Name: Nefront Inc.
Founded: August, 2019
Founder: Shota Imamura
HP: https://www.nefront.com/
Contact: support@articsinfo.com
Contact Person：Shota Imamura
Position：CEO
Bio：
After graduating from the University of Tsukuba with a bachelor’s degree in Information Science, he entered the graduate school of the University of Tokyo.
In addition to developing and commercializing IndooAR, he is also researching eye gaze interfaces for AR/VR head-mounted displays.
As a long-term intern at the Jigen Group, he was responsible for launching new businesses as a PM. After developing and managing an event recruitment-based SNS, he started Nefront Inc.
Indoor AR cloud “IndoorAR”
IndooAR makes it easy for locating positions indoor based on images and smartphone sensors, then guides users to the location of specified items. The three core elements are 1. visual positioning in complex indoor environments, 2. Updating location information of products and other items, and 3. Guidance using AR. The feature of this system can be used indoors in places with repetitive shapes, whereas existing VPS also utilizes GPS and is not good at using similar shapes. This feature makes it possible to identify the current location without special equipment at supermarkets, bookshops, event venues, etc., and provides guidance and location-specific AR content.
– Indoor navigation, no need to worry about getting lost even in a large venue!
When you come to a large place for the first time, such as an exhibition or a big shopping center, you may have a lot of worries about where to find something or whether you can reach your destination. In fact, many visitors to trade shows find themselves staring at a map every time they arrive, but IndooAR is an application that eliminates such worries. The camera reads the scenery around you, and once the app has obtained information on your current location, it starts navigating and takes you to your destination. Even in a supermarket, the app can navigate to the desired product. You can quickly find where “eggs” are located, or other products that you cannot find quickly at a supermarket for the first time.
– Can you quickly retrieve something that you put away in a warehouse years ago?
There are cases in which it takes time to find the desired item in company equipment or library warehouses, although they are under control. By linking inventory management data, even inexperienced warehouse operators can save time and efficiently retrieve the desired item. Even in a warehouse with many cardboard boxes of the same size, the app will save the user from making the mistake of opening the wrong box.
– From Navigation to Entertainment
In addition to navigation, there are many other ways to use “IndooAR”. For example, it is a technology with a variety of possibilities, such as creating a game that uses the user’s location information, like a survival game, or using AR for promotions while providing directions within an application. In fact, they have received inquiries from companies in diverse fields.
– Nefront’s Goals
The technology has potential in a variety of fields, not limited to indoor navigation systems. Since there is no need for verbal guidance, it can be applied to navigation for tourists visiting Japan. Nefront’s technology is also expected to expand in an era when the use of AR will continue to increase. Nefront plans to specialize in a particular field to pave the way for the use of “IndooAR,” and as it builds up its track record in Japan, it will also consider expanding its business overseas.
