"Speak of drone, people usually image it flies in the sky. But what if a drone can “run” on the ground? What if it can “float” on the water?
Koji Kawasaki is a Project General Manager at Denso, a large company that has the top share of automotive parts in the world. On the other hand, he is enrolled in the Doctoral Course at the University of Tokyo. He is called “an expert inventor” because he won five straight victories at the “DENSO MURAN,” which is held once every two years by the Denso Corporation. His inventions are very unique, for example “Tebura de GO!” is a totally automatic suitcase, and ”MOON,” an auto-balance mono wheel vehicle. In 2013, he invented “MUWA,” a ring-shaped robot that can work on land, sea, and air. It is expected to play an active part in disaster investigation by utilizing its unique movement."
1972年生まれ。広島県出身。世界トップシェアを誇る自動車部品サプライメーカーであるデンソーにおいて、将来技術の研究開発を担当する。その一方で、東京大学大学院情報理工学系研究科の情報システム工学研究室博士課程に在籍。デンソーが２年に１度開催しているアイデアコンテスト「デンソー夢卵」にて5連覇を果たした“発明名人”である。全自動スーツケース「手ぶらでGO!」やオートバランス一輪車「むーん」などユニークな発明が多数。2013年には陸海空の移動が可能な円盤形ロボット「MUWA（夢輪、ムーワ）」を開発。その独創的な動きから災害時の調査などへの利用が期待されている。
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx