Dr. Ken Sakamura Has a Bold Vision of Enabling Technology

By Jim Farrell

Dr. Ken Sakamura holds a version of Ubiquitous Communicator against a tag put on the column of a shopping street in Kobe.

Dr. Ken Sakamura is the professor of Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, Graduate School of the University of Tokyo. He has held this position since 2000, and also serves as the President of YRP Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory, as well as the chair of T-Engine Forum. He's most famous as the originator, chief architect, and principle driving force behind the TRON Project, and its offspring, the T-Engine Forum. In addition, he is an architect of buildings, a designer of computerized gadgets, and a consultant for technology projects in countries around the globe.

Dr. Sakamura turned 55 in July of this year. This is a respectable age for an academic in Japan. When he was in his thirties in the 1980s, many of his colleagues considered him too young to be a serious technologist. Even though he has just now achieved chronological credibility, Dr. Sakamura is a model for the academic technologist in the 21st century. He co-authored a book on adaptive computing in 1977—a precursor to the TRON Project— when he was only 26 years old.

Dr. Sakamura not only falls into the category of brilliant academic technologist, but he is also a pragmatist. He envisions and implements technology that makes life better. In 2001, he was awarded the Takeda Prize for improving Social or Economic Wellbeing of People for "the origination and advancement of open development models for computer system software-open architecture, free software, and open source software." In 2002, he was named a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers for "contributions to the development of computer architecture." On top of these, he has received a Medal with Purple Ribbon from the Japanese government and will receive the prestigious the Japan Academy Prize in 2006.

A cane with an embedded antenna passes information via a Ubiquitous Communicator to a blind person's ears.

Dr. Sakamura initiated the TRON Project in 1984, culminating in the adoption of TRON computing technology in nearly four billion embedded electronic systems worldwide. ITRON operating systems can be found in everything from digital cameras to car engines. One reason for this overwhelming acceptance of ITRON was the "open" nature of TRON technology, as there are no royalties attached to TRON technology.

Four years ago, Dr. Sakamura started T-Engine Forum and Ubiquitous ID technology to identify and describe objects and locations worldwide. These days, when Ken goes to dinner with editors or dignitaries interested in his technology, he likes to carry a small vial of 0.4 mm x 0.4 mm RFID semiconductors. To the naked eye, it resembles a bottle of fine glitter of perhaps coarsely ground pepper. Dr. Sakamura predicts these chips will cost only 10 yen (about nine cents U.S.) when in high-volume production. Today, the T-Engine Forum and the Ubiquitous ID Center have trials and feasibility studies on many projects in Japan and elsewhere in Asia and the Pacific Rim.

RFID location tags can be embedded in walkways to guide handicapped people in a number of environments.

Dr. Sakamura really likes the technology of his "Computers Everywhere" philosophy that he first espoused nearly 30 years ago. He truly believes computers have the power to make people's lives better. He is especially interested in handicapped people. He hosts a special Enableware Conference every year in Tokyo and invites dozens of handicapped individuals to demonstrate and test initiatives. These include RFID location tags at airports and tags embedded in sidewalks in cities to guide blind people, and special computers for physically challenged people.

Dr. Sakamura has evolved from being considered a "maverick" academic upstart to a highly-respected technologist and visionary. However, even today, many people in Japan consider him an "unusual Japanese professor." Dr. Sakamura has been advised that in July the Emperor of Japan will present him with the Japan Academy Prize for his work in research and education of computer science.

Jim Farrell is Director of the USA Liaison Office for the T-Engine Forum. Contact him at jjjf3@earthlink.net.