Announcement of strategic partnership with IEE
Ricoh Europe, 09 January 2019 – RICOH Industrial Solutions Inc. (President: Katsunori Nakata) has announced a strategic partnership with IEE S.A. (CEO: Michel Witte, hereafter “IEE”), a global leader in advanced vehicle interior sensing solutions headquartered in Luxembourg.
With higher levels of automated driving, the relationship between the driver and the vehicle is facing a fundamental change with control being partially or even fully given to the vehicle. This transition will be supported by driver status information, provided by highly sophisticated in-vehicle sensing systems. Machine vision through an internal camera system will be a key enabler for this new driving experience.
IEE was the first supplier to introduce a capacitive sensor for hands-on/off detection for traffic jam assistance systems in 2013. RICOH Industrial Solutions has successfully launched a serial production of the world’s smallest[1] ADAS[2] stereo camera in 2016, based on a unique experience in optical design, calibration, and real-time parallax calculation technology.
As a first achievement of the partnership, RICOH Industrial Solutions and IEE co-developed a 3D stereo camera for in-vehicle sensing. Within a downsized body of 7㎝(W)*4.4㎝(D)*2㎝(H), the stereo camera acquires in-vehicle 3D data to enable advanced safety and comfort functions. This new camera system will be presented at the Automotive World Expo held in Japan from 16-18 January 2019, followed by a worldwide demonstration to lead customers.
RICOH Industrial Solutions and IEE will continue to strengthen their joint activities by creating advanced and unique products for safer and comfort enhancing vehicle solutions.
About Ricoh
Ricoh is empowering digital workplaces using innovative technologies and services enabling individuals to work smarter. For more than 80 years, Ricoh has been driving innovation and is a leading provider of document management solutions, IT services, commercial and industrial printing, digital cameras, and industrial systems.
Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group operates in approximately 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ended March 2018, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 2,063 billion yen (approx. 19.4 billion USD).
