Gerontechnology, an interdisciplinary field combining gerontology and technology, deals with the QoL (Quality of Life) and technological environments in an aging society. This new technology is closely related to assistive technology for compensation, assistance, and care support and to universal design ensuring that products provide a comfortable and safe living environment for people of the widely ranging age. Assistive robotics also contributes to independent living and social participation by people of all ages and all capabilities based on physical and information support. Robots provide solutions that reduce the cost of care in later life and that sustain an aging society by extending the working age in society, consequently. This special issue focuses on robotics contributing to gerontechnology, presenting 14 papers and one note on the latest achievements in this exiting research area. Five papers propose assistive technologies for human motion. One presents a home robot system for setting and clearing the table. Four propose monitoring of activities of daily living (ADL). Two introduce caring systems for people with dementia based on robot therapy and a cooperative game. Two present requisite technologies for gerontechnology, i.e., motion analysis for motion synthesis, and aging effect of hand pointing action. The final article introduces reminiscence therapy using photographs and a PC for people with dementia. I thank the authors for their invaluable contributions and the reviewers for their time and effort in making this special issue possible. I also thank the JRM Editorial Board for the opportunity to take part in this work.

Recent advancements in micro/nano robotics and mechatronics technology have contributed to the discovery of new scientific knowledge in bioscience and the development of new treatments and examinations in medical fields. To promote interdisciplinary research among the engineering, biological, and medical fields and to promote further progress in these fields, Scientific Research on Priority Areas, “System Cell Engineering by Multiscale Manipulation (Head Investigator: Toshio Fukuda),” was begun in 2005. In this research area, we study system cell engineering seeking an understanding of communication and control principles of bare and integration functions of cells. We focus on manipulation technology for work from nano- to macro-scale, i.e., multiscale manipulation. By controlling the local environment around a single cell, we actively induce chemical and physical interaction inside and outside the cell and measure changes. We then work to clarify the mechanism behind the cell system and to realize an artificial cell model based on gene expression control and regenerate tissue by function control. Using innovative engineering technology, we obtain new scientific knowledge in the life sciences and develop medical engineering, ultimately contributing to the good of society. This special issue presents 2 reviews and 13 papers on the latest achievements in this research area. The reviews introduce challenging work in medical and biological fields, presenting suggestions on robotics and mechatronics engineers. Eight of the papers propose novel sensors, actuators, and other devices useful in bioscience and cell engineering. Two papers present methods of manipulating micro/nano-scale objects based on laser manipulation, and 2 concern the teleoperations of micro-hands and micro-manipulators for micromanipulation. The final paper discusses the interaction between living neuronal networks and the outer world. We thank the authors for their invaluable contributions to this issue and the reviewers for their precious time and effort. We also thank the Editorial Board of JRM for making this issue possible.

Animals behave adaptively in diverse environments. Adaptive behavior, which is one of intelligent sensory-motor functions, is disturbed in patients with neurological disorders. Mechanisms for the generation of intelligent adaptive behaviors are not well understood. Such an adaptive function is considered to emerge from the interaction of the body, brain, and environment, which requires that a subject acts or moves. Intelligence for generating adaptive motor functions is thus called mobiligence. This special issue features papers dealing with mobiligence. The 18 papers were selected after a thorough peer review. The scope of these papers extends from analytical studies close to biology to synthetic studies close to engineering. Subjects are diverse – insects, monkeys, human beings, robots, networks. All papers play a part in mobiligence studies. We thank the Editorial Board of Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics for giving us the opportunity for publishing this special issue. We also thank the authors for their perseverance and expertise, and deeply appreciate the timely and helpful comments of the reviewers.

The 2006 JSME Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (ROBOMEC’06) was held at Waseda University and Shinjuku Cosmic Center, Tokyo, Japan, on May 26-28, 2006, sponsored by the Robotics and Mechatronics Division of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers. Prof. Fujie of Waseda University served as general chair and Prof. Sugano of Waseda University as program chair. The conference, whose theme was “Robot Technology Integration for Improved Quality of Life,” was to help establish new life style in coming aged society using advanced robotics and mechatronics technologies. Organized sessions numbered 63 and papers 883, again a record for the conference. This special issue presents 12 papers from the conference culled from 90 outstanding presentations – some 10% of the total – which were further narrowed to 37 before final selection for Part 2 (Vol.19, No.3). Thirteen papers have already been published in Vol.19 No.2. We thank the authors for their invaluable contributions to this issue and the reviewers for their time and effort. We also thank the former Editor-in-Chief Prof. Makoto Kaneko of Osaka University for organizing this special issue.

The 2006 JSME Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (ROBOMEC’06) was held at Waseda University and Shinjuku Cosmic Center, Tokyo, Japan, on May 26-28, 2006, sponsored by the Robotics and Mechatronics Division of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers. Prof. Fujie of Waseda University served as general chair and Prof. Sugano of Waseda University as program chair. The conference, whose theme was “Robot Technology Integration for Improved Quality of Life,” was to help establish new life style in coming aged society using advanced robotics and mechatronics technologies. Organized sessions numbered 63 and papers 883, again a record for the conference. This special issue presents 13 papers from the conference culled from 90 outstanding presentations – some 14% of the total – which were further narrowed to 37 before final selection for Part 1 (Vol.19, No.2). We thank the authors for their invaluable contributions to this issue and the reviewers for their time and effort. We also thank the former Editor-in-Chief Prof. Makoto Kaneko of Osaka University for organizing this special issue.

Many researchers in optomechatronics face the globalization of technologies they developed and implemented on production lines such as optical lithography, fiber optics, optical sensors and communication, micro/nano-optical engineering, intelligent and smart technologies, machine vision, optics-based control, visual servoing, vision-based control, microrobotics, and optics-based navigation and sensing. Optomechatronics is an active research field in which many types of optical technologies are combined with mechatronics, including mechanisms, electronics, and information technologies. Optomechatronics thus develops new technical, smart, embedded functions and systems for very broad applications. We have organized several international conferences for optomechatronics and optomechatronic systems sponsored by SPIE during this decade. At Sapporo in 2005, the SPIE international symposium on optomechatronic systems, ISOT2005, was held as a joint symposium of five conferences: actuators and manipulation, sensors and instrumentation, micro/nano-devices and components, machine vision, and systems control. The organization attracted 174 papers from around the world, and provided a fruitful forum for discussions on the status and future issues in optomechatronics. This special issue was planned partly to include many of the qualified papers presented at the symposium and to promote other researchers in peripheral fields of optomechatronics to submit their research to encourage researchers interested in it to develop systems and technologies more skilled, smarter, and more robust in the real-world environment. We thank the authors for their invaluable contributions and the reviewers for their valuable time and effort.

The last decade has seen significant advances in research on haptics and haptic interfaces. Device performance has improved, and the many commercial devices now available at reasonable prices indicate how haptic research will grow and new applications involving haptics will touch all aspects of daily life. Sophisticated systems require research beyond physical devices, such as modeling the physical properties of virtual objects, human physiology, and haptic evaluation. This special issue focuses on state-of-the-art design and development of haptic interfaces and explores potential applications of this technology and related issues such as tactile display, haptic rendering, physiology, and evaluation methodologies. The 15 papers were selected after a rigorous peer review from around the world and include diverse topics such as haptic device design and technology, tactile display and tactile sensing, collaborative multiuser haptic environments, haptic cognition, haptic rendering, tele-existence and multimodal interaction, and medical and rehabilitation applications. We thank the Editorial Board of JRM Journal for making this special issue possible. We also thank the authors for contributing their fine work and revising their papers for this issue, and extend our thanks and appreciation to the reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions.

The 2005 JSME Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (ROBOMEC’05) was held at Kobe International Exhibition Hall, Kobe, Japan, on June 9-11, 2005, sponsored by the Robotics and Mechatronics Division of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers. Prof. Tadokoro of Kobe University at that time served as general chair and Prof. Tsubouchi of Tsukuba University as program chair. The conference, whose theme was “Mega-Integration in Robotics and Mechatronics to Assist Our Daily Lives,” was to help establish new industries using advanced robotics and mechatronics technologies. Organized sessions numbered 64 and papers 880, again a record for the conference. This special issue presents 14 papers from the conference culled from 110 outstanding presentations – some 12% of the total – which were further narrowed to 47 before final selection for Part 2 (Vol.18, No.3). 13 papers have already been published in Vol.18, No.2. We thank the authors for their invaluable contributions to this issue and the reviewers for their time and effort. We also thank Editor-in-Chief Prof. Makoto Kaneko of Hiroshima University for organizing this special issue.

The 2005 JSME Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (ROBOMEC’05) was held at Kobe International Exhibition Hall, Kobe, Japan, on June 9-11, 2005, sponsored by the Robotics and Mechatronics Division of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers. Prof. Tadokoro of Kobe University at that time served as general chair and Prof. Tsubouchi of Tsukuba University as program chair. The conference, whose theme was “Mega-Integration in Robotics and Mechatronics to Assist Our Daily Lives,” was to help establish new industries using advanced robotics and mechatronics technologies. Organized sessions numbered 64 and papers 880, again a record for the conference. This special issue presents 13 papers from the conference culled from 110 outstanding presentations – some 12% of the total – which were further narrowed to 47 before final selection for Part 1 (Vol.18, No.2). We thank the authors for their invaluable contributions to this issue and the reviewers for their time and effort. We also thank Editor-in-Chief Prof. Makoto Kaneko of Hiroshima University for organizing this special issue.

Human modeling is becoming an essential key technology for robotics and mechatronics systems that aid and expand human activities. Human modeling is indispensable in designing systems that conduct tasks difficult or even impossible for human beings to accomplish. Such systems include humanoid robots, power assistance suits, communication robots, intelligent support rooms, and user interface devices. This special issue focuses on the latest state-of-the-art human modeling research, especially in robotics, presenting a wide variety of human modeling areas. To support human beings in real-world environments, human behavior model is considerably important. Adaptation to personal characteristics may be the core function of next-generation system mechanisms, and human social modeling is the principal focus of interfacing for interaction systems. Cognitive and psychological models of human beings have always been an important domain in human-machine systems. Probabilistic and static methods have attracted attention in this research field. Not only mechanical but physiological human modeling may soon become ‘vital’ for all kind of robotic systems. This special issue is the kernel node for cultivating these rapidly advancing areas. I thank the authors of the articles in this issue for their invaluable effort and contributions. I also thank the members of the Editorial board, without whose work this special issue would not have been possible.

This special issue on the International Conference on Advanced Mechatronics (ICAM’04) held at Asahikawa, Hokkaido, October 3 to 5, 2004, sponsored by the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, covers three major areas focused on by the Conference: mechatronics, robotics, and information technology (IT). Among the 110-plus excellent papers accepted for the conference, guest editors chose roughly 40%, recommending that authors submit papers for this journal. This special issue features 13 papers that passed final tough reviews, making the acceptance ratio 60%. We believe you will find this issue both interesting and informative in providing the latest information on mechatronics. We thank all who submitted articles to this special issue and the anonymous reviewers who took so much time from their busy schedules to review manuscripts and respond with constructive suggestions and comments. The high-quality reviews and timely completion of revised manuscripts have certainly helped make this special issue successful. We are sure the news in this issue will be of great help to researchers in the mechatronics community.

Recently, intelligent systems are desired to support human in real world such as advanced safe vehicles, home service robots, wearable computing devices, and intelligent home security systems. Such intelligent systems require extremely high computational power that exceeds that of state-of-the-art microprocessors. They also require

• Low power consumption
• Low latency from input to output
• Compactness

Special-purpose processors called “system LSIs” play an essential role in meeting these requirements. This special issue focuses on the latest advances in system LSIs for real-world intelligent systems. One of their most important tasks is sensing environmental information such as visual information. Image and angle sensors, for example, are implemented in system LSIs. Image processing is the most time-consuming in real-world intelligent systems due to the extremely large amount of data. To overcome this problem, novel parallel architectures are presented. Electrical wires between processing modules must be minimized to make intelligent systems compact. High-speed serial data transfer is one most effective way to minimize the electrical wires. An architecture that handles processing order based on task priorities is a key to low latency. Processing of human interfaces such as face detection and speech recognition are also important factors in making intelligent systems user-friendly. I thank the authors of the articles in this issue for their effort and contributions, and the members of the Editorial Board for their cooperation.

The 2004 JSME Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (ROBOMEC’04) was held at Meijo University in Nagoya, Japan, on June 18-20, 2004, sponsored by the Robotics and Mechatronics Division of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers. Prof. Takeo Oomichi of Meijo University served as general chair and Prof. Sano of the Nagoya Institute of Technology as program chair. The conference, whose theme was “Super Fabrication for a Safe, Secure Environment,” was to help establish new industries using advanced robotics and mechatronics technologies. Organized sessions numbered 67 and papers 813 – a record for the conference. The program committee selected 91 outstanding presentations – some 10% of the total – for the special issues. Out of submitted 43 papers Part 2 (Vol.17, No.3) presents 16 papers through the regular review process. Two papers have already been published in Vol.17, No.1, and 15 papers in Vol.17, No.2. We thank the authors for their invaluable contributions to this issue and the reviewers for their time and effort. We also thank Editor-in-Chief Makoto Kaneko of Hiroshima University for organizing this special issue.

The 2004 JSME Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (ROBOMEC’04) was held at Meijo University in Nagoya, Japan, on June 18-20, 2004, sponsored by the Robotics and Mechatronics Division of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers. Prof. Takeo Oomichi of Meijo University served as general chair and Prof. Sano of the Nagoya Institute of Technology as program chair. The conference, whose theme was “Super Fabrication for a Safe, Secure Environment,” was to help establish new industries using advanced robotics and mechatronics technologies. Organized sessions numbered 67 and papers 813 – a record for the conference. The program committee selected 91 outstanding presentations – some 10% of the total – for the special issues. Out of submitted 43 papers Part 1 (Vol.17, No.2) presents 15 papers through the regular review process. Two papers have already been published in Vol.17, No.1. We thank the authors for their invaluable contributions to this issue and the reviewers for their time and effort. We also thank Editor-in-Chief Makoto Kaneko of Hiroshima University for organizing this special issue.