Fujitsu 2013 Annual Report Download - page 65

In recent years, we are seeing more and more cases of pets
contracting obesity and diabetes, even when they are raised
with great care. One Fujitsu employee wondered whether the
sensing technologies that have been developed for mobile
phones could be used to assist with the health management
of pet dogs. From this small flash of inspiration, the Dog
Pedometer & Cloud-based Health Management Service was
born. It has garnered a tremendous following not only from
the pet care industry, but from people all over the world. In
this section, we look at the story behind the development of
this innovative product and service.
Applying Sensing technology Cultivated through
Mobile Phones to Health Management for Pets
Today, pets have truly become members of the family. As the relation-
ship between people and their companion animals has grown closer,
pets have increasingly been drawn into the family circle and are experi-
encing a prominent rise in obesity and other lifestyle diseases. Fujitsu
seeks to support the health management of dogs by harnessing the
power of human-centric ICT. This idea led to the development of the
Wandant dog pedometer.
It all began at an internal manager training session. The idea for
Wandant was developed by chance during a program designed to bring
staff members together from different divisions to brainstorm ideas for
new businesses, and pitch these ideas to management. The green light
was given for this innovative project in December 2010. Fujitsu began
full-scale development of a service that combines a dog pedometer with
cloud-based health management support. A key application is the
sensing technologies that have been developed for mobile devices.
Three Key Canine Health Management Functions
The pedometer functions use Fujitsu’s sensing technology based
on three-axis accelerometers used in mobile phones—an area where
Fujitsu already has an extensive track record. However, considering the
differences between the bone structures of people and dogs, as well as
the fact that dogs have five different ways of walking and running, the
technology could not be simply transferred to the dog pedometer with-
out modification. Therefore, Fujitsu’s developers gathered data by
actually attaching sensors to dogs and filming their behavior on video.
Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. analyzed this video footage, and after sur-
mounting many development challenges, successfully developed a
pedometer algorithm specifically adapted to dogs.
Dogs have a tendency to shiver in moments of acute distress.
Accordingly, Fujitsu developed a function that automatically measures
and records such shivering motions and installed the function into the
pedometer. Also, dogs walk close to the ground, where the temperature
tends to be higher than what owners experience. For this reason, Fujitsu
fitted the pedometer with a temperature sensor. This modification
enables owners to monitor changes in the outdoor temperature, as well
as indoor temperature when they are outside their homes, and thereby
take steps to prevent their pets from suffering heat exhaustion.
Data recorded by the main pedometer unit using Fujitsu’s propri-
etary sensing technologies can be easily uploaded to a cloud-based
server via smartphones and PCs. Besides enabling users to store data on
the server, Fujitsu has set up a user-friendly website that allows users to
create diaries centered on the health management of their pet dogs.
A Strong Global Following Since Launch
In May 2012, Fujitsu announced that it had developed pedometer
technology specifically adapted to dogs. The Wandant dog pedometer
was launched following a press release about the new service in
November 2012. The new product has attracted extremely strong inter-
est. Since its release, Fujitsu has been receiving a steady stream of
product inquiries from various industries around the world. The product
has also received media attention from various quarters. Notably, Fujitsu
has fielded a large number of inquiries from North America and Europe,
which have enormous pet care markets, and where interest in the
Wandant dog pedometer has far surpassed Fujitsu’s initial expectations.
In 2013, Fujitsu commenced a joint study on pet behavior and
health in cooperation with Anicom Holdings, Inc. and Professor Toshiki
Sako of Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University. In addition,
Fujitsu also started developing and field testing a cloud computing
system for animal medical care at the same time as the Wandant dog
pedometer. Fujitsu will work to promote organic links between the
Wandant dog pedometer and this cloud service, which enables inte-
grated management and use of pet health checkup records and diag-
nostic information.
Going forward, Fujitsu plans to
upgrade and expand health support
services for dogs, mainly by reducing the
pedometer’s weight and size, while
providing additional features such as a
monitoring function.
Achieving an Innovative Health Management Service for Pet Dogs
by Combining Dog Pedometers and Cloud Services
THE STORY BEHIND
THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THE WANDANT
DOG PEDOMETER
(left)
Ubiquitous Service Business Unit
Consumer Business Division
Strategic Alliance Department
Manager
YOUKO MITSUYAMA
(right)
Ubiquitous Service Business Unit
Consumer Business Division
Strategic Alliance Department
RYO MIZUGUCHI
It keeps me healthy!
063
FUJITSU LIMITED ANNUAL REPORT 2013
PERFORMANCE