NEC strengthens IoT business

NEC Corporation announced that it has developed five new solutions for strengthening its business relating to the Internet of Things (IoT) and that it will be successively releasing them. In addition, NEC will increase the number of core personnel engaging in IoT-related systems construction from the current level of around 100 to nearly 500 by 2020.

NEC will be moving forward with the development of technologies in areas such as image processing, sensors and big data analysis, together with new solutions development and partnerships. It aims to make positive use of IoT in extensive areas including social infrastructure, such as water demand forecast and traffic monitoring, security management for communities and for key facilities and energy management, in addition to the corporate use of IoT by manufacturers, distributors, transport operators and others.

Information and communications technologies-related data is rapidly growing on a global scale, and as a result, huge amounts of data (big data) are expected to be generated in the near future. IoT technologies open the way for collecting big data from many different goods that were traditionally not subject to control. As sophisticated analyses of these digital data are conducted, extra value will be discovered.

"In the coming IoT era, the extra value of data found in the digital world will be incorporated swiftly into real society, industry and life. This will create opportunities for new social value, encourage reforms of the industrial structure and promote changes in the knowledge creation process," commented Takaaki Shimizu, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of NEC. "NEC will capitalize on its extensive track record and its leading technologies in the software-defined networking (SDN), big data, cloud and security areas in order to construct flexible and robust IoT systems."

In addition to NEC's Industrial IoT for the manufacturing sector, NEC will be working to broaden its lineup of solutions tailored to a broad array of industries and business types.

The new solutions recently developed are outlined as follows.

1. Landslide Prediction Solution (for government offices and local governments) (Scheduled to be released in the second half of FY 2015) Adopts a new technology pioneered by NEC for high-precision, real-time calculation of the risk of a mudslide on a slope by analyzing the soil moisture content. This opens the way for installing sensors in a larger area at the same cost as before. Thus, slopes at risk of landslide disaster can be quickly identified with high precision.
2. Water Demand Prediction Solution (for local governments and water utility operators) (Scheduled to be released in FY 2016) On the basis of past water consumption records, this solution provides an accurate and detailed forecast of how much water will be needed in the area served. This helps reduce unnecessary water preparation and pump operation, thereby reducing the power cost for operations.
3. Electric Power Demand Forecasting Solution (for power producers and suppliers (PPS)) (Scheduled to be released at the end of July 2015) Employs heterogeneous mixed learning technology, one of NEC's original big data technologies, to forecast future power demand for every half-hour time slot based on past power consumption, weather, calendar and other data. This helps operators to efficiently operate power generation and power procurement plans.
4. Image- and Weight-Based Goods Inspection Solution (for distributors) (Released July 2015) Employs NEC's unique high-speed, high-precision image recognition technology and a weight scale to instantly identify the item inspected and its quantity. Eliminates the need for barcodes and other goods identification data or visual inspection by humans. Automating these checks enables enhanced efficiency in shipping and inspection work at distribution centers as well as quality at the same time.
5. VIP Detection Solution (for retailers and the service industry) (Scheduled to be released in the second half of FY 2015) Analyzes image data captured from IP cameras at retail stores and hotels with the use of face recognition technology that is among the world's most accurate in order to help find and serve VIP customers visiting stores and hotels (*). Also detects suspicious persons from image data to support security in store operations.