Apple confirmed Tuesday, May 3, that it hired Yoky Matsuoka, former Nest head of technology and the cofounder of Google X lab. The move comes to support Apple's plan to expand its health technology team.
According to Apple Insider, Matsuoka, originally from Japan, has become interested in robotics while attending the University of California, Berkeley. After receiving a PhD in electrical engineering from MIT, now she is considered one of the best robotics experts.
Matsuoka developed software for the BarrettHand prosthetic at Barrett Technology. Her research in robotics and neuroscience achieved multiple awards. Among them is also included a grant from the prestigious MacArthur Foundation, received in 2007.
Matsuoka spent time teaching robotics at the University of Washington in Seattle and at Carnegie Mellon University. In 2009, she moved to Google to help build the X research and development lab.
In 2010, Matsuoka has become head of technology at Nest, where she created the learning algorithms and user interface for the Learning Thermostat. After Google acquired Nest in 2014, Matsuoka left the company.
She planned to work for Twitter following her departure from Nest. According to the website phys.org, her plan to take a job at San Francisco-based messaging service Twitter was changed last year by a "life-threatening illness."
Matsuoka declared at the time that she envisions a new future again. The medical treatment was working. Getting another chance at life, the scientist found the opportunity to work out new plans for her future.
According to Fortune, Matsuoka is now working on health initiatives at Apple. It is yet unclear on what projects the robotics expert will be working. The high-tech company currently has a number of health-related projects under development.
Reportedly, Matsuoka will work under Apple COO Jeff Williams. Among other projects, he leads a variety of groups handling ResearchKit, HealthKit, and the new CareKit app building framework.
