Departments and Research Centers     

The Chiba Experiment Station is part of the Institute of Industrial Science of the University of Tokyo. The station covers an area of 9.2 ha and was established in 1962 when the institute moved its campus from the city of Chiba to Roppongi, the location of the former campus till March, 2001. Its purpose is to accommodate large scale research facilities and experimental works that cannot be carried out on the Komaba II campus in downtown Tokyo. Research projects are renewed according to the progress made in respective fields and to meet social needs. In recent years, about 30 laboratories have been engaged in roughly 40 projects at the station. Some of the projects carried out at the station are summarized here.

Environmental control and pollution monitoring have become two of the crucial tasks for modern technology. The Institute, aware of the importance of these problems, opened this Center in 1973. Its main objective is to develop advanced instrumentation techniques in the field of environmental engineering. In the chemical section research is devoted to developing measurement systems for molecular-level elucidation of biomechanisms including photosynthesis, and to developing chemical sensors. In the physical section research primarily deals with developing new technology to measure and control many aspects of the physical environment of indoor and outdoor space. The research programs are closely coordinated with research conducted by members of other departments in the institute.

The Underwater Technology Research Center was inaugurated in 1999, where underwater robots as the new paradigm of underwater observation platform and sensing systems for fitting on them have been studied and developed, aiming for creating integrated observation system operable in vast underwater world based advanced underwater technologies. Alike with oceans which provide us with innumerable resources where we deploy our vehicles, we will also explore lakes and marshes, and rivers, which also provide us with valuable resources, too. Thus, research fields related to the Underwater Technology Research Center are expanding rapidly. Consequently, many researchers and engineers, from both domestic and foreign, and from various fields, cooperate, crest networks, and exchange necessary information with a global perspective.

The purpose of the Center is to carry out research activities for developing micro-machines and nano-systems that are greatly needed in science, industry and society, using micro/nano-machining technology that utilizes both semi-conductor processing and precision machining. Instead of simply downsizing existing machines, it integrates mechanical devices, electronics, optics, and biological technology in micro-sizes, aiming to realize new functions and features. Based on micro/nano -machining studies that have been conducted in the IIS and collaborative research activities with the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), the Center promotes international cooperation and expands frontiers in research activities. International Research Group on Nano and Micro System (NAMIS) was established with 6 partners including CNRS, Swiss EPFL and Freiburg University. It covers physics for developing finely-moving systems, design and production techniques, and micro-nanomechatronics studies on control, and applies the results of these fields to communication and biological technology.

The International Center for Urban Safety Engineering (ICUS) was establised in April 2001. The purpose of this center is to develop new systems and methods to protect people from various accidents and disasters that may occur in everyday life, mostly in urban areas throughout the world. The research areas of the center are the infrastructure design and maintenance, development of monitoring methods to prevent and guide people in case of accidents and hazards, and safety analysis and evalution of important facilities not only in Japan but also in other Asian metropolis. ICUS works in cooperation with researchers and engineers throughout the world.

The Center for Information Fusion, established in April 2003, is based on the achievements of its predecessor, The Center of Conceptual Processing of Multimedia Information.
The mission of this new research center is to conduct basic research in pioneering the field of information fusion, i.e., cyber information fusion, real-world information fusion, and strategic information fusion. The Center will also focus on deploying the latest research results into various applications in our society.

Center for Research on Innovative Simulation Software was established in January 2008 as an advanced education and research facility supporting leading-edge computer science and simulation research for the 21st century at the Institute of Industrial Science (IIS). The Center is dedicated to (1) the world's most advanced level simulation software R&D, (2) transfer and dissemination of R&D results to society, and (3) cultivation of human resources who are trained in developing and using simulation software. Committed to extensive collaboration with other research institutes at the University of Tokyo and beyond, the Center will pursue software development while also building a mechanism to periodically assess and incorporate industry's true needs to ensure that the R&D stays focused on genuinely practical simulation software.

Based on the broad collaboration over civil and traffic engineering, computer and information engineering, and mechanical and control engineering fields and the activities as a core of industry-government-university collaboration in the ITS field, the Collaborative Research Center for Advanced Mobility (ITS Center) was established in 2005 with its mission to be a global collaboration core in ITS field.
The center has the Mixed-Reality Traffic Experiment Space integrated with traffic simulator(TS), driving simulator(DS) and the latest visual information technologies, and innovative researches and technologies are developed with it.
Global research collaboration with Switzerland in 2005 and other global network will be developed, continuously with industry-government-university collaborations.