking with him for some time.
It appears that Karl too was aware of my own existence, andhe replied to my entreaties by saying: “As it stands, I reckon MIT
can cover half your wages.” At this point, I set about digging
up a scholarship to cover the remaining half of my wages,
and succeeded in getting funding from the Murata Overseas
Scholarship Foundation. I remember being extremely nervous onfinding out that Professor Kazuo Yoshida from Keio University
was one of the people in charge for the final interview.
How was life as an MIT researcher?
That period was the skinniest I have ever been in my life
(laughter). The first three months were distinctly challenging. The
rent and taxes were higher than I had envisaged and I would eat
just one bagel for lunch—in essence a subsistence-level existence.
In addition, I made light of the need for English proficiency, but I
was being naïve...
Nevertheless, while the laboratory as a whole was largely
peopled by theoreticians, Karl valued my contribution as a
researcher inclined towards practical work and experiments. By
the time I got to my second year, I was involved in around four
projects, including consulting for corporate entities.
The one that stays with me most was a project related to theUnited States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency(DARPA). On one occasion there was an accident involving
a bomb exploding as it was being disarmed by a remotecontrolled robot in Afghanistan. I was able to participate in thesubsequently-convened DARPA academic conference, where thespeech given there by a high ranking officer to the effect that “Thisrobot saved the lives of three soldiers” was greeted by a standing
ovation. This was the first time I had encountered a real-world
situation in which research outcomes had directly intervened tosave lives. I was deeply impressed by the hero’s reception afforded
to a robot designed to rescue people.
How did you find your work at JAXA after you got back toJapan?
I threw myself into my work at JAXA. I was allowed to present
on what I might contribute to the Mars exploration mission at
the second meeting in which I participated there. As a result, mymembership of the team was approved; and I was also given the
chance to present at a mission definition review several years
later.
In June 2010, immediately after I assumed my post, I also had
the privilege to join the capsule retrieval unit for the Hayabusa("Peregrine Falcon") asteroid probe. The morning after we had
successfully found the capsule on a vast desert in Australia, I
was greatly moved by the passionate speech given by Professor
Hitoshi Kuninaka who both headed up the retrieval campaign
and was the developer of Hayabusa’s ion engine. Having
the opportunity to share in the emotion associated with thesuccessful completion of a mission that had spanned some 30
years and generations of researchers at the same time sparked inme a burning desire to help the youngsters of the next generation
have similar experiences.
This is partly what led me to turn my sights on Keio University.
In fact, I was already being drawn into the gravitational orbit of
Keio when I was at JAXA, with one of the researchers to whom I
was most indebted in my work then, as today, being an adherentof Professor Kazuo Yoshida.
What do you perceive as the appeals of Keio University?
I feel that the ability of the faculty and staff members tounite and work towards a single goal is wonderful. Even if an
undertaking has no particular precedent you would never hear
“It can’t be done.” Instead people join you in looking for solutions
saying something like “How about doing it this way?” or “Let’s try
it like this!”I also find the relative lack of distance between faculty members
and students appealing. Soon after I assumed my post I cameacross Yukichi Fukuzawa’s phrase of hangaku-hankyou, or“learning while teaching, teaching while learning,” and thoughtthat this was a particularly germane way of describing thisdynamic. While I may be in the position of teaching, I get a real
sense that this also constitutes a position whereby I am taught
and can learn from the students.
What is most important when it comes to research?
I often say to students “don’t become passive or complacent.” If
you are sitting around waiting for someone’s permission you will
not do good research. As I said when I presented on the Mars
exploration mission at JAXA, your work should also assume theattitude of showing off your own particular talents. I want mystudents to maintain a sense of spontaneity and dynamism intheir work.
Another study I am currently tackling requires us to go about
our work while keeping in mind “The significance and impact forsociety at large.”◎ Some words from students . . . ◎● Ishigami-sensei has an extremely generous sense of humor. He
is erudite and talented in many fields, meaning that whatever you
choose to research he will offer concise and pointed advice. On
the flipside, he plays softball with us and is a teacher with whom
you can talk about almost anything (4th year undergraduate).
(Interview and text writer : Yuko Hiratsuka)
For the full text of this interview
http://www.st.keio.ac.jp/kyurizukai

Do not assume a passive demeanor
The secret to research success is seizing opportunities.
To do this maintain spontaneity and dynamism.

Genya Ishigami
Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of
Science and Technology, Keio University. Ph.D. in Engineering. Specializes infield robotics, space exploration engineering, terramechanics, and autonomous
mobility systems. Graduated from the Department of Mechanical andAerospace Engineering, School of Engineering, Tohoku University in 2003.
Completed doctorate majoring in Aerospace Engineering at the Graduate Schoolof Engineering, Tohoku University in 2008. Research Associate at the Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency from 2010 following a Postdoctoral Associate at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Enters the Faculty of Scienceand Technology, Keio University in 2013 as an assistant professor, assuming
current position in 2017. Born in Miyagi Prefecture.

5hours,

hours

Gifts

Seminar camp

I decorate my laboratory with
gifts from Lab members on theirgraduations. They have handcrafted
the scale models of robots andstickers depicting my face.

My students kindly plan various events eachyear, which have to date included caving,trekking, fishing, rafting, park golf, andsoba noodle making.

Genya Ishigami’s ON and OFF
While I may look like someone who spends both their ON and OFF
time in the outdoors, in fact I also love to be indoors.

Field experiments
MIT/JAXA era
This five-year period broadened myhorizons at a stroke by a wealth ofexperiences.

Filed experiments are always toughand challenging, but I have comethrough many field experiments
since my student days.

The Grand Circle

Family time
Camp and coffee
I often accompany my elder sister’sfamily on camping trips. The appealof this lies in spending a relaxing timein the great outdoors without having
to constantly watch the clock. Coffee
enjoyed first thing in the morning
during camping is also second-to-none.

6

My arrival at Keio coincided with thearrival of my daughter, and recently it
seems that she has become aware that
“Daddy makes robots.” Sometimes I
even bring my children into the lab.

A drive equivalent to the length ofJapan which, as the name suggests,
gave me the chance to see glorious
expanses of nature. Next time I’d liketo bring my children.

Jukuryo Danko(Deliberate in council,
decisive in action)● Saka no Ue no Kumo
(Clouds above the Slope)

A keystone text ofterramechanics● Theory of Ground Vehicles

This is a textbook focusing on terramechanics, inparticular vehicle-terrain interaction mechanics
which is concerned with the dynamics of vehicles
during off-road locomotion. Its wide-ranging
content encompasses basic mathematicalderivations to examples supposing actual sites
as well as applied case studies and numericalanalyses. This is an indispensable work firstissued in 1978, with subsequent editions
incorporating and building upon the trends andoutcomes of research in recent years (the picture
is of the 4th edition).

The monograph which led me
to becoming a researcher● Mobile Robots in Rough Terrain

The author of this book, Karl Iagnemma, was my boss
during my time at MIT. He published this book based on
his doctoral dissertation in 2004. I read this in the second
year of my master’s studies. The clarity of the writing,the structure of the arguments, and broad scope of theresearch left a formidable impression on me. This got me
thinking, “He is the one I want to work with.” I would alsocharacterize it as the monograph which led the way to
my becoming a researcher. It is also a treasure trove as areference book for specific examples of academic writingin English.

This is a volume which has invitedrepeated re-readings, perhaps because
I first encountered it in the latter half ofmy twenties when I was the same age
as the protagonists; or perhaps because
there is an intermingling of the Japanof then, which exerted all its efforts
to challenge the world powers of thetime, and the Japan of today, which isfighting hard just to keep pace withspace development. I was moved by theunmediated strength of the image ofthe novel conveyed by the protagonist’s
o w n c a l l i g r a p h y J u k u r y o D a n ko
(Deliberate in council, decisive in action)
which decorates his birthplace.

A field guide forspacecraft● Space Flight

This is a volume which I bought on a whim
after finding it in a bookstore in downtown
Boston. While many field guides directly
equate space with astronomy, thisparticular volume methodically retraces
the history of space flight from the dawnof the Space Age through to today, with
an emphasis on spacecraft such as rockets
and probes. This is an extremely rewarding
read, and the meticulous precision of theillustrations means that I sometimes put it
to use in the classroom.

The bible of lab
management● Dokusō wa Hiramekanai(Originality doesn’t come from nowhere)

This is a wonderful book that will familiarize
readers with the wisdom and approaches toproblem solving of Professor Kanade, whose
work enjoys renown across multiple fields, inparticular image processing. It leaves you withthe uncanny feeling that Professor Kanade is
directly addressing you from beyond the book.
This is a volume studded throughout withinformation and insights which will make any
educator involved in laboratory management
feel “yes, it is typical story” This makes
it a relatable, enjoyable and occasionallyexasperating read.

Unmistakably from afather to his son● Letters of a businessman tohis sonThis is a volume which my father presented
to me with the words, “Here’s something I
was planning to pass on to you when you
turned 30.” It compiles letters which theauthor wrote to his son, and manages tomaintain the feel of a work of philosophy
even if it does contain somewhat
embarrassing passages. Nevertheless, thisis a volume that will make you reconsider
your perceptions and coping strategies.
The passage in which the author cites from
Shakespeare in particular has become oneof my mantras.

7

Genya Ishigami

In William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”
there is a passage which goes: “There is atide in the affairs of men, which taken at
the flood leads on to fortune; Omitted, all
the voyage of their life is bound in shallows
and in miseries.” (Citation from a volume
mentioned as one of “My Favorite Books.”)
Simply put, I think this means that you must
discern the most fortuitous timing before
taking action. The word “tide” in English
contains the nuances of both prospects andfavorable trends (“Tide” is of course also astrong-smelling brand of laundry detergent.)
Just as the word “shiodoki” in Japanese,
which is made up of the Chinese charactersfor “tide” and “time” also means “opportunity,”
the fact that the people of yore expressed theappropriate timing of life and its transitionsin terms of the ebb and flow of the tide
speaks to the intimate relationship which
exists between human life and the sea.
As you learn in elementar y school,
the earth’s tides are inf luenced by thegravitational pull by the moon, and theseboth nurture life and indicate the best times
to catch fish via tide tables. In my case, if I geta bumper haul when I go clam digging at low
tide I can pass this fortune on to my family.
Meanwhile, it is no easy matter to discern theebb and flow of the tides of the world at large.
Especially as we find ourselves in an era inwhich the cycles of these tides are many times
faster than those in Shakespearean times. The
powerful tide of AI in particular, a notion
which has been somewhat loosely interpreted
in the past several years, is nowadays aconstant presence. In addition, in the domain
of internet cloud computing, huge volumes ofcontent are proliferated and consumed, andthere is a repeated ebbing and flowing of thetides as the development and culling of things
proceeds at a fearsome pace. Where are thesetides leading us, and are we currently in the
midst of a high or a low tide? These can bethought of as complex undulations.
Universities make analyses and predictions
on the tides of the times, and in a mannerof speaking are the shipyards in which theboats sailing on these currents are built. It
seems to me that most of students may often
experience a number of dynamic confluences,from undergraduate, to master’s student,
through to doctoral candidate and finallyworking adult. During my student days, I
scuba-dived, and experienced drift diving on
several occasions. During this activity you
enjoy diving while largely entrusting yourperson to the currents of the tide. However,in certain circumstances you are obliged to
struggle against the current, which is where
the skill comes in.
I have recently come to reflect on mytendency to get carried away on the currentsof day-to-day affairs. I hope to continue mypassage through life nurturing the kind ofdetermination needed to ride the precursive
currents which are brimming with energy,
and swim against the tide or create new
currents when needed, rather than continuing
to drift away on the tides of quotidian life.

Science and Technology Information

Establishment of the Yagami AI and Advanced
Programming Room
Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology have established the Yagami AI and Advanced
Programming Room in Room 407 of Building 34 on Yagami Campus. Here, an environment isavailable for the common use of the very latest advanced AI machines by students wishing toengage with AI and conduct advanced programing so as to promote cutting-edge AI research andthe utilization of programming implementation technologies. This environment allows students
conducting research relating to AI and advanced programming to freely interact and discusswith their peers, while exchanging information and ideas that transcend university frameworks
and affiliated laboratories. An AI beginner’s course was also begun for third- and fourth-year
undergraduates. An AI and advanced programming counsellor is on permanent standby, andvisitors can avail of their advice at any time.
In addition, the “AI and Advanced Programming Consortium” will be inaugurated from
April 1, 2019. The inclusion of corporate members in this consortium will facilitate interactions
with employees from these companies, in addition to those with other Keio faculty, staff, andundergraduate students across faculties. We also plan various events alongside our corporate
members, with an emphasis on AI contests, and also plan to host seminars by these members.
An “AI and Advanced Programming Room” was established simultaneously at Hiyoshi Campus(Room F11 of the Fujiyama Memorial Hall), and similar rooms are to be rolled out to the
Shinanomachi, Shiba-kyoritsu, Shonan-Fujisawa and Mita Campuses aligned with the features of

New Kyurizukai

the various campuses.

No. 30 March 2019

新版

Editing: “New Kyurizukai” Editing Committee
Photographer: Keiichiro Muraguchi

Editor’s postscript
I felt a powerful empathy with the warmth exuded by the film-like world Associate Professor Ishigami
invokes of mankind and robots living a harmonious existence when asked to talk about the robot
development in which he is involved. It is also persuasive to hear the students refer to him in endearing
terms tinged with respect and familiarity as “Ishigami-san.” This befits both his gentle demeanor and his
passion and broad-ranging knowledge and experience in developing robots to contribute to humanity
and society.
I felt that learning of the professor’s impressions of his time as a researcher is more fate thancoincidence, especially in light of the circumstances behind his upcoming appearance in the Japan(Asami Fukumoto)edition of the Powered Wheelchair Series to be held this year. 

Designers: Hiroaki Yasojima, Yukihiko Ishikawa (GRID)
Cooperation for editing: SciTech Communications, Inc.
Publisher: Kohei ItohPublished by : Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University
3-14-1, Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 223-8522
For inquiries (on “New Kyurizukai” in general) :kyurizukai@info.keio.ac.jp
For inquiries (on industry-academia collaboration) :kll-liaison@adst.keio.ac.jp
Website version:
https://www.st.keio.ac.jp/education/kyurizukai/
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新版

Reading the tide30