Direct Talk - World-first Industrial Robots: Hiroshi Ogasawara (President, Yaskawa Electric)

In this talk

1. 0:49

   Building around world-first products

   Ogasawara says Yaskawa aims to lead in a focused area, even when few companies are pursuing it. The company applied that approach to a compact robot designed for small-part manufacturing: it stands 40 centimeters tall, weighs 7 kilograms, and can assemble miniature cars alongside six other robots. The small machines take up less factory space and are already used in smartphone and semiconductor production.

2. 3:46

   Precise motors made robots possible

   Yaskawa began in Kitakyushu making motors for coal mines, then developed a motor that could stop precisely. Ogasawara says this electric control overcame a limitation of hydraulic systems, which were difficult to stop accurately. Yaskawa released its first industrial robot in 1977, applying precise motion to tasks such as welding, painting, and moving parts.

3. 7:50

   Robots take on difficult work as demand grows

   Ogasawara describes robots as useful for hazardous, unsanitary, or repetitive jobs, including handling dangerous drugs in pharmaceutical research. He says China’s robot market is expanding as production increases, factory labor becomes harder to find, and wages rise. Yaskawa is building factories in China and partnered with a Chinese appliance maker to learn about making healthcare equipment that is smaller, lighter, and more energy efficient.

4. 12:16

   AI aims to give robots judgment

   Yaskawa is developing robots that use cameras and AI to recognize objects and handle them autonomously. Ogasawara says conventional robots repeat programmed motions, while people can see an unfamiliar object and adjust how they grasp it. He sees enabling robots to choose actions based on what they perceive as an important next step.