Soracom shows off the latest case Destructive power of new service "SORACOM Arc" (1/5)

On June 22, 2021, SORACOM, which handles the IoT platform, will hold the annual conference "SORACOM Discovery 2021". On the second day, the keynote speech on the 23rd, Soracom President and CEO Ken Tamagawa, CTO Kenta Yasukawa, Executive Officer Akio Katayama, and guests such as Mercari, LUUP, Linough, and Nippon Gas will be on stage. A wide variety of user cases and new services that make us feel the potential of IoT were presented.

Mr. Ken Tamagawa, President and CEO of Soracom

Annual new case rush AI x IoT, robots, even connected society

This is the 6th SORACOM Discovery, but this time the session was 3 days, and the keynote speech where many new cases and services were announced was the 2nd day. Mr. Ken Tamagawa, President and CEO of Soracom, took the stage and started with a recent report and case studies as usual.

SORACOM started with SORACOM Air, a communication service for IoT in 2015, but the number of contracted lines has finally exceeded 3 million. He recalled that the number of customers reached more than 20,000, and it was used by large companies such as Daikin, Secom, Omron, and Canon, as well as many startups and new businesses.

And what Mr. Tamagawa introduced as a milestone is that he was first elected to the magic quadrant (managed IoT service) of research company Gartner. As the name appeared on Magic Quadrant, which is also a proof of being recognized as a global player, "I think I finally made it to the start line as a global platformer. The theme of this event is also" start line ". "I was deeply moved," said Mr. Tamagawa.

First elected to Gartner's Magic Quadrant

There are a wide range of cases such as energy saving / cost reduction, telework / labor replacement, remote infrastructure management, on-site digitization, customer experience improvement, legacy equipment update, smart agriculture and fishing, and business creation. "All things are connected in various industries and are beginning to change society," said Mr. Tamagawa, who is advancing the customary "Introduction of new Lightning cases."

First, mixi has developed a GPS terminal for watching over children under the brand of the family album "Mitene". Asics, a sports equipment manufacturer, has developed IoT shoes for use in the field of logistics equipment and analyzes location information and amount of exercise. In addition, at the "Soukei Regatta" held in the Sumida River, by using a drone and the quasi-zenith satellite Michibiki, highly accurate position information of several centimeters is utilized for the tournament management.

Soukei regatta utilizes location information of several centimeters by using Michibiki

Glass maker AGC has built a Smart Inventry System that makes tank inventory management IoT. Since the remaining amount of the tank is automatically registered in the system, even the ordering from the supplier is automated. In addition, Toa Spinning Co., Ltd. is utilizing SORACOM for digitization of spinning mills in Miyazaki Prefecture, and has realized power demand control, quality control of silk reeling by temperature and humidity control, and improvement of production sites. This was made possible by certified partner KYOSO developing a gateway that digitizes the legacy sensor protocol (Modbus RTU).

Toa Spinning Co., Ltd. utilizes SORACOM for DX conversion of spinning mills

In the fields of finance and healthcare, SORACOM Air is used by Shinsei Bank as a virtual banking initiative that enables non-face-to-face customer service. Shionogi has installed SORACOM in a sampler for collecting sewage to investigate the extent of virus infection. It is said that MAGLAB, also a certified partner, was able to develop a prototype in about two months.

It has been introduced in government offices one after another. Aomori Prefecture has introduced animal sensors as a measure against animal damage, reducing the burden of patrols by local hunting associations. Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto Prefecture, makes full use of SORACOM to notify local residents of disaster information. Kameoka Electronics' inundation detection sensor has a built-in SORACOM LTE Button Plus, which is an example of SORACOM crazy that the sensor data is quickly sent to the cloud, stored in SORACOM Harvest, and visualized by SORACOM Lagoon.

Utilizing SORACOM for notification of disaster information Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto Prefecture

As an example of AI x IoT, the case of Ube Kosan, which remotely monitors an analog meter under adverse conditions, was mentioned. Using a small waterproof and dustproof camera, we took out the state of the meter as an image and digitized it by image processing. In addition, JR East Information Systems utilizes a camera of the store so that congestion information of commercial facilities can be confirmed from the website. In consideration of personal information, it is unique that the captured image is not put out on the net as it is, but once converted into animation and released.

An example of JR East Information Systems that animates congestion information of commercial facilities

It is also being used by robots one after another. "Toritoss" from OMRON Social Solutions is a versatile robot that performs three roles: cleaning, security, and guidance. Since SORACOM's communication function is included, it is possible to change settings remotely and view camera images. In addition, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' "EX ROVR" is an explosion-proof robot used in plants around the world, making full use of the services of AWS and SORACOM.

Finally, Mr. Tamagawa introduced "Connected Society" as a case category. Yamato Transport is developing a monitoring service for the elderly in partnership with Hello Light, which handles IoT light bulbs incorporating SORACOM. An IoT light bulb is installed in the room of the parents who are watching over, and a delivery person of Yamato Transport will visit in case of emergency. SECOM is also using SORACOM in a new monitoring service called "Always Mimamori App" that uses a sensor that can detect the temperature and humidity of the room being monitored.

Elderly watching service in collaboration with Hello Light + Yamato Transport