Talk Session

Fujitsu has identified seven key technical areas that support sustainable manufacturing, data-driven management, and work style reforms. I think that converging technologies are attracting attention in that area. In this article, we will focus on the value of converging technologies and their intellectual property from the perspective of researchers studying converging technologies, and we will talk with Mr. Suzuki, Mr. Takeuchi and Mr. Ishida, who are key persons in converging technologies at Fujitsu.
First of all, could you tell me what converging technologies are?

Converging technologies are so-called cross-disciplinary technologies. Fujitsu is committed to addressing social issues and making the world sustainable. On the other hand, various factors, including people and society, are complicatedly involved in these issues. Therefore, it is difficult to solve social issues through research and development that is confined to a single field. In this way, converging technologies, which are technologies that fuse different fields of study, are needed, especially in the humanities and social sciences; that is, technologies that fuse with studies that focus on people and society.

Our company's Actlyzer is a typical converging technology. What kind of technology is it?

A variety of issues, including monitoring and nursing care, are recognized as important social issues. In the areas of monitoring and nursing care, camera image recognition is used to solve problems, but in general, camera image recognition is not sufficient to solve these problems because it recognizes the presence of a person but not the state of the person. In this context, Actlyzer combines not only image recognition but also a rules base. In the same way as judging the situation based on rules set by humans, it analyzes what is happening after tuning and presents its findings in a form that people can understand. By doing so, we are solving issues such as relating to monitoring and nursing care.
Actlyzer's technology is not limited to monitoring and caring for people, but basically, based on the rules, it can ascertain if people are standing, sitting, looking down, etc., and it can analyze people's actions, such as taking goods and returning goods, by combining how those actions have changed. In addition, in order to analyze the behavior of customers in stores, we have developed and commercialized a technology that can solve the problems that may occur in society, such as whether advertising contributes to purchase motivation or consumer behavior analysis, for example, whether or not there are customers on the sales floor, fallen customers, no customers, people who forgot to scan at an unmanned cash register, and so on, by not only combining image recognition and a rules base, but also by cooperating with a professor who is familiar with consumer behavior detection.

Actlyzer is considered to be a common technology that can be used across multiple fields. This system can be used in a variety of places, including safe and secure stores, for an improved employee experience in factories, and for public safety.

It is used in various places. What is the power of Actlyzer?

A common idea is to eliminate the difficulties in introducing large amounts of data. For example, new actions can be recognized in as little as 10 minutes and its recognition accuracy is good. We have achieved world-class accuracy in academic competitions and benchmarks. By combining rules, we can recognize various actions in society.

Actlyzer has been commercialized as a behavioral detection function of Fujitsu Cognitive Service GREENAGE. GREENAGE is a product that makes it possible to study and implement facilities and store policies based on quantitative data, without relying solely on experience and intuition, as well as by digitally ascertaining human behavior, attribute information, vehicle information, etc., in real spaces from camera images with consideration given to privacy.

In addition, Actlyzer is being used in a multi-AI engine, which is a solution that uses AI technology to automatically detect scenes of movement, suspicious behavior and attributes of people, and to streamline security, crime prevention and management operations.

We know that Actlyzer, which is a leading converging technology, is being used in a wide variety of fields. As the head of the Intellectual Property Division, I have observed the R&D process of Actlyzer every day. Actlyzer's technology is advancing day by day, and I think it's really amazing.

I would like to ask about activities to create intellectual property. The Intellectual Property Division and the Research Division have collaborated to strategically create intellectual property. In 2021, we filed 4 times more patent applications than in 2020. This is the result of analyzing other companies' patent portfolios and strategically filing applications in order for our company to gain an advantage. As a result, we were ranked number one in the world (according to a survey by our company) for the patent portfolio for image analysis focusing on skeletons. How does this contribute to R&D and business?

We believe that it is important to be able to obtain a quantitative evaluation, which has been shown to be the number one in the world in the patent portfolio through intellectual property support. In our R&D, we benchmark companies around the world and consider the situations at other companies. It is the same for other companies, and customers also see it, so I think that it is important to be able to be ranked first in the world as a barrier to entry and to appeal to customers. In addition, rather than applying for each patent separately one by one, we believe it is particularly significant that we strategically apply for patents covering many aspects as if a net were spread in order to strengthen our technologies.

We are working on application and prosecution activities focusing on these aspects. In addition to the number of patents, Actlyzer's patent portfolio, which we have built up to date, focuses on the content of patents. For the invention of software, the entry point for the invention can be understood in various ways, so it is important to ascertain the invention in terms of the degree of granularity. Converging technologies are close to business and society so are easy to see. Therefore, we would like to consider the creation of intellectual property not only from the perspective of technical features, but also from the perspective of aesthetic appearance.

Intellectual property activities from this perspective are very helpful. I think we are working with the Intellectual Property Division to create intellectual property from upstream to downstream. Thanks to this, even within Actlyzer, we have obtained a lot of key and core patent rights. We are working strategically to specialize in a wide range of applications, including a motion recognition technology and for retail and manufacturing.
An example is self-checkout. We made a demo video for customers at an exhibition called NRF. We need to introduce the technology to customers in a way that is easy to understand, but if it is seen by other technicians, there is a concern about them understanding how it works. However, we have already filed an application in anticipation of such a situation, so we can appeal to customers without any worries.

For Actlyzer, we are engaged in intellectual property activities as a package that mixes not only patents but also designs and trademarks, such as Actlyzer's trademark application as a technology brand, part of an action recognition and a design application for hand washing behavior analysis, for example. In this way, converging technologies can be used in the IP mix.

Please tell us about the use of intellectual property. In particular, there was talk of the importance of integrating with other fields in converging technologies. I believe it is important to make friends in order to promote research on the fusion of different fields. From the perspective of utilizing intellectual property, we intend to utilize our intellectual property so that such partners can use our company's digital technologies with confidence.

Making friends is very important. In fact, we have received inquiries about Actlyzer from universities and companies. The reason for this is not only that we have obtained patents, but also that we have obtained patents in a wide range of fields, including application fields. Our ability to provide support is appreciated, including the analysis of surrounding behavior, and I feel that it is a point by which we can be chosen as a partner.

Like Actlyzer, its competitors are used in open locations such as nursing homes and retail stores. It is important to note that it is relatively easy to determine whether a product utilizes our company's intellectual property. By obtaining patents for which it is easy to prove that there has been an infringement, you can take advantage of similar services. By doing so, I think that protecting the actual operation of the service will be a source of reassurance for the partner.

In addition to developing partnerships, we also believe that intellectual property will lead to the promotion of our company's technological capabilities and differentiating factors. We hope that the advantages of our company's intellectual property will also be used to appeal to customers about our technological capabilities and differentiating factors. Is intellectual property contributing in terms of promoting technological capabilities and differentiating factors to customers?

It is making a great contribution. We have applied for patents for retail, manufacturing, crime prevention, etc., with the customer's business in mind, and I think it will lead to the appeal of our technological capabilities and differentiating factors to the customer. Also, for customers who use Actlyzer, I think that the fact that Actlyzer is protected by our company's intellectual property gives them peace of mind.

The name Actlyzer is also used in collaboration with universities and universities. I am happy about this and it is also one evidence we put out into the world. We can confidently use the name Actlyzer.

Actlyzer is recognized as a technology brand. I believe that a technology brand is not just a name for a technology and a trademark, but that it is also established by various stakeholders, including partners and customers, who recognize the technology's technological capabilities and differentiating factors. As a technology brand, branding a technology is something that the IP Division aims for, so I am happy about it. I hope that we will continue to promote our technological capabilities and differentiating factors to various stakeholders through our intellectual property package.

Recently, generative AI and other technologies have gained popularity, but I think that the value of human relationships will increase. Although Actlyzer is an AI technology, it is aiming to advance research in total, including sensing people and working further on this. I believe that the value of such research will increase. By engaging in intellectual property activities in such areas, we hope to solve social issues and contribute to society.

The points of contact with people are exactly a part of converging technologies. I hope that the Intellectual Property Division will work together to solve social issues and contribute to business. Thank you for today.