Tomotaka Takahashi (高橋 智隆, Takahashi Tomotaka; born March 27, 1975) is a Japanese roboticist and founder of Kyoto…
Tomotaka Takahashi (高橋 智隆, Takahashi Tomotaka; born March 27, 1975) is a Japanese roboticist and founder of Kyoto University's ROBO-GARAGE since 2018. Takahashi creates humanoid robots known for their smooth, fluid motions and sleek appearance. Having built many humanoid robots entirely by himself, from simple concepts to production, Takahashi's designs have been featured in several art exhibitions celebrating the creation of Astroboy, Time Magazine's Coolest Inventions of 2004, and promotions for Bandai, Panasonic, and Pepsi. He has also worked with toy companies to produce relatively inexpensive robots for the hobby market, including those for Kyosho (a Japanese toy manufacturer better known for their remote control cars). In early 2008, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (Panasonic) unveiled Takahashi's 4.5-ounce, 6.7-inch robot mascot for Panasonic's Evolta line of alkaline batteries (the longest lasting of its type according to the Guinness Book of World Records), which climbed a 1,500-ft. Grand Canyon cliff as a publicity stunt/demonstration on May 24, 2008. The robot was powered by a pair of Evolta batteries, and used a tiny rope to ascend the cliff face, which took approximately 6 hours and 45 minutes. Takahashi's largest robot to date is the Enryu T-52, which he designed for Tmsuk Co. Ltd. The Enryu (lit. "Support Dragon") is a 3.5m tall, 2.5m wide, 5t rescue robot that fully houses a human operator, but can also be controlled remotely if necessary via cameras located in the robot's head (including night vision), and on its front, back, and flanks. Its two, 10m long hydraulic arms have 6 degrees of freedom and are capable of lifting a car or other debris in the event of an earthquake, fire, or other disaster. The arms also come equipped with individual CCD cameras, useful when small, precise movements are necessary. It moves on caterpillar-style treads at approximately 3 km/h. As of 2006 the Enryu was still in the testing phase, and in July 2007 Tmsuk Co. Ltd. unveiled the completely redesigned Enryu T-53 (it is unclear what [if any] role Takahashi had in this redesign). He leads Team Osaka, a collaboration of: Osaka City, VSTONE Co. Ltd., Osaka University, Systec Akazawa, ROBO-GARAGE, and ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories, established in 2003 to develop robot technologies in Osaka Japan. Team Osaka competes in various robot competitions and events around the world, such as Robocup (robot soccer). Team Osaka has won the Louis Vuitton Humanoid Cup in 2004, 2005 and 2006. They lost to the German team NimbRo 5–7 in 2007.
Famous People from Shiga Prefecture
Shiga Prefecture: 9 people
Takanori Nishikawa (西川 貴教, Nishikawa Takanori; born September 19, 1970) is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter…
Takanori Nishikawa (西川 貴教, Nishikawa Takanori; born September 19, 1970) is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, voice actor, radio personality, and businessman. He performs under the stage name T.M.Revolution (T.M.R.), which stands for "Takanori Makes Revolution" (貴教が革命を起こす, Takanori ga kakumei o okosu), stemming from the famous 1980s pop electronic band TM Network. Despite most of his songs being written by Akio Inoue and composed/arranged by Daisuke Asakura (also TMR's former producer), T.M.Revolution is considered Nishikawa's solo project. Nishikawa is also known for contributions of ending and opening themes to many notable anime and game series. After three years as vocalist of the visual kei rock band Luis-Mary, Nishikawa debuted as TMR with the release of his first solo single "Dokusai (Monopolize)" (独裁 -monopolize-) in May 1996. Later that year, his third single "Heart of Sword (Yoake Mae)" (HEART OF SWORD ～夜明け前～) was used as the third ending song for the anime series Rurouni Kenshin, further expanding his fan base. He also contributed six songs to the Mobile Suit Gundam SEED franchise – three for Gundam SEED and three for Gundam SEED Destiny. Nishikawa has guest starred as a minor character in each of those anime series that featured his songs. In 2010, his single "Save the One, Save the All" was used as the ending theme song for the movie Bleach: Hell Verse. Several of Nishikawa's songs, such as "Crosswise" and "Flags", have been used by Capcom's Sengoku Basara video game series and media franchise. In 2005, Nishikawa formed the rock band Abingdon Boys School. T.M.Revolution was the first artist to be signed to Tofu Records, a record label (affiliated with Sony Music Japan) promoting Japanese artists in North America. Tofu released three of his studio albums: coordinate (2003), Seventh Heaven (2004), and vertical infinity (2005). Nishikawa made his North American live debut at Otakon, a large anime convention in 2003. He has also performed at Pacific Media Expo in 2004 and at the New York Comic Con in 2008. Nishikawa revisited his 2003 US performance at the Asian culture convention Otakon by performing at Otakon's 20th Anniversary on August 10, 2013.
Daiko Nagato (長戸 大幸, Nagato Daikō; born 6 April 1948) is a Japanese musical producer, musical arranger, writer and…
Daiko Nagato (長戸 大幸, Nagato Daikō; born 6 April 1948) is a Japanese musical producer, musical arranger, writer and composer. He's mostly known as the founder of music company B Zone (formerly known as Being Inc.), which provided million-seller hits during the 1990s and provided more than 80 theme songs for anime television series Detective Conan. He was the recording producer for artists such as Boøwy, Loudness, TUBE, B'z, ZARD, WANDS, Maki Ohguro, DEEN, T-BOLAN, Mai Kuraki, Garnet Crow, Rina Aiuchi and Sard Underground. His brother, Shuusuke Nagato (長戸秀介) is also musical producer, guitarist, writer and founder of the music company Rey's in.
Kunio Nakamura (中村 邦夫, Nakamura Kunio; 5 July 1939 – 28 November 2022) was a Japanese businessman. He served as the…
Kunio Nakamura (中村 邦夫, Nakamura Kunio; 5 July 1939 – 28 November 2022) was a Japanese businessman. He served as the president of Panasonic from 2000 to 2005 and assumed the position of chairman on 28 June 2006. Even though he is widely regarded as having reformed the company, he created a crisis in the mid-2000s for focusing on plasma display panels (PDPs) instead of medium liquid crystal TVs (LCDs). At the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Panasonic introduced their 152" 2160p 3D plasma. In 2010 Panasonic shipped 19.1 million plasma TV panels. In 2010, shipments of plasma TVs reached 18.2 million units worldwide. Since then shipments have declined substantially; the decline has been attributed to competition from liquid crystal (LCD) televisions, whose prices have fallen more rapidly than those of the plasma TVs. In late 2013, Panasonic announced that they would stop producing plasma TVs in March 2014 onwards. In 2014, LG and Samsung discontinued plasma TV production as well, effectively killing the technology, probably because of falling demand. Nakamura died from pneumonia on 28 November 2022, at the age of 83.
Koichi Tsukamoto (塚本 幸一, Tsukamoto Kōichi; September 17, 1920 – June 10, 1998) was a Japanese businessman, the founder…
Koichi Tsukamoto (塚本 幸一, Tsukamoto Kōichi; September 17, 1920 – June 10, 1998) was a Japanese businessman, the founder of Wacoal, and the first President of Nippon Kaigi (1997–1998). He was from the former town of Gokashō, now part of Higashiōmi, in Shiga Prefecture. He enlisted in the Imperial Japanese Army in 1940 and fought in Battle of Imphal during the Burma Campaign of the Pacific War, aged only 19. He was demobilized 3 years later at age 21. In 1968, at an event held by the Japanese industrialist Kōnosuke Matsushita to celebrate the hundred years anniversary of the Meiji Restoration, he met the composer Toshiro Mayuzumi. He had a three decade friendship with him and attended his memorial on May 29, 1997.
Kakuzo Kawamoto (河本 嘉久蔵, kawamoto Kakuzo; 27 March 1917 – 24 March 1990) was a Japanese business executive and…
Kakuzo Kawamoto (河本 嘉久蔵, kawamoto Kakuzo; 27 March 1917 – 24 March 1990) was a Japanese business executive and politician.
Gentaro Kawase (川瀬 源太郎, Kawase Gentaro; May 3, 1916 – January 23, 2003) was a Japanese business executive, a former…
Gentaro Kawase (川瀬 源太郎, Kawase Gentaro; May 3, 1916 – January 23, 2003) was a Japanese business executive, a former president of Nippon Life Insurance, and was conferred with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure.
Magokichi Yamaoka (山岡孫吉, Yamaoka Magokichi) March 22, 1888 – March 8, 1962) was a Japanese entrepreneur. Magokichi…
Magokichi Yamaoka (山岡孫吉, Yamaoka Magokichi) March 22, 1888 – March 8, 1962) was a Japanese entrepreneur. Magokichi Yamaoka, who established the engineering firm Yanmar in 1912. Prior to World War II, he pursued studies in Munich and developed an interest in Rudolf Diesel, which led him to make frequent visits to Augsburg for research purposes. Following the war, upon returning to his company, he initiated the creation of the Memorial Grove in Wittelsbacher Park. In 1955, he received the prestigious Rudolf Diesel Medal. His efforts also resulted in the Japanese cities of Amagasaki and Nagahama, home to his company's production sites, being designated as official sister cities of Augsburg in 1959.
Masajirō Tazuke (田附 政次郎, Tazuke Masajirō) (December 15, Bunkyū Year 3 (January 23, 1864) – April 26, Shōwa's 8th Year…
Masajirō Tazuke (田附 政次郎, Tazuke Masajirō) (December 15, Bunkyū Year 3 (January 23, 1864) – April 26, Shōwa's 8th Year (1933)) was a Japanese Ōmi merchant and businessman. He became director of Ōsaka Spinning. He participated in the founding of Toyobo, Nisshinbo Holdings and Gosho (currently Kanematsu). Moreover, he was called "General Tazuke" because he participated actively as a cotton yarn speculator. He was renowned as "Tazuke for Sale". He was the great-grandfather of Hiroko Kuniya, the News presenter.