Ken Kutaragi, the father of PlayStation, has long since left Sony, and now he has a new job, this time aiming at robots without payment.
Kutaragi Ken is the founder of Sony’s gaming business, and now he is the CEO of Ascent Robotics, an AI startup company based in Tokyo. Kutaragi is 70 years old. He hopes to develop low-cost robots that can move safely and can work with humans in factories and logistics centers . Kutaragi’s goal is to develop a prototype robot in about a year. In order to save money, he does not receive any salary.
In August, Kutaragi said in an interview: “Some people think that robots will take our jobs, and the new crown outbreak overthrows this view. Now the situation is becoming more and more clear. If we want to develop to a new level, in our daily life There must be more robots.”
How to achieve the goal? Kutaragi does not have a clear plan himself, he just thinks that it is very important for the robotics industry to develop cooperation. Ascent has teamed up with Kawasaki Heavy Industries to develop a robotic arm. The arm has only a camera and can pick parts from the chaos . Ascent also cooperates with Japanese automakers to develop autonomous driving software.
Whether it is unmanned driving technology or collaborative robot technology, although the prospects are bright, it has not reached expectations so far. It is very difficult for Kutaragi to integrate the two technologies. Fanuc, ABB, and Kuka are among the top industrial automation companies in the world. They develop machines that can work side by side with humans, but they still have difficulties when they want to expand the market. At the same time, cars that can drive autonomously seem to be far away from reality.
Kutaragi said: “If you want to combine robotics and mobile technology, you have to find people who understand technology. We look at the problem from the whole eye, and we are not limited to Japan.”
In 2007, Kutaragi left Sony. He became a director of e-commerce company Rakuten, App developer SmartNews, and GA Technologies. He has been an outside director of Ascent since 2018, and officially became the CEO of Ascent on August 26. Kutaragi owns approximately 22% of Ascent’s shares. Ascent was founded in 2016 and has raised approximately US$18 million so far. It has 50 engineers, most of whom are foreigners.
Kutaragi said: “If we don’t do it, others will do it. Management is a difficult task, but it’s also difficult when building a PlayStation. I’m good at management.”
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