{"id":3931,"date":"2021-06-11T18:16:34","date_gmt":"2021-06-11T18:16:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xcelerator.hondainnovations.com\/?p=3931"},"modified":"2026-02-06T08:48:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T08:48:58","slug":"c210611beng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xcelerator.hondainnovations.com\/ja\/c210611beng\/","title":{"rendered":"Startup Originated from Honda IGNITION Program Announced: Ashirase, Inc. \u2013 Navigation for the Visually Impaired"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"globalNewsTitle global-newsTitle parbase\">\n<div class=\"layout-cp__margin-top__middle\">\n<div class=\"title__wrap\">\n<h3 class=\"title__subttl\">&#8211; Startup will strive to launch Ashirase, navigation system in shoes to help the visually impaired &#8211;<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mainclm parsys\">\n<div class=\"global-text parbase section\">\n<div class=\"pT30 null news__text\">\n<p>TOKYO, Japan, June 11, 2021 \u2013 Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced the establishment of Ashirase, Inc., the first business venture to originate from IGNITION, Honda\u2019s new business creation program. Ashirase, Inc. is currently developing an in-shoe navigation system to support the visually impaired with walking and will strive to begin sales of the system, also named \u201cAshirase,\u201d before the end of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"global-layout-select parbase section\">\n<div class=\"layout-cp max1280 layout-cp__two global_layout_select\">\n<div class=\"layout-column order1 two\">\n<div class=\"select_0 parsys\">\n<div class=\"global-image parbase section\">\n<div class=\"pT30 imgFit\">\n<div class=\"imageWrap\">\n<div style=\"clear: both; padding-bottom: 20px;\">\n<div style=\"clear: both; padding-bottom: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"global-text parbase section\">\n<div class=\"pT30 null news__text\">\n<p>The Ashirase is a navigation system consisting of a smartphone app and a three-dimensional vibration device including a motion sensor, which is attached inside the shoe.<\/p>\n<p>Based on the route set with the app, the device vibrates to provide navigation. When the user should go straight, the vibrator positioned on the front part of the foot vibrates, and when the user is approaching a right or left turn, the vibrator on the right or left side vibrates to notify the user. The navigation provided by Ashirase enables intuitive understanding of the route, and therefore the user does not have to be constantly mindful of the direction, which makes it possible for the user to walk more safely and with a more relaxed state of mind.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"global-subtitle parbase section\">\n<div class=\"news__ttl pT30 null\">\n<p><b><span class=\"txtL\">\u25a0 Key features of Ashirase<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"global-list parbase section\">\n<div class=\"pT30 disc\">\n<ul class=\"listDisc\">\n<li>Guidance information for the visually impaired user is generated based on GNSS<sup>*1<\/sup>\u00a0positioning information and data based on the user&#8217;s foot movement.<\/li>\n<li>Navigation is provided through vibration on the foot, so as not to interfere with the user\u2019s hand which is holding a white cane, or ears used to listen to ambient sounds.<\/li>\n<li>Vibrators are located aligned with the nerve layer of the foot, making it easy to feel the vibration.<\/li>\n<li>Soft material that maintains its original shape is used for the device in order to limit any discomfort to the user.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"global-image parbase section\">\n<div class=\"pT30 imgFit\">\n<div class=\"imageWrap\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"global-subtitle parbase section\">\n<div class=\"news__ttl pT60 null\">\n<p><b><span class=\"txtL\">\u25a0 Issues related to walking of the visually impaired\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"global-text parbase section\">\n<div class=\"pT30 null news__text\">\n<p>In Japan, the number of people with visual impairment including low vision<sup>*2<\/sup>\u00a0was estimated to be 1.64 million as of 2007, and the number is forecast to increase to nearly 2 million by 2030<sup>*3<\/sup>.<\/p>\n<p>Visually impaired people constantly check their safety and route to the destination when they walk alone. However, as they are required to use all remaining senses to acquire information to compensate for their limited sight, it is somewhat inevitable that they will be unable to pay thorough attention and face functional issues such as \u201cgetting lost\u201d or \u201cfalling into unsafe situations.\u201d Moreover, discovery sessions conducted by the development team with the visually impaired revealed that such functional issues lead to psychological issues, as indicated by comments such as:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel frustrated when I remember the time when I was walking freely without vision problems.\u201d (comment by a person with low vision)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I get lost, people around me sometimes do not respond when I try to talk to them. It is scary because I don\u2019t know why they are not responding.\u201d (comment by a person with late-onset total blindness).<\/p>\n<p>With the concept of \u201cnavigation which enables safety and a relaxed state of mind for the visually impaired,\u201d Ashriase is being developed as a product which helps the users reach their destinations safely and have a more independent lifestyle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"global-list parbase section\">\n<div class=\"pT30 decimal3\">\n<ul class=\"listMulti\">\n<li><span class=\"listMark\">*1<\/span><span class=\"txtS\">GNSS stands for Global Navigation Satellite System, a collective name for satellite positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) systems.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"listMark\">*2<\/span><span class=\"txtS\">The 2006-2008 report on the \u201csocial cost of visual impairments in Japan\u201d published by a research team of the Japan Ophthalmologists Association defines \u201cpeople with corrected vision of more than 0.1 (20\/200 in the US system) and below 0.5 (20\/40 in the US system) in their best-seeing eye.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"listMark\">*3<\/span><span class=\"txtS\">Source: The 2006-2008 report on \u201csocial cost of visual impairments in Japan\u201d published by a research team of Japan Ophthalmologists Association<br \/>\nURL:\u00a0<a title=\"https:\/\/www.gankaikai.or.jp\/info\/kenkyu\/2006-2008kenkyu.pdf\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gankaikai.or.jp\/info\/kenkyu\/2006-2008kenkyu.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.gankaikai.or.jp\/info\/kenkyu\/2006-2008kenkyu.pdf<\/a>\u00a0(Japanese only)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"global-subtitle parbase section\">\n<div class=\"news__ttl pT60 null\">\n<p><b><span class=\"txtL\">\u25a0 Comment by Wataru Chino, Representative Director of Ashirase, Inc.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"global-text parbase section\">\n<div class=\"pT30 null news__text\">\n<p>\u201cAn accident suffered by one of my family members motivated me to take action to realize safer and more free mobility for visually impaired people. I developed the Ashirase and applied to IGNITION, Honda\u2019s new business creation program, which led to the establishment of Ashirase, Inc. I am sure that we will face many obstacles as we work toward the market launch of Ashirase; however, we will overcome such obstacles one by one and devote ourselves wholeheartedly to realize the freedom of mobility for visually impaired people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"global-image parbase section\">\n<div class=\"pT30 imgFit\">\n<div class=\"imageWrap\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"global-subtitle parbase section\">\n<div class=\"news__ttl pT30 null\">\n<p><b><span class=\"txtL\">&lt;About IGNITION new business creation program&gt;<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"global-text parbase section\">\n<div class=\"pT15 null news__text\">\n<p>Honda\u2019s new business creation program which gives shapes to the original technologies, ideas and designs of Honda associates and contributes to solving social issues and creating new value for customers, going beyond existing Honda business.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"global-subtitle parbase section\">\n<div class=\"news__ttl pT30 null\">\n<p><b><span class=\"txtL\">\u25a0 Key features of IGNITION<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"global-list parbase section\">\n<div class=\"pT15 disc\">\n<ul class=\"listDisc\">\n<li>All full-time Honda associates in Japan are eligible to submit proposals regardless of their length of employment and assigned divisions.<\/li>\n<li>Ideas that pass the final evaluation process will be commercialized within the company or through a startup venture.<\/li>\n<li>In principle, the decision on commercialization will be made within a 6-month period, during which a taskforce team consisting of internal specialists will be formed to support each proposer.<\/li>\n<li>The venture capital firm will provide advice and support to each proposer throughout the evaluation process.<\/li>\n<li>In order to ensure independence of the startup, the ratio of capital contribution by Honda will be limited to no more than 20%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8211; Startup will strive to launch Ashirase, navigation system in shoes to help the visually impaired &#038;#821 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_locale":"ja","_original_post":"https:\/\/xcelerator.hondainnovations.com\/?p=2174","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press","ja"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xcelerator.hondainnovations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xcelerator.hondainnovations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xcelerator.hondainnovations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xcelerator.hondainnovations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xcelerator.hondainnovations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3931"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/xcelerator.hondainnovations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3932,"href":"https:\/\/xcelerator.hondainnovations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3931\/revisions\/3932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xcelerator.hondainnovations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xcelerator.hondainnovations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xcelerator.hondainnovations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xcelerator.hondainnovations.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}