Introducing Hideaki Kanayama, an engineer at RICOH, whose team at HumanTech is dedicated to providing unique devices, including an omnidirectional 3D scanning camera and a 360° stereo camera, to fellow partners.
“Making a difference in a sector as large as construction is not easy, but a consortium of partners from different industries, such as Humantech, can make a significant contribution.”
For Hideaki, the most rewarding aspect of working in HumanTech lies in contemplating the practical implementation of their devices on real construction sites and exploring ways to integrate them with other partners’ technologies to drive continuous improvement.
Learn more in this insightful interview.
Q: Tell us a little about yourself. What is your purpose?
A: As a member of a company that has manufactured many cameras, I was aware of the limitations of the expression of 2D colour images. I want to create a world where people can easily capture and share 3D spaces as if they were using an ordinary digital camera.
I am involved in developing key technologies as an AI engineer, taking advantage of the recent boom in 3D data, such as laser scanners and photogrammetry.
“I want to create a world where people can easily capture and share 3D spaces as if they were using an ordinary digital camera.”
Q: And about your organisation, what is your focus on and what have you set out to achieve?
A: The Ricoh Group has been providing products, services, and solutions focusing on office imaging equipment, production printing, and digital cameras worldwide. We are committed to changing how people work and expanding the scope of our value proposition from the traditional general office to workplaces in various industries.
RICOH has a long history of developing spherical cameras since the release of the world’s first one, “THETA”, in the consumer market. RICOH360 Projects are changing how teams approach construction sites with technology that anybody can instantly document 360° photos to site drawings with a single press of a button. Record every detail for faster pre-construction analysis, documenting and tracking existing construction site conditions. RICOH THETA Z1 360° camera can be paired with OpenSpace, known as tap-and-go 360°construction photo documentation.
We have also developed special industrial spherical cameras for Humantech and augmented reality glasses; e.g. lightweight binocular smart glasses for various workplaces. We have been providing unique devices and services that can serve as on-site eyes from “shooting” to “viewing”, and we are bringing about a revolution in “work”.
Q: Now, let us know about your role at HumanTech. What do you do? What is the most rewarding thing about it?
A: Our team provides unique devices such as an omnidirectional 3D scanning camera, an industrial wide-field-of-view wearable camera, and a 360° stereo camera to other partners involved with Humantech. I’m responsible for providing reliable 3D data with our 3D scanning camera in order to apply semantic segmentation and build digital twin models. The most rewarding is thinking about how to utilise our devices in the real construction site and how to integrate them with other partners’ technologies to improve them.
“Our team provides unique devices such as an omnidirectional 3D scanning camera, an industrial wide-field-of-view wearable camera, and a 360° stereo camera to other partners involved with Humantech.”
Q: What is the positive impact you hope to generate through HumanTech?
A: The construction industry faces barriers to digitalisation due to the introduction of new devices and inexperience with new technologies. I particularly believe that the realisation and widespread use of the Dynamic Semantic Digital Twin (DSDT) could be the foundation for the digitalisation and efficiency of the construction industry.
“The realisation and widespread use of the Dynamic Semantic Digital Twin (DSDT) could be the foundation for the digitalisation and efficiency of the construction industry.”
Q: And the milestones you hope to achieve?
A: The achievement of our various pilots is our most important milestone. I believe that the integration of each partner’s technology and the demonstration focused on real applications will have a not inconsiderable impact on the diffusion of our technology in the construction industry.
Q: Is there a net zero future for construction? What do you think are the biggest challenges to achieving it?
A: There is a long way to achieve it. However, we must reach it. The biggest challenge is promoting new techniques on the real site. Developing attractive products and services that the workers want to use enthusiastically is necessary.
Q: How are the human-centred technologies we are developing contributing to creating a safer and greener construction industry?
A: Human-centered technologies such as wearable devices (e.g. portable spherical cameras, exoskeletons, and smart glasses), as well as intelligent robot technology, are intended to support workers in their tasks. Mitigating the physical strain on workers and monitoring their health reduces the risk of injury and improves their safety. In addition, streamlining workflow and reducing inaccurate and erroneous work can prevent material waste.
Q: How will technology evolve in the construction sector over the next decade? What impact do you think the changes it will bring about will have?
A: In terms of digitalisation, I believe that data collected in the field from various devices can be handled by more sophisticated analysis with AI than before. Innovative AI technologies have emerged, including language understanding models such as Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3), 3D Question Answering (3DQA), which can extract information from 3D information as language, and novel view synthesis that provides more realistic spatial understanding. I believe that these technologies will allow workers to more intuitively understand construction sites and interactively comprehend situations, which leads to solving various on-site issues, including supporting inexperienced workers and improving work efficiency.
“New technologies will allow workers to more intuitively understand construction sites and interactively comprehend situations, which leads to solving various on-site issues, including supporting inexperienced workers and improving work efficiency.”
Q: Ambitious projects are developing innovative technology solutions and making a difference in the construction sector. Do you know of any that have inspired you?
A: BIMprove has influenced me the most in the field of digital twins. In it, we were eager to see how we could deliver a great device on its own. However, it made us realise that we had overlooked the attitude that the digital twin generation flow should be viewed as a platform and built upon the collaboration of each partner.
We also have a great team at Humantech and look forward to working together to create a comprehensive construction solution.
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