About us
Our laboratory has started up in November 2015. We study biomechanics and fluid dynamics of flying / swimming animals aiming to create biomimetic small, agile, and safe aerial / aquatic robots. We also focus on biological micro structures of such animals and micro fabrication technologies for biomimetic components. Through these studies, we innovate biomimetic mechanisms possessing biological softness and micro structures.
Recruitment
For international doctoral course students
We welcome prospect doctoral-course students majoring in fluid dynamics, robotics, control system, micro fabricaiton, biomechanics, and other area related to our work. Please find admission information of the Tokyo Tech from the link below.For postdoctoral researchers
You can apply to JSPS fellowship for funding support in Japan. Please check the link below.*We do not accept research students.
News
2020
- Nov. 16 [Paper] IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics
Yayi Shen, Natsuki Harada, Sho Katagiri, and Hiroto Tanaka, "Biomimetic Realization of a Robotic Penguin Wing: Design and Thrust Characteristics," DOI: 10.1109/TMECH.2020.3038224.
2019
- Dec. 1-4 [Int. Conf.] IEEE MHS 2019
A. Kawahara, M. Aizawa, T. Yamasaki, and H. Tanaka, "Fabrication of a Hummingbird-mimetic Flexible Flapping Wings " in 30th 2019 International Symposium on Micro-NanoMechatronics and Human Science (MHS 2019), Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan, December 1-4 2019, pp. 138-140. - May 9 [Invited talk] Aquatic Bio-Inspired and Soft Robotics 2019
Hiroto Tanaka, "Turning maneuver in wing-propelled penguins and its robotics application," Beihang University, Beijing, China, 2019. - Jan. 30 [Paper] PLOS ONE
H. Tanaka, G. Li, Y. Uchida, M. Nakamura, T. Ikeda, and H. Liu, "Measurement of time-varying kinematics of a dolphin in burst accelerating swimming," PLoS ONE, vol. 14, e0210860, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0210860
[Movie S2. Motion tracking.]
[Fig 9. CFD simulations.] - Jan. 4-7 [International conference] SICB2019 in Tampa, FL, USA
H. Tanaka, A. Kawahara, M. Aizawa, and T. Yamasaki, "Measurement of Flexural Stiffness of Hummingbirds's feathers and its aerodynamic effect in hovering," in SICB2019, Tampa, FL, USA, 2019, 138-4.
T. Oura, M. Maeda, and H. Tanaka, "Three-dimensional wing motions of a diving penguin," in SICB2019, Tampa, FL, USA, 2019, 140-7.
D. M. Kikuchi, M. Maeda, K. Shiomi, and H. Tanaka, "Fluid dynamics function of the rhinoceros auklets' horn in flying and swimming," in SICB2019, FL, USA, 2019, 140-5.
2018
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Sep. 13 [Education] MOOC on "Monotsukuri"
Assoc. Prof. Tanaka appears in a new MOOC by Tokyo Tech as a lecturer.
Links:
- Tokyo Tech News
- "Monotsukuri" Making Things in Japan: Mechanical Engineering in edX -
Jul. 1 [Paper] Journal of Bionic Engineering
T. Ikeda, T. Ueda, T. Nakata, R. Noda, H. Tanaka, T. Fujii, H. Liu, "Morphology Effects of Leading-edge Serrations on Aerodynamic Force Production: An Integrated Study Using PIV and Force Measurements," Journal of Bionic Engineering, vol. 15, pp. 661-672, 2018. - Mar. 13 Lab flyer for new undergraduate students is now available.
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Feb. 20 [Paper] Renewable Energy
T. Ikeda, H. Tanaka, R. Yoshimura, R. Noda, T. Fujii, and H. Liu, "A robust biomimetic blade design for micro wind turbines," Renewable Energy, vol. 125, pp. 155-165, 2018. - Jan. 6 [International conference] SICB2018
D. M. Kikuchi, M. Maeda, K. Shiomi, and H. Tanaka, "Not ornament but aerodynamic device? New hypothesis for the horn of rhinoceros auklet," in Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Annual Meeting 2018 (SICB 2018), San Francisco, CA, USA, 2018, 97-5.
2017
- Sep. 20 [Paper] Royal Society Open Science
M. Maeda, T. Nakata, I. Kitamura, H. Tanaka, and H. Liu, "Quantifying the dynamic wing morphing of hovering hummingbird," Royal Society Open Science, vol. 4, 2017.
[Movie S5]
[Movie S6] - Sep. 9 [Invited talk] The 10th Vietnam-Japan Scientific Exchange Meeting 2017
H. Tanaka, "Biomimetic flexible flapping wings," in The 10th Vietnam-Japan Scientific Exchange Meeting 2017, Toyosu Campus, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan, 2017. - Jul. 5 [International Conference] SEB2017
H. Tanaka, Y. Iwasaki, and M. Maeda, "Three-dimensional motion analysis of penguin swimming and estimation of the hydrodynamic force," in Annual Main Meeting of the Society for Experimental Biology 2017 (SEB2017), Gothenburg, Sweden, 2017, A11.25.
M. Aizawa, M. Maeda, T. Yamasaki, and H. Tanaka, "Aerodynamic effect of the distributed flexural stiffness of hummingbird's wing," in Annual Main Meeting of the Society for Experimental Biology 2017 (SEB2017), Gothenburg, Sweden, 2017, A11.28.
Link: Gallery - Mar. 14 "International Workshop on Hydrodynamic Biomimetics" will be held in Tokyo Tech.
- Time and date: 13:30-17:30, Tuesday, March 14th, 2017
- Venue: Rm. 304, Ishikawadai Bldg.3, Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Website: http://www.mech.titech.ac.jp/~biomimetics/HB2017/ - Feb. 4 [Award] Assoc. Prof. Hiroto Tanaka was selected as the "Reviewer of the Year for Bioinspiration & Biomimetics for 2016" by IOP Publishing.
Links: Bioinspiration & Biomimetics; IOP Publishing
2016
- Dec. 31 A joint paper with Assoc. Prof. Michiko Sugawara (Chiba University) has been published in BioMed Research International.
Michiko Sugawara, Hiromi Miyoshi, Takuya Miura, Hiroto Tanaka, Ken-ichi Tsubota, and Hao Liu, “Dynamics of Actin Stress Fibers and Focal Adhesions during Slow Migration in Swiss 3T3 Fibroblasts: Intracellular Mechanism of Cell Turning,” BioMed Research International, vol. 2016, Article ID 5749749, 16 pages, 2016. (doi:10.1155/2016/5749749) - Oct. 8 - 9 Our work was displayed in Tokyo Tech Festival. [Gallery]
- Sep. 3 Assoc. Prof. Hiroto Tanaka gave an invited talk in a symposium "From neurons to bio-inspired flight: toward comprehensive understanding of animal flight" in The Japanese Society for Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry (JSCPB) Annual Meeting 2016, Tokyo.
- Sep. 1 Dr. Masateru Maeda joined our lab as a postdoctoral researcher.
- Aug. 15 A collaborative paper appeared in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
H. Liu, S. Ravi, D. Kolomenskiy, and H. Tanaka, "Biomechanics and biomimetics in insect-inspired flight systems," Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 371, pages 11, 2016. - Aug. 1 A new book "Biomimetics from the Perspective of Instrumentation" (in Japanese) was published. Assoc. Prof. Hiroto Tanaka contributed the Chapter 10 (pp. 211-213) to this book.
- Jul. 6 A collaborative work with Assoc. Prof. Michiko Sugawara (Chiba University) was presented in IWEEE.
Ken Nakata, Michiko Sugawara, Yosuke Shimasue, Hiroto Tanaka, "Fibroblast Migration Response on Micro Wrinkle Substrates," in International Workshop on Effective Engineering Education (IWEEE), Kisarazu, Japan, 2016. - Jun. 8 Assoc. Prof. Hiroto Tanaka presented a collaborative work with Prof. Hao Liu (Chiba University) in CIMTEC2016.
H. Tanaka, Y. Shimasue, I. Kitamura, and H. Liu, "Parylene flapping-wings with self-organized micro wrinkles," in CIMTEC2016, Perugia, Italy, 2016. - May 31 Our flapping mechanicsm is displayed in a special exhibition of National Museum of Nature and Science from 19 April to 12 June.
- Apr. 6 Two undergraduate students joined the lab.
- Mar. 29 A new book "Biomimetics" (in Japanese) was published. Assoc. Prof. Hiroto Tanaka contributed the Chapter 3 Section 2 (pp. 74-81) to this book.
- Mar. 25 A new book "A very easy book on biomimetics for beginners" (in Japanese) was published. Assoc. Prof. Hiroto Tanaka contributed two pages to this book.
- Mar. 16 The websites is now open.
- Mar. 8 Assoc. Prof. Hiroto Tanaka hosted Internaitonal Symposium on Biomimetic Robotics at the Tokyo Tech.
- Jan. 9 A collaborative work with Prof. Hao Liu (Chiba University) was presented in the 28th JSME Bioengineering Conference (in Japanese).
K. Suga, H. Tanaka, H. Liu, "Effects of aspect ratio and passive feathering in small flapping wings on thrust generation" (in Japanese)
2015
- Nov. 7 A collaborative work wigh Prof. Hao Liu (Chiba University) was presented in the 93th JSME Fluids Engineering Division Conference (in Japanese).
T. Ikeda, H. Tanaka, T. Ueda, T. Fujii, H. Liu, "PIV measurement of separated flow around owl’s primary feathers with serrated leading edges" (in Japanese) - Nov. 1 Hiroto Tanaka joined the Tokyo Tech as a tenure-track associate professor.
