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Mechanical Dynamics Lab
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A lab that explores "things that move" through mechanics and control.
AboutAbout the lab
Mastering mechanics and putting it to use.
The Ishikawa Lab in Mechanical Dynamics thoroughly explores "things that move," using mechanical dynamics, control theory, and dynamical systems theory as its main tools.
Its research centers on the mechanics of locomotion, that is, how an object changes its position and orientation, and in particular on the dynamics and control of nonholonomic systems.
Its interests are not limited to robots, and are expanding from the behavior of animals such as ants and crabs to the motion of large construction machinery.
The lab values thinking mathematically, but equally values observing reality closely and building things on its own to test them.
Key terms
- Nonlinear control theory
- Control theory that deals with properties unique to nonlinear systems, which are not seen in linear systems.
- Locomotion
- The mechanism of movement by which an object changes its position and orientation.
- Nonholonomic constraint
- A constraint that restricts the directions in which a body can move. An example is the condition that a wheel does not slip sideways.
- Passive wheel
- A wheel that is not driven by a motor. In the three-pronged snake robot, each link has a wheel that does not slip sideways.
NewsLab news
A paper by the group of Project Assistant Professor Takeda received the Paper Award at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the Mammal Society of Japan
A book by Assistant Professor Masuda and colleagues received the 2026 Literary Award of the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers (SICE)
A paper by a doctoral student and Professor Ishikawa and colleagues received the fiscal 2026 Paper Award of the Institute of Systems, Control and Information Engineers (ISCIE)
A master's student received the Miura Award of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, and an undergraduate student received the Excellence Award of the Robotics Society of Japan
ResearchResearch themes
This lab conducts research in a variety of fields, including control, robotics, and learning. Targeting the behavior of all kinds of things, that is, "things that move" in the broad sense, it works to elucidate and design their mechanisms.
*Illustrative imageNonlinear control theory
This is the theory that underlies the lab's various research themes. It deals head-on with properties unique to nonlinear systems that linear systems do not have, and also uses bifurcation theory, dynamical systems theory, and autonomous decentralized control to bring out the behavior of diverse nonlinear systems.
*Illustrative imageThree-pronged snake robot
A robot with three legs, each having a passive wheel at its tip. Using the condition that the wheels do not slip sideways, it converts the force received from the floor into propulsion and moves in a wriggling manner. It was devised purely out of mathematical interest.
*Illustrative imageThree-legged walking robot
Martian is a walking robot that gives form to the fanciful idea of a "creature that does not exist on Earth." It started from the question of how creatures with three or five legs would move.
*Illustrative imageRolling locomotion robots
The lab pursues locomotion by rolling and rocking, in which the body is tilted so that nonlinear changes in friction with the floor surface are converted into propulsion. It builds robots such as shape-changing, flexible, and mass-driven types, analyzes their dynamics, and develops motion control methods.
MembersFaculty
- ProfessorMasato Ishikawa
- LecturerYoichi Masuda
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: “Khepera robot” No machine-readable author provided. Stephane.magnenat assumed (based on copyright claims). / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Nonlinear control theory: “Braccio robotico con Arduino 01” Nicolò Bertuccioli / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Three-pronged snake robot: “Robot omnidirectional drive” Jahobr / Public domain (cropped)
- Three-legged walking robot: “Multi-legged Walking Robot Deployment (8910002)” U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Hyung Ju Lee / Public domain (cropped)
- Rolling locomotion robots: “LG Rolling Bot - World Congress )” Kārlis Dambrāns / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Real-World Intelligent Systems and Control Lab): “Border Collie sheepdog trial” Scot Campbell / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Intelligent Machine Systems Lab): “PR2 robot with advanced grasping hands” Oleg Alexandrov / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Mechanical Information System Control Lab): “Controlling robots ESA376864” European Space Agency / CC BY-SA 3.0 igo (cropped)
- Related lab (Novel Joining Lab): “ChipScaleClock2 HR” NIST / Public domain (cropped)
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