[No. 47] Kazunobu Konda

As an elementary school student who loved science fiction, I vaguely dreamed of being surrounded by machines, piloting robots, or building them. That childhood dream gradually changed shape, leading me to the Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology, and the "power" I cultivated there has shaped who I am today. I had no hesitation in choosing the Faculty of Science and Technology. Although it was a vague notion, it was the path toward my seemingly reckless ambition, a dream I'd had since I can remember, of becoming a scientist recognized by people all over the world.

Later, my way of thinking gradually matured and my mindset changed, leading me to my current job. But looking back, I believe that choosing to enter the Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology and knocking on the door of what was then the Anzai-Amano Laboratory (now the Anzai-Imai Lab) was absolutely the right decision.

When I was a member of the Anzai-Amano Laboratory, Professor Yūichirō Anzai said, "I believe the future is in robots," and with that, the "Prime Project" was launched. Under Professor Anzai's powerful (or should I say intense!?) leadership, a clear, shared goal was set for the lab. Members worked day and night toward this goal, immersing themselves in research in their own areas of expertise and interest. At the time, I was a rather reserved member, but in the Anzai-Amano Laboratory, I was surrounded by brilliant senior students and talented colleagues. Today, I am proud to have been one of them and realize that I was greatly inspired and able to achieve significant growth. More than ten years after graduating, I still keep in touch with the senior students and colleagues from my time in the lab.

My current work doesn't directly apply the research I did during my time as a Keio student, but I am supported by the "power" I felt back then. This "power" is the attitude to face challenges without fear of failure, the drive to create new things, the passion to believe in oneself and persuade others, and the flexibility not to be fixated on a single idea. My student life at the Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology was filled with these things, and I was naturally influenced by them.

Sometime after joining Toshiba Corporation, I had the opportunity to participate in international standardization activities. I currently participate in the Digital Living Network Alliance, a standards organization that ensures the interoperability of AV home appliances using TCP/IP, and I attend conferences held in North America and Europe. We envision the future of AV appliances, select the necessary technologies, and work together with people from other companies to develop standard specifications. I think for myself and persuade others with passion. At the same time, if an opinion from another company is superior, I readily acknowledge it and accept it in order to improve the lives of users with new AV appliances. In my current job, I feel that I am proposing new lifestyles to users and helping to shape social trends. And I always feel that it is the "power" I acquired at the Faculty of Science and Technology that has enabled me to do this kind of work. I have not followed the path to becoming the world-renowned scientist I dreamed of as a boy, but I do feel that I have become able to play a part in world-class technology.

I'm sure you all sense the signs that the world of ubiquitous robots, which Professor Anzai spoke of, is coming in the near future. I feel that the Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology, which generates such cutting-edge technology and provides the education to disseminate it throughout society, is a truly wonderful place.