Komatsu has teamed with NTT DOCOMO, Sony Semiconductor Solutions, and Nomura Research Institute to launch a new company that will “support digital transformation in the construction industry,” according to the company.
The new company, EARTHBRAIN Ltd., will target improved safety, productivity, and environmental performance. The new company will evolve Komatsu’s “Smart Construction” solution and expand its services worldwide, including for all brands of construction equipment and vehicles operating at worksites. By combining the four companies’ expertise, know-how and technologies, EARTHBRAIN will provide the next-generation of Smart Construction.
Next-generation Smart Construction will incorporate digital twins, which are data-based virtual replicas of physical objects or processes that allow for performing simulations and then feeding the results back to the real world. EARTHBRAIN will bring “accelerated development and provision of visualization devices and applications for real-time remote monitoring, analyzing and optimizing of terrain, construction equipment, operators, materials, safety and environmental factors,” according to the company.
Also, by connecting all construction processes digitally on an open platform and controlling them optimally, EARTHBRAIN will improve safety and productivity and create smarter and cleaner workplaces.
Komatsu will own 54.5 percent of the new company. The other partners will contribute in these ways.
NTT DOCOMO will provide 5G and IoT networks, cloud infrastructure, image analysis, and future-prediction technologies for digital-twin computing.
Sony will develop and provide sensing technology and data collection systems to compile information-visualization data.
Nomura will develop and provide solutions and services based on business-model transformation and digitization.
Source: Komatsu
