[No. 98] Ikuhiro Zaitsu

In writing this column, I took a moment to look back on what I worked on during my student years. Looking at old papers, notebooks, presentation materials, and even photos taken in the lab brings back memories of those days. Rereading my papers now, I feel a sense of nostalgia, but at the same time, I notice many things I'd like to fix, which is a bit embarrassing. On the other hand, I'm impressed by how my student self seems to have had a broader perspective and higher aspirations, which makes me reflect on my current self, whose perspective tends to be limited to the scope of my work. It made me realize once again that the foundation of who I am today was formed during the ten years I spent at Keio University.

I currently work at Canon's Production Engineering Research Institute. Here, I conduct research and development, primarily aimed at improving the technology for making lenses. My main responsibility is the development of equipment for manufacturing lenses.

To achieve higher performance in optical equipment, such as digital cameras, the precision required for lenses has increased dramatically. Furthermore, to achieve unprecedented optical performance, new types of lenses have emerged—such as those with very fine surface structures (like tiny grooves or bumps) or those with special coatings—which continually raises the bar for lens manufacturing technology. Therefore, even though my role is in equipment development, I must tackle not only challenges within my specialty of mechanical engineering but also those outside my field, such as optics and chemistry. While it's challenging to work on things I'm not skilled in, it also means I have many opportunities to engage with subjects outside my expertise, allowing me to develop manufacturing equipment with my curiosity stimulated daily.

Looking back, I've loved making things since I was a child. I also enjoyed taking apart various things around me to see how they worked inside. So, there was no particular reason for choosing the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

I suppose it's the same in any science and engineering faculty, but from my first to third year, I was extremely busy with lab reports and studying for final exams. When reports were tough or we were studying for finals, a group of close friends would get together, bring our notes and past exams, and study while teaching each other. We all had a lively time together, and it felt like some kind of training camp. It was hard, but now it's a fond memory.

From my fourth year as an undergraduate until I completed my Doctoral Programs, I was a member of the Aoyama Fujio Laboratory, where I researched production processing. I was drawn to the keyword "intelligent production processing" and the bright atmosphere of the lab. There, I conducted research on the theme of automating workpiece fixturing. Workpiece fixturing is the process of positioning and securing a material when it is being machined, for example, by cutting it with a machine. In this research, the goal was not so much to automate the physical task of fixturing, but rather to automate the thought process of how to fixture the workpiece. And the ultimate goal of this research was to advance the intelligence of production systems and, as a result, their automation and efficiency.

Through this research, I was able to participate in a group within an international collaborative research project on intelligent production systems. There, I had the opportunity to discuss the future of production systems with professors from other universities and researchers from companies. What we were discussing was the Holonic Manufacturing System, a form of flexible production system that can adapt to changes in the type and volume of products being made. A Holonic Manufacturing System applies the concept of autonomous systems with different characteristics coming together and cooperating to form a larger system. We were challenging ourselves to figure out how to realize a production system that incorporates such a concept. Looking back now, I break into a cold sweat thinking that I was just a student saying impertinent things in meetings, but I believe everyone was generous enough to overlook it as the folly of youth. It was an incredibly valuable experience. Recently, I participated in a discussion at Canon about the future of manufacturing, and there is no doubt that my experiences as a student formed the basis for the opinions I expressed. Once again, I believe my foundation was formed during my time at Keio.

I am deeply grateful to Professor Fujio Aoyama and Professor Hideki Aoyama for their guidance.

One of my hobbies is traveling abroad. Until my master's program, I had no particular interest in foreign countries and no desire to travel to them. However, while in the lab, I had the chance to experience an international conference in the United States, an academic training program in India, and a short-term study abroad in Germany, and I became completely captivated by the charm of experiencing environments so different from my daily life. Now, I take paid leave to travel abroad two or three times a year. Even as I write this column, my head is filled with thoughts of my next travel destination: the Borobudur temple complex in Indonesia.