Coffee & Serendipity: A TOYOTA Perspective

Date

Tuesday, September 8, 2026 - 15:00 to 16:00

Location

OIST Innovation Core 1 - Gathering Space

Description

History has shown that unexpected encounters and serendipitous discoveries can lead to new research breakthroughs and innovations. However, creating environments and opportunities that encourage such spontaneous interactions remains a significant challenge.

At the Café Black Hole (CBH) of Toyota Motor Corporation’s Future Creation Center, efforts are being made to create a space where people from diverse backgrounds can connect, exchange ideas, and generate new possibilities. As part of this initiative, CBH provides “Matsuyashiki Coffee,” a coffee style deeply rooted in Nagoya’s morning café culture.

During this event, participants will experience the unique Matsuyashiki brewing method through a live demonstration. Using a distinctive thick wire-style dripper and a careful blooming process, the method brings out the rich flavors of coffee while minimizing bitterness and unwanted flavors, even as the coffee cools.

Through the experience of a single cup of coffee, this event will explore how connections between people can inspire new discoveries, creativity, and innovation. We look forward to your participation.

*Coffee tasting will be available for the first 20 participants on a first-come, first-served basis.

Speaker

Tomoya Takatani, Ph.D.
Project Manager, R-Frontier Department, Frontier Research Center
Toyota Motor Corporation

Since 2006, he has worked in Toyota’s R&D division, conducting research on intelligent dialogue robots using speech recognition, robot audition, machine learning, and AI. In 2018, he expanded his role into research management, and in 2022, into research coordination. He currently works under the theme of “researching the next generation of research fields,” exploring emerging interdisciplinary research areas and supporting co-creation between Toyota researchers and academic researchers.

"Looking forward to meeting people from across OIST and learning from different perspectives."