News

Alpine Alpine Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 6770, representative director: Nyhiro Kuriyama, headquarters: Tokyo, hereinafter referred to as "Alpine Alpine") developed the "location information management system", through the dedicated communication type driving recorder to the vehicle The location is located, and the location of the vehicle is confirmed in real time through the location information management console, which contributes to the improvement of the business efficiency of the car rental company. Alps Alpine also helps to reduce the customer's installation cost by constructing a system that links with the dash cam that is in high demand. And the location information management system has been sold by Alpine Marketing Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Alpine Marketing"), a group company engaged in the sales of commercial car audio equipment, in July this year. In recent years, as the number of car-free families with young people as the mainstream has increased, and factors such as avoiding the use of public transportation due to concerns about the impact of the new crown epidemic, self-driving car rental has shown an upward trend. But on the other hand, car rental companies are facing frequent cases of returning cars overtime without contacting them or even failing to return cars altogether. If the vehicle cannot be returned as expected, not only will it not be possible to successfully enter the return-receiving preparation procedure, but also a survey of unreturned vehicles, processing of reserved customers, and various coordination will be required, resulting in a decline in business efficiency. In order to help solve these problems, Alps Alpine has developed dedicated in-vehicle equipment equipped with vehicle positioning application software and equipped with in-vehicle navigation functions, and a location information management console that can centrally manage positioning information. As a "location information management system" that helps improve the efficiency of car rental companies' vehicle management and prevents car rental users from returning cars overtime, package sales have been started in October last year In the process of further expansion of the system, Alps Alpine received feedback from many customers: "I want to install the location information management function, but the car has been installed on the car navigation, so the navigation system is not needed." In order to meet these needs, we can provide various customers with systems that are easy for them to install. This time Alps Alpine has developed a "location information management system" linked with dedicated on-board equipment and driving recorders that are in high demand, further enriching product styles. The dedicated driving recorder is equipped with a front camera and an optional rear camera, both of which can record Full HD high-definition images in real time. In addition, in order to prevent the loss of evidence due to the dissemination of video and the stop of the video, these disputes that may occur in car rental are covered by a cover fixed by special screws, which prevents the SD card and power cable of the image storage from being plugged and unplugged. In addition, taking into account the privacy of car rental users, it is also equipped with a function that can quickly delete recorded data through the convenient operation of long pressing a specific button before renting to the next car rental user. It is expected that in 2021, the function of sending images to the server when the vehicle is sensed when the vehicle is impacted will be added, so that the image of the driving recorder can be remotely confirmed in the location information management console in real time. This function is intended for car rental users. Contribute safely and safely. In the future, this function will also be promoted to new car financial leasing companies, second-hand car dealers, and logistics companies. https://www.alpsalpine.com/c/news_release/2020/1019_02.html

Alpine Alpine Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 6770, President: Nyhiro Kuriyama, Headquarters: Tokyo, hereinafter referred to as "Alpine Alpine") has updated the navigation application "ALPINE SmartX", which will be on sale in October 2020, to support Japanese, 4 languages: English, Chinese, and Korean. From July this year, the updated version will be provided by Alpine Marketing Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Alpine Marketing"), a group company responsible for the sales of on-board audio equipment, to traffic operators, second-hand car dealers, and logistics MaaS operators start selling. Although the spread of the new crown epidemic has led to a sharp decrease in foreigners visiting Japan, with the accelerated vaccination process in various countries around the world, it is expected that after the relaxation of exit restrictions, the number of foreigners visiting Japan will recover and the demand for tourism to Japan will increase. In the journey that accompanies the new crown/post-new crown era, in order to reduce contact with others, it is expected that there will be an increase in the number of sightseeing cases that choose to rent a car and self-driving instead of taking public transportation. Alpine Alpine`s navigation application "ALPINE SmartX" will be on sale in October 2020*1, which perfectly inherits the well-received functions of the large-screen car navigation "Big X" series for the market. The customer group is car Mainly leasing operators. In order to cope with the increasing demand for travel to Japan in the future, we have updated the program of "ALPINE SmartX". After the update, in addition to Japanese, it also supports 4 languages including English, Chinese, and Korean. By selecting any language on the language setting page displayed after the application is started, the page display and voice prompts will be performed according to the set language. Customers can easily use the navigation function through simple settings. In addition, in order to meet the needs of customers, we are also adding and improving functions such as supporting the connection of the reversing camera on the dedicated terminal (smart device) for car rental. In the future, we will also strive to continuously optimize applications to contribute to a more comfortable travel. While listening to the voices of customers, we will continue to carry out updates and research. Language setting page Map page Japanese Chinese

Monitoring the CO2 and temperature and humidity parameters of the surrounding environment through high-precision sensors Alps Alpine Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 6770, President and CEO: Toshihiro Kuriyama, Headquarters: Tokyo, hereinafter referred to as "Alps Alpine") has developed a system for monitoring the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration and temperature and humidity parameters of the surrounding environment High-precision air environment sensor module. Contribute to the prevention and control of the new crown epidemic by monitoring indoor ventilation and temperature and humidity in places such as restaurants and entertainment venues. In addition to CO2 and temperature and humidity sensors, this module will also integrate sensors for detecting PM2.5, volatile organic compounds (VOC) and alcohol. We will continue to conduct market research and extend it to a wide range of uses such as the energy-saving function of white goods to help curb global warming and the anti-drowsy function of driving safe travel. The product plans to start mass production in 2022. R & D background Although there has been progress in the development of new coronavirus vaccines, the global epidemic has shown no signs of subsiding. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan pointed out that there are three common characteristics in places where group infections are found-"in a confined space with poor ventilation", "multiple people gathering", and "close distances (reach out for each other). Distance) to talk or speak". In order to effectively prevent and control, in business places where people gather in restaurants, entertainment venues, etc., the number of people will be restricted, business hours will be shortened, alcohol disinfection, body temperature measurement, etc., and ventilation will be ensured. Especially in terms of ventilation, if the doors and windows are always open to maintain ventilation, the indoor temperature and humidity will be disturbed, which may affect the comfort of the living environment. But on the other hand, if regular ventilation is performed mainly by adjusting temperature and humidity, the problem is that it is difficult to judge whether the ventilation level can really effectively prevent the spread of the virus. Therefore, there is an increasing demand for high-precision CO2 sensors required to grasp the optimal ventilation timing and high-precision temperature and humidity sensors required to restore the temperature and humidity disturbed by ventilation to a comfortable state. The field of sensor technology is where Alps Alpine`s advantage lies. So far, sensors have been developed to detect changes in parameters such as CO2, temperature and humidity, air pressure, load, and current, and are used in automobiles, consumer electronics, smart phones, industrial equipment, and more. In the product. Using this expertise and experience, Alps Alpine has developed this air environment sensor module to help prevent and control the new crown epidemic R & D overview The air environment sensor module released this time is a product developed in cooperation with Sensirion*1. The module can detect the CO2 concentration and temperature and humidity level in the surrounding environment with high accuracy. While maintaining a comfortable indoor space, it also contributes to preventing the spread of the new coronavirus. Currently, the CO2 sensors on the market widely use non-dispersive infrared absorption spectroscopy (NDIR: Non-Dispersive Infrared absorption spectroscopy), the principle of which is to determine the CO2 concentration based on the change in infrared light absorbed by the CO2 molecules between the infrared transmitter and the receiver. The large size of the sensor is a problem because the detection accuracy depends on the path length of the infrared rays. In addition, in NDIR, there is a risk of detection errors caused by the misalignment of the infrared output shaft during assembly design or product transportation. The CO2 sensor equipped with this module uses Photo Acoustic Spectroscopy (PAS: Photo Acoustic Spectroscopy) (see Figure 1 below). The working principle is to detect the CO2 concentration by collecting the vibration sound emitted by the CO2 molecule when the CO2 molecule is in contact with the emitted infrared light. Since the detection accuracy does not need to rely on the path length of infrared rays, the size of the sensor can be greatly reduced while realizing high-precision measurement to only 10.1 × 10.1 × 6.5 mm. In addition, since there is no need to arrange a detector on the opposite side of the infrared transmitter like the NDIR sensor, it will not be affected by external shocks and has higher stability. Using the expertise and experience accumulated in sensor development for many years, Alps Alpine can, in addition to providing customers with CO2 and temperature and humidity sensors, can also integrate VOC and alcohol sensors for selection according to customer requirements. While reducing the labor of client assembly design, functions can be added according to the purpose to meet diversified needs.

Pilot introduction of the air input solution AirInput™ used in the elevator operation panel and interior lighting switch of Recruit's new office building Alps Alpine Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 6770, representative director: Nyhiro Kuriyama, headquarters: Tokyo, hereinafter referred to as "Alps Alpine") piloted the introduction of a non-touch operation air input solution using an original high-sensitivity electrostatic capacitance sensor AirInput™ is used for elevator operation panels and lighting switches in the new office building of Recruit Co., Ltd. (Representative Director and President: Kitamura Yoshihiro, hereinafter referred to as "Recruit"). This introduction was completed by us and Cosmos More Co., Ltd. (Representative Director and President: Toshio Edahiro, hereinafter referred to as "Cosmos More"), which is engaged in the facility management business. The introduction of this pilot program can accumulate practical experience and knowledge on site, which will accelerate the productization of AirInput™ in a broad market. To meet the public space's unwillingness to touch due to the risk of infectious diseases such as the new crown virus, and strive to contribute to the new normal society. In the input operations of public spaces such as elevator switches, toilet flushing switches, and tram ticket vending machines, direct touch operations are performed due to reasons such as [I don`t know who has touched it", [operating parts are not clean", [own hands are dirty", etc. Scenes with conflicts abound. With the recent spread of the new crown epidemic around the world, this sense of resistance has become stronger than before. Although epidemic prevention and control measures such as alcohol disinfection have been adopted in public facilities, the new normal society has put forward higher requirements for epidemic prevention and control in public spaces. Alps Alpine has been committed to the development of air-tight input devices using original high-sensitivity electrostatic capacitance sensors since 2008. In January 2020, at the "CES2020" held in Las Vegas, the world`s largest electronic equipment trade fair, various types of applications that need to be fully considered for hygiene, such as medical and nursing sites, and public transportation, were specifically proposed. Air input solutions for live scenarios※1. Last year, with the spread of the new crown epidemic, in order to realize the commercialization of the solution as soon as possible, we accelerated market research, and also applied for the AirInput™ trademark for this type of product series that uses high-sensitivity electrostatic capacitance sensors to achieve air input. Last summer, we developed a prototype of the elevator with air input. In the process of providing the solution, the operability and completeness of the prototype as a solution were highly praised by Recruit. This time, it happened that the company had to renovate its base to reflect the concept of a new era office building, so it was opened for use in April. Our company`s AirInput™ Panel and AirInput™ Switch have been piloted in the new office building in Kudanshita, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, and the project has now been put into use. AirInput™ Panel is used for the lighting operation switch in the building, and it can switch the lighting ON/OFF in a non-contact type. When the finger is close to the floor area icon about 3cm where you want to perform lighting operations, a circle will appear to indicate that you have selected. When the circle makes a full circle, you can perform the lighting ON/OFF operation. If you leave your finger before the circle completes a full circle, you can cancel the confirmation operation to prevent misoperation. AirInput™ Switch is used on the elevator operation panel. Place your finger close to the number about 4cm where you want to go to the floor. A faint bright light will appear around the number to prompt you to select it. Continue to bring your finger closer to about 2cm, the operation will be confirmed and the white light will continue to light up. The lights will go out automatically after reaching the selected floor. The waiting hall outside the elevator is also equipped with the same product with the up and down arrow icons, so that a series of input operations required for moving in the elevator can be performed without contact. The product launched this time realizes the non-contact of the old elevator installed thirty years ago. Both products include functions such as icon actions based on the distance of the finger and determining the waiting time of the operation, realizing real and comfortable operation even in a non-contact type. In addition, AirInput™ Switch can also be touched. In addition, AirInput™ Switch adopts our company's unique decoration printing technology, and the elegant bright black interprets the high-level sense of the elevator. This technology uses a unique fusion thermal transfer printing machine. The film solid ink of about 1μm is colored by hot fusion, and multi-layer ink stack printing is performed. It can be reproduced realistically on low-cost and easy-to-mold materials such as resins. The appearance and touch of wood, metal, etc. that are difficult to perform complex molding. By using the special ink developed by our company, the invisible icon function of illuminating the icon from the back is realized. It can form a circle of light when the finger approaches and confirms the operation. In particular, the printing machine uses an on-demand printing machine that does not require plate making, and printing can be started quickly after the printing data is completed, and the color change is also very convenient, so it can quickly and flexibly respond to customer requirements. AirInput™ Switch

Developed 5G NR module for in-vehicle use and started sampling Alps Alpine Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 6770, President: Nenhiro Kuriyama, Headquarters: Tokyo (hereinafter referred to as "Alps Alpine") has developed the first in-vehicle 5G NR*1 module "UMNZ1 series" as a Japanese company. The realization process of the 5G solution-oriented society in automobiles has been sampling since March. The 5th generation mobile communication system (5G) has the characteristics of ultra-high speed, ultra-low latency, and simultaneous connection of multiple points. It is an important technology to support the future communication society. The automotive industry also benefited greatly from the CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared & Services, Electric) period of great changes. The V2X system enables the car to communicate with and interconnect with various other transportation infrastructure, other vehicles, pedestrians, etc., It is said that the combination of it and 5G will promote the IoT of automobiles, such as real-time feedback of traffic conditions to navigation, real-time downloading of high-definition video and watching on the car interior display, etc., which can make this type of in-vehicle infotainment system high-end, and The state of the car can be grasped through various sensor information, and the maintenance and repair of the car can be made more efficient. In particular, one of them fills in a function that the traditional V2X system has not fully realized-speed adjustment according to signal lights or other vehicle conditions, etc., to realize the functions necessary for completely unmanned driving, which is highly anticipated by the public. In today's society, it is required to establish a new in-vehicle communication system applying V2X system and 5G as soon as possible. On the other hand, in order to realize this system, it is necessary to improve the traditional 4G:LTE communication function and support the multi-functional and complex processing of V2X. Therefore, there is a problem that the module becomes hot due to self-heating, and the performance of the product itself cannot be exerted. Furthermore, in response to the enlargement of the module due to the multi-functionalization, it is also required to carry out the optimized module design in consideration of the customer's substrate mounting. Because this kind of development is difficult and the resources required for development are large, the threshold for commercialization is extremely high. As the first Japanese company, Alps Alpine has developed the "UMNZ1 series" 5G NR module for vehicles equipped with C-V2X function. Its products comply with 3GPP*2Rel.15 specifications. By adopting a unique structure to suppress self-heating, it also considers the heat dissipation performance inside the component after mounting, so that the product performance can always be kept to the maximum. In addition, the flatness of the module is controlled through a unique design, and a product design that meets the quality of the vehicle is realized, which can be stably mounted on the client. In addition, it is also a compatible product that supports different standardized frequency bands in various regions around the world, and contributes to reducing customer development labor. This product has been sampled for actual use by customers since March to promote the realization of the next-generation communication solution-oriented society brought about by the V2X system and 5G. Alps Alpine applies Bluetooth® and Wi-Fi® technologies to automotive applications and develops various products. In this regard, it has always been a leader in the industry. The same is true for C-V2X. It signed a cooperative partnership agreement with Chinese C-V2X chip suppliers on complementary production and development, developed an All in One module*3 with a built-in V2X protocol, and participated in the interconnectivity test in China. In the C-V2X Special Zone of Wuxi City, empirical experiments continued to be carried out. Through the introduction of C-V2X, the activity centered on the world-leading China region and insisted on advancing technology development first in the industry. However, this product is aimed at global uses outside of China. It is designed to support different frequency bands in various countries, and optionally support DSDA*4, and has a design that can correspond to a wide range of uses. In the future, our company will continue to work hard to achieve safe, secure, and comfortable car travel, and continue to promote more measures in the field of networking, which is our company's advantage.

Alps Alpine Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 6770, President: Ninhiro Kuriyama, Headquarters: Tokyo (hereinafter referred to as "Alps Alpine") will expand the product lineup of the "SPVQ8" series of small switches that detect automobile doors, etc., and add SPVQ8H series. The "Small Detector Switch SPVQ8" currently sold by Alps Alpine has won praise for its smallest size and rich product styles in the industry. This time Alps Alpine will further expand its product lineup to respond to a wider range of customer needs. With the development of automotive electronics, the market has also put forward smaller and lighter requirements for the electronic devices used in it. The same is true for door latches*1. Miniaturization and thinning have become the mainstream, which requires smaller detection switches. In order to improve the design freedom of customers and realize the diversified operation of the latch cam*2, the demand for supporting long strokes is increasing. For this reason, the model with "actuator" will be added to the existing small detection switch SPVQ8 series . The "with actuator" switch can expand the detection range (vertical and horizontal) and improve stability, thereby realizing a longer life by mitigating shocks. In addition, there are requirements for hood latches and side door latches*3 for the tensile strength of the cable harness and the strength of the actuator. Therefore, by adding a shell to the original product to improve robustness, and to improve installation compatibility, it will be sold with "SPVQ8H series" with two shell shapes. Alps Alpine has been engaged in the manufacture and sales of automotive detection switches for more than 20 years. In addition to the detection of door opening and closing, the main purpose of the detection switch at present is to gradually promote its use as the demand for EV charger connection detection and smart car rearview mirror ON/OFF detection has increased in recent years. In the future, Alps Alpine will continue to develop the best products that meet the needs of customers and the market, and strive to contribute to solving social issues through our business.