[No. 100] Tetsuya Taira

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone involved for giving me this opportunity to write for the Keio University Alumni Relay Column. I would like to briefly introduce my student life and my career.

I spent a total of eight years at the university: four years as an undergraduate, two years in the master's program, and two years in the doctoral program. Since receiving the request to write for the Keio University Alumni Relay Column, I have been looking back on these eight years. My student life at Keio University was very fulfilling, filled with acquiring a wide range of knowledge in information engineering and robotics, participating in club activities, working part-time jobs, and traveling. It was an incredibly valuable time for my personal growth.

I was greatly influenced by *Astro Boy*, and my dream was to build him. (I am still chasing that dream!) I was particularly interested in Astro Boy's advanced artificial brain. To fulfill this dream, I wanted to study and research the electronic brains and artificial intelligence of personal robots, so I enrolled in School 5 of the Faculty of Science and Technology. I chose School 5 because it allowed students to advance to multiple departments where one could acquire the necessary skills for robotics, such as the Department of Information and Computer Science, the Department of Electronics Engineering, and the Department of System Design Engineering. However, I chose to advance to the Department of Information and Computer Science because I wanted to conduct research under Professor Anzai, an authority on robot artificial intelligence, and Professor Yamazaki, who was developing electronic brains for robots.

When I became a fourth-year student, my wish came true, and I was assigned to the Anzai-Yamazaki-Imai Laboratory, where I devoted myself to robot research. During my eight years of research, I focused on developing software that forms the basis of artificial intelligence and the LSI that controls the robot's body based on the software's instructions. I also learned a wide range of elemental technologies necessary for robotics, such as voice recognition and image processing. I loved robots and wanted to build everything with my own hands, so my fondest memory is spending the last three years building a robot from scratch, from the mechanical design onward, with my junior colleagues. Thanks to my student-era partner robot somehow managing to work, I was able to successfully obtain my doctorate.

The feedback on my research and the high level of technical skill required were, of course, demanding, but thanks to that, I was also able to develop the logical thinking, data analysis, and presentation skills necessary for an engineer.

I was also a member of the student welfare organization "Student Counselors" and a soccer club. As a Student Counselor, I had many opportunities to talk with Keio students, such as guiding visitors during open campus events and providing course registration advice. It was during this time that my talkative personality blossomed...

I joined Toyota Motor Corporation in 2005 and have been engaged in robot development in the Partner Robot Division for the past nine years. Since joining the company, I have been leveraging the knowledge I gained during my student years to develop electronic control systems and software configurations that ensure the safety and reliability of robots, all in an effort to give shape to my *Astro Boy* dream.

In Japan, where the birthrate is declining and the population is rapidly aging, I am engaged in daily development with the goal of seeing the robots I have worked on play an active role in new mobility, nursing care, and medical fields to help maintain a bright and vibrant society and improve the quality of life. If you are interested, please take a look here .

Perhaps because of my experience supporting new students as a Student Counselor during my university days, I now also advise and support Keio students who are aiming to join Toyota Motor Corporation. My relationship with Keio University has continued even after graduation.

To put into practice the words of Yukichi Fukuzawa, "Once you have resolved to pursue learning, you should devote yourself to it," I chose to enroll in the Ph.D. program at the same time I joined Toyota Motor Corporation. For two years, I lived a life centered on robot development: working in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, from Monday to Friday, and then conducting research at the Shin-Kawasaki Town Campus (K2) from after work on Friday until Sunday evening. These two years were physically demanding, but I feel that I was able to develop not only my intellectual abilities but also a strong mental fortitude that can overcome anything. I was able to achieve this thanks to the support of many people—my professors, friends, senior and junior colleagues at work and in the lab, and my parents—and I am still very grateful to them.

I believe that the reason I am now involved in robot development, a dream I have had since high school, is because I spent my student life enjoyably and diligently under the educational principle of "independence and self-respect," the founding spirit of Keio University as expressed in the words of Yukichi Fukuzawa. As one of the Keio University alumni, I hope to continue to grow so that I can become a person who can contribute to society.