Figure 5-4-1-1 Number of things connected to the Internet (IoT Devices)

Figure 5-4-1-2 IoT devices by sector/application and their growth rates

(Source) IHS Technology

Figure 5-4-1-3 Examples of IoT products and efforts for industry

Application	Enterprise	Summary
Product quality management	Kyocera Communication Systems	The company has developed a platform called Shuzo that modulates system integration, which previously was done on a sensor-by-sensor basis, and collects M2M and IoT data from multiple sensors regardless of the sensor type. This results in improved product quality on the manufacturing floor and higher availability factors for production.
Demand forecasting	Komatsu	Komatsu has developed the KOMTRAX system, which uses communication modules installed on its construction equipment sold around the world to collect data on the construction equipment and determine its operational status. From these operational status data, it is possible to measure $ CO_{2} $ consumption volumes and predict business conditions.
Fault predictions	Omron and Kewpie	Kewpie has used Omron platforms in its manufacturing plant to detect tiny, instantaneous changes in electric current values. Detecting signs of abnormalities like these throughout the production process has led to increased production efficiencies.

(Source) "Study Report on Structural Changes and Future Prospects for the Global ICT Industry," MIC (2015)

data that were previously unusable such as separate manufacturing conditions or log data from production equipment. From examples around the world in applying the IoT to industry, it is clear that enterprises have various aims when applying the IoT, such as ascertaining and improving the availability factors of manufacturing facilities or making business processes more efficient by tracking the operational statuses of products for customers (Figure 5-4-1-3).

#### b. Impacts on public infrastructure (energy, transportation, etc.)

Energy, transportation, logistics, and other public infrastructure have been tapped as promising application fields for the IoT. The aim is to collect and analyze data from sensors placed at various installations and facilities and use the data to improve the safety and efficiency of public infrastructure. Serious deterioration of infrastructure in Japan is creating facility investment and maintenance issues. It is hoped that the IoT will mitigate these issues.

### c. Impacts on personal services

As the IoT expands, primarily targeting the business-to-business (B2B) sector, it will also precipitate significant transformations in people’s lives.

As presented in Chapter 4, three types of new ICT devices—wearables, connected vehicles, and partner robots—are anticipated to form the nucleus of personal IoT services. Besides these, however, many other IoT devices and services are expected to emerge. Albeit IoT products and services are still in their nascent stage, they share a common underlying architecture: data collected from sensors is analyzed via the cloud and utilized to provide new value to users.

## (3) Directions for Japan's ICT industry

While the struggle for supremacy in the IoT world intensifies, Japan’s ICT industry is expected to spot domains that can broaden business opportunities. To discover such opportunities, it is important to have a keen perception of the essence of the IoT and sufficient competitiveness in the target domains to take a leading role and function in related businesses.

For Section 3 of this chapter, we conducted an international survey (Japan, United States, Germany, China, South Korea, and India) on perceptions about the business impact of the IoT, which ICT enterprises in many countries have been following with close interest. East Asian enterprises in Japan, China, and South Korea tend to focus on the technological infrastructure of the IoT, such as “accumulation of big data” and “advances in data analysis,” whereas enterprises in the United States, Germany, and India, which have a head start in the IoT, tend to focus more on the application and use of the IoT, such as “promote labor saving” and “accelerate responses/improve operational efficiencies” (Figure 5-4-1-4). These results indicate a strong interest by ICT enterprises in many countries in business domains that collect and ac-