The Japanese translation for the Department of Advanced Robotics includes a designation of the term future because this department deals with highly futuristic characteristics in the fields with which it is associated. The future development of control technologies and artificial intelligence is forthcoming.
This department aims to nurture human resources with highly advanced education and quality who can become production engineers and development engineers in these fields. The name of this department does not have a designation for engineering because robotics is no longer within the domain of engineering. Recent robotics involves design, art, psychology and cognitive science. To address such a trend in industrial society, the department teaches engineering-related cross-disciplinary content in the undergraduate education with an emphasis on the basics. The department nurtures potential engineers with specialized skills who can improve the convenience of human lifestyles based on an understanding of the basic principles of robotics and explore new realms of robotics in the future.

To nurture the kind of human resources for which this department aims, it is essential to provide a wide range of education that enables an accurate understanding of the framework of specialized fields and a comprehensive understanding of disciplines with a wide scope of perspectives. It is also necessary to prepare a variety of subjects to address the diverse interests of students and also ensure their acquisition of basic knowledge and abilities. To meet these requirements, this department provides liberal arts subjects and specialized subjects in its curriculum. The liberal arts subjects aim for the acquisition of broad perspectives, a well-rounded education and language skills, which are all required for a modern professional. Specialized subjects consist of Basic Subjects, Core Subjects and Development Subjects. Basic Subjects provide introduction and general theories to enable systematic learning of specialized education. Core Subjects teach the essence and backbone of specialized education based on acquired education through the basic subjects. The content of the Core Subjects is further specialized and extended in the Development Subjects. A particular focus is placed on the reinforcement of training classes for learning through experimentation. Students can acquire basic theories and engineering abilities systematically. We have also prepared a number of 4-unit classes that last one semester, which allow students to study a few selected subjects intensively for a deeper understanding of the content. Moreover, the department never limits its scope to academic research but emphasizes practical robots and a related technology - advanced robotics research - that focuses on the environment, welfare and safety.

The research theme of this project is the development of hands for caregiving robots, with the aim of massaging patients’ bodies to give them comfort on behalf of human caregivers.
Students from other classes are allowed to participate in this project, and themes such as the exterior design of robots are discussed from various perspectives. The robots are driven by the servomotors of a new mechanism, which is likely to lead to the launch of a venture business.
Related research is under way.

This project is to develop a wheelchair-shaped robot to carry a person to a destination sensing obstacles in its path once a command is given.
With a sensor that reads line colors, the robot taxi, which is called “Lillion,” determines a direction and proceeds. Under the guidance of Associate Professor Hideo Nakajima, students actively engage in making the parts, production and schedule management.Their robots are always on exhibition at the Chiba City Museum of Science.

When we play musical instruments, emotional changes are expressed rather than monotonous tones. For example, when we play the piano, the tempo and the strength with which the keys are struck strike a chord with the listener. Associate Professor Shigeki Okawa engages in experiments to mathematically analyze musical notes and sound volumes to record data on players’emotional changes to apply them mechanically.
In the future, a robot might emerge that senses music and plays songs as well as humans