ASCII startup EVORIDE ORPHE, which realized new value creation that supports the sports industry and health from smart shoes

　This article is a joint project with the Open Innovation and Venture Creation Council (JOIC), which promotes "open innovation" initiatives by private businesses.

``EVORIDE ORPHE'', which was launched in 2020, is an unprecedented product that converts foot movements into data and visualizes the characteristics of a runner's running style to help them reach their goals. We asked them about the background to their collaboration, and why they were able to create smart shoes equipped with sensors developed by start-up company ORPHE in ASICS running shoes.

Development of new markets related to “new experiences that link things and things”

July 2020 Cloud "EVORIDE ORPHE", which was pre-ordered on the funding site "Makuake" and launched at some ASICS directly managed stores and the ASICS online store in December of the same year, is the inside of the midsole of ASICS running shoes "EVORIDE". Smart shoes equipped with the dedicated sensor “ORPHE CORE 2.0” developed by the startup company ORPHE Co., Ltd. (former company name: no new folk studio Co., Ltd.).

　Just by putting them on and running, the movement of the foot during running is converted into data, and the characteristics of the runner's running style are visualized to support the achievement of goals. Data such as distance, lap time, pace, stride, pitch, landing area and time, contact angle, landing impact, etc. are acquired while running. Calculate the evaluation score.

EVORIDE ORPHE was launched in December 2020 after about three years of joint research and joint development, with the 2019 ASICS Accelerator Program winning the Grand Prize as a major trigger. Released on. In February 2021, it has attracted a lot of attention, such as winning the grand prize at the Japan Sports Agency's "INNOVATION LEAGUE Contest".

　We asked Mr. Kikukawa, CEO of ORPHE Co., Ltd., who carried out the project, and Mr. Harano, Executive Officer of ASICS Co., Ltd., Director of the Institute of Sport Science, about the background behind the efforts of the two companies. omitted).

ORPHE Co., Ltd. CEO/Founder Yuya Kikukawa After graduating from Hitotsubashi University, Faculty of Commerce, Department of Business Administration, he majored in art engineering at the Graduate School of Tokyo Metropolitan University. In 2014, he established no new folk studio Co., Ltd. (currently ORPHE Co., Ltd.) with the commercialization of smart footwear "Orphe", which he started developing as a research for a new music performance interface. We will propose new products based on the keyword "IoT for expression". Received the Good Design Award, Selected works recommended by the Judging Committee of the Japan Media Arts Festival, and received the Grand Prize of the Sports Agency INNOVATION LEAGUE Contest.

Kenichi Harano, Executive Officer, Head of Sports Engineering Research Institute, ASICS Corporation Joined ASICS Corporation in April 1992. He is engaged in material design for FW (footwear) at the Institute of Sport Science. In 2000, he was assigned to the Guangzhou office in China, and in addition to transferring control and technical guidance to the OEM factory (contracted production factory) of ASICS materials, he introduced quality testing equipment to the OEM factory and standardized it. A new material transfer system was also constructed. In 2009, he was assigned to the Institute of Sport Science again and led the team and department responsible for the development of functional materials. In 2014, he served as Director of the Footwear Function Research Department, and since 2018 he has been Executive Officer and Director of the Sports Engineering Research Institute.

The “twists and twists” leading up to the accelerator program

──Could you briefly tell us about each introduction and what led to the collaboration?

Harano: First, let me introduce the mission of the ASICS Institute of Sport Science. We are conducting research and development based on the vision of providing a new lifestyle to people. In the past, ASICS was limited to providing these three areas in the form of goods. Currently, our research institute is promoting development not only for products, but also for providing new services and experiences as a research subject.

Kikukawa　We have been focusing on the development of wearable interfaces since our founding in 2014, and in 2016 we released smart shoes called "ORPHE ONE". From there, we began to focus on sensing fields such as running, and in 2018 we announced the ORPHE TRACK, and when we applied for the ASICS accelerator program, our shoes were adopted, which led to the launch of EVORIDE ORPHE. ” started joint research and joint development.

ORPHE ONE released in 2016 (Discontinued) https://ascii.jp/elem/000/001/216/1216645/img.html

──The fact that you were able to sell the product in about three years from the start of the project seems to have been quite successful in terms of manufacturing, what do you think?

Harano: Certainly, if you look only at the chronological order, it may look like things are progressing smoothly, but in reality there are quite a few twists and turns to get to this point.

　In fact, it was a long time ago that I started working with Mr. Kikukawa on what I wanted to do. It will be an important thing to support." We had always thought that. However, at that time, although I generally agreed that it would work as an organization with just such thoughts, it took a lot of time to realize it. In fact, even before the accelerator program, I had proposed to the company several times in the form of a social implementation demonstration experiment, saying, "I want to do something like this."

　Even before the accelerator program with ORPHE, we have been conducting concrete initiatives related to "creating new experiences that link things and things" twice.

　On the social implementation side, there was a demonstration experiment of the information trust platform provided by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking. The second is the inspiration for “shining shoes”. ASICS has a transparent cushioning material called GEL, and in December 2018, we launched a product called “GEL-QUANTUM INFINITY” that uses it for the entire shoe sole. With the desire to get customers to recognize these shoes and to recognize the new product, we jointly developed a special model for the launch event where the entire sole of the shoe lights up. I did a performance.

In this way, the awareness of "new experiences that link things and things" is gradually increasing within the company, but it is still better to take a top-down approach rather than the bottom-up as before. Since it would be easy to progress as an accelerator program, it was decided to proceed with Mr. Kikukawa.

Participating in Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking's demonstration experiment deepens the relationship

──How did ORPHE work on smart shoes before applying for the accelerator program? Is not it.

Kikukawa: In 2018, the accelerator program started just as the principles of our smart shoes technology had just been completed. Before that, it was a lot of trial and error.

　At first, we focused on things that could be worn with sensors and computers embedded in the shoes as a hardware layer, and the network part that communicated wirelessly with smartphones in real time. In other words, it's like we're constantly stepping on home appliances, so even the hardware layer can be said to be a product that is quite unreasonable.

After overcoming that, we were able to create an interesting product called a shoe that shines, but even so, there was a problem with functionality, durability, breathability, etc. as a shoe, fashion, price, logistics, etc. There was a time when I realized that it would be difficult for a venture company like us, which started from scratch, to do things that we could have taken for granted. In the midst of this, I had an encounter with ASICS while talking with various shoe manufacturers.

　In conclusion, we decided that "Asics is the best way to compete in the world", and we also approached it quite a bit. In Japan, there are only a limited number of shoe manufacturers that can make decisions about creating new value with smart shoes, have research laboratories, and are capable of everything from development to manufacturing. To be honest, there was no other manufacturer other than Asics. In terms of synergy for us, ASICS clearly had it in mind, so I feel that we started from a very distant place so that we could reach a level where we could form a relationship.

──What kinds of moves and decisions did ASICS make up until the point of collaborating with ORPHE?

Harano: Since its founding in 1949, ASICS has inherited the philosophy of its founder as its DNA. Above all, we place great importance on the founding philosophy of "a sound mind in a sound body," which is the origin of the company's name in 1977. As people become more and more health conscious, in order to provide new value for them, the speed of startups and sensitivity to trends were required.

　Amidst all of this, our participation in the demonstration experiment by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking in November 2018, which I mentioned earlier, showed significant progress in our mutual relationship. We researched a service that would work as an information bank by inserting sensors into shoes and recognizing unconscious walking dynamics and linking them to personal data, but we weren't able to move forward with commercialization.

　However, the results here have greatly contributed to making people feel the value that smart shoes and collaboration with startups bring, even within the company.

The information bank initiative itself, in which the two companies were involved at the time, was launched on July 1, 2021 as the information bank service “Dprime”. Value creation and utilization of personal healthcare data can be seen as an extension of EVORIDE ORPHE

Participating in CES 2020 turned out to be a major turning point

──Now that you have commercialized EVORIDE ORPHE after all these twists and turns, what do you feel when you look back on the development process?

Commercialized "EVORIDE ORPHE" dedicated shoes and sensor "ORPHE CORE 2.0" inside the midsole

Kikukawa: Looking back, I can honestly say that it was quite a power play. At the stage of the proof-of-concept, I felt a sense of indecision as to whether or not the company could do it, even though the company had given me a lot of support. We have pushed forward with a strong desire to present the product to the world.

　Participation in CES 2020 was probably the biggest breakthrough. The fact that we were able to go on sale within a year was partly due to the fact that we were in a hurry, but this was due to the accumulation of collaboration and research over the past few years, and we were able to share and understand the problems to some extent. It was possible because I believe that all the various projects before CES were the process leading up to the product.

Harano: As you said, we had a success at CES, and we wanted to commercialize it as soon as possible. was quite difficult. Therefore, I thought that the format of order sales could be applied, and I considered using crowdfunding. After consulting with the president, he agreed with the new attempt, and a kick-off meeting was held with the people involved. At the beginning of the meeting, I believe that we were able to commercialize the product in a short period of time because of the comments from top management that all parties involved should work together to accelerate commercialization.

──Lastly, could you give us your thoughts on open innovation in general and the significance and value that will be sought in the future?

Kikukawa 　Looking back on the efforts we have made so far, I think that there are some risks that startups can take but are difficult for large companies to take. Since it already has functions, it would be good if we could optimize the division of roles. For that reason, I feel that it is important to build a relationship of trust that allows us to share each other's goals and weaknesses.

　Although it may be common, open innovation is based on the idea that without innovation, competitiveness cannot be maintained, and that innovation is essential, and that the vision for the direction of technology matches. Isn't it?

　The term DX (Digital Transformation) is also used in various places, but rather than the idea of ​​digitally streamlining some operations, when all industries are based on digital, First of all, it is necessary to have a strategy, such as how your company's work will change and what position you should take to demonstrate its value at that time. I believe that initiatives that allow us to share our strengths and demonstrate our respective strengths will lead to open innovation.

Harano: We recognize that the essence of open innovation lies in the efficient use of internal and external factors to create innovation—in other words, create new value with a sense of speed. In the future, I think it will be important to create value that is optimized for individuals, and to continue to evolve and deepen value.