Automatic berthing system using the neural network in order to avoid the accident in berthing under the strong wind and wave condition which requires high skill of a master, the intelligent ship which automatically avoids accidents, such as a collision, sinking of tankers which result in serious sea pollution are researched.
Moreover, in order to prevent large inclination of ships at sea leading to the serious accident of capsizing linking directly to a lot of human life loss, the latest researches related to ship stability problems are done.
These researches contribute to global standard decision in the U.N. International Maritime Organization and the international towing tank conference.

Waves as high as ten-storey buildings. Yet ships still sail the cruel seas. When designing ship structures, you need to thoroughly and rationaly secure the safety even under complex loads that massive waves generate. This subarea is involved in risk assessment of for ships and other floating structures, focused on simulation technologies that cross multiple fileds, including load and structural response, bucklings and ultimate strength and structural reliability. This research is deeply related to the development of design rules or standards for ships. As a result, many of our joint research areas are agencies and organization involved in the rule development.

The flow field and hydrodynamic forces around ships and marine structures are investigated using the theoretical and computational fluid dynamics to understand the relationship between the hull or structure form and the performance. Many ship related projects such as optimum hull form design, low drag body design and new propulsor development are carried out. Experimental fluid dynamics techniques are also used for investigation. The fish-like underwater vehicle is also investigated. The practical fish like robots (the squid robot with two undulating side fins) are constructed and tested in the towing tank. Other hydrodynamic research topics are studied in many fields, such as marine environmental engineering.

In addition to constructing mathematical models for the force of waves affecting ships and floating structures, also researching how quickly and accurately partial strength evaluations can be performed for the complex loads applied to massive iron structures. We also analyze the physical state of shipbuilding where the experience of veteran technicians combines with a reliance on intuition to develop simulation technologies that may shorten the time needed to pass along skills and automate work.

To improve the seakeeping performance of ships that run in seas and develop the method to evaluate its performance accurately, we study the ship motion and the stochastic characteristics of sea state. We are also developing the application of the natural energy. The device to convert the ship motion energy into the ship propulsion energy is one of them. We are making the guideline to design the very large mobile offshore structure for a wind power plant and the ocean routing for the most efficient energy production.

Presented by National Institute for Environmental Studies

We are developing underwater robots that track the flow of accidental oil spills or plankton red tides, relaying their movement automatically in real-time to land-based stations, or that incorporate the movement of a fish's pectoral fins for precise maneuverability in wave and water currents. We are also doing analytical researches on dynamics of underwater robots using computational fluid dynamics, and dynamics of a deepwater riser for deepwater drilling, on which various forces act.

Our research field is the joining and welding technology for constructing large steel structures. Since joining is one of the essential processes to assemble products, the technology can be applied to not only ships but also automobiles and space crafts. Main part of our research is the virtual engineering based on complex computational models. In addition to the welding, we are challenging to develop advanced simulation tools useful for the analysis of porous materials such as human bones and sponge metals.