Lab for Innovative Infrastructure Systems

[2018/11/11~11/16]

My name is Hirabayashi (M2) and I have spent a week from November 11 for a pedestrian flow survey and meeting at Lausanne train station as part of my research activities.

The purpose of the meeting was to verify the results of the analysis and discussion using the walking trajectory tracking data that I had received from the EPFL research team in advance, through the site visit. Although I was not able to confirm the detailed interactions between pedestrians during the actual site visit, I believe that I was able to experience firsthand the differences between Japan and other countries, where traffic is not as regulated as in Japan (e.g., no promotion of right-side traffic), and the aspect of flow is more varied.

I also had a meeting with the research team of EPFL, who provided mes with the data. Although I could understand only a part of what they said because of my poor English, I could understand that they were not so interested in the results of the analysis that I was interested in, and I will continue to make some interesting discussions. (M2, Hirabayashi)

[2018/11/19]

The second semester of the research seminar has now entered its second round of presentations, as all students in the lab have completed their presentations. The second round of this semester started with presentations by Mr. Imaoka (M2) and Mr. Suzuki (M2).

Mr. Imaoka’s research is entitled “Validation of Fundamental Diagram for High-Frequency Urban Railway Operation System” and his goal is to construct a railroad operation model for chronic train delays during congestion using a Fundamental Diagram (FD), which represents the relationship between passenger flow rate and train density. 

Mr. Suzuki’s research, “Optimization of Intercity Transit Networks Considering Passenger’s Tourist Travelling Behavior,” aims to clarify how the optimal intercity transit network can be changed by considering the tourist’s touring behavior.

[2018/10/25 ~10/26]

The Regional Symposium for Infrastructure Development (RSID8) was held at the University of the Philippines Diliman, and (M2 students) Ms. Kaneko and Ms. Arum from our laboratory presented their research.

This symposium is jointly held by the University of the Philippines, Kasetsart University (Thailand), and our university, and is an opportunity for civil engineering students to exchange research.

Ms. Arum presented “Modeling the Relationship between Transit-Oriented Development and Land Value”, while Ms. Kaneko presented “Impact of Various Tolling Schemes on Traffic on Networks: A Preliminary Investigation with Recursive Logit Route Choice Model”.
The presentations provided an opportunity for a meaningful exchange of opinions on sustainable transportation.

We were also able to experience “Toki,” a public transportation system that runs on campus, and “Grab,” a car hailing system, which helped us deepen our understanding of transportation in Southeast Asia!

[2018/10/17~10/18]

A vehicle speed survey using Bluetooth, which is used in smartphones and other devices, was conducted in southern Okinawa by the Regional Futures Research Center and Kamiya Laboratory of the University of the Ryukyus. From our laboratory, (M2 student) Mr. Imaoka, (M1 students) Mr. Ogawa and Mr. Shiroma, and (B4 student) Mr. Kita participated in the survey.

The survey covered buses and regular vehicles on Route 58 between Kumoji, Naha City and Isa, Ginowan City in the Okinawa Prefecture, where bus lanes are in operation. Ten Bluetooth sensing devices were installed in this section.

Since this survey was conducted during the “Watta~Bus Grand Experiment“, which is being conducted to relieve serious road congestion in Okinawa Prefecture, it is expected to measure the results of promoting no-car commuting and staggered commuting during the period from 15th October to 31th October in 2018.

After the survey, we also held a meeting with the Kamiya Lab.

また，調査後，神谷研との交流会も行いました．

We have received a recent report from Ms. Iokura (M1), who is currently studying abroad.

It has been a long time. My name is Ihoroi.
It has been about a month and a half since I came to study at KTH in Sweden.
The temperature here is only in the single digits during the daytime, and although it is winter in Japan, I still feel like it is still autumn. I can feel the days getting shorter day by day, and I am stretching my wings both physically and mentally in the slow nature of Northern Europe.
This semester I am mainly taking classes and it is almost the end of the semester. I am still getting used to discussions in English, but it is refreshing to hear opinions from international students of different nationalities with different backgrounds, and it is interesting to see the city and Japan from a completely different perspective than I have seen before.
It is a shock to me when something I took for granted crumbles with a bang.
In my personal life, I bought a recipe book of Swedish food, so I am addicted to cooking Swedish food myself, which is too expensive to eat out. But I can’t compete with Thai food, that’s my conclusion so far. With a strong immigrant culture, Swedes love Thai! I also discovered an unexpected connection between Thailand and Sweden.
I hope to serve you delicious Swedish food made by HIHOLOI when I return to Japan, so please look forward to it! （I hope you will all enjoy it!)

[2018/09/20]

On 20th September, the graduation ceremony for Tokyo Institute of Technology in the fall semester was held. Mr. Azarel (M2) graduated from Fukuda Lab. He will continue his PhD studies in our lab. We look forward to working with him in the future!

[2018/09/25]

In the first lab seminar of the second semester, Mr. Kobayashi (D1), who will be staying at the Fukuda Lab for the next six months, gave a presentation. He presented his research on train delays, including multi-agent simulations for delay countermeasures, which he has been doing at Shibaura Institute of Technology.

Summer vacation is over and lab seminars have started again, and we held a welcome party for new members, Ms. Wang (M1) and Mr. Kobayashi (D1) from the Shibaura Institute of Technology!

We also celebrated Dr. Fukuda’s birthday with a small surprise. Happy birthday!

Ms. Wang, an international student from China, has newly joined our lab as an M1 student! Also, Mr. Kobayashi, a D2 student from Iwakura Laboratory, Shibaura Institute of Technology, with whom we have been collaborating, will be working in our laboratory for the next six months. We look forward to working with him!

(M1 students) Mr. Kawai, Mr. Ogawa, Mr. Muro and Mr. Shiroma participated in the Behaviour Modelling Summer School (@Univ. of Tokyo). We constructed an activity-based model that represents an individual’s all-day behavior. It was a Nested Logit model consisting of activity pattern selection, activity time selection (morning, noon, and evening), destination selection, and transportation mode selection. The team received high marks for building a large-scale model system with a total of 10 nests, and was ranked fourth overall (out of 17 teams). We would like to thank the Hato Laboratory of the University of Tokyo for serving as the organizer of the competition.

We also received the Kozumi Prize, which is awarded to the team with the best mathematical modeling. The prize was a bottle of locally brewed sake from Kozumi, Tottori Prefecture. Below is a photo of us with a team from Kobe University, which won the same prize.