Yamada Lab
Tohoku University

Unprecedented-scale Data Analytics Center
Graduate School of Information Sciences

Introduction of Our Laboratory

This is the laboratory of Kazunori Yamada, a researcher of the Unprecedented-scale Data Analytics Center (UDAC), Tohoku University. The laboratory is located in the Aobayama Campus.

The UDAC is a center focused on the various research topics relating to “unprecedented-scale data,” rather than the education of those topics. Specifically, "unprecedented-scale data" is data that far exceeds conventional data in terms of size, speed, resolution, and diversity. Our lab is researching and developing new technologies to process this data from the perspective of data science.

One of our missions is making technologies that permeate society. To this end, we are involved in education in the Graduate School of Information Sciences (GSIS) at Tohoku University. The Shiga Laboratory is also affiliated with the UDAC and conducts research alongside our lab.

Research Topics

The focus of our research is data science, especially in the artificial intelligence domain. Although we create artificial intelligences, we are mainly engaged in research on developing technologies which can be used for making artificial intelligence. We are currently working on the following three research topics. They all seem to be different but are actually common research.

  • Machine consciousness
  • Context information processing
  • Game and entertainment

To realize artificial intelligence that has a mind of its own, like C-3PO or Baymax, we believe it is necessary to make artificial intelligence have a kind of consciousness. Based on this idea, we are working on the first topic. As second research topic, we are researching artificial intelligence that processes context information, sequences and strings, including biological sequences. Lastly, we have been interested in research on artificial intelligence related to video games and entertainment.

Collaboration

Regarding collaborative research with companies: We actively engage in collaborative research with companies. Specifically, researchers from companies are invited to join (remotely as well) and work in the laboratory. We mainly provide knowledge, including weekly research consultations, participation in laboratory seminars, and joining the laboratory's Slack. For this format, we receive a research fee of 1.5 million yen per project. Additionally, we undertake research from companies if the research fee provided is sufficient to hire a researcher.

Regarding collaborative research with academia: Although I cannot personally conduct data analysis or construct artificial intelligence, if that is acceptable, we would love to collaborate. If members of the laboratory are interested, we can proceed with the research. Alternatively, if sufficient research funding is provided to hire a researcher, collaboration would be possible.

Illustrations on the Website

The illustrations on this website were created by Kota Jin, a web designer who was a colleague at my previous laboratory. He crafted them with the theme of coexistence of artificial intelligence and humanity.