Spanning more than 100 years, Nikon Corp., best known for its photographic gear, has defined a new vision for itself in 2030: a key technology solutions company in a global society where humans and machines co-create seamlessly.
How does it envision this transformation unfolding? The company’s exhibits at CES 2023 and comments by CEO Toshikazu Umatate give a glimpse into this new era of Nikon.
From Sharkskin to Aircraft
CES is a place for IT companies and industrial manufacturers to present their concepts of the future. Against this backdrop, Nikon went beyond merely just showcasing its 2023 products, displaying highlights of the future it envisions.
Take, for example, what Nikon calls riblet processing. Inspired by sharkskin, it uses lasers to develop micro-surface structures on an object to reduce frictional resistance. Such structures can be applied to aircraft, wind turbine blades, or other parts used in various industries to reduce fuel consumption, improve power-generation efficiency, and decrease carbon dioxide emissions. As the world adopts carbon neutrality and transitions to a low-carbon future, riblet processing represents an exciting advance.
The implementation of this novel technology has already begun, starting with All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. (ANA). Based on the trial, ANA deduced that when riblet-processed film is attached to 80% of the entire surfaces of the aircraft, fuel efficiency can improve by around 2%. This means that the application of this processing to all of ANA’s aircraft could save 8 billion yen (about $60 million) in annual fuel costs. Riblet processing is also expected to reduce CO2 emissions; ANA could cut an estimated 300,000 tons annually.
Robot Vision
Another new technology Nikon spotlighted at CES was robot vision. This system achieves dynamic visual acuity greater than that of the human eyes, enabling robots to move at high speeds with ultra-precision. Robot vision mounted on the end of a robotic arm, currently under development, heralds a future in which robots will be able to perform complicated, high-precision operations that can now be performed only by humans.
Grassroots R&D Leads to Commercialization
In parallel with improving its core business, Nikon has launched a wide range of new business-to-business ventures. These include not just riblet processing and robot vision as lead technologies, but they span a broad range from motion-picture expression capture to drug discovery in the medical field.
“We used to be a company with a predictive mindset, thinking about what we could do with the existing technology at hand. But we live in a time of drastic changes, and technology is advancing quite rapidly. So we need to take a broader and longer view to create business projects while envisioning the future,” explained CEO Toshikazu Umatate in Las Vegas, giving context for Nikon’s exhibitions there.
Generating novel innovations requires creative thinking and an unconventional work style. “Colleagues, like those in the Semiconductor Lithography Business Unit, would gather on Friday evenings and discuss whether this or that elemental technology could be applied to other things. It was an ‘underground’ brainstorm of sorts,” says Umatate.
Through the practice of such grassroots activities, Umatate established the Next Generation Project Division. This does not launch projects within Nikon’s existing business units. Rather, in his words, “It is positioned right between R&D activity and business research activity.” Each member here has worked on bringing to fruition various projects based on CEO Umatate’s direct decisions.
On the M&A front, Umatate shows a proactive attitude toward collaboration and acquisition of external companies. Nikon announced a plan to invest up to 300 billion yen ($2.24 billion) in M&A by the end of March 2026. The company acquired a German metal 3D printer manufacturer, SLM Solutions Group AG, in January 2023. The total acquisition price amounted to 622 million euros (about $665 million).
Manufacturing Beyond Time and Space
People’s values and needs continue to diverge and diversify. Consequently, traditional mass production-based manufacturing may have to change. Umatate predicts that in the future manufacturing will no longer be constrained by geography. “The transfer of technologies and molds played an important role in the past when a manufacturing locations had to be changed. But in the future, I believe we can manufacture products anywhere if the necessary infrastructure is in place, as the design process can be done anywhere,” he says.
“What we need to do is to transfer digital design data by using 3D printing and laser-processing technologies. This can eliminate the need to prepare the specific process for each product part. In this way, we can take manufacturing digitalization one step further.”
With an eye on the future of manufacturing, Nikon is folding a variety of new technologies, including the robot vision and riblet processing exhibited at CES 2023, into its own business. After a challenging period for the camera industry, Umatate says, “We were able to bounce back earlier than expected.” Acknowledging the enthusiasm of the technology press, he adds, “Our flagship mirrorless camera, the Nikon Z 9, exhibited at CES 2023, received high ratings and marks.”
The company also launched a next-generation imaging content business to explore expressive possibilities with creators.
“Nikon is a company that makes unexpectedly big decisions. We hope to continually demonstrate our attitude of getting things done when necessary,” Umatate says. “Although Nikon is well known for its photographic gear and imaging technologies, we want to convey the fact that our company portfolio is actually quite diverse, while striving to realize our management vision of changing the future with optics. That’s what I’m thinking about.”
This story was produced by WIRED Brand Lab for Nikon.
