Fujitsu Limited and TOTO LTD. today announced a trial using a privacy-conscious, millimeter wave sensing technology to help ensure the safety of restrooms for elderly people and those with disabilities in commercial facilities and train stations. The solution leverages Fujitsu’s Actlyzer, an AI-based analysis technology (1), to help the two companies offer diverse users a safer, barrier-free experience.
Innovation to help diverse users in all aspects of their daily lives
In the 1960s, TOTO first launched its efforts to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities, and in the 2000s, embraced universal design initiatives to improve the user experience in compliance with national regulations as well as the demands of accessibility.
Fujitsu’s proprietary, humancentric AI technology makes it possible to analyze information obtained from millimeter wave sensing technology and to estimate aspects like posture with high accuracy based on the position and height of the subject. This allows administrators to detect without cameras when users experience difficulties or accidents in the restroom including falls, or to perform wellness checks when spending a long time in the space, while ensuring that their privacy is strictly respected.
The two companies aim to leverage these respective strengths to jointly conduct a trial to verify the effectiveness of the solution using TOTO’s knowledge of creating barrier-free restrooms toilets that are easier to use for all people and Fujitsu’s millimeter wave sensing technology.
Details of the trial as follows:
1. Trial of monitoring technology using millimeter-wave sensors in restrooms
(1) Implementation period: From Monday, January 15, 2024 to the end of December 2024
(2) Location: TOTO UD Laboratory (R&D Center) (Chigasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture) and Fujitsu F3rdLab (Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture)
(3) Trial content: The millimeter-wave sensor in the barrier-free toilet installed on a trial basis senses the user’s status as reflected wave information and point cloud data, and the effectiveness of the detection of long stays in the room, falls, etc., will be verified to evaluate the solution’s viability and improve the results.
2. Roles of the two companies
TOTO: Technology evaluation using extensive knowledge of designing diverse barrier-free toilets and restrooms and proposing directions for technology improvementFujitsu: Provision of sensing technology, data collection and analysis, and technology improvement based on technology assessment
3. Consideration of commercialization of privacy-friendly sensing technology
Based on the evaluation results of the trial, the two companies will further improve their privacy-friendly technology to create and service public restroom spaces that are safe and secure for users of barrier-free toilets including the elderly, people with disabilities, and users with small children or infants.
Future Plans
TOTO will continue to make proposals that address social issues by integrating existing technologies with digital technologies, and will actively collaborate with various companies to create new value for society and customers. Based on the evaluation results, Fujitsu will further improve its monitoring technology and aim to develop a privacy-friendly monitoring technology service in Japan by the end of fiscal 2024.
[1] Actlyzer :Commercialized as an “action detection” function of Fujitsu Cognitive Service GREENAGE, an AI image analysis solution.
