Published on April 18th – 2023
Okinawa Electric Power Company and Okiden CplusC Sign Memorandum of Understanding with nami™
Okinawa Electric Power Company Inc. (President and Representative Director: Hiroyuki Motonaga; hereinafter referred to as “OEPC”) and Okiden CplusC Corporation (President and Representative Director: Hiraku Nakahodo; “CplusC”) have concluded a memorandum of understanding with nami™, a global IoT platform and AI sensing software ecosystem startup based in Singapore (CEO: Jean-Eudes Leroy; “nami”).
The three companies have to committed to collaborate and cooperate in developing innovative new applications for nami’s intelligent sensing technology.
While the rapid aging of the population and the shortage of young workers are becoming social issues throughout Japan, the number of elderly single-person households in Okinawa Prefecture is increasing at a faster pace than the national average, and the concerns and anxieties of families living apart from each other and the burden on local governments and local organizations are becoming even greater. In addition, with the recent occurrence of large-scale disasters in many parts of Japan, local governments are required to take immediate action on disaster prevention, including the preparation and maintenance of individual evacuation list for the elderly and other persons requiring assistance with evacuation plans who have difficulty evacuating on their own in the event of a large-scale disaster.
Remote islands and depopulated areas in Okinawa Prefecture are particularly inconvenient compared to other areas, and it is hoped that providing residents with services that utilize ICT and other technologies will eliminate some of these inconveniences. Ogimi Village, under Okinawa Prefecture’s “FY2024 Remote Islands and Depopulated Areas Development DX Promotion Project (Mimamori Support Project for the Elderly),” is working with families living away from their parents, local organizations, social welfare councils, community associations, and other local stakeholders in the model area to provide a community-wide service whose goal is to build a community-wide system of self-help, mutual aid, and public assistance to ensure that the elderly are cared for in their own neighborhoods.
This fiscal year, Ogimi Village plans to establish a model area to develop and operate the infrastructure for Mimamori system targeting 100% households of the elderly in the area. Based on the knowledge gained from this project, CplusC will work to roll out the Mimamori system for the elderly to other local govenrnments in and outside of the prefecture that are facing similar issues, thereby contributing to solving nationwide social problems associated with the aging of society.
Major Initiatives
(1) Digital infrastructure development for “Individual Evacuation List” using the “Mimamori Network Development System”
Due to the background of recent large-scale disasters, such as the Noto Peninsula earthquake on January 1, 2024 and the tsunami warning announced in Okinawa Prefecture on April 3 for the first time in 13 years, there has been a growing demand for the preparation of “Individual Evacuation List” for elderly people and others who need special support in order to ensure their smooth and prompt evacuation in the event that a disaster occurs or is threatened, as they are unable to evacuate on their own. Local governments are required to prepare its own “Individual Evacuation List” and evacuation plans which has been an obligation since Japan’s 2021 revision of the Basic Act on Disaster Countermeasures.
According to the Results of Survey on Efforts to Prepare Lists of Persons Requiring Support for Individual Evacuation Plans compiled by the Cabinet Office and the Fire and Disaster Management Agency on June 30, 2023, 34.1% of Okinawa Prefecture has not yet prepared an individual evacuation plan, higher percentage compared to 15.3% of municipalities nationwide. The creation and updating of “Individual Evacuation List” requires a great deal of effort and time, including collaboration with the local community and welfare-related organizations, even in normal times, and is a burden on local governments. In addition, many local governments have created a paper-based List of Persons Requiring Assistance for Evacuation Activities to register in advance those elderly persons who need help during evacuation in the event of a disaster, making updating the list complicated and ineffective in the event of a disaster.
In light of this situation, Ogimi Village will use the ” Mimamori Network Development System” provided by CplusC under the “FY2024 Remote Islands and Depopulated Areas Development DX Promotion Project (Mimamori Support Project for Senior Citizens)” of Okinawa Prefecture to digitalize the process of creating and entering “Individual Evacuation List” and to improve the efficiency of updating information on persons in need of support and sharing information with those involved in providing evacuation support.
The nami story
nami was founded in 2021 by the entrepreneurs who created WiZ, a smart lighting brand and ecosystem subsequently acquired by Signify, the lighting leader (formerly known as PHILIPS in this industry): WiZ is the world’s first smart lighting platform embedded with WiFi sensing technology.
nami has developed an entire intelligent sensing ecosystem, with multiple software layers, analyzing and interpreting human activity in order to enhance building/home security, drive energy efficiency, and improve occupant health and wellbeing. In just a short period of time, nami has established a range of long-term partnerships with global companies (including Internet Service Providers, IoT manufacturers and home security specialists).
Since its inception, nami has been strongly involved in IoT standards and compliance with Jérôme Leroy, its Chief Innovation Officer, being the chair of the wireless signal based ambient sensing Workgroup at Matter, which is part of CSA (600+ technology companies are participating to CSA, including Big Tech players such as Apple, Google, and Amazon).
Background to the collaboration
nami is a world leader in WiFi sensing technology, technology which uses the power of WiFi to analyze and interpret human motion and occupancy — a new global standard for this technology is set to apply from 2024 at IEEE, the world’s largest professional organization and technology standardization body.
In May 2021, CplusC, a joint venture established by OEPC, Inspire Corporation (“INSPiRE”) and Japan Integration Corporation, invested in and conducted a large-scale social demonstration project “Mimamori for the Elderly” in 12 local government areas in Okinawa (covering more than 60% of elderly residents in the territory): This project, which leveraged WiFi sensing technology, has directly led to this MOU.
What this collaboration means
With the conclusion of this MOU, OEPC and CplusC will promote the spread of “Mimamori for the Elderly“, enabling motion and sleep detection without the use of intrusive microphones or cameras, to elderly households in Okinawa and throughout Japan. To achieve this, “Mimamori for the Elderly” will deploy nami’s hardware augmented software and its intelligent sensing and motion detection technologies. OEPC and its group companies will also consider a wide range of other areas for potential collaboration and partnership, including energy management, home security, and smart food logistics/warehouses. This will further realize OEPC’s corporate slogan, “With the local community, for the local community,” and deliver safety and security to local residents
About OEPC
A comprehensive energy company that plays an important lifeline role in all of Okinawa, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022. Under the corporate slogan of “With the local community, for the local community,” the company is engaged in infrastructure business activities that support people’s daily lives and economic activities through energy.
About CplusC
A joint venture between OEPC, INSPiRE and Japan Integration. CplusC deploys WiFi sensing technology, which has succeeded in a large-scale social demonstration of “Mimamori for the Elderly” covering more than 60% of elderly residents in Okinawa, in an alliance with 12 local governments in Okinawa. The company is now moving forward with commercialization, with the aim of delivering “Energy of Heart” throughout Japan.
About nami
nami builds software-based sensing infrastructure for responsive smart homes and buildings, solving problems for players in security, safety, building automation, energy optimization, and wellness. It is nami’s ambition to replace outdated analog indoor sensors, by enabling a mesh network of AI-powered sensing nodes covering larger areas, and with higher fidelity.
About Origin
Founded in 2012, a venture from the University of Maryland. Founder and CTO Dr. Ray Liu has been a Distinguished University Professor (Ret.) and Christine Kim Eminent Professor of Information Technology at the University of Maryland, and has developed global pioneering WiFi sensing technology, which is scheduled to become a global standard in 2024. Origin has proven track records especially in US and Europe, including Signify, the world’s largest lighting company also known as Philips Lighting, and Verizon, one of the largest telecommunications company in the US. The company is also providing its cutting edge technologies to CplusC’s large-scale social demonstration of “Mimamori for the Elderly”.
About INSiRE
Believing in “Make the World Amazing” through doing what others don’t, INSPiRE is a company whose main business is new business development itself, where it ‘runs-together’ with entrepreneurs who are working to realize innovation, and provides all its resources/expertise necessary to lead them to success in a timely and appropriate manner. INSPiRE has Invested in WiFi sensing technology since 2018, and in CplusC since 2021.
Okinawa Electric Power Company and Okiden CplusC Sign Memorandum of Understanding with nami™
Collaboration on “Aging in Place” Monitoring Solution
Published on April 18th – 2023
Okinawa Electric Power Company Inc. (President and Representative Director: Hiroyuki Motonaga; hereinafter referred to as “OEPC”) and Okiden CplusC Corporation (President and Representative Director: Hiraku Nakahodo; “CplusC”) have concluded a memorandum of understanding with nami™, a global IoT platform and AI sensing software ecosystem startup based in Singapore (CEO: Jean-Eudes Leroy; “nami”).
The three companies have to committed to collaborate and cooperate in developing innovative new applications for nami’s intelligent sensing technology.
The nami story
nami was founded in 2021 by the entrepreneurs who created WiZ, a smart lighting brand and ecosystem subsequently acquired by Signify, the lighting leader (formerly known as PHILIPS in this industry): WiZ is the world’s first smart lighting platform embedded with WiFi sensing technology.
nami has developed an entire intelligent sensing ecosystem, with multiple software layers, analyzing and interpreting human activity in order to enhance building/home security, drive energy efficiency, and improve occupant health and wellbeing. In just a short period of time, nami has established a range of long-term partnerships with global companies (including Internet Service Providers, IoT manufacturers and home security specialists).
Since its inception, nami has been strongly involved in IoT standards and compliance with Jérôme Leroy, its Chief Innovation Officer, being the chair of the wireless signal based ambient sensing Workgroup at Matter, which is part of CSA (600+ technology companies are participating to CSA, including Big Tech players such as Apple, Google, and Amazon).
Background to the collaboration
nami is a world leader in WiFi sensing technology, technology which uses the power of WiFi to analyze and interpret human motion and occupancy — a new global standard for this technology is set to apply from 2024 at IEEE, the world’s largest professional organization and technology standardization body.
In May 2021, CplusC, a joint venture established by OEPC, Inspire Corporation (“INSPiRE”) and Japan Integration Corporation, invested in and conducted a large-scale social demonstration project “Mimamori for the Elderly” in 12 local government areas in Okinawa (covering more than 60% of elderly residents in the territory): This project, which leveraged WiFi sensing technology, has directly led to this MOU.
What this collaboration means
With the conclusion of this MOU, OEPC and CplusC will promote the spread of “Mimamori for the Elderly“, enabling motion and sleep detection without the use of intrusive microphones or cameras, to elderly households in Okinawa and throughout Japan. To achieve this, “Mimamori for the Elderly” will deploy nami’s hardware augmented software and its intelligent sensing and motion detection technologies. OEPC and its group companies will also consider a wide range of other areas for potential collaboration and partnership, including energy management, home security, and smart food logistics/warehouses. This will further realize OEPC’s corporate slogan, “With the local community, for the local community,” and deliver safety and security to local residents
About OEPC
A comprehensive energy company that plays an important lifeline role in all of Okinawa, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022. Under the corporate slogan of “With the local community, for the local community,” the company is engaged in infrastructure business activities that support people’s daily lives and economic activities through energy.
About CplusC
A joint venture between OEPC, INSPiRE and Japan Integration. CplusC deploys WiFi sensing technology, which has succeeded in a large-scale social demonstration of “Mimamori for the Elderly” covering more than 60% of elderly residents in Okinawa, in an alliance with 12 local governments in Okinawa. The company is now moving forward with commercialization, with the aim of delivering “Energy of Heart” throughout Japan.
About nami
nami builds software-based sensing infrastructure for responsive smart homes and buildings, solving problems for players in security, safety, building automation, energy optimization, and wellness. It is nami’s ambition to replace outdated analog indoor sensors, by enabling a mesh network of AI-powered sensing nodes covering larger areas, and with higher fidelity.
About Origin
Founded in 2012, a venture from the University of Maryland. Founder and CTO Dr. Ray Liu has been a Distinguished University Professor (Ret.) and Christine Kim Eminent Professor of Information Technology at the University of Maryland, and has developed global pioneering WiFi sensing technology, which is scheduled to become a global standard in 2024. Origin has proven track records especially in US and Europe, including Signify, the world’s largest lighting company also known as Philips Lighting, and Verizon, one of the largest telecommunications company in the US. The company is also providing its cutting edge technologies to CplusC’s large-scale social demonstration of “Mimamori for the Elderly”.
About INSiRE
Believing in “Make the World Amazing” through doing what others don’t, INSPiRE is a company whose main business is new business development itself, where it ‘runs-together’ with entrepreneurs who are working to realize innovation, and provides all its resources/expertise necessary to lead them to success in a timely and appropriate manner. INSPiRE has Invested in WiFi sensing technology since 2018, and in CplusC since 2021.
