Award-winning industrial designer Shunji Yamanaka graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo. After working for Nissan Motor's Design Centre and serving as an associate professor at the University of Tokyo, he established Leading Edge Design in 1994.

While having designed a number of industrial products like the Nissan Infiniti Q45, Olympus Camera "O-product", OXO Good Grips tools, and Issey Miyake watches, Yamanaka continues to pursue the newest research and development in scientific fields. He has released prototypes that have attracted international attention, including the humanoid robot Morph3, the thumb-operated keyboard Tagtype and the Halluc II, an eight-wheeled robotic vehicle.