Professor Shunji Yamanaka is one of Japan’s most respected designers. An engineer as well as a designer, he has led innovative projects across robotics, advanced communication technologies and wearable designed prosthetics.

Hear Professor Yamanaka talk about the importance of interdisciplinary and collaborative processes and consider the question of robotics for design and sociality, not just engineering, in this exclusive keynote at the National Communication Museum (NCM).

Currently on display in FRIEND, Professor Yamanaka’s speculative glasses and concept sketches for the remarkable JIZAI ARMS are shown alongside the supernumerary robotic limbs themselves, developed as part of the JIZAI Body Project. The project aims to enhance human capabilities by integrating wearable robotic arms with human movement with the potential to revolutionize personal robotics and human-computer interaction.

This program includes an after-hours opportunity to view FRIEND during the final week of the exhibition and a complimentary drink on arrival. A Japanese–English translator will attend to assist Professor Yamanaka.

Doors open at 5.30pm, conversation commences at 6pm. Doors close at 7.30pm.

This conversation is part of NCM's ongoing series exploring critical ideas at the forefront of robotics and embodied intelligence.

This event is part of Melbourne Design Week 2026, an initiative of the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.