Haptics Research Center

Director: Toshiyuki Murakami (Professor, Faculty of Science and Technology)

Main Campus: Shin-Kawasaki Town Campus (K2)

This research center aims to apply the academic achievements of force/tactile technology and disseminate them widely in the medical and industrial fields. It supports the research and development of force/tactile technology, which is a key technology, and the multifaceted development of this technology through medical-engineering and industry-academia collaboration. Since the purpose of this research center is R&D and infrastructure establishment related to the infrastructure of the medical and industrial sectors, it is necessary for its outcomes to be actively used in various fields. Furthermore, to dramatically improve the on-site capabilities of medical and manufacturing sites, a mechanism is essential for the long-term stable supply of technology and its continuous growth in collaboration with companies. This research center will achieve this goal by becoming a hub for industrial and medical-engineering collaboration.

Force/tactile technology, medical-engineering collaboration, human-assistive motion, multifaceted development of haptics technology

■Continuing activities from the previous fiscal year: Background, rationale, and goals for continuation

We will begin supplying the haptics module to consortium companies and continue to make improvements to make it easy to use. We will also focus on the development of welfare equipment.

■New activity goals and content for FY2017, and background for implementation

We will start new initiatives to expand into the agricultural sector and develop a GPM (General Purpose Machine).

■Implementation details for the fiscal year's business plan, research results, and degree of achievement

In FY2017, we continued activities to disseminate the haptic module (ABC core), a key force/tactile technology completed in FY2016, and worked on further development for practical applications. As a result, significant progress was made in areas such as production technology and medical applications. We disseminated our research findings through numerous papers and popular commentaries. We also participated in various events to promote and raise awareness of this technology.

Under the guidance of the Office for Research Coordination and Administration (in charge of intellectual property) at Mita, we created an Intellectual Property Charter, basic agreements, and other documents, which are shared among the consortium. We also focused on activities to disseminate the technology by participating in many events under the center's name.