Student Representative
A student community for Physical AI at Nagoya University
NU-ARC
Nagoya University AI and Robotics Community
Surrounded by robots and computers,
we learn together and build what we love.
About
A community for people who want to build things that move
NU-ARC is a student community at Nagoya University where we learn Physical AI—AI that lets robots see, think, and act in the real world—hands-on, together.
Based in a room equipped with robots and GPU workstations, members are free to experiment. We build up the fundamentals in study sessions, while each member pursues projects on themes they love.
学ぶ
Learn
Study the latest methods—reinforcement learning, imitation learning, VLA—from the basics through paper reading and study sessions. No experience needed.
つくる
Build
Make real robots move, both on hardware and in simulation. Things that don't work out are part of the experience too.
つながる
Connect
Meet peers across labs, years, and departments, connect with communities at other universities and companies, and share results openly.
- Beginners welcome
- Open to all years and departments
- Student-run
Why Physical AI
Get into Physical AI while you're an undergrad.
Robots that move with astonishing agility thanks to reinforcement learning; robots that do household chores from a spoken instruction. Physical AI is a field where new breakthroughs appear almost every week.
-
01
Hard to start alone
Physical AI needs robots and GPUs, and hardware moves forward when a group experiments together. NU-ARC provides the environment and the people from day one.
-
02
Hands-on experience is your edge
Now that AI can write code for you, experience with real robots and domain knowledge are what set you apart. Build a portfolio with your own hands before you join a lab.
-
03
Learn beyond a single lab
Actuators, manipulation, human-robot collaboration, robot intelligence—faculty from different specialties support you, giving access to knowledge no single lab can offer.
Activities
What we do
01
Study sessions & paper reading
We read through imitation learning, VLA, reinforcement learning, and control fundamentals together.
02
Hands-on hardware
From assembling a small robot arm to teaching it your own task with data collection and imitation learning.
03
Simulation
MuJoCo and Isaac Sim, starting from setup. Fail as much as you like in simulation before touching hardware.
04
Free projects
Bring your own theme and form a team with others who share it.
05
Competitions
We take on robotics and autonomous-driving competitions.
06
Outreach
We connect with communities at other universities, companies, and labs, and publish our activity logs and materials.
Robots you can use (some in preparation)
- Small robot arms
- Autonomous mini cars
- Small bipedal robots
- Quadruped robots
- GPU workstations
Join us
Come make robots move with us
NU-ARC started in October 2026. You don't need to have touched a robot before or be great at programming. If you're even a little curious, feel free to reach out—visitors are welcome too.
Send an email
Contact (Kohei Honda)
honda.kohei.k3@f.mail.nagoya-u.ac.jp