Delivered on May 18, 2026
Transforming Real Space into 3D - The Future of VR, Drones, and Infrastructure Inspection, and Reflections on Shinagawa
Speakers:
Osamu Koketsu, CEO, iishina Co., Ltd.
Affiliation and position information is as of the time of distribution
We welcomed Mr. Koketsu from iishina Co., Ltd. to discuss VR/3D video production and drone utilization. He introduced a system that allows for the 3D modeling of factories and plants, enabling the inspection of equipment and piping conditions without visiting the site, and an initiative to film entire exhibitions and archive them as virtual venues. Furthermore, we delved into the possibilities of digitizing real spaces, including integration with e-commerce and AI, and applications to the maintenance and inspection of aging infrastructure such as sewage systems.
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The Founding Background of iishina Co., Ltd. and the Commitment to Regional Contribution Embodied in its Name
Osamu Koketsu, the representative director of iishina Co., Ltd., is from Shinagawa, Tokyo, and founded the company with the primary goal of contributing to his local community. The company name "iishina" combines the "shin" from his hometown of Shinagawa and the meaning of delivering valuable "good products" to the world. The logo also features an icon based on the "shin" from Shinagawa, symbolizing the company's commitment to its local community.
The company's business activities are diverse, ranging from web planning and development to VR production and 3D measurement using drones. Mr. Koketsu aims to turn his ideas into products one by one, contributing to society. While the name may sound like a simple e-commerce site, in reality, it is an IT solutions company utilizing cutting-edge spatial imaging technology, focusing on transforming real-world spaces into valuable digital data.
3D Space Photography Service Solves the Gap Between Drawings and the Field
One of iishina's main products is a "space photography service" that uses specialized 3D scanners and drones to photograph real-world spaces and converts them into 3D models viewable in a browser. This service can digitize not only ground-based photography but also, for facilities with vast grounds, tens of thousands of square meters of space using drones.
This technology is particularly powerful in manufacturing and plant factories. Factories are crisscrossed with complex piping, valves, and flanges (fittings), making it difficult to accurately grasp the site's shape using only traditional 2D drawings. Even if something appears straight on a drawing, in reality, it often curves to avoid obstacles or has varying heights. By creating a 3D space, the realistic shape of the site can be viewed from the office using just a browser, allowing for the management of information such as when maintenance was performed and the location of specific parts. This dramatically reduces the number of site visits, improving the efficiency of maintenance and upkeep.
Expansion of 3D Business and the Potential of Virtual Exhibitions Triggered by the COVID-19 Pandemic
Mr. Koketsu's impetus for seriously venturing into 3D space and VR businesses was the COVID-19 pandemic. He intuitively felt that the demand for systems that allow people to experience physical locations from indoors would increase amidst restrictions on going out. Within this context, he focused on the factory and event industries as those where digitizing physical spaces would offer the greatest benefits.
Traditional virtual venue production faced challenges due to the high cost and time required to build CG from scratch. Therefore, iishina significantly streamlined the shooting and rendering processes by introducing the latest scanning equipment from the United States. For example, a space of approximately 2,000 square meters can be shot in about two hours, and the finished product can be ready for public release in as little as one day. In terms of cost, they have established an affordable and lightweight framework, starting from around 150,000 yen for a one-day shoot.
This speed and cost-effectiveness are leading to increased adoption in the exhibition industry. In exhibitions with short durations of only a few days, taking photos at night after setup is complete and releasing them as an archive the following day allows for reaching customers who cannot attend the venue. Furthermore, this 3D space is also used as sales material for inviting future exhibitors, transforming a temporary event into a lasting asset.
Application to E-commerce Sites and Marketing Strategies Leveraging Immersion
The use of 3D space is expanding into the fields of marketing and e-commerce. In traditional virtual shops, clicking on a product would redirect the user to a static product page, leading to "abandonment" and diminishing user immersion.
iishina is developing a system that directly integrates shopping cart and payment functions into the 3D space. This allows users to select products from a virtual shelf and complete their purchase while maintaining that virtual world. Mr. Koketsu argues that improving the number of page views and clicks on the virtual space itself is important from an SEO perspective. Rather than simply "creating in 3D and being done with it," we believe that continuously adding information and updating content that is worth revisiting is directly linked to monetization as a business.
Prospects for "Infrastructure Business" and the Use of AI to Protect Social Infrastructure
As for future prospects, Mr. Koketsu has set forth a focus on "infrastructure business." In particular, he is building a new system that utilizes 3D technology for the maintenance and inspection of sewage systems, which are a serious social problem due to aging. This initiative involves sending a 360-degree camera into the sewage system and generating a 3D model from the video data to improve the accuracy of inspections.
To prevent accidents such as road collapses and pipe bursts that are occurring one after another nationwide, there is a strong desire to save Japan's infrastructure by visualizing the deterioration of areas that are difficult to inspect visually using 3D. In this field, we are also advancing collaboration with AI, aiming for further efficiency by automating the 3D model generation process and using AI to create simulation data to be placed in space. Iishina Co., Ltd. is clearly demonstrating its commitment to using AI not merely as a chat tool, but in conjunction with the concrete framework of 3D space to help solve real-world problems.
Summary
Iishina's initiatives provide value that transcends the constraints of physical distance and time by digitizing real-world space. The applications of 3D scanning technology are diverse, including improving efficiency in factory maintenance, supporting sales through exhibition archiving, and enhancing the user experience in e-commerce. While utilizing the latest technology, CEO Osamu Koketsu is rooted in a spirit of contributing to the local community, "improving society from Shinagawa," and a strong sense of social responsibility to protect Japan's aging infrastructure. In the future, as integration with AI progresses further, digital twins are expected to evolve from mere visual tools into an indispensable social infrastructure that supports our safe lives.