Konica Minolta continues to invest in innovation, as it opens a new R&D centre in Rome

| 14 February 2018

In line with the technology giant’s medium-term business plan, SHINKA 2019, Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta) continues to increase its investment in global innovation. Following the announcement of Workplace Hub, its next-generation intelligent edge platform in 2017, and early demonstrations of its Cognitive Hub concept late last year, the organization has now opened a dedicated research center in Rome, Italy.


These developments confirm that R&D is a clear, core part of the organization’s transformation into a platform-led, IoT business. Within the Rome laboratory, almost 100 research specialists will focus on the development of the most innovative technologies in the fields of ICT and artificial intelligence, with a focus on applications for the workplace of the future. One of the main activities for the laboratory will be to proceed on the development and incubation of the Workplace Hub disruptive concepts, a fundamental element of Konica Minolta’s strategy as the portfolio grows.

The research center will also be key to the development of Cognitive Hub, a system that will apply intelligent edge computing to provide AI and augment human intelligence. Extending the network of human interfaces and enhancing collaboration amongst individuals and teams, Cognitive Hub will become a nexus for clients’ information flows. It will provide AI based interoperability services that are immediately and automatically actionable within the digital workplace, striving to close the gap between the way machines and people process information.

On Monday 12th February, the new research facility was opened with institutional greetings from Hirohiko Yamazaki, General Manager of Corporate Technology Strategy Konica Minolta; Dennis Curry, Executive Director Global R&D and Deputy CTO, Konica Minolta; Flavia Marzano, from the Municipality of Rome; and Yoshioka Hiroshi, President of Konica Minolta Business Solution Italia.

The opening event gave guests the opportunity to get first-hand experience of new technologies in the field of digital workplace and data systems, alongside a series of short presentations from market experts. Filippo Silva and Christian Mastrodonato (respectively R&D Strategy Manager and Chief Technologist of Konica Minolta), Maurizio Lenzerini (La Sapienza University), Giorgio Metta (IIT - Italian Institute of Technology), and Angelo Maria Sabatini (Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna) all offered insights on what to expect in the future for research and development.

The European R&D team are delighted to see Konica Minolta continue to support their endeavors, with the global approach helping the organization create new and compelling products, services and experiences for the future workplace. Current projects include a focus on data and workflow management, IoT, robotic systems for digital healthcare and learning technologies.

For more information about the latest investments in research and development from Konica Minolta, please visit research.konicaminolta.eu.



About Konica Minolta Laboratory Europe (KMLE)

Since its establishment in 1873, Konica Minolta has had a long history of innovation. In 2015, Konica Minolta Laboratory Europe (KMLE) established its headquarters in London, and subsequently opened R&D laboratories in Brno, Czech Republic and in Munich, Germany, with a third one will open in Rome, Italy. KMLE is the hub where innovative solutions in the field of information and communications technology come to life to transform the next generation of platforms and services from Konica Minolta.

Leveraging on close collaboration with the Konica Minolta Business Innovation Centre Europe and external research organisations, KMLE takes advantage of the most advanced technologies to support new business opportunities driven by customers’ needs.

http://research.konicaminolta.eu/

About Konica Minolta

Konica Minolta, Inc. is a global technology company that provides innovative solutions to businesses and society. With its strengths in the combination of its core technologies in advanced imaging, optics, sensing, materials and nano-processing, Konica Minolta is committed to create new values that help customers address challenges in their operations and work processes. Advancing its expertise in digital technologies, the company has been going through business transformation into a digital company with insight into implicit challenges across the board as One Konica Minolta in the era of Internet of the Things (IoT). Konica Minolta is also active in open innovation through various collaborations and alliances with academic, industrial and entrepreneurial partners.

Headquartered in Tokyo, Konica Minolta has its Group companies in 50 countries with over 43,000 employees and offers products and services in 150 countries around the world.

For Press & Media Enquiries on Konica Minolta Laboratory Europe please contact:

Elisabetta Delponte

R&D Communication Specialist of KMLE

T: +39 342 1637290 E: elisabetta.delponte@konicaminolta.eu