New dog, old tricks

Peg Skorpinski photo

06 March 2002 | Haas School MBA student Toshimitsu Kawano plays fetch with AIBO, a Sony “entertainment robot” with an uncanny sense of touch, sight, hearing and balance. The futuristic canine — along with new creations from Honda, VIZ, InterSquare, NEC Electronics and other prominent Asian companies — was showcased at a product ‘Biz Park,’ organized by Haas students, at the second annual Haas Asia Business Conference.

The March 2 campus event examined how Asian companies rose to dominance in technology, manufacturing and electronics and how these firms have persevered despite unstable economic environments. Serving as keynote speakers were F.C. Tseng, deputy chief executive officer of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., and Masaki Yoshikawa, president of the Pacific Division, NTT DoCoMo USA, Inc.