About Us

How does the brain control our body?

Our Story

Our laboratory was started in August 1998 in the Precision and Intelligence Laboratory.
We moved to the Life Engineering Organization and became a laboratory of the Biointerface Research Unit of the Innovation Research Institute in 2016.

About Our Laboratory

Since the early days, we have continued to develop musculoskeletal models and have been able to estimate muscle tension, joint torque, joint stiffness, and angle from electromyography. Using this model, it became possible to convert the signals transmitted from the brain to the muscles into body movements.

Using the musculoskeletal model, it is now possible to measure muscle activity as electromyogram and control robots such as artificial arms based on the signals. Also, using machine learning such as reinforcement learning, it is now possible to create a computational motor learning and control model that calculates arm movements.

Our Research Topics

We are conducting research on human interfaces using musculoskeletal models, focusing on a research area called computational neuroscience.

Development of a musculoskeletal model

We have created an engineering model that estimates muscle tension from electromyography, and joint torque, impedance, and equilibrium position, and applied it to the creation of motor learning models and human interfaces such as artificial hands.

Motor control and learning models

Predictive models, feedback controllers, and inverse models have been acquired by trial and error without prior knowledge, and applied to the control of musculoskeletal models and artificial rubber muscle robots. They are also used as models to explain the results of psychophysical experiments.

Elucidation of cognitive mechanisms

Through psychophysical experiments, we are constructing a model to quantitatively estimate human subjective sensations using biological signals, aiming to elucidate human cognitive functions.
We also conduct computer simulations to reproduce the results of psychophysical experiments.