Thinker Director Keisuke Koyama Wins the 'JSME Medal for New Technology'
Keisuke Koyama, Director of Thinker Co., Ltd., and his research team received the 2025 JSME Medal for New Technology. Their cameraless proximity sensor, combining infrared and AI, enables robots to grasp transparent/mirrored objects and reduces teaching burden.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 24, 2026 at 18:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 24, 2026 at 09:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 25, 2026 at 04:48 (19h 16m after Collected)
The research team including Keisuke Koyama, Director of Thinker Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, Representative Director and CEO: Hiromichi Fujimoto, hereinafter "Thinker")—a company aiming to realize robots that can be used as easily as home appliances—and Invited Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, received the "2025 Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME) Medal for New Technology" sponsored by the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers.
The JSME Medal *1 is an award system granted by the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers for outstanding research and technological achievements that contribute to the development of mechanical engineering and the mechanical industry. Among them, the "JSME Medal for New Technology" is widely known as one of the most prestigious awards in the field of mechanical engineering. It is awarded to particularly outstanding achievements among new technologies completed within the last few years related to the mechanical industry, from the perspectives of originality, novelty, excellence in performance, and contribution to society and the economy.
This award highly evaluates the technology related to the proximity sensor that Thinker has been developing. This sensor features a unique sensing technology combining infrared rays and AI without using a camera, enabling it to grasp the position and shape of objects contactlessly and at high speed. As a result, it can handle objects that were conventionally difficult to measure, such as mirrored surfaces and transparent objects, and enables flexible picking corresponding to the on-site environment. Furthermore, it was evaluated as a technology that contributes to the introduction of robots into processes where automation was difficult, as it can reduce the burden of teaching tasks to robots.
Thinker will continue to advance the implementation of robot hands and end effectors that are actually used in manufacturing sites, contributing to the development of technologies that support Japan's high-quality manufacturing.
*1 About the JSME Medal
https://www.jsme.or.jp/event_project/award/jsme-award/about-jsme-award/
■ Company Overview
Name: Thinker Co., Ltd.
Address: 6F-188, Osaka Center Building, 4-1-3 Kyutaromachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka 541-0056
Representative: Representative Director and CEO Hiromichi Fujimoto
Established: August 2022
Company Description: Aiming for a society where humans and robots can orchestrate and evolve while enhancing each other, we are engaged in the development of robot hands that think and judge for themselves.
URL: https://www.thinker-robotics.co.jp/
Remarks: The company name "Thinker" embodies the ideas of a "group that thinks things through," "robots that think," and "accelerating the evolution (shinka) of robots."
The JSME Medal *1 is an award system granted by the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers for outstanding research and technological achievements that contribute to the development of mechanical engineering and the mechanical industry. Among them, the "JSME Medal for New Technology" is widely known as one of the most prestigious awards in the field of mechanical engineering. It is awarded to particularly outstanding achievements among new technologies completed within the last few years related to the mechanical industry, from the perspectives of originality, novelty, excellence in performance, and contribution to society and the economy.
This award highly evaluates the technology related to the proximity sensor that Thinker has been developing. This sensor features a unique sensing technology combining infrared rays and AI without using a camera, enabling it to grasp the position and shape of objects contactlessly and at high speed. As a result, it can handle objects that were conventionally difficult to measure, such as mirrored surfaces and transparent objects, and enables flexible picking corresponding to the on-site environment. Furthermore, it was evaluated as a technology that contributes to the introduction of robots into processes where automation was difficult, as it can reduce the burden of teaching tasks to robots.
Thinker will continue to advance the implementation of robot hands and end effectors that are actually used in manufacturing sites, contributing to the development of technologies that support Japan's high-quality manufacturing.
*1 About the JSME Medal
https://www.jsme.or.jp/event_project/award/jsme-award/about-jsme-award/
■ Company Overview
Name: Thinker Co., Ltd.
Address: 6F-188, Osaka Center Building, 4-1-3 Kyutaromachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka 541-0056
Representative: Representative Director and CEO Hiromichi Fujimoto
Established: August 2022
Company Description: Aiming for a society where humans and robots can orchestrate and evolve while enhancing each other, we are engaged in the development of robot hands that think and judge for themselves.
URL: https://www.thinker-robotics.co.jp/
Remarks: The company name "Thinker" embodies the ideas of a "group that thinks things through," "robots that think," and "accelerating the evolution (shinka) of robots."