Representative Director and CEO, SkyDrive Corporation
Tomohiro Fukuzawa

After graduating from the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Engineering, he joined Toyota Motor Corporation in 2010, where he was engaged in global procurement. At the same time, he received a Cost Improvement Award for his improvement activities using the Toyota Production System at many worksites.In 2018, he established SkyDrive Corporation to promote the development of "flying cars" and "cargo drones". As a member of the "Public-Private Council for the Air Mobility Revolution" implemented by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, he is also working with the government to create new rules for the practical application of "flying cars".

Managing Director, Prodrone Inc.
Kazuo Ichihara

He was in charge of developing wireless communication and network technology at a major electronics manufacturer. He then became independent and engaged in ICT-related systems and software development. In 2015, he co-founded ProDrone with three other members, where he currently works. He is in charge of system software and elemental technology development and patent strategy to make drones cloud-ready.

Representative Director and CEO, Aerology Lab Inc.
Shinichi Tani

Born in Osaka in 1958. After graduating from Osaka University Faculty of Dentistry, he joined a university laboratory, and in 1994, he established the medical corporation TANI Dental Clinic. In 2012, he established AeroLab and developed a number of industrial drones. In 2020, he announced two new models in the AeroRange series with enhanced performance and safety, and plans to start mass production and sales by the end of FY2021. The company is taking on the challenge of establishing a sales structure.

Representative Director and CEO, SkyDrive Corporation
Tomohiro Fukuzawa

After graduating from the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Engineering, he joined Toyota Motor Corporation in 2010, where he was engaged in global procurement. At the same time, he received a Cost Improvement Award for his improvement activities using the Toyota Production System at many worksites.In 2018, he established SkyDrive Corporation to promote the development of "flying cars" and "cargo drones". As a member of the "Public-Private Council for the Air Mobility Revolution" implemented by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, he is also working with the government to create new rules for the practical application of "flying cars".

Moderator.

Co-founder/Representative Partner, Drone Fund
Soki Omae

In 2002, he founded Creative Hope Inc. and has successfully led numerous domestic and international projects through strategic web/IT consulting. As a drone grapher (2014-), his activities include winning the runner-up prize in the Drone Movie Contest (2016) and overall supervision for Yomiuri TV Drone Zekkei Kiko (2018) He was appointed to the Drone Fund Advisory Board in 2017 and became co-chair partner the following year. He is a professor at Business Breakthrough University/Graduate School (specializing in digital marketing).

Researcher, Robotics Technology Group, Technical Research Institute, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd.
Mr. Haruhiko Etou

He received his M.S. in Physics from Kyushu University, Japan. After joining Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. he was engaged in research and development of proton accelerators for cancer therapy.From 2017 to 2019, he began research in the field of robotics, which leads to his current theme, as a visiting engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Aiming to realize a robot that can be used in the manufacturing of giant structures, he is working on the technological development of moving mechanisms and teleoperation techniques.

Director, General Manager, Data Strategy Division, Aizawa Koatsu Concrete Co.
Mr. Koichi Katsuyama

As an in-house SE, he was in charge of defining requirements and negotiating with vendors for the implementation of business systems, and was appointed as the leader of the drone project when it was launched in January 2019, where he was in charge of negotiations with US drone manufacturers, planning and implementation of demonstration tests. Currently, he is also involved in the planning and development of drone services for the concrete industry.

General Manager, UAV System Business Office, Social Solution Business Promotion Department, Denso Corporation
Mr. Hidefine Murahashi

Since joining Denso Corporation, he has been involved in the development of new business fields and product development derived from automotive technology, and in 2014 became the head of the development office for new business, promoting the commercialization and development of variable pitch drones developed in the company's research laboratory. Currently, since 2018, he has been engaged in the bridge inspection solution business using UAVs as the general manager of the UAV Business Office, and since 2019, he has been a board member of the Japan Industrial Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Manufacturers Association (JUAV).

Moderator.

Director, Knowledge Foundation Research Center, Liverness, Inc.
Takashi Okazaki

Doctor of Science. Graduated from the Graduate School of Osaka University. After working as a special researcher at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), he joined LIVERNESS. In addition to his diverse research experience at universities, major textile manufacturers, and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), he has been engaged in science and technology promotion planning at an affiliated organization of a local government. Mainly engaged in local seed discovery, human resource development, and regional acceleration.

Fukushima Comprehensive Disaster Response Training Organization Secretariat
Mr. Yasushi Sugimoto

He has been involved with the Fukushima Comprehensive Disaster Response Training Organization since the conception and preparation stages of its establishment. Currently, as one of the key members of the secretariat, he is committed to the growth and development of the organization. He has been involved in many projects related to disaster prevention, crisis management, and risk management at consulting firms and think tanks. He holds a PhD from Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK.

Representative Director, ExtraBold Corporation
Mr. Yuji Hara

After working in the prototype field at a major telecommunications equipment manufacturer and at a 3D CAD software development company, he started his own 3D manufacturing support company and other businesses. He then established ExtraBold Inc. in December 2017 as a company developing a 3D printer that circulates plastic. In April this year, the company released the EXF-12, a large 3D printer the size of a 12-foot container. ExtraBold R&D was also established in Singapore to conduct research and development of new 3D print heads.

Representative Director, Terra Labs, Inc. Secretary General, Japan Drone Promotion Association
Takahide Matsuura

He started his career at the age of 24, starting his own ventures and non-profit organizations, and worked as a university employee before assuming his current position. Specializing in public policy, he has been conducting research on information collection and sharing systems using long-range unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in times of disaster. Currently, he is conducting research and development with the goal of social implementation of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles (fixed-wing aircraft) for data collection and sharing of information during normal and emergency situations.

Moderator.

President and Representative Director, Aerodyne Japan K.K.
Akira Ito

He graduated from California State University, Santa Cruz with a B.A. in Digital Media. He began his career as an AD at a TV program production company and is currently the Japanese representative of Aerodyne, a foreign-affiliated drone company. Based on his extensive overseas experience, he is currently working to promote drone-based digital transformation for corporations and governments. He is the author of the original article, "The Frontline of Infrastructure Robot Utilization: The Future Brought to You by Drones and Digital Technology" (Doboku Gijutsu Shiryo, April 2020).

President and Representative Director, Ball Wave Corporation
Mr. Shingo Akao

After completing his graduate studies at the Graduate School of Science and Engineering, University of Tsukuba, he worked at the Toppan Printing Research Institute, where he was engaged in research and development related to "Ball SAW," an ultra-sensitive sensor using a quartz ball only 3mm in diameter. While at the research institute, he obtained a doctorate in Materials and Systems Engineering at the Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, where he also served as a visiting associate professor at the Joint Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, Tohoku University. He then retired from Toppan Printing and established Ball Wave Corporation in November 2015, becoming its representative director.

Representative Director, MELTIN MMI, Inc.
Mr. Masahiro Kasuya

Born in 1988, he started his research on cyborg technology in 2002 and went to the School of Science and Engineering at Waseda University in 2006. In graduate school, he majored in Bioscience and Biotechnology at the Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering. founded MELTIN MMI, Inc. in 2013. received his PhD in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Engineering from the Graduate School of Information Science and Engineering at the University of Electro-Communications in 2016. in 2018, he was selected by Forbes as one of the 30 most notable Asian people in the world.

Jinki-Industry Corporation
Dr. Hakase Kanaoka, President and Representative Director

Based on control and implementation technologies for master-slave systems, power amplification robots, etc., he independently proposed the concept of man-machine synergy effectors (man-machine synergy effectors). 2007, he established Man-Machine Synergy Effectors Co. Ittai in Shiga Prefecture in 2018, and launched Fukushima Base at Fukushima Robot Test Field in 2019. Through the development of humanoid heavy machinery, he aims to implement advanced robotics technology into society. Doctor of Engineering.

Moderator.

Director, Investment Development Research Center, Riverness, Inc.
Yoshinobu Osaka

He holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from Keio University, Graduate School of Business Administration. After working at Mitsubishi UFJ Bank and Japan Bank for International Cooperation, he worked at the Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo (Specially Appointed Researcher) and Japan Science and Technology Agency (ACCEL Program Manager). Since joining RIVANES, he has been responsible for supporting the commercialization of research results by researchers and the investment and development of venture companies. He also serves as President and Representative Director of Glocalink Inc. and Growth Manager of the Real Tech Fund.

Representative Director, Ginza Noen Co.
Kazuki Iimura

Born in 1974 in Shimotsuma City, Ibaraki Prefecture. After graduating from Nihon University's College of Industrial Engineering, he worked as a first-class architect planning and designing condominiums and buildings, and later led the structured finance business, including real estate investment and corporate acquisitions, as the head of the strategic investment consulting department of an Internet real estate auction venture. In 2009, he founded Ginza Noen. With the vision of "enriching the future of agriculture with technology," he promotes smart agriculture using "FARBOT," an autonomously controlled field robot. Farbot" is also used in NTT East's local 5G robot and JAXA's "Lunar Farm Project.

Associate Professor, National University Corporation Utsunomiya University
Director, in charge of Technical Development, I-EAT Co.
Masaru Kashiwazaki

After completing his graduate studies at the University of Tokyo, he worked for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (now the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO)) before coming to Utsunomiya University, where he has been in his current position since 2009. He is a full-time faculty member of the Faculty of Agriculture. Consistently engaged in research and development with the aim of practical application, and in 2014 established a joint venture company, the Institute of Agricultural Technology (now I-Eat Co., Ltd.), as a venture company originating from Utsunomiya University. Awarded the Invention Grand Prize (Tokyo Governor's Prize) in 2017 for the practical application of his research results.

President and Representative Director, KOBASHI HOLDINGS Co.
Shojiro Kobashi

Born in Okayama, Japan in 1982. Graduated from Waseda University Graduate School of Business Administration (MBA).Joined Kobashi Kogyo Co. in 2008.Appointed President and Representative Director of the company in 2016.Established KOBASHI HOLDINGS Co. in 2017 and became President and Representative Director.Promoted mechanization of agriculture since its establishment in 1910 and devoted to solving issues in the agricultural sector. He has been a member of the KOBASHI HOLDINGS Group since its establishment in 1910. Applying the knowledge and technology he has cultivated over the years, he co-creates innovations with startup companies to solve global issues.

Moderator.

Group CEO and Representative Director, LIVERNESS Co.
Yukihiro Maru

D. in Applied Biotechnology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo. While in graduate school, he founded LIVERNESS, a company solely for science and engineering students. He has developed Japan's first "delivery laboratory class of cutting-edge science" into a business. He operates a "knowledge manufacturing business" that combines management resources and technologies that lie dormant in universities and local communities to create the seeds of new businesses, and has over 200 projects underway through his "knowledge platform," an infrastructure that gathers knowledge from around the world. He is also an innovator who has been involved in the launch of numerous venture companies such as Euglena.

Director, Autonomous Control Systems Laboratory, Inc.
Hideki Okumura

He joined ACSL in August 2017 to conduct Japan's first unassisted unmanned small unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) flight out of sight. Previously, he contributed to the creation of a domestic market for commercial-industrial fuel cells at Bloom Energy Japan Co. He graduated from the Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University.

Executive Officer, Chairman's Office Project Leader, Tajima Motor Corporation
Mr. Yoshihiko Kamiaraiso

He promotes the development of next-generation mobility and social systems, such as original electric vehicles (EV) and CASE technology industry-government-academia collaborative projects. Serving on the board of directors of the Association for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles (APEV), he is responsible for fostering next-generation human resources through student design contests and promoting EVs in local communities.

Professor, New Industry Creation Hatchery Center, Tohoku University
Mr. Takahiro Suzuki

D. in Engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1998. In 2013, he returned to the University of Tokyo, where he has been in his current position since 2014. He is also a visiting professor at Nagasaki University of Science and Technology, a visiting professor at the Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, the University of Tokyo, a board member of the Association for the Popularization of Electric Vehicles (APEV), and a board member of the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers (SICE). He has been working on social implementation of advanced technologies such as robotics and next-generation transportation in an interdisciplinary manner, contributed to the approval of Sendai City as a special zone, and is promoting the demonstration of near-future technologies such as automatic driving. He specializes in robotics, nonlinear control, ITS, and science and technology communication.

Moderator.

Executive Officer, LIVERNESS Co.
Hiroyuki Takahashi

D. from Yokohama City University in 2009. D. in Science, focusing on creating new research projects between industry and young researchers, including the launch of the "Liberace Research Fund" for young researchers under the age of 40. In addition, he continues to organize the "Super Interdisciplinary Society," a place to generate new knowledge and seeds for research and development by combining individual knowledge, technology, and passion for problem solving without being bound by the framework of academia.