Tokyu Construction Co., Ltd. (President and Representative Director: Mitsuhiro Terada) and Ricoh Co., Ltd. (President and Chief Executive Officer: Yoshinori Yamashita) will conduct a demonstration experiment to improve productivity by improving operational efficiency by utilizing VR*1 technology in the construction management of the Shibuya Station line switching construction of the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, which is mainly undertaken by Tokyu Construction, by sharing the structures to be constructed in the VR space among the parties concerned and by quickly sharing information and forming consensus on construction.
*1: Virtual reality (VR) refers to concepts and technologies that reproduce an unrealistic world on a computer, stimulate human senses such as sight, hearing, and touch, and use them as if they were real. Next-generation technologies are expected to be particularly useful in education, medical care, and construction.
In construction work, there are frequent occasions when many different parties, including the ordering party, the designer, the contractor, and the subcontractor, communicate with each other and make decisions. In doing so, it was necessary for all parties concerned to share various materials and share the same image of the construction process and the finished product, and consensus building was a time-consuming task. Tokyu Construction and Ricoh are solutions provided by Ricoh to create virtual workplaces where designers, construction management staff, specialist engineers in various fields, and other related parties can gather and discuss online, using the three-dimensional data that Tokyu Construction normally uses. Through VR technology, we will be able to confirm the quality and safety of our products from all angles with multiple people concerned at the same time, with the feeling that it actually comes within the model that we are constructing. In the construction industry, where we have been discussing mainly two-dimensional drawings, we will move to a virtual three-dimensional workplace that is close to the reality, and verify the effect of innovation in the construction production process. Until now, Tokyu Construction has been working to provide new value and innovate business processes through the active use of ICT under the slogan “Shinka × ICT.” As part of these efforts, we are actively working on BIM/CIM*2, which is increasingly being used in the construction industry, and are contributing to reliable information sharing and faster consensus-building through three-dimensional models. By introducing the three-dimensional BIM/CIM data into general-purpose VR equipment and software, Tokyu Kensetsu had an intuitive understanding of complex structures and felt the effects of VR, which enabled us to plan and study construction with a sense of immersion. However, because the current general-purpose VR equipment and software can only be inserted into the VR space on its own, there was a concept of realizing a “VR by Everyone” rather than a “VR by One,” which would accelerate the consensus-building process among multiple people. In addition, taking the opportunity provided by the countermeasures against the new type of coronavirus infection, there is a need for a shift to non-contact and remote working styles in the construction industry.
*2: BIM/CIM (Building/Construction Information Modeling, Management): A workflow to ensure quality and improve productivity by introducing a three-dimensional model from the survey and design stages and using it in a series of construction production and management systems while providing attribute information (materials, strength, etc.) at each construction and maintenance stages.
Ricoh’s Ricoh Virtual Workplace, developed by Ricoh and verified by Tokyu Construction, is a solution that allows customers to recreate any space on the VR and to meet in one place using the VR Goggles. It is characterized by high interactivity, screen sharing, and voice input functions, and it can be used for brainstorming meetings where ideas are made while pasting notes. We propose a new way of working in which people can communicate naturally and freely with people who are physically separated from each other on a virtual workplace. Ricoh Virtual Workplace is a solution created by the internal entrepreneur team of RICOH ACCELERATOR (now TRIBUS) 2019, a program that supports the growth of start-up companies and entrepreneurs both inside and outside the company, and aims to co-create businesses as part of Ricoh’s efforts to create new businesses. Aiming for commercialization in fiscal 2021, we are developing solutions and providing prototypes to users. Tokyu Construction Co., Ltd., which has expertise in the construction industry, and Ricoh Co., Ltd., which has made proposals that meet the needs of the people working in every field, will accelerate the DX (Digital Transformation) of the construction industry and contribute to the creation of a more secure and comfortable living environment.
VR space built on the basis of Tokyu’s three-dimensional model
Ricoh’s solution allows multiple participants to participate in the same VR space
| About Tokyu Construction | Tokyu Construction provides “the creation of secure and comfortable living environments” mainly in the civil engineering and construction business in Japan and overseas countries, mainly in Southeast and South Asia. (FY3/20, consolidated net sales: 322.1 billion yen) The Tokyu Tama-en-shi has grown, playing a part in the development of the Tokyu Tama-en-shi, which is aimed at solving the social issues of Tokyo’s rapid population concentration after World War II. We will continue to make every effort to resolve social issues by creating value from the viewpoint of the general public, not of individual buildings. For more information, please refer here.
https://www.tokyu-cnst.co.jp
| About the Ricoh Group| The Ricoh Group provides products and service solutions, mainly for office imaging equipment, production printing, industrial products, and digital cameras in approximately 200 countries and regions around the world. (Consolidated sales of the Ricoh Group in the fiscal year ending March 2020 are 2.03 trillion yen.) For more than 80 years since its founding, the Company has been actively working to create a sustainable society by providing advanced technology and outstanding customer services. EMPOWERING DIGITAL WORKPLACES-making people’s “working” smarter. The Ricoh Group works with its customers to transform its workplaces through innovations in technology and services. For more information, please refer here.
https://jp.ricoh.com/
