{"id":18157,"date":"2020-02-18T14:27:27","date_gmt":"2020-02-18T05:27:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovation-osaka.jp\/oih2026\/?post_type=library&p=18157"},"modified":"2026-09-27T17:55:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T08:55:41","slug":"library-7451","status":"publish","type":"library","link":"https:\/\/www.innovation-osaka.jp\/en\/library\/library-7451\/","title":{"rendered":"Atsushi Fukutsuka"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hydrobot, a business idea that achieved big results at two contests<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSomeday I want to solve the problems and challenges Japanese farmers face and change things for the better,\u201d says Atsushi Fukutsuka, a first-year master\u2019s student at the Kansai University Graduate School. Fukutsuka belongs to the Robotics and Micro Systems Laboratory in the Graduate School of Science and Engineering and researches suction-type robot hands for logistics robots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside studies, in 2019 Fukutsuka took part in the \u201cBusiness Idea Contest SFinX,\u201d held on campus to foster entrepreneurship. In it, students develop business ideas for commercializing research results from the university\u2019s science and engineering faculties, and after strict judging based on five criteria (novelty, accuracy, marketability, competitive advantage, and presentation), Fukutsuka\u2019s team won the top prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Then, in December 2019, on Kansai University\u2019s recommendation, the team presented at the pitch event \u201cMirainno Pitch 2019,\u201d organized by Osaka Innovation Hub, and achieved the remarkable feat of winning the \u201cOIH Award,\u201d given to business models that can succeed globally, in the student division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theme presented by Fukutsuka\u2019s team, which achieved these big results, was Hydrobot, a multifunctional drone that solves the challenges facing greenhouse farmers, using a Kansai University technology seed that was one of the SFinX topics. It carries the strong feelings as an engineer mentioned at the beginning, and Fukutsuka says it became an opportunity that greatly expanded the possibilities for their own future, including a startup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A wish to help small-scale farming in hilly and mountainous areas opens up a new path<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fukutsuka first became interested in farming in hilly and mountainous areas in junior high school. \u201cIt started when my grandfather, who had farmed for many years, passed away, and the family discussed who would take over,\u201d Fukutsuka says. \u201cGojo City in Nara Prefecture, where I was born and raised, is a small town, with what is called hilly and mountainous farming. My grandfather\u2019s death made me feel various problems such as depopulation and aging close at hand again, and thinking I wanted to somehow change things for farmers was, looking back, the first step.\u201d That led to an interest in farm tools and agricultural machinery, and after entering university Fukutsuka decided to become an engineer involved in developing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hydrobot, devised by Fukutsuka, is designed to make exactly that wish come true. In planning it, the team interviewed people on farms and focused on three main worries: not being able to detect diseases well enough because of labor shortages, feeling unwell when spraying pesticides, and vegetables not growing well because of a lack of knowledge and experience. To address these, the plan applies three functions, disease detection and pest search, pesticide spraying, and data-driven growth management, to the university\u2019s technology seed for controlling swarms of drones, supporting human work more efficiently, reliably, and quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Labor shortages caused by aging and depopulation are a challenge for all of Japan and one that must be solved on a global scale. Hydrobot\u2019s business potential was highly rated, leading to the top prize at the \u201cBusiness Idea Contest 2019 SFinX\u201d and the \u201cOIH Award\u201d at \u201cMirainno Pitch 2019.\u201d The team worked hard with peers late into the night for the two contests. Being recognized there gave Fukutsuka confidence, and a new path, \u201cstarting a business,\u201d came into view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From idea to real business: the challenges and goals that come into view by facing reality<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat said, there are mountains of challenges ahead. I am still inexperienced as an engineer and have a lot to learn,\u201d says Fukutsuka, who is currently taking part in AIDOR Acceleration<\/a>, an approximately four-month business creation program specializing in IoT business organized by the Osaka Industrial Promotion Organization. It includes hands-on support from expert coordinators versed in IoT and robot services, mentoring from senior entrepreneurs, basic courses and practical workshops on IoT technology, and a demo day for presenting business ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHydrobot was recognized at the contests, but as a real business model, there are still many challenges to clear. In mentoring sessions with senior entrepreneurs and mentors, I get sharp points and harsh opinions such as, \u2018Does this idea really solve farmers\u2019 worries?\u2019 and \u2018What will you do if a drone falls?\u2019, and honestly there are many times I almost lose heart. But in return, the direction I should take and the things I need to solve are becoming clear, and that is leading to future goals, or rather to even more motivation,\u201d Fukutsuka says with a smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fukutsuka has also keenly felt the need to build skills as an engineer while gaining the qualities of an entrepreneur, such as the ability to communicate with people and the ability to act on one\u2019s own initiative and bring others along. By squarely facing \u201creality,\u201d Fukutsuka is moving forward one step at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aiming to grow further as an engineer and as a person to realize a dream<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fukutsuka\u2019s immediate goal is to complete the presentation on Hydrobot at the demo day, one of the programs of AIDOR Acceleration. With advice from senior entrepreneurs and mentors, Fukutsuka is refining it further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A clear path as a future startup seems to have opened, but what Fukutsuka is aiming for is not to start a business right away but to get a job. \u201cThis time, I was given valuable opportunities that ordinary students rarely get, such as taking part in business contests and acceleration programs, and I think I am learning a great deal. That is exactly why I can see what I lack now, and to make my dream of helping farmers as an engineer come true, I have come to want to first gain social experience within a company and grow as a person before starting a business,\u201d says Fukutsuka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is one year left of graduate school. While developing the leadership to build and run an organization, Fukutsuka wants to deepen expertise as an engineer, saying, \u201cI want to gain a sharp strength of my own that I will never lose to anyone.\u201d \u201cWhether I get a job or start a business, what lies at the root is the wish to help farmers. That has stayed the same, without wavering, since I entered university; it is like my own core. While getting all kinds of advice, I want to keep my own core firmly and find my own answer.\u201d Fukutsuka\u2019s challenge toward the future has only just begun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interview date: January 29, 2020
(Interview and text: Mitsuko Yamashita)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7454,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/www.innovation-osaka.jp\/oih2026\/?post_type=library&p=7451","catch_copy":"Opening up the future of Japanese agriculture, and one\u2019s own, with Hydrobot, a multifunctional drone that supports hydroponics","company":"Kansai University","sub_catch":""},"library-category":[30,97,128],"class_list":["post-18157","library","type-library","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","library-category-it","library-category-97","library-category-bangaihen","en-US"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovation-osaka.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library\/18157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovation-osaka.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovation-osaka.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/library"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovation-osaka.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovation-osaka.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"library-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovation-osaka.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library-category?post=18157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}