Control engineering and instrumentation engineering have significantly contributed to the improvement of industrial productivity, saving of resources and energy, and enrichment of our lives. They have become important cross-cutting study fields not only covering engineering but also having strong relations with the environment, society, and economy. Therefore, various studies have been conducted on the educational methods of related technologies at educational institutes and companies. With this background, we planned this special issue with the latest studies on the instruction and evaluation methods for education on control engineering, instrumentation engineering, and control technologies, expecting its contribution to further development in the future.

To realize intelligent mobile robots, self-localization, map generation, and autonomous exploration of unknown environments are necessary. Probabilistic processing can be applied to overcome the problems of uncertainties in movement and measurement errors. Probabilistic robotics and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technologies are thus strongly related, and have been the focus of several extant studies. Owing to the increasing practical applications such as automatic driving and cleaning robots, the applicability of these techniques is increasing. To facilitate innovation, various papers pertaining to these topics are called for, including those on the development of practical technologies.

Robots consist of many elements, such as actuators, sensors, computers, and mechanical components. Nowadays, progress of AI field induced by the tremendous improvements in computer processing capabilities, has been allowing robots to behave in more sophisticated manner, and this has drawn considerable attention. On the other hand, “the mechanism,” which directly produces robot movements, sometimes brings out abilities that cannot be provided solely by computer control through sensor feedback. “Integrated Knowledge on Innovative Robot Mechanisms” is a knowledge system for robot mechanisms that bring forth useful and innovative functions and values. In this special issue, papers related to robot mechanisms that will widely contribute to robotics development are welcome to be submitted.

本特集号は，公道における実験を通して洗練した確実に動くシステムの構築とその制御手法を世界に発信することを目的としています．実世界における自律移動ロボットの公開実験「つくばチャレンジ」は，自律移動に加えて人物探索と歩行者用横断歩道の通過が求められるようになり，より人間に近い判断と運動能力が必要となりました．2017年は第二ステージ最後の年で，これまでの集大成となるコースが用意されており，ここで走行実験を行うことで新しい制御手法が得られるものと期待されます．そこで，「つくばチャレンジ」の走行実験で得られた成果を論文にまとめていただき，本特集号に投稿いただけるようにお願いいたします．

In recent years, the evolution of small-scaled unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) has been remarkable. Not only advanced research and development but also its industrial application has progressed rapidly. As the hobbyist market for drones, which opened around 2010, has become somewhat saturated, attention is now turning to commercial applications, not only in agriculture but also for new uses, such as for aerial surveys, infrastructure inspections, security, disaster surveys, and logistics. As a result, related start-up companies dealing in drone manufacture, service solutions, human resources development, etc. are popping up all over the world.
Therefore, this call for papers will be for a special issue with the following title: Cutting Edge of Drone Research and Development, and its Application. Specifically, we are calling for papers on the following topics.
1.  Drone Design
2.  Drone Sensors and Sensing Strategies
3.  Drone Propulsion
4.  Drone Control
5.  Drone Communication
6.  Drone Architecture
7.  Drone Health and Fault Management
8.  Drone Modeling, Simulation, Estimation, and Identification
9.  Drone Path Planning
10. Drone Sensing and Avoidance
11. Networked Drones
12. Drone Human Interfaces
13. Drone Guidance, Navigation, and Control
14. Drone Localization and SLAM
15. Drone Autonomy
16. Drone Manipulation
17. Drone Failure Effect Analysis
18. Bio-inspired Drones
19. Flapping Wing Drones
20. Drone Formations and Swarms
21. Drone Traffic Management System (UTM)
22. Drone Aviation Regulations
23. Drone Safety Risk Management
24. Drone Applications

[in Japanese]
Journal of Robotics and Mechatronicsでは、大学の研究者による研究論文だけではなく、企業の技術者や大学・高専の学生による開発報告も募集しています。ロボティクス・メカトロニクスのシステム・技術を開発してみたが学術研究としてはまとめづらい場合であっても、自分たちの開発成果を読者に紹介したいという場合には、開発報告を書いてください。掲載されるとオンラインで無料公開され、世界中の読者に対して自分たちの成果を発信できます。英文誌ですが、英語で書くのが苦手な方でも、日本語で書いて出版社で翻訳することも可能です。開発現場での製品開発やロボット競技会での活動を通して達成した成果を、ぜひとも開発報告として投稿してください。

[in English]
The Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics (JRM) is calling for not only research papers from university researchers but also development reports from corporate engineers and university or college students. If you would like to present to our readers a system or technology you have developed in the field of robotics and mechatronics, you are encouraged to write a development report, even if you find difficulty in writing a research paper. Once published, your report will appear online free of charge and be shared with readers all over the world. JRM is an English journal, but if you are not confident in your English skills, you can write your report in Japanese and we will translate it for you. We are looking forward to receiving your development reports on, such as, product development in your company or an achievement in a robotics competition.
<PDF>: https://www.fujipress.jp/main/wp-content/uploads/JRM_CFP_Development.pdf

Agriculture, forestry and fisheries are important industries, and advances in robotics will help the operations to improve productivity and cost effective management of the growth and harvesting. Robotic technologies are increasingly being used in primary industry and will be used more in the near future.
This special issue’s objectives include collecting recent advances, automation, mechanization, research trends and their applications in agriculture, forestry and fisheries to promote a deeper understanding of major conceptual and technical challenges and facilitate spreading of recent breakthroughs in primary industries, and contribute to the enhancement of the quality of agricultural, forestry and fisheries robots by introducing the state-of-the-art in sensing, mobility, manipulation and related technologies. This special issue seeks for the leading researches, significant progresses, reviews and practical applications in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries.

[in Japanese]
近年、3Dプリンタが急速に注目を集めています。高性能化と低価格化を背景に、一般家庭でも3Dプリンタを所有できる時代になり、個人でも容易にデジタルデータからオリジナルの立体造形物を作り出すことが可能になりました。ものづくり革命の到来とも言われています。JRMでは、3Dプリンタによるものづくりの革新を特集するため、革新的な造形技術やモデリング技術、理工系教育への応用、などロボット・メカトロニクス分野への応用が期待される3Dプリンタの技術の報告を募集します。投稿者と読者の間でモデリングデータやノウハウを共有し、創造的アイデアのネットワークを形成していくことも狙いの１つです。大学や研究機関からはもちろん、企業からも、皆様の投稿をお待ちしております。

[in English]
The high performance and low price of 3D printers have made them available to ordinary homes and individuals. Nowadays original 3D objects can be easily produced by individuals using 3D printers. To focus on the innovation of manufacturing using 3D printers, we are calling for technical reports introducing 3D printer technologies applied to robotics and mechatronics fields. Examples include innovative shaping and modeling technology, scientific and technological education, and so on. One of our aims is to form a creative network among authors and readers through the sharing of modeling data and technical knowledge. Submissions are welcome from both academic institutions such as universities and laboratories and from commercial and other enterprises.
Details are given in the following PDF.
https://www.fujipress.jp/main/wp-content/uploads/JRM_3DPrinter_CFP_En.pdf

Regular paper submission is always welcome.