Shiseido's open innovation program "fibona," which began in July 2019, has "co-creation with startups" as part of its activities. In the first phase of the program, three startup companies were selected. One of these companies is no new folk studio Inc. (nnf)

nnf is a startup that develops smart footwear, ORPHE TRACK, a shoe-shaped wearable device. By simply running in shoes with built-in sensors, running indicators such as "landing method," "pronation," and "left-right balance" can be easily measured. By combining this with Shiseido's accumulated knowledge of beauty, the company is in the process of creating new beauty value.

nnf and Shiseido held a joint running event in November 2019 as the first step of their co-creation. To discuss the purpose of the event and what kind of future they are looking forward to beyond the collaboration, nnf CEO Mr. Kikukawa and Shiseido fibona member Ms. Yanagihara had a conversation.

Changing the research style in Minato Mirai

Kikukawa:
Has anything actually changed since you moved to the new location?

Yanagihara:
I feel that everyone has become more fashionable in their outfits, partly because they meet consumers on a regular basis (laughs).

The big change is that it is easier to access many locations. For example, if I want to go see what is going on in the storefront, I can go right to Yokohama or Minato Mirai, which are downtown areas nearby. Also, when we want to hear from consumers, we used to do what we call "consumer surveys," but now we can go down to the first floor and interview consumers.

Kikukawa:
That is totally different from the past place! People who are interested in us come here on their own, right?

Technology can be applied into runners' issues

Yanagihara:
Were you making it for runners from the beginning?

Kikukawa:
Originally, I was making shoes as electronic musical instruments as a research theme for graduate school. I have been interested in interface design since that time, and since I used to play music, I wanted to design musical instruments in particular. Musical instruments are excellent for real-time interaction, and when you take an action, the sound is immediately made without delay. I was interested in this aspect and studied electronic instrument design.

One day, I thought, "I want to turn tap dancing shoes into an electronic musical instrument," so I attached sensors or computers to existing shoes and created a system that plays electronic sounds in response to foot movements, which was the prototype for ORPHE.

We refined it, bringing it close to its current form, but it ended up turning into smart footwear that analyzes the movement of your feet in real time just by wearing it. When we showed it off at various places, many people started saying they wanted to use it for various things. A physical therapist might say, "I want to use it for rehabilitation," or a dancer might say, "I want to use it for dancing.”

After realizing the possibility for expansion, I began to try other applications, and one of the applications that I saw strong potential for was running shoes. Every day I discussed smart footwear ideas with a variety of people, and while I saw countless possibilities, the one I thought would be the most obvious and direct way to give the answer was for the problem of "runner's foot landing".

There are more than 9 million runners in Japan who run at least once a year, and more than 60% of them experience some kind of pain from running. In particular, more than 30% of runners have pain in their knees. The cause of the pain is attributed to "landing.” With our technology, the landing can be analyzed in real time, left and right, separately. We felt that the issues runners face and our technology fit together perfectly.

Yanagihara:
If you mean instruments, can ORPHE TRACK also produce sound?

Kikukawa:
We were able to produce it for the predecessor ORPHE ONE, but it is just now being developed as ORPHE TRACK. The strength of this system is that it can analyze movement in real time, so it will be easier for runners to improve their form if it emits sound. It would be easier for runners to improve their form if the system emits a sound.

Yanagihara:
Then we can make minor adjustments while running.

Kikukawa:
That's right. One of our current product users has a heads-up display (editor's note: a glasses-type device that allows a see-through smartphone screen) so that he can see the results of the ORPHE analysis. In other words, he is running while checking his running style in real time. This person has dramatically changed the way he lands. In other words, by gathering information in real time, behaviors such as landing can be changed.

However, since most people do not have a heads-up displays to begin with (laugh), it is difficult to use it as it is, but earphones can be used as a substitute. We are currently developing a new method while searching for the best way to do so.

──Tell us about fibona. Did nnf apply to fibona? At first glance, the beauty industry seems far from your business.

Kikukawa:
When I heard about fibona, I was interested in it because it is a research and development facility with a run station. The Minato Mirai area is also an attractive spot, and I had originally thought it would be nice to do a night run there.

There was one more important thing. The concept of ORPHE TRACK is easily appealing to men, but on the other hand, it was difficult to appeal to women, so by collaborating with Shiseido, I wanted to learn the know-how of capturing the hearts and minds of women. Also, although it is vague, we are trying to do something related to the human body, so we thought that we would definitely come to some kind of realization through joint research.

Yanagihara:
Many runners are women, aren't they? Does that mean that most of them are interested in gadgets and data analysis?

Kikukawa:
Yes, I agree. There are a certain number of runners and triathletes who use device to quantify and improve their running, but it seems that most men are interested in this kind of thing. On the other hand, in terms of the number of people who feel foot pain, there are actually more women who wear heels. By learning how to approach women, I believe that nnf's technology can help more people.

Yanagihara:
Since this is an open innovation program led by the research institute, we have always emphasized from the time we began recruiting that we would select companies that could conduct research together with us. We hope that we can work together in earnest to conduct research and enhance each other's capabilities.

Kikukawa:
In a sense, a startup is in a position to do research on what it likes more than a regular research institute. It is different from conventional research, but I am now conversely enjoying this aspect.

Yanagihara:
Rather, at Shiseido, there are many researchers who proceed the conventional research that builds up from the basics, so it is good that we can stimulate each other.

Come to think of it, in terms of adoption, I sense quite a researcher's spirit from Mr. Kikukawa and others at nnf.

Kikukawa:
I don't feel it at all (laughs).

Yanagihara:
We feel it in the fibona team (laughs).

New value from touch points with consumers

Now the dialogue ends here and the actual run event begins. Participants finish their work and gather at the S/PARK Studio (running station).

The first step is to prepare and warm up.

(The preparatory exercises that nnf instructs are hard...!)

Sync your ORPHE TRACK with your smartphone and go for a run. This time, we will go to Rinko Park in our neighborhood.

ORPHE TRACK glows various colors in the dark. It is cool.

After returning from the run, check the ORPHE TRACK data. We will check the "landing method" and "pronation" with explanations.

Participants were excited to compare their data with other members.

This run event is now over. We received the following feedback from the participants. In general, they were satisfied with the event.

“It felt good to run together with our shoes shining in the night."
“It was good to be able to objectively analyze my running style."

However, this time was just a chance for everyone to experience ORPHE TRACK and S/PARK Studio. This is the first step in our activities to connect gait data and beauty. The event itself will be held on an ongoing basis, and we will have another opportunity to showcase the results of our joint research as they become available. Until then, please stay tuned and collect your running data on ORPHE TRACK.

Smart foot wear "ORPHE TRACK"

(text: Jumpei Notomi of pilot boat, photo: taisho)