SUGIHARA Kokichi

Professor, Dr. of Engineering (to my Japanese homepage)

My illusion " Ambiguous Garage Roof"

The roof of a garage and its mirror image appear to be quite different. The human brain likes to interpret the edge of the roof as a planar cut perpendicular to the axis of the roof, but actually ... Visit here for the "Ambiguous Objects" and construction kit for the garage roof.

Meiji University distinguished professor emeritus
Meiji Institute for Advanced Study of Mathematical Sciences (MIMS)
Organization for the Strategic Coordination of Research and Intellectual Property
Meiji University
4-21-1 Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-8525, Japan
E-Mail :kokichis(a)meiji.ac.jp

First Prize of the Best Illusion of the Year Contest 2020
"3D Schroeder Staircase"

　 My illusion won the first prize at the Best Illusion of the Year Contest 2020. Visit here for more information.

Lecture Series for Those Who Stay Home "World of 3D Optical Illusion"

　 Many people in the world are fighting against the new coronavirus, but I cannot do anything except for just staying home. So I decided to start this series of lectures on 3D optical illusion with the hope that they could entertain those who stay home. This is my way of fighting against the new coronavirus.

The World Smallest Metallic Impossible Object has been made.

The object was 3D printed by a new printing technology originally developed by ETH, Switzerland. The smallest one is a collection of cylinders with 10 micromieter-scale diameters, which appear circluar in one view direction but rectangular in the second view direction. See here for the details.

First Prize of the Best Illusion of the Year Contest 2018

This illusion won the First Prize at the The video artwork is Best Illusion of the Year Contest 2018）.
See here for the tiriply ambiguous objects.

From Recent Topics

　 Here are recent topics on my research and related activities.

Unfolded surfaces of ambiguous cylinders are printed on the back of package of pudding. Please see here.
My impossible objects are exhibited at National Palace Museum in Taipei from September 21, 2018 to February 23, 2020. Please see here.
IMA Publid Lecture on "Impossible Objects: The Mathematics of 3D Illusion" I made at the University of Minnesota in 2018 was posted here.
I got interview on impossible object illusion from CNN Style. Please see here.
I got interview on impossible object illusion from BBC News (Spanish edition). Please see here.
Ambiguous objects were used for jewelry. Please see here.
Plastic models of four amgibuous objects are included in a set "Mysterious Object Sets" (in Japanese "Fushigi Rittai Setto") published by Tokyo Shoseki Publisher in 2017. Please see here.

Evolution of Impossible Objects

First Generation: Anomalous Objects (1980-)
There is a class of pictures called "pictures of impossible objects". They are considered possible only in a picture. However, I found some of them can be constructed as 3D objects. Those 3D objects give us an impression that they are impossible although they are actually in front of us.
Second Generation: Impossible Motions (1995-)
Objects appear to be ordinary, but we can insert motions that appear to be impossible. Examples include "antigravity slopes" along which balls roll uphill, and "distorted windows" through which a straight rod penetrate in an inconsistent manner.
Third Generation: Ambiguous Objects (2014-)
This is a class of objects that change the appearances when they are reflected in a mirror.
Fourth Generation: Partly Invisible Objects (2015-)
This is a new class of objects, in which part of objects appear or disappear in a mirror.
Fifth Generation: Topology-Disturbing Ojbects (2016-)
This class ob objects change their topology in the mirror.
Sixth Generation: Deformable Objects (2016-)
Objects appear to change their shapes continuously when we change our viewpoints continuously.
Seventh Generation: Height-Reversal Objects (2017-)
This is a class of objects that change their height when they are reflected in a mirror.
Eighth Generation: Reflexibly-Fused Objects (2017-)
This is a new class of objects, in which the shape is completed only when it is fused with tis mirror image.
Nineth Generation: Triply Ambiguous Objects (2018-)
This class of objects have three different interpretations.