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: 6 people
Hiroshi Ishiguro (石黒浩, Ishiguro Hiroshi; born 23 October 1963) is a Japanese roboticist and engineer. He is the…
Hiroshi Ishiguro (石黒浩, Ishiguro Hiroshi; born 23 October 1963) is a Japanese roboticist and engineer. He is the director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, part of the Department of Systems Innovation in the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University, Japan. A notable development of the laboratory is the Actroid, a humanoid robot with lifelike appearance and visible behaviour such as facial movements.
Tadahiko Fukuhara (born 1954) is a Japanese academics, professor of civil law, member of the board of INES Corp and…
Tadahiko Fukuhara (born 1954) is a Japanese academics, professor of civil law, member of the board of INES Corp and Japan Payment Service Association. In 2011 he became the president and chancellor of Chuo University, prior to that he was dean of the Chuo Graduate Law School at the Chuo University.
Shimon Sakaguchi (坂口 志文, Sakaguchi Shimon; born 19 January 1951) is a Japanese immunologist. He is a distinguished…
Shimon Sakaguchi (坂口 志文, Sakaguchi Shimon; born 19 January 1951) is a Japanese immunologist. He is a distinguished professor at Osaka University and a professor emeritus at Kyoto University. His work includes the discovery of regulatory T cells and describing their role in the immune system. In 2025, he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Mary E. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell.
Makoto Nagao (長尾 真, Nagao Makoto; October 4, 1936 – May 23, 2021) was a Japanese computer scientist. He contributed to…
Makoto Nagao (長尾 真, Nagao Makoto; October 4, 1936 – May 23, 2021) was a Japanese computer scientist. He contributed to various fields: machine translation, natural language processing, pattern recognition, image processing and library science. He was the 23rd president of Kyoto University (1997–2003) and the 14th director of National Diet Library in Japan (2007–2012).
Eshin Nishimura (西村 惠信; born 1933) is a Japanese Rinzai Zen Buddhist priest, the former president of Hanazono…
Eshin Nishimura (西村 惠信; born 1933) is a Japanese Rinzai Zen Buddhist priest, the former president of Hanazono University in Kyoto, Japan, and also a major modern scholar in the Kyoto School of thought. A current professor of the Department of Buddhism at Hanazono University, he has lectured at universities throughout the world on the subject of Zen Buddhism. The author of many books, most written in the Japanese language, Nishimura has been a participant in many dialogues on the relationship of Zen to Christianity and Western philosophy.