Development of products and services that solve social issues
Tokai Rika has grown by providing products, i.e. goods, that link people and vehicles. Our full name, Tokai Rika Denki Seisakusho, is derived from the Japanese for physics (物理), chemistry (化学), electricity (電気), and machinery (機械). Going forward, while enhancing our technologies in all of these fields, we will continue to follow our founding spirit: “Do what others won’t do.” We will also expand the scope of our business to services that solve the problems and social issues described in the horizontal axis, and help create better, safer, more secure, and more prosperous lives.
Toward zero wheel separation accidents: “Tengo Furai,” a predictive detection system
In recent years, accidents involving wheel separation of heavy-duty vehicles have continued to occur, with 142 accidents occurring in Japan alone in FY 2023. Investigation of these accidents revealed that some vehicles were not properly inspected, cleaned, lubricated, or had deteriorated parts replaced during wheel removal and installation, and that some wheels were not retightened after removal and installation*.
This system utilizes the sensor and communication technologies that we have cultivated in the development of our existing products to constantly monitor the vehicle while it is in motion, detecting anomalies in the early stages of nut loosening and notifying the driver of signs that the wheel may be about to fall off. This makes it possible to more accurately and easily identify signs of a wheel separation without relying on driving experience, thereby reducing the driver’s workload. The fact that the system can be installed in vehicles already on the market, regardless of make, model, or year, is an area that no other company has been able to tackle until now, and it carries on the spirit of our founder, who said, “Do what others won’t do.”
This system is currently being used in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s “Demonstration Study on the Prevention of Wheel Separation Accidents of Heavy-Duty Vehicles (Hard Measures).”
*Surveyed by the Logistics and Motor Vehicles Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism:
https://www.mlit.go.jp/report/press/content/001765722.pdf
Puritto Bait, an anthelmintic for Argentine ants, an invasive alien species specified by the Japanese government.
“Puritto Bait” is a bait for the extermination of Argentine ants, which they can bring back to their nests. Argentine ants are designated as one of the world’s 100 invasive alien species (by the International Union for Conservation of Nature) and are dangerous for destroying ecosystems worldwide due to their high aggressiveness and abnormal reproductive capacity. They are expanding their habitat in Japan as well, contributing to the loss of biodiversity.
Puritto Bait is grease-based, and the use of a grease gun enables easy application to vertical locations such as river banks, trees, concrete or stone walls, which have been challenging locations in the past. In consideration of the impact on the natural environment, animal fats are used for the oil, which is the main ingredient of the grease, and earthworm flies, which are raised on food waste, are used for the attractant.
We will continue to contribute to efforts to protect biodiversity in harmony with nature by leveraging the knowledge and technologies we have cultivated as an automotive parts manufacturer, and by collaborating with local governments and communities that are struggling to exterminate specified invasive alien species.
Developmental Support Teaching Material “Hapuru Pen”
Bringing out the “I can!” and “I got it!” from every child to help build a bright future
In recent educational settings, under the GIGA school concept, there is demand that each student has access to one tablet, so that no child is left behind and that learning is tailored to each individual student.
The “Hapuru Pen” is a stylus installed with haptic technology developed through in-vehicle HMI development, and is a product that can aid the development of pupils in special-needs classes at elementary schools and special-needs schools. In applications for learning basic Japanese and arithmetic, the Hapuru Pen delivers various types of vibrating feedback in response to actions such as touching, tracing, and writing, offering fun and easy-to-understand learning as an extension of sensory play.
In developing the Hapuru Pen, we worked with our partner company Gakken Co., Ltd. and under the supervision of Ms. Yoko Iba, a teacher at Sakurambo School. We also paid several visits to elementary schools to get feedback from teachers so that we could perfect our product into something that solves real problems encountered in practice.
Schools that have started using the Hapuru Pen have been delighted to report that children who used to have difficulties with reading and writing have taken up self-learning, saying, “I want to use the Hapuru Pen!” “Let me get the Hapuru Pen!” We cherish these voices of these schools and will continue to contribute to children’s brighter futures.
Company-car management system “Bqey”
Since 2022, we began providing Bqey, a system that solves the challenges of managing company cars.
This system dramatically improves user convenience by enabling car reservations, alcohol checks, daily driving reports, daily inspection records, and locking and unlocking the car, all of which are necessary to use company cars, to be done with a single smartphone. In addition, the content of records and expiration dates of licenses and car inspections can be centrally managed in the cloud, reducing the man-hours required for administrative tasks. This will bring operational efficiency to both users and administrators, and promote DX of company-car management.
The “digitalkey,” one of the features of Bqey, was developed by leveraging the technological expertise gained from years of manufacturing car keys, and enables the locking and unlocking of cars via smartphone. In addition to reducing the travel time and hassle involved in handing over keys in person, the system can be linked to the alcohol check function to provide a mechanism that prevents the use of keys if the driver’s alcohol check results exceed the standard level, thereby contributing to the elimination of drunk driving.
Bqey supports operational efficiency and compliance enhancement in the use and management of company cars, aiming to achieve a society without traffic accidents caused by drunk drivers.
Unmanned Car Rental System “Uqey”
In November 2022, we announced “Uqey,” an unmanned car rental system utilizing digital keys, and launched the service in January 2023, with Okinawa as the first location.
As a matching application connecting rental car operators and users, it provides functions such as vehicle search, reservation, driver’s license verification (identity verification), issuance of rental passes, unlocking with digital keys, and payment.
Everything from reservation to return and payment can be completed with a single smartphone, so there is no need for an in-store receptionist, and departures and returns can be made 24 hours a day (except at some stations).
As of October 2024, 20 car rental companies have opened 138 car rental stations in nine prefectures of Japan, mainly in Fukuoka and Okinawa.
With more than 20,000 members and over 5,000 total transactions, we will continue to develop our service to be more user-friendly and convenient by reflecting the opinions and feedback of the many customers and car rental companies that use our service.
Click here to visit the service website
Support system for preventing people from being left behind in vehicles
Commercialized in an extremely short lead time after a tragic accident
In September 2022, a tragic accident occurred in which a kindergartener was left behind on the school bus. Faced with this news, and with the belief that such a sad accident should never happen again, all our relevant divisions worked together to develop countermeasures. We made a presentation to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, introduced our product to Toyota and Nissan, and worked closely with outside parties to successfully commercialize the product at an unprecedented speed, with sales beginning as early as March 2023. By having developed products based on mass-produced products, we were able to develop them in a short period of time and ensure in-vehicle quality. Additionally, the device can be started and stopped using only the vehicle’s ignition signal, making it easy to install in existing vehicles. Furthermore, the in-vehicle alarm with audio guidance makes it easy to operate even for first-time users.
Think Scrap, an upcycling brand from an automotive parts manufacturer
In 2020, we held an internal call for new business ideas for all Tokai Rika employees. We carefully narrowed down the 1,904 submitted ideas and categorized them into 10 themes. Many of them included the idea of contributing to the SDGs by utilizing seatbelt scraps. At our plants, approximately 300 kg of seatbelt scraps are generated every day. The idea of “using scrap materials to create valuable products” led to the creation of Think Scrap. At Tokai Rika, we were at a loss because we could not do the complicated sewing work for seatbelts; then we met Maruka Inc. Thanks to their understanding of Tokai Rika’s idea, we were able to begin manufacturing products that involve complex sewing. Further, when we thought that our product lineup was not enough with just seatbelt scraps, we came up with the idea: “Aren’t manufacturers in other industries also struggling with how to utilize scraps generated during their production process?” So, after reaching out to various companies, we were able to receive scrap materials from Team Like Co., Ltd., Izumi Inc., COTEC Co., Ltd., and others. In product development, we contribute to the SDGs by collaborating with local companies and students in addition to our original products.
Think Scrap is an upcycling brand with a practical and simple design that targets people who enjoy urban life with new discoveries and curiosity by utilizing means of mobility such as cars, motorcycles, buses, and trains.
