LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Kakehi Lab (xLab)
Machine-translated · View original
A lab that designs experiences by turning air, water, and materials themselves into interfaces.
AboutAbout the lab
Making materials themselves the interface
The Kakehi Lab (xlab) studies new relationships among people, materials, environments, and information, as well as new forms of experience.
Spanning HCI, design, media art, and materials research, the lab advances a concept called Material Experience Design.
Moving away from screen-centered information technology, the lab reconsiders air, water, heat, light, soft materials, and plants as interfaces in their own right.
In recent years, the lab has also taken up themes such as the relationship with the natural environment and ecosystems, and ways for people, information, and nature to coexist sustainably.
Key terms
- HCI
- Short for Human-Computer Interaction. A field that studies and designs the interaction between people and computers from the users' perspective.
- Interface
- The point of contact between people and machines or information, through which people operate systems and receive information.
- Digital fabrication
- Technologies such as 3D printers and laser cutters that make objects directly from digital data.
NewsLab news
Held an online lab introduction and consultation session for the summer 2027 admissions (5/28)
Held the "xlab Showcase 2026" research presentation event at Hongo Campus (2/20–22)
ResearchResearch themes
The lab treats real-world materials themselves as interfaces, and explores new forms of experience, communication, and creation (Material Experience) through their movement, change, texture, and interaction with the environment. Its research covers the following four areas.
*Illustrative imageMaterials That Move and Respond
Using soft actuators, fluids, pneumatics, and thermal and shape-memory materials, the lab studies "Interactive Matter": materials that deform, emit light, and respond to their surroundings, becoming the main agents of information expression and interaction.
*Illustrative imageMaking, Textiles, and Living Materials
The lab bridges digital fabrication such as 3D printing with material cultures such as textiles, paper, plants, and biomaterials. It also collaborates with traditional crafts such as Nishijin-ori weaving, and works on textiles that weave in environmental information.
*Illustrative imageDesign Beyond the Human
Under the framework of "More-than-human Design," which considers design including relationships with plants, microorganisms, ecosystems, and the environment, the lab proposes interactions that use forests, water, the atmosphere, and the subtle signals of living organisms.
*Illustrative imageMedia Art and Exhibitions
The lab places importance on opening its research results to society not only through papers but also through exhibitions, installations, and performances. It continues to exhibit in Japan and abroad, including at the Ars Electronica Festival.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Kakehi Lab consist of faculty, project researchers, visiting researchers, staff, and doctoral and master's students.As of 2026
- ProfessorYasuaki KakehiPublications ↗
- Project Associate ProfessorKikuko Takagi
- Assistant ProfessorTakafumi Morita
- Assistant ProfessorDouren Xu
- Project Assistant ProfessorYouyang Hu
VoicesStudent voices
Ratings and reviews reflect the experiences of individual current or former students, not the lab's official views. Whether a lab has reviews, or how many, says nothing about the lab itself.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
Student ratings (0 students)
--
--
--
--
--
--
Student voices answer questions like these
- What's great about this lab?
- What did you learn after joining?
- What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
- Who is this lab for?
- Where do graduates go?
Your experience can help younger students choose their lab. Your name won't be shown.
Write a lab reviewAnonymous · Your draft is saved if you stopThe information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
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: “Water droplets on a late cotoneaster (Cotoneaster coriaceus) leaf, Jardim da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal julesvernex2” Jules Verne Times Two / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Materials That Move and Respond: “Ferrofluid in magnetic field” Steve Jurvetson / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Making, Textiles, and Living Materials: “A Jacquard loom showing information punchcards, National Museum of Scotland” Stephencdickson / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Design Beyond the Human: “Moss (Bryophyta) on the forest floor in Broken Bow, Oklahoma” Matthew T Rader / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Media Art and Exhibitions: “Ars Electronica Center 2011 by night” Wfischer / CC0 (cropped)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.