Position sensing helps us understand where a person or object is now. The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) device is a leading key device in position sensing. GNSS, which allows us to understand the current position of a person or object on the earth with radio waves from satellites, was originally created for military purposes. However, it is now installed in car navigation systems, aircraft, smartphones, watches, cameras and various other products.

Our innovative low-power GNSS devices are both small and highly accurate. These devices are also compatible with "Michibiki" Quasi-Zenith Satellite System produced in Japan to boast a reception sensitivity. We are using these technologies to produce products include our original analog watch called Trume that always displays the correct time by identifying the time zone of its current position using just GNSS satellite radio waves.

Motion sensing is a solution to understand in what way and with how much force a person or object is moving. While it is possible to understand from images in what direction a person or object is moving, it's not easy to understand the speed or at how much force a person or object is moving. Gyro sensors, accelerometers and other sensing devices therefore serve an important role. Gyro sensors are also called angular velocity sensors. They detect the angular velocity (e.g., changes in rotation and direction). Accelerometers are devices that detect changes in the speed in the axial direction. They are installed in smartphones and handheld game consoles to detect the movements of the people operating them. They are also used to prevent camera shake.

Sensing with an inertial measurement unit (IMU) that applies motion sensing is a way of understanding changes in the speed, attitude and direction of people and objects in three dimensions. IMUs detect at high accuracy inertial momentum that consist of a three-axis gyro sensor to understand changes in rotation and direction and a three-way accelerometer to understand changes in speed in the axial direction. These are mainly used to measure and control the behavior (attitude and trajectory) of moving bodies.

The accuracy of output data deteriorates under actual sensing environments because devices are affected by vibrations and temperature changes. However, IMUs are equipped with various corrective functions to reduce errors. This means they stably output highly accurate sensing data. IMUs are used in the attitude control of drones, small unmanned aircraft and small submersible vessels, in the automatic operation of agriculture machinery for large-scale farming, in control to safely operate construction machinery, and in the failure predictive maintenance of machines and devices.

In addition, the accelerometers installed in the IMUs are also equipped with frequency-changing accelerometer elements using crystal microfabrication technology. These feature low noise, high resolution and high stability. In addition to smartphones, games, cameras and other consumer electronic devices, high-performance accelerometers are also used in structural health monitoring systems to check the soundness of buildings and structures (e.g., bridges, elevated railroad tracks, roads, pipelines and large plants). These are used to measure changes in tilt, vibrations and pressure to predict the deterioration of buildings and social infrastructure.

We help solve issues in social infrastructure that were difficult to put into practical use (predictive maintenance, disaster monitoring, deterioration diagnosis, manpower-saving and efficiency improvement) with highly accurate sensing systems we have developed based on our original core technology. In this way, we will contribute to the realization of a convenient, safe and secure society.