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

Collaborative research with companies is one of the missions of the Social Integration Research Division of the Unprecedented-scale Data Analytics Center, and we actively engage in such efforts.

  • It is challenging for us to undertake purely commissioned research projects due to resource limitations. However, we can proceed if the research funding provided is sufficient to hire a researcher.
  • In addition, if the topic is something that students can voluntarily take interest in and work on, it is possible to proceed with the research. In such cases, a large research budget may not be necessary.
  • Conversely, companies can dispatch researchers remotely to join our laboratory and conduct research. We primarily offer knowledge-sharing opportunities, including weekly research consultations, participation in the lab's seminars, and involvement in the lab's Slack workspace.

Regarding collaborative research with academia, while I am unable to personally analyze data, I would still be happy to collaborate if that is acceptable. If members of the lab find the research interesting, it could proceed. Alternatively, if a research budget sufficient to hire a researcher is available, collaboration would be feasible.

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.