From 7 through 21 October 2015, Omron Corporation (Headquarters: Kyoto; President & CEO: Yoshihito Yamada) called for name suggestions for its ping-pong robot, which symbolizes the company’s state-of-the-art technical capabilities. The invitation attracted a total 2,445 suggestions, from which the name “FORPHEUS” was chosen through the selection process outlined below. The ping-pong robot was developed to display and demonstrate Omron’s advanced technology in a way that anyone can understand. It embodies the future of “machines that unleash human potential” envisioned by Omron.
To choose a name, Omron instituted an in-house selection committee, which was tasked with narrowing the list of candidate names from 2,445 to just three by applying four criteria: 1) high affinity with the idea of harmony between people and machines and the concept behind the ping-pong robot, 2) global applicability and acceptability, 3) no infringement of any third-party copyrights, trademarks, or other rights in Japan and other key countries; and 4) conformance with Omron’s trademark rules. Omron then held a company-wide ballot on the three finalists, with all Omron employees in Europe, the Americas, Greater China, the Asia-Pacific area, and Japan having the right to cast a vote. The name “FORPHEUS” received a majority of votes in most of those regions.
“FORPHEUS” stands for “Future Omron Robotics Technology for Exploring Possibility of Harmonized AUtomation with Sinic Theoretics.” It is a coinage that expresses Omron’s unique robotics technology based on the SINIC Theory, which is the company’s proprietary theory for prediction of future developments. It can also be read as “For (in the sense of “toward”) Orpheus”* (in Greek mythology, a legendary musician, poet, and prophet who epitomized human creativity), and it manifests Omron’s orientation toward human creativity.
Omron plans to continue demonstrating “FORPHEUS” around the world as an excellent example of its advanced technology. And, going forward, we intend to work toward emergence of an enriched society based on optimal harmonization of people and machines, thereby taking up the challenge of giving birth to a new age.
*Orpheus appears in Greek mythology as a musician, poet, and prophet. It was said that, with the music of his lyre, he could charm not only humans but also animals, plants, and even stones.
