https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from Toyohashi University of Technology When AI-powered prosthetic arms that move autonomously become widespread, understanding how people feel about them and accept them will be crucial. In a study appearing in Scientific Reports, scientists used virtual reality to simulate a situation in which a participant's own arm was replaced by a robotic prosthetic arm, and examined how the prosthesis movement speed affects embodiment, including body ownership, the sense of agency, usability, and social impressions of the robot such as competence and discomfort. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-02-autonomous-robotic-arm-body.html Hi Tech & Innovation Fri, 13 Feb 2026 12:20:03 EST news690195718 A research team from the Visual Perception and Cognition Laboratory and the Cognitive Neurotechnology Unit at Toyohashi University of Technology investigated how the movements of autonomous mobile robots influence human emotional responses during passing encounters in virtual reality (VR) environments. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-01-unpredictable-movements-autonomous-robots-human.html Robotics Mon, 26 Jan 2026 16:17:31 EST news688666622 The Journal of Neuroscience features for the first time a cover concept that is not about what neuroscientists have done, but rather what neuroscience can do for humanity's future. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-neuroscience-flight-behavioral-tunnels-real.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 26 Nov 2025 15:19:18 EST news683392741 A research team from the Urban and Transportation Systems Laboratory, Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, has developed an innovative evaluation framework that quantitatively evaluates the quality of life (QOL) in future smart cities by integrating physical accessibility (transportation networks) and digital accessibility (ICT networks). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-digital-access-convenience-fully-physical.html Health informatics Thu, 13 Nov 2025 22:50:02 EST news682267688 A research team from the Cognitive Neurotechnology Unit and the Visual Perception and Cognition Laboratory, Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Toyohashi University of Technology, investigated human behavior and comfort when handing over a package to an autonomous mobile delivery robot while walking—an interaction envisioned for logistics in future smart cities. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-11-people-packages-comfortably-delivery-robots.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 13 Nov 2025 07:19:04 EST news682240741 A research team from the Cognitive Neurotechnology Unit and the Visual Perception and Cognition Laboratory at Toyohashi University of Technology has found that approach–avoidance behavior in a virtual reality (VR) environment modulates how individuals recognize facial expressions. Notably, the study demonstrated that participants were more likely to perceive a facial expression as "angry" when they actively moved away from the face stimulus than when the face moved away from them. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the reciprocal relationship between perception and action in social contexts. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-approachavoidance-behavior-reshape-brain-facial.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 14 Oct 2025 13:07:03 EDT news679666021 Many applications—from drug discovery and diagnostics to cell engineering and gene modulation—require delivering biomolecules into large numbers of cells and rapidly evaluating the outcomes. The challenge is two-fold: achieve intracellular delivery at scale across diverse cells and cargoes, and obtain quantitative results fast enough to keep pace with that delivery. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-parallel-microdevice-ai-powered-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Sat, 27 Sep 2025 07:14:01 EDT news678176025 A multinational research team has discovered a mysterious tubular structure—previously unknown in any organism—within Profftella, a symbiotic bacterium associated with a major global citrus pest. This discovery, made using advanced microscopy, may lead to breakthroughs in both pest control and the study of life's evolution. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-scientists-enigmatic-tubular-citrus-pest.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 24 Sep 2025 10:57:04 EDT news677930222 Researchers at Toyohashi University of Technology in Japan, in collaboration with the Institute of Translational Medicine and Biomedical Engineering (IMTIB) in Argentina and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, have advanced the "PDMS SlipChip," a versatile microfluidic device. By using a low-viscosity silicone oil and fine-tuning the fabrication process, they've made the SlipChip more reliable for cell-based experiments and simpler for creating concentration gradients. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-viscosity-oil-boosts-microfluidic-device.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 14 May 2025 16:58:04 EDT news666460682 A research group from the Institute for Research on Next-generation Semiconductor and Sensing Science (IRES²) at Toyohashi University of Technology has developed an innovative in vivo electrophysiological neural recording technology that minimizes neuronal death and allows stable recordings for over a year. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-02-microneedle-electrode-based-device-neural.html Neuroscience Mon, 03 Feb 2025 11:35:55 EST news657804949 To clarify the visual cues contributing to skin moisture and dryness, a research team conducted several psychophysical experiments to investigate how image manipulation alters visual perceptions of skin moisture. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-01-visual-cues-dry-skin-psychophysical.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 07 Jan 2025 16:24:03 EST news655489441 Our brains possess a cognitive mechanism that allows us to quickly recognize faces even with limited visual information. Focusing on this phenomenon, Toyohashi University of Technology investigated how the brain processes ambiguous visual stimuli resembling faces under unconscious conditions. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-10-affects-unconscious.html Neuroscience Tue, 29 Oct 2024 15:33:03 EDT news649434781 New research reveals that synchronized foot vibrations and posture significantly enhance virtual walking experiences for stationary observers, improving self-motion, walking sensation, and embodiment. Standing posture was most effective, but sitting and lying positions also benefited from synchronized vibrations. These findings have practical applications in virtual reality (VR) for training, rehabilitation, and entertainment, offering improved immersion and realism even for users with physical limitations. https://techxplore.com/news/2024-08-synchronized-foot-vibrations-virtual.html Engineering Mon, 26 Aug 2024 13:30:02 EDT news643897801 A research team led by Associate Professor Atsushi Nakabachi of the Toyohashi University of Technology Research Center for Agrotechnology and Biotechnology has revealed that the compound diaphorin produced by an insect symbiotic bacterium promotes the activity of an in vitro protein synthesis system using Escherichia coli-derived components. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-compound-symbiotic-bacteria-vitro-protein.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 13 Jun 2024 16:24:02 EDT news637514641 The association between facial expressions and the memory color effect has been elucidated through a collaborative effort involving the Cognitive Neurotechnology Unit and the Visual Perception and Cognition Laboratory at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Toyohashi University of Technology. The memory color effect refers to the phenomenon in which knowledge of the typical color of a specific object (the memory color) influences the recognition of its actual color. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-06-facial-affect.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 13 Jun 2024 16:22:03 EDT news637514521 A research group in Japan has established a microfluidic control technology that can be applied to small blood testing devices and consequently developed a novel integrated immunoassay device. This microfluidic control technology is expected to address cost issues—one of the limitations to the social implementation of microfluidic chips—and realize a convenient blood testing device. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-05-microfluidic-technology-blood-devices.html Biomedical technology Tue, 28 May 2024 16:59:03 EDT news636134341 The association between perceived glossiness and pupillary response has previously been elucidated through a collaborative effort involving the Cognitive Neurotechnology Unit and the Visual Perception and Cognition Laboratory in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Toyohashi University of Technology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-05-relationship-glossiness-pupillary-responses.html Neuroscience Thu, 09 May 2024 11:42:22 EDT news634473738 In a research collaboration between the group of Professor Hiroshi Yokoyama of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and KOBE STEEL, LTD., flow, and acoustic fields in an expanding pipe with orifice plates were studied using a computational methodology developed by Prof. Yokoyama's group. The flow fields, including the various vortical structures and generated acoustic fields, were explained for the first time. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-large-scale.html General Physics Tue, 02 Apr 2024 17:26:03 EDT news631297561 Researchers have developed a system that provides a virtual walking experience to a seated person by real-time synthesis of a walking avatar and its shadow on a 360-degree video with vibrations to the feet. The shadow of the avatar induces an illusory presence of their body. In the future, it is expected to provide an immersive experience for any recorded medium with a virtual embodiment. https://techxplore.com/news/2024-02-avatars-degree-video-virtual.html Hi Tech & Innovation Thu, 29 Feb 2024 13:15:03 EST news628434901 A research team has successfully demonstrated low-invasive neural recording technology in the brain tissue of diabetic mice. This was achieved using a small needle-electrode with a diameter of 4 µm. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-01-electrophysiological-breakthrough-diabetic-brain.html Neuroscience Thu, 04 Jan 2024 15:34:03 EST news623604841 A research team consisting of members of the Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute and the Functional Materials Engineering Laboratory at the Toyohashi University of Technology, has developed a novel high-performance photoelectrode by constructing a zinc oxide nanopagoda array with a unique shape on a transparent electrode and applying silver nanoparticles to its surface. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-team-high-photoelectrode-zinc-oxide.html Nanomaterials Thu, 04 Jan 2024 14:33:03 EST news623601182 Researchers have developed a technology capable of deploying very small "marks" in regions of the brain where activity has been recorded. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-12-technology-minute-brain.html Neuroscience Tue, 05 Dec 2023 16:51:04 EST news621017461 A research team led by Professor Toshihiko Eki of the Department of Applied Chemistry and Life Science, Toyohashi University of Technology and others used DNA metabarcoding to analyze changes in the composition of soil organisms associated with crop growth in two corn-cabbage rotation fields in Tahara City. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-dna-metabarcoding-soil-composition-crop.html Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 23 Oct 2023 12:44:03 EDT news617283841 A research team in the Visual Perception and Cognition Laboratory and Cognitive Neurotechnology Unit of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Toyohashi University of Technology has conducted experiments to investigate the effects of facial color on implicit facial expression perception. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-10-facial-unconscious-emotions.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 10 Oct 2023 15:11:57 EDT news616169515 A research team led by Assistant Professor Mizuki Takeda from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, has developed a technique to generate training data for robots that operate based on estimations of the user's state using machine learning. The research is published in the journal IEEE Access. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-09-creation-states-robot-users.html Robotics Wed, 20 Sep 2023 16:02:09 EDT news614444516 In a virtual reality study that sheds light on the intricacies of human-robot interactions, researchers have discovered that humans are capable of experiencing empathic embarrassment when witnessing robots go through embarrassing situations. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-09-humans-empathic-robots-virtual-reality.html Robotics Tue, 12 Sep 2023 14:40:03 EDT news613748401 Assistant Professor Yuya Hosoda of the Center for IT-Based Education (CITE), Toyohashi University of Technology has developed a method for estimating the pitch of vocal cord vibrations of humans from call audio. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-08-diagnosis-voice-condition-audio.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Fri, 18 Aug 2023 14:03:55 EDT news611586233 A research team from the Department of Applied Chemistry and Life Science at the Toyohashi University of Technology has discovered a phenomenon in which specific lipids were concentrated on graphene oxide in a multicomponent lipid bilayer membrane serving as a cell membrane model. The findings are published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-lipid-raft-phenomenon-nanocarbon-surfaces.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 19 Jul 2023 12:59:23 EDT news608990358 A multi-institutional collaborative has developed a flexible electrocorticography film for simultaneous detection of multisensory information from multiple regions of the cerebral cortex by placing neural electrodes over a wide area of a mouse brain surface. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-07-scientists-multisensory-wide-area-cerebral.html Neuroscience Thu, 13 Jul 2023 15:48:23 EDT news608482100 A research team, led by Professor Yuji Nakamura of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Toyohashi University of Technology, discovered that the flickering of flames can be freely controlled by moving two flames closer together or further apart. Until now, it had been known that interference between flames separated by a certain distance causes the flames to flicker during in-phase or anti-phase. However, it was not possible to stably express the state of "stopping the flickering of flames" that should occur under critical conditions where the phase changes. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-elucidate-complexity-flames.html General Physics Fri, 31 Mar 2023 09:48:31 EDT news599474908