News

Rikei Corporation (Head Office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Satoru Isaka; hereinafter “Rikei”) is pleased to announce that it has developed and started to offer a new product that provides experience of a fire evacuation by utilizing virtual reality (hereinafter “VR”).

It is the first commercialization of VR content using inside-out motion tracking technology (*1) and a standalone VR headset (*2) in Japan (*3).

Outline of VR products

– Providing experience of poor visibility during a fire and evacuation

Participants can experience a series of flows from determining an evacuation route with the assistance of evacuation lighting to evacuating to the emergency exit in a VR space. Key aspects of evacuation such as the poor visibility of evacuation lighting and evacuation in a crouched posture can be experienced.

Features

1) Employing a wireless, standalone VR headset

Conventional VR experiences required the VR headset to be connected by cable to a PC or a smartphone to be attached to the headset. In addition, to achieve similar movements to reality (e.g., looking at an object from a different point of view), tracking points had to be installed in the surrounding space. Accordingly, conventional VR was only able to provide experience in limited conditions.

This time, we have employed an all-in-one VR headset with a built-in motion tracking function to easily achieve VR experiences with reality.

2) Allowing evacuation procedures to be checked by actually walking

The interior of a building is reproduced on a full scale. Participants actually walk in the VR space (*4) along with the evacuation lighting to find the exit. Participants can also experience smoke that blocks visibility around them unless they crouch down. When the system is used in a small space, it is also possible to use a controller for operation.

3) Expandability that allows the reproduction of various types of situations

It is possible to customize this system, for instance by changing the interior of the building to that of the participant’s own company. It is also possible to modify the contents to display options and ask participants to make judgments.

Equipment to be used

– Lenovo’s Mirage Solo

Mirage Solo is the world’s first (*5) standalone VR headset that supports Daydream (*6).

It employs Google’s WorldSense™ inside-out motion tracking technology. By recognizing the surroundings via the built-in camera, the system can detect a participant’s motions such as moving right or left, squatting, and jumping with a high level of accuracy called 6DoF (6Degrees of Freedom) with the headset only, not by installing tracking points externally. Because it supports WorldSense™, participants can experience a real VR world that has not been achieved by the conventional smartphone-attached type VR.

Background of the development

We have been developing VRs that can be utilized for disaster drills and safety education and training. Among them, the “evacuation experience VR,” which was released in April 2017, has been used by local governments, private companies, and many other organizations.

This time, we have developed the VR content using this technology to achieve convenient, high-quality and authentic experiences.

Customers that introduced this system in FY2017

– Evacuation experience VR

Fire department of Osaka city; Konosu city, Saitama prefecture; Koshigaya city, Saitama prefecture; Koganei city, Tokyo; Sophia University; Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.; NTT DOCOMO, INC., Shinkin Bank Card Co., Ltd.; and more

(*1) A tracking method that does not require an external sensor, but uses the built-in sensor of the VR headset to measure the position of an object.

(*2) An integrated VR headset that operates alone without requiring a PC or smartphone and cable connections.

(*3) Investigated by us as of April 24, 2018.

(*4) The contents are used with the area alarm function of Mirage Solo turned off. Since the use of Mirage Solo with the area alarm function turned off is not assumed upon its shipment, this usage is a proposal under our responsibility.

(*5) The world’s first standalone Google Daydream VR headset that does not require connection with a smartphone, external sensor and PC (investigated by Lenovo as of April 24, 2018).

(*6) A virtual reality platform for Android developed by Google

About Rikei Corporation

Established in 1957, Rikei Corporation is a solution provider for the IT and electronics industries.

Rikei offers a wide variety of solutions centered on the world’s cutting edge technologies and advanced products in the fields of system solutions, such as entrance exam and educational affairs systems and IT infrastructure, business strategy, and information security solutions. It also provides network solutions, such as satellite communication data transfer systems, digital video transfer systems, network systems for telecommunication operators and other private companies, wireless access systems, and disaster management information systems. In addition to solutions, Rikei provides electronic components and devices, such as high frequency components, high performance adhesives for industrial use, testers for automotive audio and navigation equipment, power grid analysis systems, defense-related machinery and security systems.

* Lenovo is a trademark of Lenovo. GOOGLE, DAYDREAM, and WORLDSENSE are trademarks of Google, Inc. Other product names and company names described herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective companies.