Introduction:
Vehicles equipped with communication functions - connected cars -
By collecting and utilizing data obtained from automobiles, it is expected to realize a more comfortable user experience, such as improving driving safety and providing new telematics services.This time, we asked Mr. Oshima from i-Probe, a start-up company active in the United States, about his activities in the United States and the situation in the field of road infrastructure, including the actual situation and difficulties he faced.
●Person who answered
i-Probe Inc.
COO & CTO
Daisuke Oshima
About the outline of the initiative
Secretariat:Vehicle information utilization is considered to be a very advanced area, as various applications such as the realization of autonomous driving are being studied in Japan.First of all, please tell us about the outline and characteristics of the business / service you are working on.
(I.e.: In recent years, the spread of connected cars is progressing.Cars are equipped with various sensors, and by processing the information obtained from these sensors, the car is controlled so that it can run safely and comfortably.In connected cars, we are now in an era where information acquired by sensors and other devices in the car is constantly collected by connecting the car to the Internet.
The information that a car acquires from sensors also includes "data about the driving environment around the car."Since automobiles drive while being in contact with "roads", we thought that making good use of such data would be useful for "maintenance and management of road infrastructure", so we established i-Probe in the United States in 2019. Did.
We are currently working to analyze the data collected from connected cars on a daily basis, extract effective information, and develop a solution that will improve the efficiency of road maintenance management by road administrators.
Advantages of i-Probe service
Secretariat: What do you think are the strengths and superiority of your service?
(I.e.: i-Probe does not install new sensors in vehicles for our service, but utilizes data collected from sensors installed in vehicles sold by vehicle manufacturers. One of our strengths is that we have established a system and partnership with automakers to provide data to i-Probe.
As a competitor, for example, there is a service that collects data by installing a smartphone in a vehicle, but from the perspective of continuity and the possibility of differences in data accuracy depending on the installation method, i-Probe's We believe that services that do not require setup on the user side have an advantage.
Also, I have heard that other automakers are also interested in such efforts, but there are cases where automakers are working to realize such a service at the level that i-Probe is working on. haven't heard from you yet.
About the reason for targeting the United States
Secretariat: Please tell us about the background of targeting the United States.
(I.e.: Road construction in the United States began about 30 years earlier than in Japan, so it can be said that the roads in the United States are about 30 years older than Japan.In addition, the total length of roads is about five times that of Japan.Also, as a physical experience, the reality is that there are holes and cracks on the road that are unimaginable in Japan. I have the impression that the management situation is very different.Based on the scale and condition of such roads, I felt the appeal of the American market.
In addition, since road maintenance management in the United States is largely at the discretion of each state government, if each state government determines that this technology is good, new technologies and solutions are likely to be adopted. is one of the reasons why we started
Secretariat: Please tell us about the circumstances that led to the launch of this business in such a background.
(I.e.: In general, road management in the United States runs a dedicated vehicle for inspection to grasp the condition of the pavement, but the inspection vehicle itself is expensive and the vehicle driving for data acquisition is difficult. It also requires the operation cost of personnel when processing the acquired data, so it costs quite a bit.Therefore, the frequency of inspections is about once a year for important roads such as interstate highways, and once every few years for roads in residential areas, or in cases where quantitative inspections cannot be carried out. There is also
In addition, as mentioned above, there was a technology seed that could identify the unevenness of the pavement surface by analyzing the data acquired by the existing sensors in the car.
Against this background, in fiscal 2017 and 2018, we made a proposal to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications "Contract for research on the possibility of deploying advanced systems using probe information in the United States", was selected, and conducted a survey. Ta.As a result of the survey, we came to the conclusion that there is a possibility of commercialization in terms of technology and local needs. was established.
Secretariat: I think it's a very easy-to-understand good example of matching needs and seeds.How did you grasp the issues of the road inspection situation in the United States?
(I.e.: In the course of daily work, I had the opportunity to obtain information and hear about the actual situation at each partner company, and I came to know the issues.
Points and difficulties in launching a business/service
Secretariat: What were some of the difficulties you encountered when starting up your business in the United States?
(I.e.: Of course, when starting a new company in the United States, various procedures were necessary, and there were many things I didn't understand, so I had a hard time.However, we were able to get a lot of advice from a Japanese company with whom we have had a long-term relationship and who is also active in the infrastructure field in the United States, regarding new company launches and procedures.Even after the establishment of i-Probe, the company has been giving us various advices on a daily basis.
The company is also working on road pavement inspections, and has vehicles that make road inspections easier than conventional inspection vehicles.
The i-Probe service uses sensors installed in ordinary automobiles, so the advantage is that there is no need to install new sensors or drive the vehicle for inspection. On the other hand, it is not possible to cover all inspection items measured by conventional inspection vehicles. The i-Probe performs inspections as if it were a ``daily health checkup'', and ``bad parts'' and ``parts that need to be measured more firmly'' are inspected by a dedicated inspection vehicle. We are still working with the company from the perspective of creating a "combination business".
Positioning of "communication system" in service
Secretariat: Please tell us about your needs for "communication system" in the service.
(I.e.: The i-Probe itself does not collect data directly from the car, but rather uses the data obtained from the car by the car manufacturer.In general, automobile manufacturers acquire numerical data collected from sensors and processed. Cars will likely be equipped with high-definition cameras as standard.In that case, if in the future the "videos" and "images" captured by cameras mounted on commercial vehicles can be used for various purposes, including the maintenance and management of road infrastructure, communication I think that the performance and cost of the will be one of the important points in realizing that.
Future business development
Secretariat:Finally, please tell us about the future direction of business development.
(I.e.:We are working on activities aimed at commercialization of services that focus on the condition of the pavement surface of the road. Various information about the surrounding environment can be acquired.We will start with a pavement condition inspection service, but in the future we would like to expand the range of services we provide by utilizing various information obtained from sensors.
In terms of horizontal expansion, after building a track record in the United States, we would like to aim for expansion to emerging countries such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and South America, as well as reverse imports to Japan.
I think one of our selling points will be "technology that is actually used in the United States", so first of all, we would like to make a solid track record in the United States.
Secretariat:thank you very much.I think this is a very challenging and ambitious undertaking.I believe that the management and monitoring of infrastructure, including roads, can become an important issue in Japan in the future, so I hope that you will do your best to expand your business in various countries, including Japan.