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CANON EXPO
Here’s a question for fans of the
BBC Two quiz show
Only Connect
.
What comes next in the following
sequence: Canon over IP; See More.
Create More. Be More.; We Speak
Image?
The answer is Come and See. And
the connection is that they are the main
themes of the last four Canon Expos held
in 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 – themes
that connect Canon’s diverse portfolio and
provide a framework and direction of travel
for future innovations.
A better slogan for this year’s
exhibition, more in keeping with the
descriptive handles of previous years,
would have been Imaging of Things, a
phrase used by Canon Inc president and
CEO Fujio Mitarai in his keynote address
when positioning Canon at the heart of the
developing Internet of Things (IoT).
Mitarai pointed out that 87% of the
information human beings receive from
the outside world is processed visually,
adding that what makes inter-connected
devices truly smart are their cameras and
sensors and the visual data that they
generate and communicate. On this basis,
he argued that Canon, with its leadership
in imaging sensors, lenses and processors,
is well placed to seize new opportunities
presented by the IoT.
As an example, he cited network
cameras. Through its acquisition of
Milestore and Axis Communications, Canon
is already the largest surveillance system
company in the world and over the next
five years it plans to build on this position
with ground-breaking new products
like the super-sensitive Ultra Telephoto
Network Camera capable of capturing
detailed colour images at night without the
need for infrared lighting.
Growth areas
Network visual solutions (video
surveillance) is one of three growth areas
Canon will be focusing on over the next
five years. The other two are 3D printing
and graphic arts.
Canon already offers a range of 3D
printers through its partnership with 3D
Systems. The big revelation at Canon
Expo 2015 was the news that Canon
has now developed its own 3D printer.
Designed for professional and industrial
applications, from rapid prototyping to
manufacturing, the printer uses a resin-
based system offering superior strength
and faster modelling/setting speeds. It has
also developed Integrated Software that
seamlessly links 3D scanners and printers.
Canon has been active in the graphic
arts market for many years and is expecting
further growth as customers make the
transition from analogue to digital
printing. Rokus van Iperen, President and
CEO of Canon Europe, Middle East and
Africa, said this process is accelerating as
digital printers, like the recently launched
Océ Colorwave 910 wide format printer,
become more productive, more versatile
and produce better quality output.
An interesting development in the
pipeline is Canon’s tactile, 2.5D ‘Super
Creative Printing’, samples of which were
on display at Canon Expo for people to
touch and feel. High sensitivity cameras
scan and record the surfaces of 3D
objects that can then be reproduced using
Océ-developed elevation print. The 2.5D
technology can recreate the brushstrokes
of oil paintings, the feel of fabric, even the
contours of one’s skin.
To find out more about Canon’s
plans for the next five years, the
Imaging of Things and the products
and services it is bringing out to
transform the offices, homes and
public spaces of the future, please
visit
The Imaging of Things
Canon has developed
its own 3D printer for
professional and industrial
applications.
Océ Colorwave 910, the fastest digital wide
format colour printer on the market.
Canon Super
Creative Printing
captures the
texture of
objects in 2.5D
elevated print.
Scenes printed with High-Definition Large Format Print are so
lifelike, says Canon, that they can easily be mistaken for the real
thing.
Canon Expo 2015 provided a sneak preview of
technologies set to shape tomorrow’s world
