Welcome to ICPE 2020 Virtual Conference from Kobe

General Chair of the Conference Prof. Keiichi Shirase Kobe University

First of all, on behalf of the conference committee, I would like to show my deepest gratitude to all organizers of the 18th International Conference on Precision Engineering (ICPE2020) and also extend a warm welcome to all participants who have join the Virtual Conference.

The first ICPE Conference was successfully held in 1974 in Tokyo. Thereafter, this Conference has been held continuously every two years. ICPE has also actively worked with overseas international conferences. The 12th ICPE was held jointly in Portland, USA, with ASPE. The 13th ICPE was held in Singapore in cooperation with ICoPE. During the last couple of decades, this Conference has been the place where researchers and engineers present their ideas, concepts and developments in the fields of precision engineering and related technologies.

This time, the ICPE2020 was planned to take place in Kobe, Japan. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a global issue, the conference committee has decided to cancel the in-person conference in Kobe and transition to a Virtual Conference. I hope that it will be a fruitful Conference for all participants. Also, the conference committee prepared a small souvenir to feel and enjoy Kobe for participants who could not visit Kobe.

The ICPE2020 is cooperatively organized by the Japan Society for Precision Engineers (JSPE). The program of this Conference includes five plenary speeches by authors of high professional standing and one special lecture by a president of Sake Brewery famous in Kobe. 235 papers have been contributed to twenty-three organized sessions, and each paper has been peer-reviewed for originality and quality. We believe that all participants will enjoy their join to this Virtual Conference, and will obtain new ideas for research and industrial collaboration.

Finally, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all supporting members and sponsors of ICPE2020.


Keiichi Shirase,
Chairman of the 18th ICPE (ICPE2020)