Prospective students
May 25, 2026

Prospective students

Thinking about joining Yamazato Laboratory? We'd love to hear from you.

We are always looking for curious, self-motivated students who want to push the boundaries of communication engineering. Whether you enjoy hands-on experiments, building mathematical models, or diving into theory — there is a place for you here.

What we value most is a collaborative spirit. Our students learn from each other, respect different perspectives, and take ownership of their own growth. We work hard, but we also support one another.

What We Work On

Our research spans the full stack of next-generation communications — from building and testing real systems outdoors and on moving vehicles, to proving fundamental limits in information theory and designing AI-native transceivers. Two faculty members lead complementary directions that frequently intersect.

🚗 V2X Visible Light Communication

Light-based vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication is our flagship research area. Using LED arrays and image sensors already embedded in standard vehicles, we enable safe, high-speed data exchange between cars and infrastructure — without consuming any radio spectrum.

  • Rolling shutter image sensors: reliable VLC demonstrated up to 60 km/h; long-range demodulation using complementary raw and processed image fusion (Kondo et al., IEICE Commun. Express, 2026)
  • Event cameras: V2X communication, inter-vehicle distance estimation, and integrated communication + positioning in real outdoor driving environments (Soga et al., IEEE IV, 2025; Kobayashi et al., IEEE IV, 2025; Soga et al., APCC, 2025)
  • Collective Perception (CP): sharing sensor data among vehicles via VLC to enhance safety in autonomous driving; feasibility confirmed in outdoor experiments (Nakano et al., IEEE ICC, 2026; Yamazato et al., IEICE Trans., 2026)
  • Semantic ISC/OCC: combining camera-based sensing with data transmission for context-aware communication (IEEE P802.15 standardization activity)
  • LDPC-coded VLC: iterative detection-decoding receiver design for reliable high-speed optical V2X links (Kuo et al., IEEE VTC, 2026)

💡 Image Sensor Communication (ISC) & Novel Transmitters

We develop transmitters that go far beyond a simple blinking LED.

For a comprehensive review of image sensor communication and its vehicular applications, see Huang & Yamazato, Photonics, 2023.

📐 Information Theory & Channel Coding

This is where we ask the deeper questions: what are the fundamental limits of a channel, and how close can we get? Led by Lecturer Shan Lu, this research strand feeds directly into both our VLC systems and large-scale wireless networks.

🤖 Physical AI Communication

Our broader research vision is Physical AI Communication: designing communication systems by grounding AI in physical models. The pipeline runs from real-world measurement → digital twin construction → AI-aided transceiver design → system evaluation. See Dr. Lu's project page for details.

  • AI-native receiver design for optical and sensing-integrated 6G systems
  • Machine learning × channel coding: learned encoders/decoders for multi-access channels (Wei et al., IEEE GLOBECOM Workshops, 2020)
  • Human safety perception in V2X: next-generation V2X design integrating human trust and safety cognition (Toyota Riken Scholar 2026 project)

⚡ Stochastic Resonance & Low-Power Receivers

We take a counterintuitive approach: we use noise to improve reception. By leveraging stochastic resonance, a 1-bit ADC receiver — far simpler and more power-efficient than conventional designs — can demodulate 16-QAM and OFDM signals reliably across a wide SNR range, including fading channels (Isozaki et al., IEEE GLOBECOM, 2024; Isozaki et al., IEICE Commun. Express, 2024; Arai et al., IEEE ISCAS, 2021).

🛰️ Satellite & Large-Scale IoT

🔐 Physical-Layer Security

  • Scratch-based optical PUF (Physically Unclonable Function): a low-cost authentication method exploiting the unique scattering pattern of a scratched surface (Noda et al., IEEE VTC Workshop, 2025)

📡 Sensing

We are open to new ideas beyond the above themes. If you have a strong proposal, please share it.

To get a feel for our work, we encourage you to browse our full publication list.

How to Apply

Students interested in joining as a research student, graduate student (Master's or Ph.D.), or postdoctoral fellow should contact Prof. Yamazato or Lecturer Shan Lu directly with a letter of interest in PDF format.

In your message, please include:

  • Which research theme(s) you are interested in
  • Your relevant background and experience

A Note on Financial Support

Unfortunately, the laboratory is unable to provide financial support for students. Please make sure to secure scholarships or other funding independently before applying.

Admission Information

For general admission to Nagoya University: → https://en.nagoya-u.ac.jp/admissions/index.html

For the Graduate School of Engineering admission guide: → https://www.engg.nagoya-u.ac.jp/prospective/?lang=en

For information on studying in Japan: → https://www.studyinjapan.go.jp/en/