Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by comstock 3221 days ago
"The only Japanese companies I know that are geared for automation for the new economy are companies like Mujin, LeapMind and Preferred Networks."

I've worked closely with one of these companies... Perhaps they were just not suited to the project we were working on, but I found them quite dis-organized, lacking in focus and mostly buzzwords and fakery. Kind of sad.

I really can't see, at least the company I worked with, as "the future of automation"... a lot of it just seems to be neat but impractical toys.
1 comments
neptunespear 3221 days ago
> I've worked closely with one of these companies... Perhaps they were just not suited to the project we were working on, but I found them quite dis-organized, lacking in focus and mostly buzzwords and fakery. Kind of sad.

You can't just drop an anecdote like that without naming and shaming.

link
comstock 3220 days ago
Honestly, I'd rather hear evidence supporting the argument that any of these companies could be called "the future of automation".

Anything I say, will by its nature be anecdotal. But do you have anything to support the assertion that they're actually doing amazing things?

link
neptunespear 3220 days ago
I never said that Preferred/Mujin/LeapMind would be the future of automation. I just said that in my uneducated opinion, having followed these companies for some time now, I feel like they may be better equipped to handle "new economy" automation--shift from hardware to software, shift from closed-off proprietary standards to open collaboration. Aka the anathema of Sony, Sharp, Fujitsu, KDDI, etc.
link
comstock 3220 days ago
Can you show any evidence that they are better equipped? Other than just their vague mission statements or general attitude?

I also prefer open standards, I think they're generally "a good thing". However big companies (like Sony) always seem to prefer closed standards... I guess it promotes lock-in.

It would be nice to have something backing up these statements though.

Personally, while I don't much like there working style. I still see companies like Sony providing a lot of fundamental value in, for example, imaging sensors.

link