Japanese 
Contact Michiaki HIRAYAMA
- Visiting period
- May to November 2019
- Visiting university
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne
- Visiting country and region
- Lausanne, Swiss
Content of the study program
With the support of the SGU program, I studied abroad for six months at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. My area of specialization is social robotics. I decided to study at the Distributed Intelligent Systems and Algorithms Laboratory (DISAL) at EPFL because it is one of the world’s best social robotics research institutions and I found it to be the most interesting.
One of the purposes of the SGU study-abroad program is to strengthen collaborations between Waseda University and overseas universities. Therefore, the purpose of my study abroad was to generate research results that contribute to both the Sugano lab and DISAL. While studying abroad, I conducted my research under the guidance of Dr. A. Wakik and Dr. A. Martinoli.
Study results
・Research result
For multiple mobile robots to accomplish one task as a team with stable movements even if the communication is unreliable, it is necessary to use position estimation technology to mutually measure distances via a mounted sensor. During my study abroad experience, I developed and evaluated such technology.
・Contributions to both organizations
To generate results to contribute to society, I continue working on my research.
・What I learned
I learned that statistical theory for mutual position estimation among robots and graph theory are necessary to control multiple robots. In my free time, I began studying game theory, which I am interested in. I was able to participate in the development of large-scale software using ROS, which improved my technical ability.
My experience abroad
Although I have prior experience of a long-term overseas trip, this was the first time that I stayed at one location. I had a productive and valuable experience. As part of my research, I had discussions with my supervisors, worked on daily tasks, and attended an over-an-hour-long research result presentation. I realized differences in interests between researchers at Waseda University and DISAL. This allowed me to expand my value system. Besides research, I experienced diverse culture through interactions with my host family, members at the lab, and other friends outside the lab. The Swiss people have a good work-life balance. When I go to back to Japan, I hope to continue a clear work-life balance.
Influence on my future career
From the beginning, I did not want to decide my future direction before experiencing studying abroad. Although I still haven’t decided, I realize I have more options after studying abroad. This experience broadened my perspective.
Other comments
For Dr. Sugano and other professors as well as people at SGU office, I thank you for guiding me. I was also lucky with my surroundings at EPFL. I sincerely appreciate everyone’s help.