#Japan #Osaka #NEC #MimamoruMe #Bio-IDiom

An Innovative Approach to Student Safety

In November, MimamoruMe, a subsidiary of the Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Group, plans to launch an innovative notification service that leverages state-of-the-art facial recognition technology from NEC. This service is designed to keep parents informed about their children's school commute through Bio-IDiom Services for SaaS. The collaboration combines the exceptional accuracy of NEC's technology, which has been recognized as world-leading, to enhance student safety during school bus transportation.

Background of the Service

The new service incorporates real-time monitoring, where parents receive notifications regarding their children's boarding and alighting from school buses. This ensures that they are informed whenever their children safely enter and exit the bus. The initiative responds to an increasing demand for child safety, especially for families with long commutes to school. As schools explore community collaborations in extracurricular activities and regional club movements, the frequency of school bus operations is expected to rise, thus amplifying the necessity for a reliable monitoring service.

Recent Pilot Program

Prior to the official launch, a pilot program was conducted from September 1 to September 30 in response to the needs of students in Kashiba, Nara Prefecture, who face long walks to school. During this trial, two microbuses were equipped with tablets featuring facial recognition applications at their entry points, effectively communicating real-time boarding and alighting data to parents. This pilot marked Japan's first attempt to integrate face recognition technology for notifying parents about school bus activities.

Results of the Pilot Program

Post-experiment surveys revealed an overwhelmingly positive response from participating parents. All respondents indicated that the notification timings were appropriate, greatly enhancing their sense of security regarding their children's safety while commuting. This feedback underscored the value of real-time updates, allowing parents to confirm their children's bus boarding and alighting.

Future Developments

The introduced system utilizes easily installable tablets, catering to many school bus operations, often leased, indicating a need for retrofitting existing buses with this groundbreaking technology. Starting November 2025, MimamoruMe plans to roll out this service to local governments and children-oriented facilities nationwide.

Collaborative Vision

MimamoruMe and NEC aim to synergize their expertise to foster the creation of services that promote a secure and enjoyable living environment for all. NEC continues to innovate using its BluStellar value creation model, revolutionizing business models with cutting-edge technologies to address social issues effectively.

Having previously achieved top ratings in facial recognition benchmarks organized by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), NEC maintains its commitment to delivering solutions with the highest reliability and precision, such that safety in our communal spaces becomes a standard rather than an exception.

This partnership represents a significant step forward in ensuring that technology seamlessly integrates into the child transportation domain, providing peace of mind to parents and safety for children.

About the Companies

MimamoruMe

• - Head Office: 3-14-24 Fukushima, Fukushima Ward, Osaka City
• - Capital: 100 million yen (100% invested by Hankyu Electric Railway)
• - Established: August 2017
• - CEO: Hiroshi Fujii
• - Website: MimamoruMe

NEC Corporation

• - Head Office: 5-7-1 Shiba, Minato, Tokyo
• - Capital: 427.8 billion yen
• - Founded: July 1899
• - CEO: Takayuki Morita
• - Website: NEC

Conclusion

Through the combined efforts of MimamoruMe and NEC, this innovative approach to school bus operations is set to reshape the standards for child safety during school commutes. Expect transformative changes as this service rolls out to enhance parental assurance and student security on school buses.