Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Artificial Intelligence, robotics, and sensor innovations means Japanese homes may be smarter than ever, and these startups aim to lead the way.
Among the emerging smart home companies in Japan are DG Takano, First Ascent, mui Lab, nextEDGE Technology, Nature, Nekoriko, Crossdoor, Photosynth, Groove X, and Bitkey.
DG Takano is a technology design company established by Masaaki Takano. Released in 2020, DG Takano’s Bubble90 is a water-saving nozzle that conserves up to 95% water and requires no electricity to function. It works by shooting jets made up of 90% air and 10% water, creating strong water pressure without overconsumption. The Bubble90 is currently used by top restaurant chains in Japan in more than 24,000 different locations.
First Ascent was founded in 2012 with Tomoyuki Hattori as its representative director. The company employs machine learning and Internet of Things (IoT) in consulting and website and application development. Past projects include the baby monitoring phone applications Papatto Childcare, CryAnalyzer, and ainenne. Papatto Childcare is designed to “help raise your child” with daily record-keeping and analysis, and won the 8th Kids Design Award in 2019. CryAnalyzer runs an algorithm that can analyze a baby’s crying sounds to determine its emotions, and is integrated into Papatto Childcare. Finally, ainenne is an alarm clock application that utilizes sound and light to work in line with babies’ biological clocks, and won the CES Innovation Award in 2021.
mui Lab was established in 2017 by Nobuyasu Hirobe, Kaz Oki, and Mark Nomura. Their flagship product, mui, is an interactive smart home control hub integrated into a panel of wood. mui can send and receive messages, check the news and weather, and control other smart devices (lighting, thermostats, etc.). mui Lab continues to explore “calm technology” with software and hardware design drawing inspiration from nature and traditional Japanese aesthetic motifs.
nextEDGE Technology is a software engineering company founded in 2004. It released the aeroTAP touchless device and 3D sensor in 2016. The aeroTAP lists various different applications, such as sanitary touchless interfaces in hospitals, accessibility in computer usage, and convenience for store checkout counters. The aeroTAP does not require exclusive software for operation and therefore is easily applicable to both business and personal use.
Nature was founded by Haruumi Shiode in 2014 and employs IoT products for clean energy. The Nature Remo 3 is a smart home control center that connects any home appliance that uses infrared remote controllers to a smartphone/smart speaker regardless of the manufacturer, model, or production year. Multiple appliances can be controlled simultaneously and can be automated via triggers such as day and time, GPS location, temperature, humidity, motion, and light. It also comes in a “mini” model that is smaller in size and does not detect motion or light, but is otherwise identical.
Nekoriko, established as a joint venture company in 2018 by Chubu Electric Power and Internet Initiative Japan Inc. focuses on IoT services in households. Nekoriko’s flagship product is the Bocco emo, a friendly-looking robot able to watch over distant family members with LTE communication. Previously only for rental, families can now purchase the Bocco emo unit so they can use the device for long periods of time and personalize it to their liking.
Crossdoor, founded 2010 by Takuro Ichido, creates several energy-efficient IoT household controllers. The Crossdoor square is a smart remote control that can be installed into a wall and can work with both a LAN connection and a LAN cable plugged into a Power over Ethernet supply. Crossdoor also has several wireless options available that work with a parent unit so users can employ a stationary unit with mobile subunits for different rooms in their household.
Photosynth, established in 2014, is the parent to the Akerun home security series. The Akerun Pro is an electromagnetic smart lock that can simply be stuck onto a door with no tools or further installation required. This can be controlled with the stationary Akerun Controller, or users can utilize the Akerun Access Control System which allows them to use smartphones, ID cards, or transportation cards as a key.
Groove X, founded in 2015, was originally created to aid other startups in their financing department. Their flagship product, Lovot, was unveiled in 2018 and is a home robot that employs Emotional Robotics to provide comfort. Lovot lists 10 CPU cores, 20 MCUs, and 50 sensors to create “behavior that is very much like a living being.”
Bitkey, established in 2018, provides various smart lock, smart access, and security solutions for homes and buildings. With the implementation of CyberLink’s FaceMe facial recognition technology, Bitkey enables contactless facial recognition to identify individuals and secure entry for homes and offices, as well as admission tickets at concert venues. At this stage, the technology has been deployed in an apartment building in the Koto Ward, Tokyo. Residents can use their faces as keys to safely enter the house, eliminating the need for security cards or traditional keys.
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