PD fellowship of the JSPS on the project :Stretchable Electronics for Intuitive Human–Robot Collaboration and Physical AI

LIMMS/CNRS-IIS IRL 2820 (Laboratory for Integrated Micro Mechatronic Systems) is an international laboratory between the French CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) and Institute of Industrial Science (IIS), The University of Tokyo, located in Komaba, Tokyo. Since its creation in 1995, LIMMS has welcomed more than 380 researchers from France and Europe.

LIMMS opens a new postdoctoral position in the laboratory of Professor Takao Someya, Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Science, School of Engineering, University of Tokyo.

Professor Takao Someya and his colleagues have developed many of the world’s first flexible electronic devices, which were featured by Time Magazine as one of the best inventions of the year, CNN (https://edition.cnn.com/videos/business/2021/04/22/e-skin-wearable-health-someya-spc-intl.cnn/video/playlists/business-evolved/) , BBC (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04yy92t), etc.

More information is available in https://www.ntech.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/

As AI shifts to embodied intelligence, “robot skin”—stretchable electronic systems that deform and sense their surroundings like human skin—is emerging as a core technology for safe, intuitive interaction in the real world. While most modern robotics has been driven by vision-based feedback, humans continuously capture pressure, friction, and temperature through their skin and use this whole-body sensing feedback to guide their actions. The Someya group has developed stretchable devices to bridge this gap and has made significant contributions to the field; we aim to carry this momentum forward. We welcome candidate-driven proposals, including work on (i) stretchable materials, devices, and integration; (ii) wired/wireless connectivity and interfacing; (iii) data analysis; and (iv) usability.

Our facilities are located on the University of Tokyo’s main campus in Hongo, Tokyo. We offer cutting-edge materials technologies, semiconductor processing, and advanced measurement and characterization capabilities, supported by skilled professionals and strong links to both academia and industry. We welcome applicants who can leverage these strengths to pursue the project goals with creativity, rigor, and flexibility.

Fellowship periods and periods for arrival in Japan: Two years starting between September 1^st and November 30, 2026

Rewards: Paid equivalent to the JSPS Post-Doctoral position

1. Airfare: A round-trip air ticket (based on JSPS’s regulations)

2. Maintenance Allowance: 362,000 JPY per month

3. Miscellaneous: A setting-in allowance of 200,000 JPY, Overseas travel insurance, etc.

Skills:

• Ability to prototype and validate stretchable electronic devices/systems experimentally (hands-on mindset, troubleshooting, clear documentation)
• Strong cross-disciplinary communication skills (applicants from adjacent fields are welcome; direct overlap with our lab’s existing research topics is not required)
• Preferred: Ability to develop with a clear application and user experience in mind, effectively leveraging commercially available devices/components and open-source tools when appropriate

Goals:

You will develop a functional robot-skin prototype. Your device may be integrated into a colleague’s system, or you may build a system that integrates a colleague’s device—either approach is welcome. The expected outcomes include publishable data and, ideally, a technology that others will want to reuse and facilitate further collaborations.