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Ambient Mechatronics Lab
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The lab develops robotics and haptics technologies from actuators and sensors.
AboutAbout the lab
Mechatronics that naturally surrounds and supports people.
The Ambient Mechatronics Lab studies devices such as actuators and sensors, as well as robotics and haptics technologies that use them.
The lab aims to understand how people interact with the outside world, and to create mechatronic environments that naturally surround and support people.
The lab works on thin actuators driven by electrostatic force, devices that reproduce and convey softness, robots powered by ambient heat, and more.
The lab is based mainly at the Kashiwa Campus, and students from the Department of Precision Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering also belong to it.
Key terms
- Actuator
- A component that converts energy, such as electricity, into motion or force. A motor is one example.
- Haptics
- Technology that uses machines to convey to people the sensation of touch and the feeling of force when pushed.
- Electrostatic actuator
- An actuator that moves using electrostatic force, in which electrically charged objects attract each other.
NewsLab news
A doctoral student received the Best Presentation Award at the JSPE Spring Conference
A doctoral student received the Excellent Presentation Award at SICE SI2025
A paper from the lab received the JSME Division Journal Award for English-language papers
A presentation from the lab received the Best Presentation Award at the JSPE Spring Conference
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies mechatronic devices such as actuators and sensors, as well as robotics and haptics technologies that use them. By developing actuators and sensors that blend into their surroundings and by understanding how people interact with the outside world, the lab aims to create environments that naturally surround and assist people.
*Illustrative imageEstimating Stress from Finger Stiffness
This research investigates whether the finger joints become stiffer when a person is under mental stress or load, and estimates stress from the mechanical properties of the fingers.
*Illustrative imageThin, High-Force Electrostatic Actuators
This research focuses on electrostatic actuators that are thin and soft yet can generate large forces. They are expected to be built into thin devices and used as artificial muscles for robots.
*Illustrative imageElectrostatically Driven Robot Arms
The lab studies robot arms driven by high-force electrostatic actuators.
*Illustrative imageManipulating Sheets with Static Electricity
This research uses electrostatic force to move paper and plastic sheets freely and form shapes such as three-dimensional structures.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Ambient Mechatronics Lab consist of faculty members, secretaries, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, exchange students, commissioned researchers, and visiting collaborative researchers.As of 2026
- ProfessorAkio YamamotoPublications ↗
- Associate ProfessorFuminobu KimuraPublications ↗
VoicesStudent voices
Compiled from answers by students who were in the lab. Ratings and reviews reflect individual students' experiences, not the lab's official views.
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Esquemamecatronica” Unknown author / Public domain (cropped)
- Estimating Stress from Finger Stiffness: “Finger - Flickr - Shermeee” Sherman Geronimo-Tan from Singapore / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Thin, High-Force Electrostatic Actuators: “Electrostatic induction” User:しまでん / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Electrostatically Driven Robot Arms: “Robot Arm (NIH BioArt 457)” Courtesy of NIAID Ryan Kissinger / Public domain (cropped)
- Manipulating Sheets with Static Electricity: “Paper shavings attracted by charged cd” Pediadeep / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Mobile Robotics Lab): “Kilobot robot swarm” asuscreative / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (An Lab): “Biomechanics lab with force plate” Apfriesen / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Bio-Inspired Robotics Lab (BIRL)): “Soft Robotics” Oregon State University / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Yamashita-An-Hamada Lab): “Image-Omnidirectional image computer lab” Sgeureka / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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