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Seo Lab
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A lab that uses theory and data to understand the flow of vehicles and people.
AboutAbout the lab
Where traffic engineering meets data science
The Seo Lab uses mathematical methods to solve problems such as traffic congestion and environmental impact.
From both theory and data, the lab explores ways to improve efficiency by combining transportation systems with information and communication technology.
It aims to capture from data how traffic flows through huge cities, reproduce it with large-scale simulation, and optimize it.
The lab also studies next-generation transportation systems built on new technologies such as autonomous driving and ride-sharing.
Key terms
- Traffic flow theory
- A theory that describes the behavior of the flow of vehicles and similar objects as mathematical models
- Mathematical optimization
- A method that uses mathematical formulas to find the best choice, such as the lowest cost or shortest time, under given conditions
- Ride-sharing
- A system in which multiple users travel together in a single vehicle
NewsLab news
Released a web GIS for visualizing iTIC probe car data
Released UNsim, an open-source implementation of a differentiable traffic simulator
Paper on estimating the capacity of signalized intersections published in the Japan Society of Traffic Engineers' Journal of Traffic Engineering
Student receives the Kimura Award
Released a web app for browsing and searching Japan's roads in a browser
ResearchResearch themes
Transportation is used in every part of society, from commuting and shopping to logistics and evacuation, and it faces major problems such as congestion and environmental impact. For the flow of vehicles and people, the lab combines physical theories that explain how the phenomena work with methods that draw insights from large amounts of data using machine learning and other techniques.
*Illustrative imageTraffic State Estimation and Control
Road networks are vast, and it is hard to know exactly when and where how much congestion is occurring. The lab develops and validates methods that estimate the traffic state of an entire road network from limited observation data such as smartphone and car navigation GPS, ETC logs, and vehicle detectors.
*Illustrative imageTraffic Flow Theory
Traffic flow theory mathematically describes the behavior of vehicle flow and is also applied to pedestrian and railway flows. As a foundation for traffic control and traffic state estimation, the lab works on improving models and implementing them as simulators.
*Illustrative imageNext-Generation Transportation Systems
The lab mathematically studies fundamental theories for realizing a better society with autonomous driving and ride-sharing. Topics include optimal dispatch control of autonomous vehicles, ride-sharing matching, derivation of the most desirable fare structures, and design of urban transportation systems to match.
*Illustrative imageTransportation and Logistics under Uncertainty
Managers of transportation and logistics face uncertainty such as constantly changing traffic conditions and damage to communication infrastructure during disasters. The lab develops control methods, theoretical analyses, and computational algorithms for such situations using mathematical optimization and stochastic programming.
MembersFaculty
The Seo Lab consists of faculty members, secretaries, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorToru Seo
- Assistant ProfessorRiki KawasePublications ↗
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: “Lightrails, A4 motorway in Katowice, Poland, near the exit from Mikołowska Street, 2024” Krzysztof Popławski / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Traffic State Estimation and Control: “TrafficJam near Nakago InterChange 20100501” 椰子之樹 at Japanese Wikipedia / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Traffic Flow Theory: “a station of JR East with commuter trains in Tokyo Metropolitan Area” Tamaki Sono / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Next-Generation Transportation Systems: “Unmarked Nissan Rogue - Possible Test Autonomous Vehicle - San Francisco, May 2025 04” 9yz / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Transportation and Logistics under Uncertainty: “Verkehrsstau an der A 60” ManuelB701 / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (高山研究室): “City Lights of Asia and Middle East 2016” NASA Earth Observatory / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (小谷研究室): “Tsunami evacuation route sign on the road, Kamakura, 2016” DimiTalen / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (千々
和研究室): “Ayunose bridge 1” MK Products at Japanese Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped) - Related lab (室町研究室): “Bicycles and pedestrians ( )” Keiichi Yasu / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
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