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Sugano Lab
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A lab that builds, starting from the mechanism itself, robots that can work in the same space as humans.
AboutAbout the lab
Can humans and robots coexist?
The Sugano Lab studies robots that can work in the same space as humans, under the theme of human-robot coexistence.
It applies human-machine systems, reexamined mainly from the perspective of biomechanisms, to human-coexistence robots, human-robot communication, intelligent production systems, and more.
Divided into teams, the lab works on everything from developing components such as actuators and skin sensors to infrastructure inspection, remote operation, and assisting people.
Key terms
- Biomechanism
- A view that looks at how living bodies work in terms of how force is transmitted and how movement occurs
- Actuator
- A component that converts electrical or hydraulic power into motion to drive a machine
- Magnetorheological fluid
- A liquid whose stiffness changes when a magnet is brought near it; used in mechanisms that adjust softness
NewsLab news
View More ↗ResearchResearch themes
The lab conducts research that applies human-machine systems, reexamined mainly from the perspective of biomechanisms, to human-coexistence robots, human-robot communication, intelligent production systems, and more. Divided into teams, it works on everything from elemental technologies such as actuators and sensors to infrastructure inspection, remote operation, and assisting people.
*Illustrative imageActuator Team
The team develops actuators that give robots working in the same space as humans force, degrees of freedom, range of motion, and softness close to those of humans. It works on designs that fit into limited space and on soft drive mechanisms using magnetorheological fluid.
*Illustrative imageInfrastructure Team
The team develops robots that inspect and repair piping infrastructure such as water and gas pipes from both inside and outside the pipes. It handles both small in-pipe robots that overcome steps and bends and drones that can approach high places.
*Illustrative imageSensor Team
The team develops distributed skin sensors for robots that collaborate with humans. It makes a skin for hands that can measure forces in three directions with minimal wiring, and a skin for arms that detects an approaching person to enable safe interaction.
*Illustrative imageArm Team
The team develops inherently safe robot arms using series clutch actuators. They achieve safety during fast motion, direct teaching by hand guidance, and force control that stays within a set range.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Sugano Lab consist of faculty members, researchers, secretaries, invited researchers, students in the doctoral and master's programs, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorShigeki Sugano
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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: “Servo-electric 5-Finger gripping hand - Schunk SVH” NearEMPTiness / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Actuator Team: “Hydraulic cylinder” S.J. de Waard / CC BY 2.5 (cropped)
- Infrastructure Team: “Water Pipeline And Tunnel In Barhill Plantation - geograph.org.uk - 2897431” James T M Towill / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Sensor Team: “Flex Sensor” SparkFun Electronics from Boulder, USA / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Arm Team: “ISS-67 The Leading End Effector on the Canadarm2 robotic arm” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Wesugi Lab): “Shōfū-an the view of the roji from the nijiriguchi of the koma Chūō-ku Fukuoka” Hirho / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Takanishi Lab): “Atlas frontview 2013” DARPA / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Iwata Lab): “Virginia Tech's CHARLI humanoid robot on display at AAAI 2010” Jiuguang Wang / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Ishii Lab): “MARMOT Acquatic Robot at Fellaria proglacial Lake” Baronruju / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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