“Deeply understand it, and think it carefully on your own”. This is indeed very simple, but it is the most critical for researchers. The process involves reading papers in a wide range of fields and accurately making sense of studies made by many researchers, and then it comes next that you think it carefully on your own. Also, while you are communicating with many people, you look for what is now and will be needed in society. There will be many things you cannot find or see if you are looking at just one field and just studying with regards to that specific field.
To connect vehicles to the outside using IT. ITC has begun exploring and researching that concept since nobody in the world has yet to start it. I think IT is involved in more than half of the increase in the current total GDP. For the betterment of people’s lives, we cannot achieve it without harnessing the power of IT. Connecting vehicles to the outside using technology developed in the IT industry has progressed significantly, but it is not easy to achieve the true meaning of that picture, because the difficulties are not only technology issues but social system issues as well. However, I believe we have to strive for that great picture so as to increase the competitiveness of the automotive industry.
In our daily life, we are living through use of a variety of IT technology starting with mobile phones and PCs. So, what about cars? Recently, vehicles have also significantly changed due to IT, but there is still larger space where pieces of IT can contribute. For instance, vehicles themselves exchange information with each other via IT to reduce traffic congestion and to prevent traffic accidents from occurring. Although such technology has already partly been realized, but still been delivered, the topic of IT on vehicles and IT still excites me.
It is the 21st century and there is no doubt that IT will further enter people's entire lives. As our forecast which has been discussed since ITC was founded, the IT technology is becoming the key to success even in the automotive industry. The next decade would be a critical point. For researchers, being engaged in the early stages of vehicle and IT technology will definitely yield great fruits. How will IT make the world better? What will our world become? For that picture, what new businesses should we create? It is becoming important to carefully think on your own. If you will do your job well, your work will be a large contribution to the world, resulting in the contribution to the future of humanity. Studying the future of IT and how it will evolve is what I believe makes ITC a great place.