Keynote presentation Ricoh Annual Business Partner Conference, Lisbon, 9th

June 2015

Building for
Innovation
Dr. Nikhil Balram
President & CEO
Ricoh Innovations Corporation
Visiting Professor of Vision Science (UC-Berkeley)
Guest Professor of Design and Innovation (IIT
Gandhinagar)
Adjunct Professor of Electrical Engineering
(Carnegie Mellon University)

Overview

Brief introduction to Ricoh Innovations

The Infinite Network (TIN) vision
Deep Innovation model
Advanced Technology Platforms &
New Vertical Solutions (2015 2020)
- Consumer/Retail: media, entertainment, education,
marketing
- Office: next-generation mobile productivity solutions
- Healthcare: telehealth, medical imaging

Summary

Ricoh Innovations Part of Global R&D

Research &
Development Centre
Ricoh

Germany

Research Centre

Technology

China

Centre
Ricoh

Ricoh Software

Ricoh
Technology
Centre
Japan

UK

Innovations
Corporation
USA

Research &

Ricoh

Development Centre

Innovations

Ricoh Imaging

India

Technology
China

Japan

Ricoh Innovations Corporation (RIC)

Mission: Develop innovative technologies & create

new global businesses for Ricoh
Headquartered in Silicon Valley (Sand Hill road) for 25
years
New subsidiary in India (Bangalore) since 2012
Ricoh Innovations Private Limited (RIPL)
Over 800 US patents pending or granted
Using open innovation internal R&D is
complemented with strategic partnerships with
leading universities and companies

Our Focus: The Infinite Network

Focused on the big opportunities

and challenges presented by The

Infinite Network (TIN)
-

Our vision of the future in which all

things and all people are connected all
the time

Our Approach: The Deep Innovation Model

Business

Technolog
y

Deep
Innovation
People

What is
The Infinite Network?

The Infinite Network (TIN) Definition

All people and all things on the planet will eventually be

connected all the time forming an ever-growing network

that is unbounded in time and space
There will be an unbounded continuum of data that will be

produced, communicated, aggregated, and analyzed

continuously to make the right choices at the right times
It will become possible to do anything, anywhere, anytime
Consumer and Office Worker will just be states of mind

of a person at a particular moment or place

Rapid Advances in Mobile Technology

Super-computing/Super-sensory/Super-

communication mobile platform

HD and UHD resolutions

Ubiquitous high-bandwidth connectivity
Connecting to rapidly increasing set of

sensors in the environment

Receiving and sending rapidly

increasing amounts of data

Continuing growth in high-density

storage

Rapid Pace of Technology

Ray Kurzweil Age of Spiritual Machines

Challenges Faced by Companies and Employees

The big challenge is that institutions and

humans do not evolve at an exponential rate

Many examples of rules and processes not

keeping up with trends that technology is

driving:
-

Use of social media

Boundaries of BYOD
Information sharing
Perpetual data
Remote health care delivery
Commercial applications of drones
Increasingly autonomous machines

Example From Human Vision

For many problems in visual processing, e.g., image

reconstruction, the optimal solution is based on minimizing a
cost function.

Cost = A1 (Data) + B

(Model)

Which One Looks Bigger?

Which One Looks Bigger?

Which One Looks Bigger?

Training

Training

Which One Looks Bigger?

Challenges Faced by The User

Lesson from this example is that changes in

user paradigms need to be managed very

carefully
Fundamental aspects of human

understanding and capabilities evolve at a

linear rate
Training is not the solution to technology

overload
Cant train humans to override the prior

model

The Deep Innovation Model

In this time of exponentially accelerating

technology, a new approach to innovation is
required that is human-centric rather than
technology-centric.

Deep Innovation Model

Business

Deep
Innovation
Technology

People

Advanced Technology Platforms &

New Vertical Solutions

Advanced Technology Platforms & New Vertical

Solutions

Office

Health
Care

Retail

Education

Other

Communication and Collaboration

Computer Vision and Machine Learning
Hetero-Integration Photonics (Combining Optics, Micro-structures, Packaging, Image
Processing)
Intelligent Sensing
Technology Platforms

Some Future Vertical Solutions (2015 2020)

Consumer/Retail
Visual Search (using
image recognition)

Office
Information &
Decision
Management using
Augmented Reality
Head-Mounted
Displays

Healthcare
Cloud-based
tele-health system
Light-field-based
medical imaging
systems

Bringing Visual Search

to Consumer and Retail

Mobile Visual Search (Using Image Recognition)

Mobile visual search connects the

physical world with the digital world

The simple snap of an image can provide

access to digital content such as text,

video, purchase options and social
networks
Ricohs version is called Ricoh Visual

Search

Main Elements of Ricoh Visual Search

Index
database

Metadata
database

Authoring

Indexing/Recognition

Accessing (Client Apps)

- Indexing images of any

material
- Virtual layers applied
-Assign online content

- Computing features
- Storing (during authoring)
- Matching (during access)

- User experience
- Delivery of online
information

Ricoh Visual Search Offerings

Interactive Magazines and Catalogs

eComm

Social

Video

Image
s

Maps

XRef
Image
s

XRef

Games

Audio

Interactive Magazines and Catalogs

Image
s

eComm

Interactive Text books

Pearson
Science Text
Book

Expanding to Recognizing Entire Shelf

Single recognition
per image

Colgate
Colgate offers
offers
More
More information
information
Add
Add to
to shopping
shopping list
list

Multiple recognitions
per image

Capturing Retail Environment

Recognition of all products in scene
Produce shelf and facing information
Many snaps required to capture long

aisles
Captured images must be stitched

together to create single panorama

Capturing Retail Environment

1

1. Capture high resolution images

2. Provide significant overlap between snaps (60% or
more)
3. Recognize products in scene

4. Minimize capture time

5. Make capture easy & intuitive

Video
Ocutag Retail
Execution

Retail Execution Platform

(a)
(b)
(c)

1
4

Rep visits retail

stores, performs
image capture of
category shelf using
Mobile app

y
pla
dis
t
c
du
Pro

(a)

(b)

(c)

Campaign ROI &

analytics in
Promotion Planning
System

Corrective
actions for instore followup
3

2
Image recognition & shelf
analysis performed by
servers running Ricoh
Visual Search

Retail Execution
Platform

SKU details
identified

Instore
Data

Imagine the Future

in the Office

Augmented Reality Head-Mounted-Displays

Next-generation mobile platform for the worker of the

future
Platform for highly differentiated services for the
workplace of the future based on combination of unique
hardware and software
Next big change in mobile platform will be in the Human
Interface
complementing the traditional smartphone platform with
an augmented-reality head-mounted-display

Augmented Reality Head-Mounted-Displays

Long-term vision of a
platform we call the
Mobile Information
Gateway (MIG)

Taxonomy of Head-Mounted-Displays (HMDs)

Oculus Rift

Virtual reality
(VR) displays

Augmented reality
(AR) displays

Video seethrough

Optical-seethrough
Monocular

Binocular

Sony
Google

Epson

Stereoscopic Light Field

No productsGateway
Mobile Information
available
in this
Human
Interfaceyet
Module
category

Three Major Types of AR HMDs

Type 1

Type 2

Type 3

Monocular basic system for simple

tasks. Examples are Vuzix M100,
Google Glass.

Binocular 2D/3D system for simple and

moderate tasks. An example is the
Epson Moverio family.

Binocular 2D/3D system for

moderate and complex tasks.
Examples are Atheer Labs
AiR, Microsoft HoloLens,
Magic Leap.

Major Use Cases and Verticals (2020)

Use Cases
Collecting items from a
checklist
- Identify items on shelves,
verify correct, place in
basket/cart
Mobile access to information

and/or documentation
- Access and complete
checklist, review manuals
etc.

Verticals
Manufacturing
Transportation & Warehousing
(Logistics)
Retail Trade
Healthcare & Social Services
Construction, Repair, Maintenance
First Responders (police, fire, security)

Example - Type 1 (Monocular) Used For Logistics

Pick-by-Vision: Optimized Picking

Picking staff are equipped with wearable AR devices

for the picking process
The solution offers digital navigation to find the right
route and item more efficiently, while reducing
training time
Main objective: reduce picking errors and search time

Video
DHL/Ricoh
wearable

Example Type 3 (Light Field Display)

Imagine The Future using

Personal Light Field Displays

Video Type 3
(Personal Light
Field Display)

Imagine The Future

in Healthcare

Cloud-Based Tele-Health System

Scalable, secure, robust,

convenient remote healthcare
delivery
System is distributed across
Node, Cloud and Hub

Key Elements: Robust scalable cloud-based

architecture
Multi-tier service oriented architecture enables

easy customization or adaptation of workflows and

user interface for different healthcare partners
and regions
Browser-based user interface enables access

across range of devices PCs, tablets,

smartphones

Key Elements

Problem Oriented Medical Record

Open standards-based system
Unique compact and robust medical cart

Video
Telehealth Basic
Workflow
Example

System Trials (In India)

Pilot Partner 1 : Aster Medicity
Aster Medicity is a state-of-the-art hospital in
the southern Indian state of Kerala
This is an Indian subsidiary of DM Healthcare,
which is a leader in Healthcare Delivery
across the Middle East and Southern India

Pilot Partner 2 : Columbia Asia

Columbia Asia is an international
healthcare group operating a chain of
modern hospitals across Asia
Leader in Healthcare Delivery across
in India, South-East Asia and Africa

Retail Pharmacy Solution (for USA)

Light-Field-Based Medical
Imaging Systems

Light-Field-Based Medical Imaging Systems

Based on the Hetero-Integration

Photonics (HIP) optical system platform
that combines a number of diverse
technology elements:
Optical elements
Image processing
Sub-wavelength structures
Materials and packaging

Light-Field-Based Medical Imaging Systems

Light Field Imaging is a specific HIP platform that is being

leveraged in a number of verticals including Healthcare
where we are using it for a new family of medical imaging
systems for ear, skin and eye.
Main lens

Microlens
array
New Digital
Processing

Filter module

Detector

Light Field Otoscope

Used for ear imaging

for differentiating between
ear inflammations requiring
antibiotics and ones that do
not
using multispectral and
depth information

Modified Pentax
lens

Plenoptic sensor

Illumination

Filter module in aperture for

ear coloration analysis

Video Light
Field
Otoscope

Trials - Spectral and 3D ear imaging

Established in 1880
296-bed children's general facility
13,687 admissions 2013, 5,734
annual inpatient and 19,313
outpatient surgeries
Pioneer in pediatric medicine

Summary

Summary

We are guided by the long term vision

of The Infinite Network (TIN)

Summary

We are using the Deep Innovation Model

to create human-centric innovation

Summary

We are developing differentiated technology

platforms and applying them to create
novel solutions for vertical markets

Summary

Examples of future vertical solutions (2015

2020)
Consumer/Retail
Visual Search for
consumer media and
retail execution

Office
Enhanced productivity
using Augmented Reality
Head-Mounted-Displays

Healthcare
Cloud-based Tele-Health
Systems, Light-FieldBased Medical Imaging

Thank you.