Robotics appears to be a very lively and fruitful field of research in Japan. Some of the research topics cannot be found elsewhere at all, and some are significantly advanced. Discussing this impression, a collection of laboratories is introduced with their most outstanding topics. Moreover some background information about research plans, politics, and organisations are given.
This report is based on the notes of a trip through Japanese laboratories in February 1997.

Paper (pdf) | Paper (ps.gz) | other publications