Nagoya will host RoboDEX Nagoya 2026, a key robotics technology exhibition, at Aichi Sky Expo on November 25, 2026. The event, a Nagoya edition of Japan’s leading robotics showcase, will feature both industrial and service robots alongside the technologies used to develop them.
The city’s prominence in robotics research and development is underscored by the presence of six universities in Nagoya ranked among the top institutions in Japan for the field. Nagoya University leads the list, ranked ninth in Japan for robotics, according to EduRank.org. The Nagoya Institute of Technology follows at 21st, with Toyota Technological Institute at 51st. Meijo University, Chukyo University, and Daido University too feature in the top 135 institutions nationally.
Recent advancements from the Intelligent Robotics and Biomechatronics Laboratory at Nagoya University demonstrate the region’s commitment to innovation. In October 2025, Dr. Jayant Unde received the IEEE RAS Japan Joint Chapter Young Award at the 2025 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2025). The laboratory also received the Best Poster Presentation Award at the 2025 Conference on Robot Learning (CoRL2025) for its work on an open-source platform for dexterous robotic surgical manipulation and learning. Further back, in August 2023, a paper from the lab on a single actuator tendon-driven two-finger linkage gripper was awarded Best Paper at the RO-MAN 2023 Conference.
Nagoya University’s laboratory has seen personnel changes in recent years, with Dr. Tadayoshi Aoyama, a former Associate Professor, promoted to Professor in the Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering in October 2024. Dr. Yaonan Zhu, a former designated assistant professor, moved to the University of Tokyo in June 2024.
The RoboDEX exhibition in Nagoya is part of a broader series of events, including the main RoboDEX event and the related FIWEEK hub, which aims to connect robotics technology with various industries. Nagoya’s location within Aichi prefecture, a major manufacturing hub in Japan, positions it as a strategic location for showcasing robotics advancements.
