2024.1.24

IoT-EX

Launch of PROTOTYPE-X to accelerate open innovation

New service that utilizes IoT and generative AI to digitize the development process and accelerate time to market

IoT-EX Co., Ltd. (IoT-EX, located in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Shihiro Kobata, hereinafter referred to as IoT-EX) has developed a new development methodology utilizing IoT and generative AI technology to safely connect and enable collaboration between products and services provided by different companies. announces the launch of PROTOTYPE-X, a solution that achieves digital transformation (DX) of product and service development processes. PROTOTYPE-EX has won the Advanced Technology Award in the IoT category at the 17th ASPIC Cloud Awards 2023.

Background of Provision
■Shortening time to market is key

As new technologies and services continue to emerge, the process of bridging the gap between original ideas and technologies and their commercialization becomes crucial to achieving innovation that creates value. This involves engaging stakeholders who possess the knowledge, technology, and resources that we lack, and repeatedly verifying the feasibility, performance, and acceptability of new products and services in an environment close to the market, while continuously refining them toward commercialization. In open innovation, shortening the time to market is key to creating value, and a “test bed”—a platform that enables rapid, iterative testing—holds the key to innovation.
(Partially sourced from Mitsubishi Research Institute Monthly Review (September 2022 issue), “Test Beds to Accelerate Japanese Innovation”)

■Acceleration and cost reduction of verification processes are essential

Leveraging innovative ideas New technologies such as IoT and generative AI are extremely effective as means of differentiation, but without personnel with the necessary expertise within the company, it is unclear whether it is better to collaborate with a company that has the expertise or to try it out with a trusted partner.

This is where Proof of Concept (PoC) comes into play. PoC is a verification process to confirm the feasibility and effectiveness of new technologies or ideas. It involves creating a simplified version of a product or service and experimentally evaluating and verifying whether the intended effects or benefits can be achieved and whether the product or service is feasible. However, implementing PoC presents the following challenges:

■Challenges faced by many companies in PoC

・Employees become exhausted from the unfamiliar and overwhelming amount of work required for PoC (PoC fatigue).

・Even if PoC is implemented, there are cases where it is not carried out (PoC failure).

・Constantly conducting PoC leads to exhaustion without progressing to actual development or contracts (PoC poverty).

The next process for companies that have successfully completed a PoC is prototyping. Prototyping is a method or process for developing products or services that better satisfy customers by repeatedly testing prototypes of products or services and making flexible adjustments based on the results. In prototyping, the necessary functional and non-functional requirements (such as scalability, reliability, quality, and security) are clearly defined.

However, developing prototypes takes time and money (more than six months and more than 10 million yen). Therefore, by the time the product was completed, there was a risk that customer and social needs would have changed, rendering it unnecessary.

Features of PROTOTYPE-X
■Revolutionizing the product and service development process Basic configuration of PROTOTYPE-X

DX (Digital Transformation) is defined as “the process by which companies respond to drastic changes in the business environment by utilizing data and digital technologies to transform their products, services, and business models based on the needs of customers and society. At the same time, they transform their operations, organizations, processes, corporate culture, and climate to establish a competitive advantage.” (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan)

PROTOTYPE-X is a new development methodology that builds upon conventional development practices while incorporating IoT and generative AI technologies. This approach has enabled the digital transformation (DX) of product and service development processes. By using PROTOTYPE-X, companies and system integrators can drastically reduce both the time to market and the cost of bringing original ideas and technologies to market.

PROTOTYPE-X is broadly divided into two components: frontend and backend. Notably, the backend is not developed from scratch but leverages an IoT interconnect platform (IoT-EX) as a BaaS (Backend as a Service). The frontend is further simplified by dividing it into input, logic, and output components. Moreover, the IoT-EX platform enables functional additions and modifications simply by developing and configuring drivers, making expansion and changes highly flexible and easy to implement.

PROTOTYPE-Xのシステム構成（電力業界の例）

■ Comment from Associate Professor Hiroyuki Baba, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo

Among renewable energy sources, variable renewable energy (VRE) such as solar power—which plays a central role—is difficult to control manually due to its dependence on natural fluctuations. Therefore, it is essential to simultaneously explore and implement new approaches to “how electricity is used” in coordination with VRE, such as electric vehicle (EV) charging.

Our laboratory is conducting research and development of solutions to this issue by leveraging IoT technologies, with the aim of achieving social implementation through industry-academia collaboration. PROTOTYPE-X has been developed utilizing the joint research knowledge between IoT-EX Inc. and our laboratory, and we expect it to contribute significantly to society in the future.
（ URL : https://www.babahiroyukilab.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/　）

■ Comment from Mr. Daisuke Narasaki, Group Manager, Restaurant Solutions, Business Solutions Promotion Department, Toshiba TEC Corporation

In the pre-conducted PoC, PROTOTYPE-X enabled us to verify data conversion and integration between the POS system and other systems in a short time frame and at low cost. We look forward to seeing PROTOTYPE-X lead to the creation of new innovations in the future.

About the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo

The Institute of Industrial Science (IIS) is an affiliated research institute of the University of Tokyo, established with the mission of conducting comprehensive scientific research on various technical issues related to production and implementing the practical application of research findings.
（ URL : https://www.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ja/　）

About Toshiba TEC Corporation

Toshiba TEC Corporation is a leading company in POS systems, providing solutions to address the diverse and evolving challenges of the distribution and retail industries.
（ URL : https://www.toshibatec.co.jp/ ）

IoT-EX is a trademark or registered trademark of IoT-EX Inc.
PROTOTYPE-X is a trademark or registered trademark of IoT-EX Inc.
Company names, product names, and service names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Reference Material
Features of PROTOTYPE-X

1. Reinvention of Next-Generation Interconnection Infrastructure Technology (Patented)

Patent 6667861: Interconnection Infrastructure (IoT-HUB + Driver Method)

Patent 7027650: IoT Directory (Method for Identifying Things)

Patent 6771243: Business Proxy Function (Specifying what and how much to provide to the connection destination)

Patent Pending: Retrofit Method (Adding functions with minimal changes to existing systems)

2. Separation of Frontend and Backend The frontend is the part users see and interact with. In contrast, the backend handles data processing, such as accessing databases, which is invisible to the user.

3. Utilizing the Interconnection Infrastructure as BaaS (Backend as a Service) By using the interconnection infrastructure as BaaS, you can shorten system development time without having to develop the backend processing from scratch. The interconnection infrastructure offers excellent scalability and modifiability because functions can be added or changed simply by developing and configuring drivers.

4. Innovations in Frontend Development Frontend functions are separated into input (UI/UX), logic (app driver), and output (screen, Google Spread Sheet). Additionally, the use of a Single Page Application (SPA) method, where screen content dynamically changes based on user operations, and a Single-file webpage method, where all web page elements (CSS, images, fonts, frames, etc.) are saved as a single HTML file, makes distribution, saving, and modification of dedicated screen apps easy. Furthermore, item names are externalized in separate files, allowing for easy customization of item names and languages.

5. Achieving Collaboration and Expansion through Device (Things) Virtualization Device (Things) virtualization includes treating non-existent devices as if they exist (for emulation and simulation), treating multiple devices as a single device (for integrating and abstracting devices usable for storage, VPP, etc.), and treating a single device as multiple devices (for using multi-functional devices as multiple single-function devices). This enables development to begin even before physical devices arrive, eliminating the need for expensive equipment purchases for functional verification. (Explanation Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOoGZH2yPos　）)

6. Avoiding the Data Hoarding Problem The interconnection infrastructure can easily collect and centralize data and logs scattered across multiple systems. This allows for the output and storage of input conditions, current status, calculation formulas, processing results, operation logs, and more. Online spreadsheet software allows administrators to specify who sees what, thus avoiding the problem of data hoarding.

7. Security Measures Since the frontend is divided into a dedicated UI/UX web app for input and an app driver that executes its processing, attacks utilizing web vulnerabilities (such as SQL injection) are prevented. In recent years, vulnerabilities in FaaS (Functions as a Service) have been pointed out, making such countermeasures increasingly important. Authentication is multi-layered, using API keys, certificates, and tokens. The system also supports encrypted communication protocols (https, tcps, mqtts, VPN, etc.). Furthermore, it can support data encryption and decryption using a secure element. With a secure element, even if data is exported to CSV files, it remains encrypted, preventing information leakage. Additionally, signing specific data items allows for the detection of tampering with those data items (such as time and location).

8. Ideal for Testbed Construction A “testbed” is a platform for repeatedly verifying the feasibility, performance, and acceptance of new products and services. PROTOTYPE-X allows for rapid testbed construction, making it ideal for university laboratories, research institutes of large corporations, and commercial service development by large corporations and startups.