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Can a robot learn a master's instinct? In a workshop full of flying wood shavings, a black robot gripper holds an old Japanese hand plane against a board. On the left is Tomoyuki Izu, CEO of ATTRAC LAB, with a name plate; at the lower right, DATA TIMES editor-in-chief Kaito Ogasawara, hand on chin, looks up at the gripper in surprise. Giant gold letters on the right read "A MASTER'S INSTINCT?"LATEST INTERVIEWNEWTomoyuki IzuCEO, ATTRAC LAB“You can record how an expert moves. What really matters is why they moved that way.”Tomoyuki Izu (from this interview)InterviewBUSINESS29 MINCan a robot learn a craftsman's "why"? ATTRAC LAB's Tomoyuki Izu on where Japan can win in physical AIAI that moves robot bodies, often called physical AI, is advancing fast; humanoid robots have improved dramatically in a single year. So where can Japan compete? Tomoyuki Izu, who has founded two drone companies and now runs the robot developer ATTRAC LAB near Tokyo, points to the robot's brain. His idea: have veteran workers talk through what they are doing, and train the AI on those words along with their movements, so robots inherit not just the motion but the reasons behind it. We asked how it works, where it starts (drones and construction sites), and the rural future he has in mind.

People we interviewedGUESTS

Tomoyuki IzuCEO, ATTRAC LABRa SangyongHead of Strategic Initiatives, CrossHubDongmyoung WonFounder & CEO, realizableSatoshi ItoPublic Relations, Astroscale Japan Inc.Ayumu MitaniCEO, World Area NetworksYuichi ItoCo-founder and CTO, Chloros Inc.＋Pitch a story
Ra Sangyong, Head of Strategic Initiatives at CrossHub, giving two thumbs up against a Seoul night skyline, with interviewer Kaito Ogasawara laughing in the corner. Text: CES award-winning Korean fintech, Your passport is your wallet, No more “not for foreigners.”, three check labels for a CES top-honor blockchain ID, verifying before you fly, and taxis and delivery, plus the CES Innovation Awards 2026 badge.NEWInterviewBUSINESS15 MINIn Korea, foreign tourists can’t even hail a taxi by app. CES-winning CrossHub wants your passport to be your walletThe plant manager is AI. Over a dusk industrial park linked by glowing lines, Dongmyoung Won, CEO of realizable from Korea, smiles between giant steel letters A and I, while DATA TIMES editor-in-chief Kaito Ogasawara reacts in surprise on the left. A red badge with the Korean flag reads From Korea.NEWInterviewBUSINESS23 MINStart with AI, not with IT. Korea's realizable wants to bring AI to factories one industrial park at a timeSatoshi Ito of Astroscale Japan's PR team in front of Earth, a spent rocket stage and an approaching servicer satellite. Text: Inside Astroscale. Satellites were thrown away. Founded 2013, 5 countries. Inspect, refuel, extend, remove. Got 15 m behind space junk. About 70% of staff are engineers. Building roadside assistance for orbit.InterviewBUSINESS21 MINAstroscale isn't really a space junk removal company. Inside its plan to build roadside assistance for orbitA smiling Ayumu Mitani, CEO of World Area Networks, with part of his body breaking into glowing particles, and DATA TIMES editor-in-chief Kaito Ogasawara laughing at the lower right. Text: Meet the “3DGS guy”. What is Gaussian Splatting?InterviewBUSINESS15 MINAnyone can make 3D now. So why don’t job sites use it? We asked the maker of a Gaussian splatting viewerYuichi Ito, co-founder and CTO of Chloros Inc., in front of a rice field and a drone. Text: Former Nikon image-analysis engineer. Drone × AI. Automating crop research! Images are the data closest to the world.InterviewRESEARCH14 MINAI checks crops plant by plant: a former Nikon engineer on automating crop research
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