Waseda University X NCM | Professor Shigeki Sugano

When Robots Learn to Work With Us: A Conversation with Professor Shigeki Sugano

Waseda University Professor Shigeki Sugano on the WABOT legacy, the AIREC project, and why the future of robotics is about partnership, not replacement.

What would it mean for a robot to truly work alongside a human, not as a tool to be operated, but as a partner that adapts, responds, and accommodates? For Professor Shigeki Sugano, this question has been at the centre of his research for decades, and it begins with a piano.

Professor Sugano is a professor at Waseda University's Department of Modern Mechanical Engineering and Chairperson of the Future Robotics Organization at Waseda. His career has been shaped by one of the most significant lineages in robotics history: the WABOT project, which produced the world's first full-scale humanoid robot in 1973, and WABOT-2 in 1984, a robot that could read sheet music, hold a conversation, and accompany a human singer by listening and adjusting its playing in real time.

For Professor Sugano, who worked on the project, WABOT-2 was not simply an engineering achievement. It was proof that a robot could recognise the state of a human and respond to it. This principle that has guided his work ever since.

That philosophy now finds its fullest expression in AIREC, his current project developing humanoid robots capable of operating across the full range of human environments. Where most robots today are built for a single application, AIREC aims to create a robot that can do anything, precisely because the humans it works alongside do everything. In care settings in particular, where Japan's rapidly ageing population makes the need urgent, AIREC is designed not to replace human relationships but to support them, joining and assisting carers while preserving the human connections that matter most.

We spoke with Professor Sugano about the legacy of WABOT-2, what has remained constant in his thinking across four decades of robotics research, the cultural and ethical conditions necessary for robots to be trusted as long-term companions, and why he believes our jobs will not be taken by robots, but will, inevitably, be changed by them.

Shigeki Sugano holds B.S., M.S., and Dr. of Engineering degrees in mechanical engineering from Waseda University, where he has spent his entire academic career. After serving as a Research Associate at Waseda and a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University's Department of Mechanical Engineering, he joined Waseda's faculty in 1991, where he is currently Professor in the Department of Modern Mechanical Engineering. He served as Dean of the School of Creative Science and Engineering from 2014 to 2020, Senior Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering from 2020 to 2024, and has served as Chairperson of the Future Robotics Organization at Waseda since 2025. Since 2020 he has also served as Program Manager of the JST Moonshot Project "Smart Robot that is Close to One Person for a Lifetime." He has authored over 200 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers.

His research centres on anthropomorphic robots, dexterous manipulation, and human-robot interaction, with a sustained focus on developing robots capable of coexisting with and adapting to humans in real-world environments. His current work on the AIREC project pursues this vision at scale, developing humanoid robots capable of operating as genuine partners across healthcare, welfare, and everyday human environments.

His awards include the IEEE RAS Distinguished Service Award (2008), the IROS Harashima Award (2016), the Commendation for Science and Technology from Japan's Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2017), and the Tateisi Prize from the Tateisi Science and Technology Foundation (2024). He is a fellow of IEEE, the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers (SICE), and the Robotics Society of Japan, and has served as President of both SICE and the Robotics Society of Japan.

Tokyo-based film crew

Videographer: Shinya Miyazawa

Production support and translation: Mari Mori

Production coordination: Amanda Lynn Imasaka

Additional b-roll: courtesy of Waseda University

Interview filmed at Waseda University, Tokyo

Melbourne-based film crew

Exhibition b-roll: Dave Meagher

Editor: Dave Meagher

Subtitle/translation support: Chris Poole Translation