Seiko Epson Corporation will begin external sales of new sensing technologies that combine semiconductor and optical technologies that Epson has nurtured and advanced over many years. The company will also launch a new business that will use motion-sensing analysis technology developed for Epson’s M-Tracer golf swing analysis system to provide valuable data about the actions and movements of people and objects in everyday life. Epson will enrich lives and create new customer value through these initiatives, which will capitalize on open innovation.
Epson has long been using its sensing technologies to provide value to users. For example, the company’s semiconductor and optical technologies are used in healthcare to monitor an individual’s vital signs and provide visual data about the person’s daily activity. Meanwhile, position-fix information measurements are used in the running market to support runners by measuring distance and exercise intensity. While developing these technologies, Epson has received many requests from customers to utilize Epson’s unique sensing technology and analysis algorithms.
Factors such as the spread of COVID-19 and the arrival of a super-aging society have contributed to a general sense of unease. At the same time, expectations are rising for safer and more secure communities in the future as social infrastructure such as transportation and lifelines are increasingly being connected to the Internet of Things (IoT). In response to societal demands such as these, Epson has decided to begin successively selling its sensing technologies to external customers in order to capitalize on the technologies in a broader range of applications, assist and look after people in their everyday lives, and contribute to the creation of a safer, more secure world.
Epson has a large number of sensing devices that apply Epson-original core sensing technologies. For many years, the company has used sensors to analyze big data and has accumulated a vast amount of data and many algorithms. Epson will broaden the world of smart sensing and accelerate the creation of new applications by building partnerships with collaborating companies and engaging in open innovation projects that focus on Epson’s sensing device product families and on algorithm platforms that create new value obtained through the analysis of sensing data. In addition, Epson will continue to develop efficient, compact, and precise technologies and create new markets in a diverse and expanding range of applications and in AI and IoT, where new needs are emerging.
Products and services Epson will begin selling
- Sensing devices and modules such as global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and vital sign sensors
- Software libraries that optimize sensors for applications in areas such as sports and healthcare
- Information sharing service on the results of motion analyses based on Epson’s big data
One of the basic policies of a business plan is to accelerate growth by taking maximum advantage of assets and through collaboration and open innovation. Epson will contribute to sustainability by pursuing synergies with in-house resources through collaboration and partnerships and by developing businesses and markets that expand the range of applications.