The Future is Now: A Look Back at Soracom Discovery 2024
Written by: Jason Segarra
Published: September 10, 2024
At Soracom, a huge part of our company culture is to share everything we can. This means building in the open, not being afraid to ask questions, and having complete transparency across all stakeholders. It is in this spirit that we launched Soracom Discovery, our annual keynote event where we not only introduce the latest innovations of our own products and services but also share the stage with partners and well-wishers to showcase the solutions that Soracom has helped them build.
On July 17, 2024, Soracom hosted its ninth Discovery, a huge milestone for our organization that we would not have achieved without the support and enthusiasm of our global community of partners and customers. This year’s event – Soracom’s first live event since being listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange – offered audiences an exciting look at the ways in which Soracom is shaping the future of connected technology.
Soracom Stands on a Global Stage
As the event began, the optimistic tone was set by Soracom President and CEO, Ken Tamagawa, who kicked off the keynote by outlining our vision that “the best human future is connected.” This speaks to the overarching Soracom vision of democratizing IoT technologies to create a more connected world. Thus far, this mission has incorporated more than 6 million global connections, 182 countries, and more than 30,000 user organizations, a third of which stem from international markets.
Soracom’s cellular IoT solutions have found their way into virtually every industry, from manufacturing and healthcare to transportation, energy, and utilities, and we continue to be excited by the new ideas and technologies that our connectivity continues to enable. Some of those technologies, such as THK’s component failure predictions or Systec’s solar panel monitoring for trucks, are being powered by maturing AI technologies – and Soracom is proud to embrace emerging technologies
“These examples underscore the diverse and transformative applications of our IoT solutions,” said Tamagawa. “I am convinced that by combining AI with IoT, customer innovation will accelerate even more.”
Expanding Horizons with Satellite Connectivity
Next to take the stage was Soracom Senior Executive Officer and CEO of Japan Hironori Saito, who echoed Tamagawa’s vision of a connected future by discussing Soracom’s evolution into a global provider of IoT connectivity solutions. This growth has seen Soracom expand not only into new countries and regions, but new means of connecting our customers as well.
This is why Soracom introduced its new planNT1, which enables satellite connections via the NB-IoT network offered by Soracom partner Skylo. This greatly expands the coverage area of Soracom services and opens the doors to new use cases in remote locations such as oceans or the desert. Whether it’s tracking container ships passing across the Pacific, monitoring pipelines in the uninhabited wilderness, or managing livestock in vast areas, this expanded connectivity option creates a world of opportunities for IoT innovation.
“We’ve come one step closer to a world where we’re connected everywhere we go,” said Saito.
The service is currently available in North America, Europe and Oceania, with plans to expand into Japan and other regions in the coming years.
Creating a More Connected World With Generative AI and IoT
Whatever its broader applications to popular culture may be, there’s no denying the potential of GenAI to enhance IoT technologies. That is why Soracom has begun to incorporate GenAI into several new goods and services to both analyze and generate actionable data from our customers’ deployed devices.
That is why we introduced Soracom Query Intelligence, a tool that deploys Generative AI to analyze large volumes of data stored within our managed data warehouse service, Soracom Query. Using natural language inquiries, users can easily perform complex analyses of the underlying device and SIM data provided by Query, with responses coming in text as well as graphical charts to help simplify decision-making.
GenAI is capable of far more than chatting with the user or generating images. It has the potential to become the missing piece in a complete IoT solution – an enabler that makes decisions based on data and operate devices in the field. Having considered that, we have worked with select customers who share this vision and conducted research projects.
One of those customers is Mitsubishi Electric, whose Corporate Executive Nobuo Asahi actually presented the outcome of the joint research project. In his presentation, Asahi showed that sensor data could be run through the prompt generation software created by Matsuo Laboratory to improve both the efficiency of air conditioning services (by roughly 48% in tests) as well as the comfort of users. Some of the data utilized in this example include indoor temperature, outdoor temperature, availability of sunlight, temperature settings, and the position of people in the room detected by camera images being cooled, among other factors.
The result offered proof that GenAI can efficiently make decisions based on data, thus filling the missing piece in IoT. Yet a fuller IoT solution requires that accumulated data be shared beyond organizations and verticals. To this end, Tomohiro Ishibashi, CEO of Weathernews, presented his company’s precision weather forecasting system that utilized data collected from sensors and images and videos uploaded by its customers, all as part of a service now accessible via an API. As more and more organizations share data and knowledge via API, we feel the world grows ever closer to the collaborative, connected future Soracom envisions.
Introducing Soracom Flux: Low-Code IoT Application Builder
While GenAI has the potential to fulfill the missing piece in IoT, connecting device data and events to cloud and building automation by integrating GenAI engines and cloud services is another thing. One of our biggest points of pride from this year’s Discovery event was the unveiling of our new, low-code tool for IoT development, Soracom Flux. Flux utilizes GenAI to allow users to build complex IoT applications through simple, plain-language commands, allowing even non-technical project managers to build effective solutions without the assistance of an engineer. This is accomplished by applying specific rules to sensor data and images recorded by deployed devices and connecting to leading public LLMs, including ChatGPT, Amazon Bedrock, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Azure AI. This can, in turn, streamline the development process considerably, as rules can be reflected in notifications and even control deployed devices themselves.
While introducing Flux, Soracom CTO and Co-founder Kenta Yasukawa showed an example of how the service could be used to enhance safety protocols by detecting whether protective equipment is being worn in dangerous areas and triggering appropriate alerts, and how easy it is to extend the capability of a system by updating GenAI prompts in natural language Yasukawa hopes that introducing a tool that places IoT development within the reach of a broader spectrum of users can help accelerate Soracom’s push for a more connected world.
“Just as people drew constellations in the night sky, I hope this tool will allow everyone to give shape to their IoT ideas,” said Yasukawa. “I believe Soracom Flux will help connect people and things around the world.”
Collaborations are the Key to a More Connected Future
Discovery 2024 ended by reiterating the importance of collaboration in creating a more connected world. To this end, the event wrapped with a dynamic panel discussion featuring industry leaders from Suzuki, Mitsubishi Electric, and Weathernews. Echoing the sentiments of the overall event, this panel shared insights on leveraging generative AI and IoT to solve complex challenges and generate exciting new ideas.
The panel, and the solutions introduced by its members, provided validation that collaboration across industries can and will unlock new possibilities and drive innovation. At Soracom, we are excited to continue leading the way in IoT, connecting people and things to create a more resonant and efficient world.
Thank you to everyone who joined us at Soracom Discovery 2024. Together, we are shaping a future where technology not only connects us but empowers us to achieve more. Stay tuned for more exciting developments as we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in the IoT space.
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