“Chemical Reactions” at the Center Drive Technology Innovations—Can I start by asking about the role played by the TDC as a driving force behind Rion’s amazing breakthroughs?We coordinate the eorts of divisions of three product types - medical instruments, environmental instruments, and particle counters —to promote basic research and nd solutions. Nearly 80% of our activities involve renewing or updating current prod-ucts. We identify various issues—for example, what functions or settings need to be added or modied to keep pace with society’s changing needs—and seek solutions. e remaining 20% or so involves research for predicting demand for products and services and developing products and technologies from scratch that will support society in the future.—As the director of the center, what do you demand from your sta in terms of their activities?I know all our sta have their own diverse ideas. My hope is that they proactively present these ideas to others, rather than keeping them to themselves. I believe exchanging ideas, both within and outside the company, has the power to catalyze unexpected chem-ical reactions. Exciting project plans can grow out of combining ideas that previously amounted only to speculation at the level of an individual. I also want our sta to take the lead in various activities outside our company. Engineers tend to narrow their focus to the issues right before them. But making a conscious eort to be more active outside the company is important for expanding the scope of their interests. at’s one of the reasons behind the founding of the TDC. Here, engineers aliated with dierent sections meet and engage each other. ey learn what themes other engineers are working on. How will their inquisitive minds react to themes in elds they aren’t acquainted with? How can they incorporate that newly acquired knowledge into their own themes? at’s what’s truly of value.—Could you share with us some specic examples of “chemical reactions” catalyzed through idea sharing?Let’s see... You could compare Rion’s particle counting technology to counting stars in the nighttime sky. You can’t see the stars during the day because of the sun. But say someone needs to count the stars during the day. One of the sta asked if anyone knew the solutions. In response, someone from the hearing aid development team proposed a totally unexpected mathematical solution. Hearing aids amplify sound to assist hearing. e key idea involves picking out the voice of the person the user is talking to against a background of noise. at’s where the solution for detecting stars came from—technology associated with hearing aids. Lowering the boundaries between elds by exchanging ideas—I could name many other cases where this resulted in breakthroughs at the TDC.On the Front Lines of Technology DevelopmentInterview with Kiyokatsu Iwahashi, Director of the Technical Development CenterIn What Way Rion’s Innovation Comes intoThe Technical Development Center (TDC) coordinates various business projects at Rion to help the company continue to create the most advanced technologies and solutions. In this issue, we interview Kiyokatsu Iwahashi, its Director, to learn how they operate and about his future perspectives.IN THE BACKYARDInterview and article by Editorial CommitteePhoto by Aya Kishimoto12
元のページ ../index.html#14