Discover Hokkaido Japan's Innovation in AI
As the world embraces the shift toward AI, Japan’s involvement in the industry has been quiet. Naturally, questions arise about Japan’s progress in AI: Are there promising startups? Are there research labs? Are there notable founders? Let’s delve a bit deeper into these questions and examine the perspectives of some prominent AI players from Hokkaido, Japan.
The article will draw from information discussed at the CIC Tokyo event, where Professor Hidenori Kawamura from Hokkaido University (Faculty of Information Science and Technology) and Yasuhiro Tsuchida, Director and CTO of AWL, unveiled some innovative AI projects.
Hokkaido University Research with Businesses
Professor Kawamura highlighted the projects from his lab, the Harmo-lab demonstrating their commitment to AI, deep learning, and machine learning with the primary objective of harnessing these technologies for substantial societal impact.
To achieve its vision, the lab regularly collaborates with businesses. The reason for such partnerships with the corporate world might be and outlier in the research community. However to this, Professor Kawamura mentioned that, with the rise of focus on AI from incumbents, standing out on the global scene has become more difficult for Japanese research labs. Often, universities lack data and distinctive challenges. Hence, to drive innovation and impact, the lab collaborates with businesses to access their data and tackle real-world issues.
Such collaborations allow the University to dive into unique datasets and challenges. Even in projects that many academic circles would shy away from due to its inherent subjectivity. By aligning with businesses, the lab has been able explore many societal problems such as:
Outside these efforts, the lab has birthed several startups and has ventured into creating AI solutions for overseas clients. One intriguing service is Aill an AI-driven work-life balance and relationship management app. It offers AI-based matching algorithm and conversation assistance to improve couples or potential couples communicate while juggling a busy work life.
In conclusion, while based in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Professor Kawamura and his team has continually strive to innovate and expand their horizons in partnership with various collaborators.
AWL Leading the Hokkaido Japan AI Start-Up Scene
AWL, an AI start-up aiming to recreate the human eye’s capabilities through software and hardware. Unlike other competitors, AWL differentiates itself through its affordability and reliability. Growing rapidly, their venture has nearly 90 employees and has received investments from significant corporations like CyberAgent and Canon Marketing.
AWL’s Innovation (AWL Box & AWL Lite):
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Managing AI on various in-store devices is complicated, and the smaller, specialized AIs tend to be fragile to changing scenarios. An unsupervised AI’s performance often degrades over time, resulting in increased errors like misidentifying objects or overlooking them entirely, especially for compact AIs. To tackle this issues, AWL developed the “AWL Engine,” which allows AI to function stably and efficiently on inexpensive devices without the AI degrading over time. AWL’s journey reflects the challenges and triumphs of integrating AI technology into everyday businesses. Their innovative solutions set the standard for affordable, reliable, and functional AI in the retail sector. Numerous statistics indicate a vast market potential for this technology, and they aim to deploy the AWL Engine solutions globally.
Strength and Support in Hokkaido
For those considering operating in Hokkaido, especially in Sapporo, there are a significant number of talented foreign engineers. Many move to Sapporo because of the balance between city and nature complements their lifestyle. Sapporo also offers a closer-knit, unique network and infrastructure that might be less prevalent in places like Tokyo. For AWL, this network helped keep the company afloat when it faced extreme challenges to the point of near collapse.
Local Hokkaido businesses like hot springs and hotels identified the need to avoid crowding during COVID-19; this situation presented AWL with various opportunities and support. Tsuchida says that if they had been a purely Tokyo-based startup, gaining exposure and support by businesses would have been a significant challenge. Hokkaido, offers challenges that businesses can turn into opportunity, which is scarcer in Tokyo. The people’s perseverance in overcoming challenges and the supportive infrastructure have significantly strengthened their venture, convincing them that establishing a business in Hokkaido brings advantages.
Summary: Japan's Potential in AI
From pioneering research initiatives at Hokkaido University, led by Professor Kawamura, to the ambitious technological pursuits by AWL, it’s evident that there is a vibrant, progression of AI development in Hokkaido. The region uniquely stands out, not just for its technological advancements, but also for the robust, community-driven support system that propels start-ups to transform challenges into lucrative business opportunities. As Japan navigates through the operational phase of AI, the nation gears up to carve a niche that could potentially reverberate its influence, not just nationally, but on a global AI stage. The vision is to establish a brighter and more advanced Japan through these technological endeavours.
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