In order to help the ecosystem in Japan learn more about Israel and further collaborate with it in the future, we took it upon ourselves to host a bi-monthly “Israel Seminar” in our HQ in Japan. Once every 2 months we invite the ecosystem community in Tokyo to learn more about a selected field of interest! During the event we share some research findings as well as discuss the field and its development together with key players of the ecosystem.
We’ve decided to share some of our findings and further information about the event and speakers in our blog as we believe both ecosystems (Israel and Japan) will find it useful!
Our latest seminar - this time in the Construction tech field - had over 50 participants from all over the Japanese ecosystem, who were looking to learn further about Israeli technology in the field of Construction.
The Speakers
Koji Yamada | CON-TECH Project Project Leader @ Kashiwabara Corporation
Works on finding new business opportunities in the construction tech area. In 2018, he became the Construction Tech Project Leader at Kashiwabara Corporation, and managed JAPAN CON-TECH FUND, which specializes in construction tech.
Takayuki Ohara | ICI General Center Director of Innovation Center @ Maeda Construction Industry Co., Ltd.
After joining Maeda Construction, he engaged in R&D at the Technical Research Institute. Taking advantage of a partnership with Tsinghua University in China, he studied abroad at the same university and obtained a doctorate. After that, he worked in China for three years. After returning to Japan in 2011, he worked in new business development for 5 years, he was reassigned to Technical Research Institute in 2016, and assumed his current position in 2018.
Takeshi Sasaki | CTO Office Technology Innovation Planning Division Chief Engineer @ Komatsu Manufacturing Company
Joined Komatsu in 2003 as a new graduate. After joining the company, he started working in the design, development and mass production maintenance of small and medium-sized bulldozers at the Development Division. His current position began at 2017, where he is active as a bridge between external and internal departments through open innovation as well as information gathering and research on advanced technologies.
Construction in Israel
Construction technology refers to the collection of innovative tools, machinery and software used during a construction project. These technologies enable futuristic progress in field construction methods and in various types of construction equipment. Where did it all start? Construction is an ancient human activity which began with the purely functional need for a safe place to moderate the effects of extreme weather. Meaning, the construction's main goal was to build shelters which human beings were able to adapt themselves to a wide variety of climates and become a global species. We made a long way ever since.
The value of the global construction industry is currently estimated at $ 10 trillion a year. In Israel, this sector accounts for about 10% of GDP, and is estimated at about 90 billion NIS.
The Israeli construction industry, which is considered traditional, has undergone a technological “earthquake” in recent years. Today, most of the construction and execution companies in Israel are making considerable efforts to integrate
innovative construction technology into construction projects. In addition, Various ventures are trying to influence almost every aspect of the industry, from software development to the construction world, through robots, property management apps, to 3D printers, design and city planning.
The Construction-Tech is gaining momentum within the local ecosystem, with over 100 active start-ups (and the number is on the rise), and a growing community of Construction-Tech enthusiasts. Moreover, this trend is gaining reinforcement from The Israeli Ministry of Housing and Construction, who is taking an active role in promoting ConTech startups.
Israeli Construction Success Stories
- Vayyar and SoftBank
In 2017, SoftBank has started a cooperation with Vayyar, developing IoT apps for the Japanese market, in the fields of transportation, construction and welfare, based on Vayyar’s technology and SoftBank’s AI technology. The IoT division vice president at Softbank, Ironovo Tamba, said that Vayyar is the global leader in 3D imaging via radio waves. "We recognize a great synergy between their innovative technology and the needs of our customers." Vayyar's sensor is suitable for many potential applications, so the company builds collaborations with leading players in each target market individually.
- Datumate and Skanska Group
Skanska is one of the world’s leading project development and construction groups. It was established in 1887 with multiple companies in the Nordic region, Europe and North America. As part of the UK’s A14 improvement design, which is one of the UK’s largest road projects, it was required to map a busy A14 highway junction including a highway intersection and a railway line. This is where Datumate entered the story (2017) with its smart drones, and solved Sanka’s issue with an efficient solution. Datumate’s drone, with a 36-megapixel SonyA7R camera, was used for high resolution photoshooting and Then the aerial photography was processed using an advanced enterprise photogrammetry software, to quickly generate a detailed CAD model of the area, textured 3D model and true orthophoto. In traditional measurements this process length is approximately 20 days. Contrary to that, Datumate solution’s length was only 1.5 days for this project!
Construction Tech & Samurai Incubate Israel
Samurai is currently looking to invest in Construction tech technologies, as part of our investments in the newly launched 6 fund.
See our terms and apply for an investment here: https://www.samurai-incubate-israel.asia/investments
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