NEC launches next generation manufacturing solution utilizing the IoT

Tokyo, June 16, 2015 - NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) today announced the global launch of NEC Industrial IoT, a new solution that supports next-generation manufacturing through the utilization of the Internet of Things (IoT).

The NEC Industrial IoT solution leverages NEC's technological strengths in areas such as image recognition, Big Data analysis and Software-Defined Networking (SDN).

The NEC Industrial IoT solution enables the following:

• Digitalization of the workplace and surrounding objects

• The world's first individual product recognition traceability system utilizing the "Fingerprint of Things," an NEC recognition technology that enables the identification of individual products based on fine patterns that appear on the surface of each product

• An Augmented Reality (AR) work support system, which utilizes AR technology to improve work efficiency and enable support for new or inexperienced staff, etc.

• Visualization

• A quality and performance prediction analysis system that automatically identifies regularities amongst large volumes of data and makes highly-accurate predictions about product quality and performance

• An equipment malfunction detection system that uses statistical techniques to discover abnormal behavior in equipment/machinery and pick up on the signs of an impending breakdown or malfunction, etc.

• Linkage of IT and Operational Technologies

• Realizing optimal, real-time control of equipment/machinery through linkage with operational systems

• Enabling centralized management of network configurations, flexible network modification tailored to changes in the production line, and ensuring security, all through the utilization of SDN on plant networks

• Making products and services smarter

• Providing an IoT backbone that enables a single chain of processing; from collecting various types of unstructured data, such as sensor and video data, to performing real-time analysis and exercising control based on that analysis

To promote the NEC Industrial IoT solution, NEC will augment its NEC Manufacturing Co-Creation Program, which provides companies with manufacturing and supply chain insight and currently has a membership of 562 companies and 1,471 individual members (as of May 31, 2015). NEC will launch an Industrial IoT subcommittee within this program in August of this year, and promote initiatives such as research towards effective methods for utilizing IoT.

"The trend towards innovative transformations such as utilizing the IoT in our products, business models and processes is intensifying," says Yutaka Matsushita, Senior Vice President, NEC Corporation. "NEC regards process innovation and product innovation as being most important with regard to the utilization of the IoT in the manufacturing industry. The NEC Industrial IoT solution supports the realization of these viewpoints and contributes to enhancing the competitiveness of the manufacturing industry."