Doraemon Obsession Drives Professor into Robotics

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Pitoyo Hartono, one of the Gundam Global Challenge project leaders, recalled one crucial element that sparked his interest into the robotics world.

Pitoyo is a Chukyo University professor in the field of artificial nerve system at the university’s Department of Mechanics and Information.

“My dream since I was little was to create my own Doraemon. I was obsessed with Doraemon because [the character] holds an interesting element which enables him to interact fluently with Nobita. I dreamt of creating a machine capable of interacting with humans,” said Professor Pitoyo in an event held by Nodeflux entitled "Mechamorphosis: AI Brings Gundam to Life" in Jakarta on Monday, March 25.

His amazement toward Doraemon was also focused on the natural interaction between the blue robot with its main protagonist Nobita, who in the comic book is constantly able to naturally communicate with each other and the adaptability of Doraemon with its surroundings.

“Doraemon is a robot that can adapt to its surroundings and as it turns out, the people are also able to adapt to [Doraemon],” said Professor Pitoyo.

The Surabaya-born paired with applied physics Professor Shuji Hashimoto from Waseda University and project leader are responsible for realizing the goal of designing an 18-meter Gundam robot capable of movement.

The team also consists of anime director Yoshiyuki Tomino, producer Katsuyuki Motohiro, and creative technical director Seiichi Saito. The ambitious team is 20 to 30 percent into their journey to complete the dream of bridging science with reality with a deadline set in October 2020.

MOH KHORY ALFARIZI