Toshiba Technical History
Toshiba is a technology company formed by the merger of two companies, Tokyo Electric Co. and Shibaura Engineering Works in 1939 in Japan. Today, Toshiba is known for making televisions, DVD players, computers, medical equipment and other devices. Its history began with telegraph equipment and light bulbs in the 1800s.
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Late 19th Century
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In 1875, the Tanaka Seizo-Sho company, also known as Tanaka Engineering Works, developed Japan’s first telegraph equipment. The company became Shibaura Engineering Works, and produced large industrial electrical equipment. The other Toshiba forerunner, the Hakunetsu-sha light bulb company in Kyobashi, made the first incandescent bulb in Japan in 1890. Hakunetsu-sha became the Tokyo Electric Co.
Early 20th Century
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In 1930, Shibaura Engineering Works developed a household refrigerator, and in 1931, the company introduced the first upright vacuum cleaner in Japan. Continuing its work developing technology for use in the home, Shibaura Engineering Works brought out an agitator washing machine in 1933. After Shibaura Engineering Works merged with Tokyo Electric Co. to become Toshiba, the new company introduced a fluorescent light bulb in 1940. In 1948, Toshiba developed hardware for an experimental computer along with the University of Tokyo in 1948.
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Mid- to Late 20th Century
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Toshiba created an electric rice cooker in 1951, and by 1956, the company was producing 200,000 rice cookers per month, helping homemakers automate a task that is central to the Japanese diet. In the 1950s, Toshiba also began conducting research in the field of color televisions, and produced a prototype color TV in 1958. A consumer model with a 17-inch screen hit the market in 1960. By 1969, Toshiba developed its first video tape recorder. Continuing its work in computing, Toshiba introduced the world’s first Japanese word processor in 1978, followed by the Dynabook notebook computer in 1986. Toshiba also created the first MRI scanner in Japan in 1983. Following up on the video tape recorder, Toshiba introduced its DVD player in 1998.
2000 to Present
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In 2001, Toshiba made the first HDD and DVD video recorder, and the following year, it created networked home appliances. The company’s 2-gigabit NAND flash memory came out in 2003, followed by a 4-gigabit unit in 2004 and an 8-gigabit unit in 2005. Toshiba created HD DVD players and a notebook PC with an HD DVD drive in 2006. Its CT system, capable of imaging a brain in a single rotation, came out in 2007. In 2010, Toshiba brought out the world’s first 3-D LCD TV that requires no 3-D glasses. Toshiba is now working on prototypes of robots designed to help elderly people living in nursing homes. For example, its ApriAttenda robot has six microphones, enabling it to hear omnidirectionally to help it locate the elderly people it is designed to assist.
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