Lab for Innovative Infrastructure Systems

I’m Kaori, a second-year master’s student.
I participated the first International Symposium on Intelligent Technology for Future Transportation in Helsinki on the 20th October.
I presented a research titled “Virtual Reality Experimental Study on Bicycle Environment Assessment Using One-Boundary Drift-Diffusion Model”.

This research was a collaborative project with Professor Yusak and Ph.D. student Mr. Shun at BOKU in Vienna, building on the VR experiment I conducted during my stay there last year. It was especially meaningful to present this work, as it marks my first collaborative research. I am also grateful to Dr. Aivars Rubenis for his insightful questions.

This symposium was my first experience presenting at an international conference. I gained so much, not only from the questions raised about my research but also from the diversity of research shared and the casual conversations with other attendees.

With this experience, I am even more motivated to improve our research. Thank you for this valuable opportunity.

[Nakamura]

At the International Symposium on Integrated land use/transport models for carbon neutral strategies in Osaka, held at Osaka University’s Nakanoshima Office, our lab’s graduate Keita Hasegawa presented.

This is a theoretical study using a two-city model of the feasibility of dual residence between urban and rural areas and the role of the central government.

Thank you to Dr. Joanna Ji of the Technical University of Munich, who asked a question, and to Dr. Masatoshi Kii of Osaka University, who organized the symposium. (Text by Fukuda)

Symposium website:
https://www.mos.ed.tum.de/tb/workshops/osaka-symposium-2024/

At the JSCE National Convention (Annual Conference) held at Tohoku University in Sendai from September 4th to 6th, our lab graduate Manami Hazama gave a presentation on her master’s thesis, “Detecting Niche Tourist Spots Using Big Data on Human Flow”.

We received valuable comments from Prof. Ohba of Kyoto University, Mr. Yamazaki of the Toyota Institute for Urban Research, and Ms. Kaneko of ALMEC Co. Thank you very much. (Text by Fukuda) 

I am Takashi Uemachi, a first-year master’s student. On August 31st and September 1st, I participated in the 27th National Conference of the Japanese Association for an Inclusive Society, where I presented my undergraduate research titled “A Study on the Relationship Between Automobile-Dependent Society and Social Exclusion: Focusing on the Urban Area of Central and Southern Okinawa Island.”

Although the presentation was brief, I was pleased that the audience showed interest in the issues I addressed. The multiple questions and comments I received during the five-minute Q&A session were all insightful and valuable for my research. As the first external presentation of this study, it was a great learning experience.

I am deeply grateful to Professor Fukuda, who gave me this opportunity and came all the way to Sapporo, and to Professor Kamiya from the University of the Ryukyus.

I will continue to pursue both qualitative and quantitative research on this topic for my master’s thesis. I’m determined to do my best!

My name is Krittanai Sriwongphanawes. I am a first-year Ph.D. student. Between July 13th and 20th, Fukuda sensei and I joined the 17th International Conference on Travel Behavior Research (IATBR) in Vienna, Austria.

I made a presentation about a surge pricing simulation, which was part of my master’s thesis. The full name was “Investigating the Impact of Surge Pricing on Ride-Hailing Usage through a User Heterogeneity Perspective: A Simulation Approach.”

Unfortunately, my presentation was in the last session of the last day of the conference, so there were few people left. Nevertheless, we had a stimulating discussion among a small group of audiences.
This was my first time visiting a country in Europe. It was a good chance for me to experience new cultures and see new environments, not to mention to get to know esteemed professionals in the field of travel behavior research. I aimed to use this experience to improve my research in my Ph.D.

On May 25 and 26, our first-year master’s student Mega gave a presentation at the 69th Spring Conference of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) held at Hokkaido University.
It was a rare experience for me to present in front of such a large audience in a quiet setting. Although I was nervous throughout the presentation, my anxiety eased once the Q&A session began. I was thrilled that my message was clearly conveyed, and I received praise for the interesting content and valuable advice.

I am deeply grateful to Professor Fukuda and the members of my lab for their invaluable feedback on aspects I hadn’t noticed myself during the preparation phase. I am determined to make the most of this experience and dedicate myself to my research over the next two years of my master’s program. [Mega]

[4-7 September, 2023]

Mr.Krittanai presented his research at the 15th EASTS conference 2023, which was held in Shah Alam, Malaysia on 4th-7th of September, 2023. The title of his presentation was as follows:

“How Do Fares Affect the Utilization of Ride-hailing Services: Evidence from Uber Japan’s Experiments (Sriwongphanawes Krittanai and Daisuke Fukuda)”After the presentation, he engaged in a stimulating conversation with the participants where they exchanged their experiences regarding the use of ride-hailing in their own countries. We would like to express our graditudes for all the comments and questions.

In addition, his paper was considered for the best award for EASTS. Although his paper did not win, it will be published in the journal of EASTS called Asian Transport Studies (ATS)

During the conference, he had the chance to meet people from many countries, both in academic and industrial, which was a valuable experience for him. Finally, on the last day of the conference, he joined the technical site visit to Smart Selangor Operation Center (SSOC) to learn about the intelligent transportation systems in Shah Alam.

This is a very good opportunity for him to gain experiences and knowledge which will definitely inspire his future work as a Ph.D. student.

[3-4 June, 2023]

Mr. Krittnai presented his research at the Spring Conference of the JSCE Committee of Infrastructure Planning and Management, which was held at Fukuoka University on 3rd (Saturday) and 4th (Sunday) June. The title of his presentation was as follows:

“How Does Price Affect the Utilization of Ridesourcing Services: Evidence from Uber Japan’s Experiments (Sriwongphanawes Krittanai and Daisuke Fukuda)”

We received valuable comments regarding Mr. Krittanai’s presentation from many professors and participants. Thus, we would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude.

Moreover, we also participated in the conference as audiences. Over these two days, presentations from various fields were held. We had the chance to know some interesting research conducted by students from other universities with whom we have been involved in previous research activities, especially during the poster session! This experience provided us with great inspiration for our future master’s research. We are grateful to participate in this conference!

[Hasegawa]

[11 – 13 November, 2022]

Mr. Ukai, an alumnus from our lab, presented his paper at the Fall Conference of the JSCE Committee of Infrastructure Planning and Management, which was held at the University of the Ryukyus from 11st (Friday) to 13rd (Sunday) November. The title of his presentation is as follows:

Information Design Based Transportation Management: A Fundamental Study under Fluctuating Demand
(Kenta Ukai and Daisuke Fukuda)

Moreover, six Japanese students from our lab participated in the conference as assistants. We mainly acted as a  timekeeper at the presentation venue, and were able to listen to various research presentations, ranging from areas close to my own research to areas I had never touched before (of course, the role of timekeeper took precedence). Furthermore, I had a chance to meet many people who helped me during my visit to Kanazawa in the summer, and I was able to spend a very enriching time there.

In addition, through this opportunity, I was able to deepen my friendship with the student members of Kamiya Laboratory. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Prof. Kamiya and everyone at the University of the Ryukyus for this valuable opportunity. Let’s keep in touch and inspire each other in the future!

[Hasegawa]

[9-10 August 2022]

On 9 and 10 August, Mr. Ebashi (M1) and Mr. Sakurai (OB) presented their research at Japan Society of Traffic Engineers (JSTE), which was held at the Waseda Campus, Waseda University. Their research titles are shown as follows:

Analysis of the impact of introducing congestion charging to tourist attractions on excursion tourism behavior. [観光地への混雑課金導入が周遊行動に与える影響への分析]
(Rikuto Sakurai, Natsuho Iokura, & Daisuke Fukuda) 

Online experimental study of a traffic information provision method based on self-fulfilling signals. [自己実現シグナルに基づく交通情報提供方法のオンライン実験研究]
(Kyoshiro Ebashi & Daisuke Fukuda)

We have received many useful comments on each presentation from Prof. Muromachi of Tokyo Institute of Technology and others. Here, we would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude towards them.

[Ebashi]