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ISI Lab
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The lab aims to realize intelligent robots by focusing on embodiment and development.
AboutAbout the lab
Toward real-world intelligent systems.
The Kuniyoshi-Nakajima Lab (Intelligent Systems and Informatics Lab) studies new theories and technologies toward truly intelligent robotic systems.
To understand intelligence scientifically, the lab focuses on embodiment, emergence, cognitive development, and sociality.
The lab also develops the machine learning and other methods needed to solve these problems, as well as hardware such as sensors and actuators, and works on applying the technologies in society.
Key terms
- Embodiment
- The idea that the shape of the body and the mechanisms of its movement are deeply involved in how intelligence and behavior take shape
- Emergence
- The appearance of new properties or behaviors in a whole when individually simple parts interact with one another
- Actuator
- A component, such as a motor or an artificial muscle, that converts energy into motion to move a robot
NewsLab news
A researcher received the Research Encouragement Award from the Robotics Society of Japan
A master's student received the Miura Award from the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers and the SICE Outstanding Student Award
A student received the Rising Star Award at ALIFE 2025
Received the Outstanding Research and Technology Award from the Robotics Society of Japan
ResearchResearch themes
To elucidate intelligence scientifically, the lab conducts research using robots and simulations. Its work includes models of cognitive development in infants, musculoskeletal robots, and motor skills of humanoids.
*Illustrative imageBehavior Emerging from the Body
The lab studies a model in which chaotically behaving elements are built into the sensorimotor loop and linked together through the body. It showed that behavior suited to the body and the environment emerges in a short time, even without rewards or learning.
*Illustrative imageInteractive Play and the Development of Sociality
The lab studies play interactions between infants and caregivers using computer graphics and physical robots. It showed that predicting the partner's responses is at the core of play, and that moderate habituation to rules gives rise to diverse forms of play.
*Illustrative imageMechanisms for Becoming Aware of Oneself
The lab built a brain model that captures the link between one's own movements and the sensations they return. Using a robot with vision and a neck joint, it showed that the robot can acquire an internal representation of itself.
*Illustrative imageDevelopmental Models of Sensation and Movement
Using body models of infants and fetuses, the lab shows that spontaneous movements such as crawling emerge when muscles throughout the body influence one another through the body.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Kuniyoshi-Nakajima Lab consist of faculty members, researchers, staff, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, and research students.As of 2026
- ProfessorYasuo KuniyoshiPublications ↗
- Associate ProfessorKohei NakajimaPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorKatsuma Inoue
- Associate ProfessorTatsuya Daikoku
- Project ProfessorYukie Nagai
- Project Assistant ProfessorSeikei Kanazawa
- Project Assistant ProfessorTomoyuki Kubota
- Project Assistant ProfessorMax Philip Austin
- Project Assistant ProfessorMasaki Tanaka
- Project Assistant ProfessorYugo Abe
VoicesStudent voices
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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: “Icub full body” Jll at English Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Behavior Emerging from the Body: “Neighborhood of attractor of discretized Lorenz system. XYZ(9) plane” German A. Chernykh & Irina A. Chernykh / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Interactive Play and the Development of Sociality: “Baby toys” Mvolz / CC0 (cropped)
- Mechanisms for Becoming Aware of Oneself: “Salvius robot head” Gunthercx / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Developmental Models of Sensation and Movement: “Gebrüder Heubach figurine - Crawling baby boy (GH 3101)” Jean-Christophe Windland / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (原田・黒瀬・椋田研究室(Machine Intelligence Lab/MIL)): “Ouster OS1-64 lidar point cloud of intersection of Folsom and Dore St, San Francisco” Daniel L. Lu / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (JSK研究室
（情報システム工学研究室／Jouhou System Kougaku Laboratory） （岡田研究室） ): “Ars Electronica 2008 Kotaro” Manfred Werner - Tsui / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped) - Related lab (高橋・
白松研究室 （生命知能システム研究室） ): “Axons Al Dente” MikeRoscopy / CC BY 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (Dynamics Control Systems Lab
（深尾研究室） ): “Autonomous compact tractors in a Texas vineyard, Nov 2012” ASIrobots / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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