Technology

Tokyo museum honors floppy disks, e-bikes as future technology heritage

Courtesy of Sony Group Corp.
The world’s first 3.5-inch floppy disk was developed by Sony.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:03 JST, September 11, 2022

The National Museum of Nature and Science announced that it has newly registered 18 items, including the electric power-assisted bicycle and the 3.5-inch floppy disk, as part of the future technology heritage, a list of science and technology items that have influenced life and culture and should be passed on to future generations.

The future technology heritage registry began in 2008, and the latest additions bring the total number of registered items to 343.

The e-bike was commercialized for the first time in the world by Yamaha Motor Co. and is regarded as a breakthrough in the bicycle market. The bicycle is equipped with a motor to assist pedaling and was legally categorized as a vehicle that did not require a driver’s license. After developing prototypes and other models, the company began nationwide sales in 1994.

Other selected items include the world’s first 3.5-inch floppy disk, developed by Sony around 1980 as a recording medium for word processors, and the NE20, the first domestically produced jet engine developed by IHI Corp. around 1945.

The museum in Ueno Park, Tokyo, will exhibit a display panel about the items newly registered as the future technology heritage from Tuesday to Sept. 25.