Shintaro Fukushima
(joined in 2015)
Project General Manager,
InfoTech AS,
Social System PF Development Div.
Ph.D (Information Science and Technology)
New business emerging from analysis and use of data will create the connected society of the future
New stage for data scientists
From my graduate school days up to now, mathematical science and computers have long been my speciality in my career. Previously, I worked at an electrical machinery manufacturer and at its think tank. At that time, I was engaged in R&D and consulting in areas such as financial engineering, machine learning, data mining, and knowledge representation (KR). However, although I analyzed various data in a wide range of fields, in most cases, my work was limited to the data analysis phase only. There were not enough opportunities to be engaged in the use of data beyond that phase. This left me with a sense of feeling that my work was not enough.
At that time, I read an article that reported that IT giant companies would be rivals of Toyota in the near future. My intuition told me that the automobile industry was going to become interesting not only from a technological viewpoint, including autonomous driving, connected vehicles, and Mobility as a Service (MaaS), but also from a business viewpoint. Analyzing a wide variety of data would be essential in realizing this. Furthermore, I hoped that I would be a pioneer in this new field, and that it would be worthwhile.
Making proposals for use of analyzed data
At present, along with team members, I am involved in analyzing data collected from vehicles, CAN* data, GPS data, image data, and in the use of this data. By analyzing this data in detail, we can quantify various factors, including the status of safety function operations, location, date/time, weather conditions, and surrounding conditions of when dangerous driving occurs. To deliver value to customers, this data can be used in the design and development of services and systems for next-generation vehicles. In addition, operationally, we do not stop at simply analyzing this data. We collaborate with other teams to see how this data should be used. This is another area that makes me feel this job is worthwhile. I plan to continue to solve these on-site issues, and conduct R&D by abstracting the issues, and allow the activities to feed back to each other. *Controller Area Network: Serial sensor data logged with information such as driving operations and vehicle behavior.
Future opened up by data analysis
It is often said that mathematical techniques do not only impact engineers but also reach management levels. Applying this to Toyota, the analysis and use of data is not just a method for solving problems. It is a technical component that contributes to decision-making for corporate management and strategies. In the upcoming connected society, the analysis of various data based on a mathematical background will surely contribute to the creation of new services and values.