What is the "10 -year strategy" drawn by CEO of the secret i robot CEO with an automatic vacuum cleaner and "Rumba" strength.
An robot known for "Rumba" makes the Japanese market capture full -scale.Rumba is a pioneer in robot vacuum cleaners that sell more than 10 million units in more than 50 countries around the world.The 800 Series, which has become a new model for the first time in three years, gives priority to the Japanese market by selling at stores.Prior to the world, it was lined up in Japanese stores on March 1st.
"Robot inventions may be exciting, but some of the most important and solved problems are very boring."
By reviewing the design from the roots of the 800 series, the suction power was reduced by 5 times and the cleaning ability was raised by 50 %.A new special material roller is adopted, making hair less entangled compared to conventional brushes."There are hundreds of prototypes born in the process of examining all ideas. It took six years to develop," says Angle.The 800 series is not only a minor change but also technological innovation, and the hurdles that break Rumba's strongholds are rising further.
Angle says, "If you can make Japanese customers happy, you can make customers around the world happy."In the development test, he walked on the tatami mats to check for fine granular garbage.The rubber bumper introduced from the 700 series is devised to make it harder to scratch even if it hits a wall.Equipped with a high -performance filter, it is also considering the cleanliness of exhaust.Both are functions that incorporate the needs of the Japanese market.
Expectations for avatars
The Irobot was founded in 1990 by three scientists who studied artificial intelligence at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.With the philosophy of "boring, insanitary, and releasing people from dangerous work," he developed multiple military robots and improved his skills."Packbot", which can be infiltrated by remote control, is also active at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
However, the competitive environment is severe.In addition to industrial robots that Japan is good at, Google's autonomous driver is a type of robot.In addition, Amazon plans to launch product delivery services using small unmanned airplanes in 2015.
As robots are practical in all industries, iLobots aim to succeed in home and remote presence (remote presence).Expectations are Ava, a multipurpose robot development platform.It is a so -called avatar (my alter ego) mobile robot, and is characterized by being able to work from a remote place.Companies can reduce travel time and costs for business trips, and have already used more than 50 medical institutions around the world, and doctors are using remote areas.
Ava can work like a butler when he enters his home."I draw a figure in the house where many independent robots are active, and a robot like Ava controls and controls them," said Angle.In the long term, not only housework, but also nursing care robots.
I robot has a development pipeline up to 10 years.He also created a housework chart map, and gives priority to developing housework, which is frequent and disliked.
The Japanese manufacturer judged that it was just a dust robot, the contents were toys, and did not look at Rumba as a rival.Sharp and Toshiba followed by the popularity, but Rumba's domestic robot vacuum cleaner share is overwhelming at 65 %.Unless Japanese manufacturers sit down and work on robots, they may be forced to struggle in many products.
(Shooting: Koichi Imai = Weekly Toyo Keizai March 8, 2014 Issue 03)
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