Information Processing: Origin and Development

The recent decrease in the labor force, reforms in working styles, the proliferation of online shopping and innovations in ICT technology have changed the way stores sell products and consumers purchase them. Against this backdrop, there is increased attention on initiatives that provide optimal shopping experiences for consumers visiting stores and maximize their satisfaction.

DNP has developed a "VR showroom" and "VR model room" system that enables customers to make purchasing decisions on products through a virtual reality (VR) customer experience just like real-life shopping. The system is currently available to companies that operate automobile showrooms and condominium model rooms. It enables customers to experience the products in photo-realistic CG as if they were actually in front of them, through a large screen display or by wearing a VR device. In automobile showrooms, customers can choose their desired car model, color, options, etc., and see the car with the specifications they want on the spot. In condominium model rooms, customers can experience different floor plans and types of interior coordination.

The system creates hyper-realistic 3D CG data based on CAD data, design drawings and other sources, achieving a level of photo-realistic CG that feels just like the real thing in a VR space. Until now, it has been difficult to create photo-realistic CG for interactive systems featuring a high degree of freedom, such as VR, because of the high computational load. We have made this possible by uniting and optimizing advanced image processing technology cultivated through our printing business and VR technology. In addition to the photo-realistic presentation of products through VR, moving forward we will provide new shopping experiences leveraging augmented reality (AR) technology and AI-based customer service functions.

A smart card is a card with a built-in IC chip, non-volatile memory for storing security data and other data, and a CPU. They come in the form of "contact cards," "contactless cards" and "dual interface cards" that have both contact and contactless functions.

In Japan, computers were first introduced at financial institutions in the 1960s, and demand for printing business forms increased as part of the streamlining of office work. From the 1970s, cash dispensers and ATMs were introduced at banks, and cash cards quickly grew in popularity. Later, credit cards and membership cards also became commonplace, and by the late 1980s, around 100 million magnetic cards had been issued.

DNP had been developing magnetic cards since the late 1960s, and by the end of the 1970s had established a mass production system that allowed us to lead the market as one of the top magnetic card manufacturers in Japan. Since then, we have worked to include magnetic bars in bank books and provided a number of services pertaining to cash cards, while also leading the shift toward smart cards.

DNP continues to hold top share in the Japanese market, providing smart cards that can be used across many industries and business categories, including credit cards, transportation cards and electronic money cards. We are currently driving the further evolution of this field by developing biometric cards with fingerprint authentication that are compatible with FeliCa, a type of contactless smart card technology that is widely used for electronic money and employee ID cards in Japan.