Out of the Lab and on the Market How Sony Computer Science Labs (Sony CSL) Turn Research into Profits Out of the Lab and on the Market How Sony Computer Science Labs (Sony CSL) Turn Research into Profits Tetsu Natsume Mario Tokoro CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 © 2018 by Tetsu Natsume and Mario Tokoro CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business No claim to original U.S. Government works Printed on acid-free paper International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-138-73590-3 (Hardback) This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. 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CCC is a not-for-profit organization that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users. For organizations that have been granted a photocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data Names: Natsume, Tetsu, author. | Tokoro, Mario, 1947- author. Title: Out of the lab and on the market : how Sony Computer Science Labs (Sony CSL) turn research into profits / Tetsu Natsume and Mario Tokoro. Description: Boca Raton, FL : CRC Press, 2018. Identifiers: LCCN 2017006695 | ISBN 9781138735903 (hardback : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Sony Computer Science Laboratories. | Research, Industrial. | Technological innovations. | New products. Classification: LCC T178.S66 N37 2018 | DDC 338.7/621390952--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017006695 Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com and the CRC Press Web site at http://www.crcpress.com Contents Preface ....................................................................................................xi Authors ................................................................................................xiii SECTION I How Sony CSL Turns Research into Profits Chapter 1 Birth of the Technology Promotion Office ......................3 1.1 The Daily Grind of a Technology Promoter .................3 1.2 Technology Promotion: Navigating the Gaps of Timing and Setting between Business and Research .......7 1.2.1 The Invention of Augmented Reality in the Late 1990s .......................................................7 1.2.2 Thirteen Years of AR Development Comes to Fruition in a Video Game .................9 1.2.3 Navigating Gaps in Timing and Setting to Bring Research to Market ............................11 1.3 What Is the TPO? ...........................................................12 1.3.1 Meeting Mario ...................................................13 1.4 Assembling a Corps of Researchers with Ideas Just Crazy Enough to Change the World ....................14 1.4.1 Vision of the Ideal Research Laboratory: Contributing to Humanity and Society as Well as SONY ................................................14 1.4.2 Senior Researchers Carving Out New Fields of Study ....................................................15 1.4.3 Blossoming of Youthful Talent ........................17 1.5 Sony CSL-Derived Technology Powering Xperia™ Smartphones ...................................................18 1.5.1 POBox Predictive Text Input, and One-Touch Devices Based on FEEL ................18 1.5.2 Making Devices More Intuitive: Lifelog and Smart Operation Gesture Recognition .......20 1.5.3 Sony CSL Is an Outlier among SONY’s Many R&D Organizations ...............................21 v vi • Contents 1.6 Mired in Obscurity .........................................................23 1.6.1 Products Carrying CSL’s Technology DNA, but Not CSL’s Name ...............................23 1.6.2 Changing Sony CSL’s Research Style ..............24 1.7 TPO Takes Flight ............................................................25 1.7.1 Mission: Maximize the Fruits of CSL Research .....................................................25 1.7.2 Three-Point Action Plan ...................................26 1.7.2.1 Point 1: Take Inventory of Sony CSL Research. What Did That Entail? .........................................27 1.7.2.2 What about Point 2: Lock Our Sights on the Most Promising Targets? ............................27 1.7.2.3 And Finally Point 3: Maximize Impact ...............................27 Chapter 2 Case Studies in Technology Transfer ..............................29 2.1 VAIO Pocket: A Painful Learning Experience ...........29 2.1.1 Most Technology Transfers Go Nowhere ......29 2.1.2 Presense Technology and the VAIO Pocket ................................................30 2.2 The Difficulty of Taking Technical Breakthroughs to Market ..............................................31 2.2.1 FEEL: A Landmark Idea ...................................31 2.2.2 FEEL’s Lifeline: A Videoconferencing System .................................................................33 2.2.3 Adoption into the NFC Standard ...................34 2.2.4 FEEL-Enabled Phones Hit the Market and the “MoTR” Saga ........................................35 2.2.5 The Development of One-Touch ......................36 2.3 A CSL Paris Technology’s Unexpected Route to Success .........................................................................38 2.3.1 EDS: Music Categorization Technology from Paris ...........................................................38 2.3.2 Building a Win–Win Relationship with SONY R&D ........................................................39 Contents • vii 2.4 Interindustry Collaborations .......................................40 2.4.1 Moe-Kaden: Giving Digital Appliances a Human Face ...................................................40 2.4.2 Barnstorming Negotiations with Daiwa House and within SONY .................................42 2.5 Going to Market with a Product Targeting Teenage Girls ..................................................................43 2.5.1 An App That Broke the Galapagos Barrier ...43 2.5.2 Proving the Power of a Public Beta .................45 Chapter 3 Next-Level Challenges for the Technology Promoter ....49 3.1 Econophysics Optimizes Semiconductor Production .......................................................................49 3.1.1 It’s Called Econophysics: Now Where Can We Use It? ...................................................49 3.1.2 Forging a Unique Partnership with the Semiconductor Business Group ................51 3.1.3 A Top-Shelf Example of Bottom-Line Gains .....52 3.2 A New Outlet for Research Discoveries: Science Content for Entertainment Media ................................53 3.2.1 Ken Mogi’s “Aha! Experience” Draws Attention and Sega Wants In ...........................53 3.2.2 Tapping Sony Music Artists to Do a Deal with Sega ............................................................54 3.2.3 An Aha! Experience Ecosystem with an Eight-Digit Dollar Value ..................................56 3.3 Sony CSL’s First Spin-Off ...............................................58 3.3.1 The Place Project: A New Kind of Location-Sensing Service .................................58 3.3.2 Creating a Buyer ...............................................60 3.3.3 Forging a Flagship Product for the Tokyo National Museum ..............................................61 3.4 Toward a New Electric Power Industry .......................63 3.4.1 Creating a Next-Generation Electrical Infrastructure .....................................................63 3.4.2 A Large-Scale Project Involving Academic and Corporate Partners ................64 viii • Contents 3.4.3 “Packetized Electric Power”: A Concept Borrowed from the Internet .............................65 3.4.4 Making the Connection with SONY’s Battery Biz ..........................................................65 3.4.5 Putting on Public Viewings of the World Cup in Ghana ....................................................66 3.4.6 Launching a Mobile Phone Charging Service for Unelectrified Areas ........................69 3.4.7 Forming a Consortium for the “Internet of Electricity” .....................................................71 Chapter 4 Techniques for Technology Promotion ..........................75 4.1 Cataloging of Research Discoveries .............................75 4.1.1 The Review Talk .................................................75 4.1.2 The TPO Interview ............................................76 4.1.3 Multiple Information-Gathering Channels .......78 4.2 Developing Sales Collateral ..........................................80 4.2.1 A Sales Sheet That Zeroes in on “What Does It Do?” ..........................................80 4.2.2 Technology Tag = Schematized FAQ ..............81 4.3 Selling ...............................................................................82 4.3.1 Demo Road Show: Empowering TPO to Make Initial Pitches Independently ................83 4.3.2 T-pop News: An E-Mail Newsletter for People Who Have Attended Our Demos .......85 4.4 The Importance of the MoTR ......................................88 4.5 Philosophy on License Fees for Technology ...............91 4.6 The 10 Core Principles of Technology Promotion .....92 4.6.1 Principle 1: There’s a Right Time to Bring Every Discovery out of the Lab ........................94 4.6.2 Principle 2: Use Every Possible Connection ......94 4.6.3 Principle 3: Don’t Hold Preconceptions About Other Organizations .............................94 4.6.4 Principle 4: Assume That Customers Need a Simple Message Drilled in Hard ........95 4.6.5 Principle 5: Mental Fortitude ...........................95 4.6.6 Principle 6: Try Things That Haven’t Been Tried Before ..............................................95 Contents • ix 4.6.7 Principle 7: Move Fast! Every Second Counts .................................................................95 4.6.8 Principle 8: Follow-Up After Technology Transfer Is a Must .............................................96 4.6.9 Principle 9: Don’t Just Be a Technology Promoter, Be a Research Producer .................96 4.6.10 Principle 10: Never Forget That You’re Doing It for the Lab ..........................................96 4.7 Why Technology Promotion Is Necessary .................96 4.7.1 Overcoming Divergences of Timing and Setting ..........................................................97 4.7.2 Role Division between Researchers and Technology Promoters ......................................98 4.7.3 Technology Promotion Must Be Part of the Lab .................................................................98 4.7.4 Beyond Technology Promotion .......................98 4.7.5 How Selling Research Changes Research .....99 SECTION II Researchers on Technology Promotion II.1 Implementing Outrageous Ideas ................................101 Alexis Andre, CSL Researcher II.2 Implementation of Academic versus Corporate Research ......................................................103 Jun Rekimoto, CSL Deputy Director II.3 Papers Are Fine, But Nothing Beats the Joy of Research That Becomes Products That Change the World! ......................................................................106 Takashi Isozaki, CSL Researcher SECTION III The History of Sony’s Technology Promotion Office (Mario Tokoro) Chapter 5 Before TPO ......................................................................111 5.1 Lab-Driven Product Development: The Precursor to TPO ..................................................111 5.2 Jigsaw Puzzles with Pieces Missing and Assets Left to Rot ......................................................................113