Located in Tokyo, Japan, the Faculty of Information Networking for Innovation and Design (INIAD), Toyo University, is hidden in the most high-tech building in the world. Hsinchu County Magistrate Chiu Ching-chun led a delegation to Toyo University on April 5th and had an in-depth exchange of views with the Dean of INIAD, Ken Sakamura.
Prof. Ken Sakamura once received the prestigious ITU150 Award. The IoT technologies he has developed allow equipment or devices without networking functions to get connected through e-tags. With the availability of smart control, people can build smart homes. Thus, Prof. Ken Sakamura is also hailed as the father of IoT.
The INIAD Building, established by Prof. Ken Sakamura, makes visitors exclaim in surprise. The entire building is a demonstration of the newest technology! The temperature and moisture inside the building are monitored via IoT technology. In addition, paper, blackboards, and traditional bulletin boards cannot been seen in the hallways, classrooms, or even the library. Instead, they use equipment that allows smart control, including computers, e-books, cell phones, and digital boards. The student ID card, which combines Suica, a prepaid e-money card for moving around Tokyo, can also be used to open doors, lockers, control lights, see the class schedule on the bulletin board system, and direct students to the right classrooms.
After retiring from Tokyo University in March last year, Prof. Ken Sakamura got his current position as the Dean of INIAD. He says that INIAD Building is the No.1 IoT building in the world. Establishing this faculty was a dream of his lifetime. Having been engaged in the R&D of technology for decades, he was devoted to exploring the functions of IoT technologies to the fullest, and now he often thinks about how to make more contributions to the world.
Magistrate Chiu states that thanks to Prof. Ken Sakamura’s research and innovation, the IoT technologies have been gradually utilized all over the world. Taiwan and Japan have established a close friendship. He hopes Hsinchu County can develop its AI industry in the future with the cooperation with the Japanese counterpart.