Vision

In the automobile industry, the concept of the car itself is undergoing a change through technological innovations known as “Connected-Autonomous-Shared-Electricity” (CASE) and “Mobility as a Service” (MaaS). Moreover, in addition to physical mobility, telework and online classes that have become popular during the COVID-19 Pandemic remind us that “exchange of information” is also a form of mobility.

The application domain of mathematics and mathematical sciences is expanding in the real world with the improving performance of computers. It is no exaggeration to say that mathematics is at the root of the systems in which all things and information operate in modern society. Furthermore, mathematics has the ability to “abstract things and capture their essence.” Global platformers have been quick to recognize this “power of mathematics” and have made it a cornerstone of their businesses.

As the concepts of cars and of mobility itself are diversifying, the power of mathematics is essential to grasp the essence of the future mobility society and to create the foundations for the next generation. Based on this idea, world-class mathematical researchers from Kyoto University and Toyota Motor Corporation collaborated to establish the “Advanced Mathematical Science for Mobility Society Research Unit” under the Center for the Promotion of Interdisciplinary Education and Research at Kyoto University in April 2020 as a center for envisioning the future mobility society. In March 2023, the unit was dissolved for further development, and in April of the same year, the “Advanced Mathematical Science for Mobility Society Research Lab” was established under the Kyoto University Open Innovation Organization to serve as a place for joint research with strengthened collaboration.

We believe that in the society of tomorrow, it will be important to take each person’s different values seriously and support them with a higher level of resolution. In addition, technological developments, natural disasters, and other diverse factors will make environmental changes even more intense and difficult to predict.

The laboratory will promote research that contributes to improving the fairness; safety, convenience, and comfort of mobility while keeping in mind the changing attitudes and conditions of society. By implementing these research results in the form of systems, services, and infrastructure, we aim to “realize a society that can flexibly respond to changes in the environment and continue to be comfortable for each and every individual.” We believe that the mission of this laboratory is to drive the creation of better mobility and society powerfully through the power of mathematics and mathematical science.

A key feature of this laboratory is that researchers in the basic fields of mathematical sciences and informatics will collaborate with researchers from Toyota Motor Corporation, a mobility company, in industry-academia collaboration. We hope to promote a new type of industry-academia collaboration in which basic science at universities and industries in which Japan has a competitive advantage support each other from the research conception stage, with theoretical research and technological development on an equal footing.
Rather than simply looking to industry for possible applications of basic research, we would like to create new value for academia by successfully combining the strengths of universities and industry, and by fully utilizing the network of researchers both inside and outside universities. When the very concepts that have supported industry are about to be changed through technological innovation, the fundamental power and strength of universities, which start from the idea of what to be done and conduct research based on free ideas, will come into play. It is also consistent with Kyoto University’s core philosophy of “Creating excellence in knowledge and communicating knowledge based on freedom and harmony to society.”

Researchers from Kyoto University, who specialize in the three elements of fundamental mathematics, and researchers from other universities and Toyota Frontier Research Center are engaged in joint research aimed at constructing “fundamental mathematics for mobility” to create new values related to fairness, safety, convenience, and comfort of mobility.

Three Elements of Fundamental Mathematics