The following video presents Sony Qrio & Friends:
- The Sony Robot, Qrio with friends.
Sony Mobile Communications and ZMP Inc. agree to collaborate on development and launch of enterprise solutions using autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles, a.k.a. drones.
- The two companies will jointly found “Aerosense inc.,” in early August 2015.
- The partnership will incorporate Sony’s camera, sensing, telecommunications network and robotics technologies with ZMP’s automated driving and robotics technologies.
ZMP inc. have sold the household bipedal locomotion robot: nuvo in 2004, and 2-wheeled autonomous moving music robot: miuro in 2007, then succeeded autonomous driving with 1/10 scale model of commercial vehicle RoboCar ® 1/10 and sold it from 2009. We applied our technology for developing RoboCar® MV, an operational single seated EV based on Toyota Coms, and then sold RoboCar® MV from 2011. In addition, we started to sell commercial hybrid car based vehicle RoboCar® HV from 2012, then performed demonstration of autonomous driving and trial for the general public in the ITS world conference in December and 43th Tokyo Motor Show in Novenber, 2013.
The following video presents 東京モータショー2013/Tokyo Motor Show 2013:
- ZMP Inc.’s Autonomous Driving Demonstration
- The detection of pedestrians and vehicles is done by machine learning and high-speed GPU.
Figure 1 below (Image Courtesy of ZMP Inc.): autonomous VTOL (Vertical TakeOff and Landing) unmanned airplane
[ZMP finally take off in the sky! ] Today, the combination of the processing of the image data by the imaging and cloud by Sony Mobile Communications like the autonomous unmanned aircraft, was agreed on collaboration in order to develop and provide industrial solutions! This year early August (planned), we plan to establish a new company “Aero sense Inc.”.ZMP Inc.
The above text is a Google translation of the following Japanese text:
【ZMPはついに空に飛び立つ！】
本日、ソニーモバイルコミュニケーションズ様と自律型無人航空機による画像撮影とクラウドによる画像データの処理を組み合わせた、産業用ソリューションを 開発・提供するための協業について合意しました！本年8月初旬（予定）に、新会社「エアロセンス株式会社」を設立する予定です。
ZMP Inc.
Aerosense Inc. will combine Sony’s camera, sensing, telecommunications network, and robotics technologies with ZMP’s automated driving and robotics technologies together to develop comprehensive solutions that meet needs including measuring, surveying, observing, and inspecting.
- It will aim to roll out these services for enterprise customers beginning in 2016.
PRESS RELEASE
July 22, 2015
Sony Mobile and ZMP to Establish Joint Venture for Developing and Providing Enterprise Solutions that Utilize Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
- Sony Mobile Communications and ZMP agree to collaborate on development and launch of enterprise solutions using autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles
- The two companies will jointly found “Aerosense inc.,” in early August 2015
- The partnership will incorporate Sony’s camera, sensing, telecommunications network and robotics technologies with ZMP’s automated driving and robotics technologies
Tokyo, Japan – Sony Mobile Communications Inc. (“Sony Mobile”: President and CEO Hiroki Totoki) and ZMP Inc. (“ZMP”: CEO Hisashi Taniguchi) have agreed to collaborate on the development and launch of enterprise solutions using autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles for image capture combined with cloud-based data processing. Sony Mobile and ZMP will jointly found “Aerosense Inc.,” a new company slated to be incorporated in early August of this year.
Sony’s camera, sensing, telecommunications network, and robotics technologies will be leveraged alongside ZMP’s automated driving and robotics technologies together with their business experience in industrial fields. Aerosense Inc. will combine these assets and develop comprehensive solutions that meet needs including measuring, surveying, observing, and inspecting. It will aim to roll out these services for enterprise customers beginning in 2016.
Sony Mobile is proactively engaging in new business creation initiatives, with a particular focus on the Internet of Things (IoT) sector. This joint venture represents a part of this push into IoT, as Sony strives to provide its customers with additional value by developing and managing total package cloud solutions.
ZMP’s stated mission is “Robot of Everything: To create a safe, fun and comfortable lifestyle with robotics technology.” In line with this, ZMP has developed its automated driving technology and put it into use in various fields. To date these solutions have been limited to the ground; with this joint venture, ZMP will take to the skies and apply its expertise in an entirely different realm, as it aims to create new services that were not possible on land.
Basic information about the joint venture (planned):
Corporate name: Aerosense Inc.
Head office: 5-41-10 Koishikawa, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
Date to be established: Early August, 2015
Stated capital: 100 million yen
Capital reserve: 100 million yen
Investment ratio: Sony Mobile Communications Inc. 50.005%
ZMP Inc. 49.995%
Officers: Representative Director
Hisashi Taniguchi (ZMP CEO)
Director Kohtaro Sabe
Director Shinji Odashima
(One more Director to be appointed)
Auditor Kaname Takashima
Business outline:
Development, manufacture, and sale of enterprise solutions using autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles for image capture combined with cloud-based data processing.