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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 developed its
own 3D printer as well. 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 life-like, 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
