By Toshihiko Sugie, Secretary, Tokyo Section Life Member Affinity Group
On 4 October 2023, as part of the IEEE Day event, a technical visit to the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) in Yokosuka, Japan, took place. The event was organized by the Tokyo Section Life Member Affinity Group (LMAG-Tokyo) and co-sponsored by the Technical Program Committee (TPC) with 23 participants. Dr. Shuichi Mori from JAMSTEC coordinated the visit, during which we learned about the latest advancements in unmanned ocean exploration vehicles (FFC, ROV, etc.) and underwater research vessels (AU, BMS, etc.), with a focus on robot control and undersea communication.
Additionally, Dr. Satoru Yokoi, Group Leader at the Research Institute for Global Change, JAMSTEC, delivered a lecture titled ‘From JAMSTEC’s Research for Ocean and Weather.’ The presentation covered fascinating research topics such as ‘warm water pools’ in surface seawater near the equator, intraseasonal fluctuations, their impact on climate change in summer and winter, and offshore weather observation using the research vessel ‘Mirai’.
It has become evident that IEEE-related technologies are greatly contributing to JAMSTEC’s research and development activities, directly impacting our daily lives, such as weather forecasts and earthquake information. Furthermore, we discovered that the Research and Development conducted here plays a crucial role in understanding climate change mechanisms and developing countermeasures.