Toshiba : User Experience with New “DIY style IoT” ifLink Open Community

Toshiba Corporation
Toshiba Digital Solutions Corporation

TOKYO--Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) and Toshiba Digital Solutions Corporation (hereinafter 'TDSL') today participated in an on-line event to mark the opening of the ifLink Open Community, which will start promotion activities in April. Core members showcased their ifLink-realated activities, university students demonstrated how they are using ifLink, and all participants showed their support for the shared goal of global promotion of ifLink as a de facto standard for IoT ecosystem that allows users to create new experiences, and to link devices and web services regardless of product manufacturers.

The community will host idea creation and sourcing programs from April, will hold a proposal pitch event this summer.

The ifLink Open Community, with Toshiba and TDSL as core members, aims to bring together innovators from academia and industry, and from different disciplines and businesses, in an open community dedicated to realizing the vision of a world 'where users can create value for themselves by freely combining modules' and 'where participants enjoy broader business opportunities.' The idea is already taking off, and over 100 organizations have declared their intent to sign up.

TDSL developed ifLink as a platform allowing product developers to bring IoT capabilities to a much wider range of user-first applications. It is simple to use, requiring no expertise in IT or programming, and allows users to operate apps and functions by defining a condition and a result-if and then. This simplicity and flexibility is expected to realize new opportunities to companies in a wide range of businesses.

The ifLink Open Community's on-line opening event

The community already comprises over 100 members from different disciplines and businesses as different as IoT, fintech, mobility, tele-communication, insurance, finance, energy, entertainment, manufacturing, startup, academia and NPO.

From April, the community will hold idea creation and sourcing programs, as part of a first year calendar that includes:
- Online activities to share members' goals, products and technologies.
- Workshops for idea creation from multiple angles.
- Communities to develop devices and web services connected to ifLink.
- Open marketing programs to study the feasibility of business ideas.
- A proposal pitch event for the above business ideas above in the summer of 2020.

Toshiba and TDSL will work closely with the community and core members to promote early creation of user-first IoT services.

Taro Shimada, an Executive Officer, Corporate Vice President and Chief Digital Officer, Toshiba Corporation said, 'We will use ifLink, our 'DIY style IoT,' to contribute to the 'Democratization of IoT,' with the goal of bringing it to everyone, regardless of digital literacy, time and budget. We believe we can provide this marvelous ifLink-powered IoT platform to everyone in Japan, and to the wider world in the near future, with the support of over 100 community members from various fields.'

The vision of ifLink Open Community

For more information, please see the following website (available only in Japanese):
About ifLink Open Community　https://www.toshiba-sol.co.jp/pro/iflink_consortium/
About ifLink　https://www.toshiba-sol.co.jp/pro/iflink/index_j.htm