Lab for Innovative Infrastructure Systems

[2018/05/06]

We participated in the 2nd “Suzukake Peripatos Ekiden” held at the Suzukakedai Campus as a team from the Fukuda Lab! We got the 6th place in Block B!

There was a strong wind blowing that day, but the weather was fine and it was a perfect day for the road relay race. This is a 1.9km route consisting of 99% slopes, which is 4 laps by 4 people. Our laboratory consists of Mr. Shiroma (M1) > Mr. Gohyaku (M1) & Nacchan (elementary school student) > Mr. Imaoka (M2) > Ms. Hirabayashi (M2). It was a very hard course, but I feel that we were able to enjoy an active event suitable for the last day of Golden Week. Let’s keep a good balance between our studies and work hard on our research!

[2018/05/01]

The 3rd Basic Seminar was “Regression Analysis” and “Causal Effect Analysis”. Mr. Suzuki explained the former, while Mr. Shiroma explained the latter.

In the “regression analysis” part, participants were listened to a brief explanation of the theory and executing code in R. 

In “causal effects analysis” part, the theory was explained and packages were introduced, and the seminar ended with a lengthy discussion on the control variable method. The instrumental variable method seems to be a method used in ordinary regression analysis when there is a correlation between the explanatory variable and the error term. However, it does not seem to be very versatile, for example, it is difficult to find a control variable, and it is not necessary to use it if panel data are available. As my understanding is insufficient, I would appreciate it if someone could teach me in details.

[2018/04/27].

The second learning seminar was held. The contents were “Big Data Processing” by Mr. Koizumi of Asakura Lab, and “Basic operations of QGIS” by Ms. Salsa and Mr. Azarel.

R and Python were used for “Big Data Processing” and there was a comparison of calculation speeds and introduction of effective packages.

In “Basic Operations of QGIS,” the participants installed plug-ins for OpenStreetMap and basic analysis, read shapefiles, and narrowed down conditions on the attribute table. This was especially important in the field of transportation, where large amounts of data are frequently handled and visualized on maps. Mr. Koizumi, Ms. Salsa, and Mr. Azarel all explained in an easy-to-understand manner, and I feel that this seminar was very fruitful!

[2018/04/25]

We’ve started this academic year’s learning seminar! The first learning seminar was an introduction to R and Python. We will have external students and new 4th year undergraduate students learn R and Python first through the basic seminar. Let’s acquire skills and knowledge one by one!

※As a start-up, Fukuda Laboratory conducts a basic seminar on the three basic theories (travel behavior, traffic flow, and traffic network) necessary for traffic analysis in the first two to three months of the school year. In 2017, we held a seminar on basic theory and applied methods (programming) for “travel behavior analysis” and “traffic network analysis”. ［The seminar was held in the graduate course of Prof. Marco Nie on “Traffic Flow Theory.”]

[2018/0424]

Junior high school students from the Okazaki Junior High School attached to Aichi University of Education, who were interested in AI and automatic driving, visited Fukuda Lab!

The students have been doing a research project called “Pursuit” since they were in the first year of junior high school, and they came to our lab this time as a final research and as a part of their school excursion. In a society with advanced automated driving, won’t the shortest route be chosen definitively, resulting in traffic congestion? In that case, is it possible to solve the problem by using communication technology? I felt that as a graduate student, I cannot be defeated and must have a greater awareness of the issues. Thanks everyone from Okazaki Junior High School for coming!

[2018年4月24日]

The TSU welcome party for the class of 2018 was held. Together with last year’s fall enrollment students, we now have a total of 24 new members! Let’s go beyond the confines of our lab and expand our potential as a transportation unit together!

It was also the first event for which the new M1s were responsible for organizing. I am very proud of the new M1s, who did everything from preparation to cleanup without a hitch, and introduced a new trial “self-introduction card,” etc. They were very reliable. Keep up the good work!

『Fukuda Lab.』

『Muro-machi Lab.』

『Hanaoka Lab.』

『Yai Lab.』

『Asakura Lab.』

[2018/04/05]

We had a welcome party for the 4 new members introduced in the previous article!

[April 4, 2018]

We have confirmed that four new members joining our lab from this April!

– M1 graduate students:

Kohei Ogawa

Tomohiro Kawai

Mr. Shoutarou Muro

– B4 undergraduate student:

Yusuke Kita

Let’s work hard together through seminars and research! Have a nice laboratory life!

[2018/03/26]

Here are some photos from our recent graduation!

『Wi-Fi Pose!』

『The three men!』

『Veteran Team!』

『Master’s students gather here!』

『All graduates gather here!』

『Wi-Fi Team feat. Ms. Salsa!』

『”Team Bumpy!”』

『Adios!』

The graduation ceremony for the academic year 2017 was successfully held. Mr. Abe, Ms. Kobayashi, Mr. Shinohara, and Mr. Tsuru graduated from the master’s course, while Ms. Iokura and Mr. Shiroma graduated from the bachelor’s course. Congratulations to all of them! The ideal master-disciple relationship in the martial arts and the tea ceremony is expressed by the phrase “shuhari,” which means to keep the kata (way of learning) as told by the master, to break the kata in one’s own way and create a better kata for oneself, and to “ri,” which means to leave the master and become independent. I wish you all the best in the future.