I definitely wanted to join MiraiKikai.Inc
Dreamed of becoming a programmer as a boy The sense of fulfilment I feel from making things
I was interested in computers from an early age. When I was a high school student, I created my own programs for the first time and decided then and there that I would become a programmer in the future. I continued to study programming at university and had assumed that I would become a PC or smartphone application developer when I got a job, but then I happened to find a job as an embedded engineer.
I had almost no experience and there was a lot I didn't understand. However, when I actually tried embedded programming, I was drawn in by it.
I mainly made exhibits for science museums. I loved 'making things' and felt a great sense of fulfilment every day when I was surrounded by things I had made.
As I continued working in embedded systems for about four years, I learnt more and more techniques, and I started becaming a bit bored with fewer and fewer new things.
From Canada to Japan
Actually, I have always loved Japanese manga and games, and I had been studying Japanese since high school so that I could read Japanese text that had not been translated into English. I was also very interested in Japanese culture, so I decided to find a new job and move to Japan for a fresh start. I resigned from the company I was working for and went back to my parents' home to prepare. However, due to the new coronavirus, movement between countries was restricted, and so I spent about two years at home studying programming and Japanese before finally being able to look for a new job and emigrate.
Of the various companies I interviewed with, the interview at Miraikikai was different from all the others. During the interview, we discussed robotics. They also gave me a tour of the company and I met my current colleagues.
I had no experience in robot building myself, but everyone seemed kind and they were developing intersting robots so I decided that I would definitely join Miraikikai.
I was a bit anxious about moving to Japan, as I had never travelled there before. However, the company provided me with extensive support in helping me move and all sorts of things in daily life, so I was able to adjust smoothly to the company and life in Japan.
Robots that can move more and more I want to increase efficiency and reliability
My job at MiraiKikai is embedded programming. I am mainly responsible for motor control and communication code. I also work on other projects such as IoT, web apps and PC-based development tools.
The first project I was involved in after joining the company, a marking robot, is the one that left the biggest impression on me. It started at a stage where it couldn't move at all, and as the code was completed, it gradually moved better and better, and I was glad to see it grow to the point where it was finally able to do the marking work with high precision. We also exhibited it in Las Vegas, and it was great to see the marking robot that we worked so hard on, on the big stage in the USA.
My goal is to continue to create more robots at MiraiKikai, and to increase the their reliabilty, and the efficiency of development, even further.
