Press Releases

April 30, 2021

Komatsu, NTT DOCOMO, Sony Semiconductor Solutions and Nomura Research Institute to Launch "EARTHBRAIN"
— Will enhance construction industry safety, productivity and eco performance —

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TOKYO, JAPAN, April 30, 2021 --- Komatsu Ltd., NTT DOCOMO, INC., Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation and Nomura Research Institute, Ltd. jointly announced today that they have agreed to launch a new company, named EARTHBRAIN Ltd., that will support digital transformation in the construction industry for dramatically improved safety, productivity and environmental performance.

Workstyle reforms are in high demand due to factors including an aging population and shrinking workforce in the Japanese construction industry and the presence of COVID-19 in construction sites worldwide. EARTHBRAIN will now tackle these challenges through digital transformation. The new company will evolve Komatsu's "Smart Construction1" solution and expand its services worldwide, including for all brands of construction equipment and vehicles operating at worksites. By combining the four companies' expertise, know-how and technologies, EARTHBRAIN will provide the next-generation of Smart Construction.

Next-generation Smart Construction will incorporate digital twins2 at construction sites based on EARTHBRAIN's accelerated development and provision of visualization devices and applications for real-time remote monitoring, analyzing and optimizing of terrain, construction equipment, operators, materials, safety and environmental factors. Also, by connecting all construction processes digitally on an open platform and controlling them optimally, EARTHBRAIN will improve safety and productivity and create smarter and cleaner workplaces.

  1. Smart Construction is a solution for implementing highly productive, clean and safety worksites by connecting various information at worksites via ICT.
  2. Data-based virtual replicas of physical objects or processes for performing simulations and then feeding the results back to the real world.

Roles of partners

Roles of partners
Komatsu
  • Provide know-how gained through Komatsu Smart Construction solution to accelerate digital transformation of construction workplaces
  • Provide technical support for construction equipment
  • Support distribution channels
NTT DOCOMO
  • Provide advanced 5G and IoT networks, cloud infrastructure, image analysis and future-prediction technologies (AI, etc.) for Digital-Twin Computing3
Sony Semiconductor Solutions
  • Develop and provide sensing technology and data collection systems to compile information-visualization data
Nomura Research Institute
  • Develop and provide solutions, services and know-how based on business-model transformation and digitalization
  1. Digital-Twin Computing (DTC) proposed by NTT is a new computing paradigm that expands on the conventional digital twin concept by freely combining and performing calculations on digital twins of objects and humans in diverse industries. DTC is able to accurately reproduce combinations that could not be comprehensively handled up to now, such as humans and automobiles in cities, and thereby make the future predictable.

Outline of EARTHBRAIN

Outline of EARTHBRAIN
Company name

EARTHBRAIN Ltd.
Launch

July 2021 (planned) after obtaining necessary approvals
Business

Development, provision and maintenance of digital solutions for the construction industry including visualization devices, platforms and applications
Location

Minato-ku, Tokyo Japan

Chairperson

Chikashi Shike

President

Akinori Onodera

Paid-in capital

JPY 15.37 billion (USD 138.83 million)*
Shareholders

Komatsu 54.5%
NTT DOCOMO 35.5%
Sony Semiconductor Solutions 5%
Nomura Research Institute 5%
  • USD = 110.71 yen as of March 31, 2021

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