An global exhibition that happens every five years and alternates between Paris and New York, Canon sure know how to standout when it comes to showcasing their incredible new innovations.
Canon used the exhibition to unveil its strategic priorities and showcase exciting technologies that are pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the world of imaging today, tomorrow and into the future.
I had the pleasure of being invited by Canon Middle East to attend this year’s Canon EXPO 2015 in Paris, France, along with ten thousand other invitees. The entire experience was incredible. From seeing virtual reality technologies, to lenses I have never come across before, here’s a little glimpse of how the EXPO unfolded:
At EXPO 2015, Canon is showing how the world of imaging is expanding rapidly in the age of the Internet of Things. In the future nearly everything will be connected through smart devices. These rely on built-in cameras or sensors and the data they generate. As a result, Canon predicts that the Internet of Things will largely depend on the ‘Imaging of Things.’
To deliver new possibilities in the world of imaging, Canon is building a ‘Network of Canon Companies’ – an ecosystem designed to harness innovation and creative talents from across the regions.
After a touching speech, Mr. Fujio Mitarai, Chairman and CEO, Canon Inc., ahead of his keynote speech at Canon EXPO Paris 2015, commented: “I am delighted to welcome our valued partners and customers to Paris today and to explain my vision for a future Canon, where both regional independence and international collaboration is put into practice.”
In the new network of companies, each regional headquarters will manage local R&D and manufacturing, as well as service and support customised to its market. Europe will focus on printing and network video surveillance (NVS) and Canon has already brought on board strong leaders in these business areas such as Océ, Axis and Milestone Systems. As a result, in addition to its global reputation for cameras, Canon is now the largest printing and network surveillance system company in the world.
While capitalising on strong positions in its core markets, examples of how Canon is driving future business growth in EMEA include:
- NVS – The combination of Canon, Axis and Milestone brings together complementary technologies and solutions to respond to society’s ever-expanding monitoring needs. Ground-breaking new solutions, such as the concept high-sensitivity network camera with ultra-telephoto lens on show at EXPO, demonstrate what’s possible for the security market and beyond
- 3D printing – As a first step in this young but promising market Canon is partnering with 3D Systems in Europe. For customers in manufacturing, architecture, education and engineering sectors, Canon will provide solutions that provide smart alignment between data, imaging capture and output.
- Graphic Arts – Canon is continuing to invest in digital print technologies to be able to cost-effectively print ever-more complex applications on demand. For example, the Océ Colorwave 910, the fastest digital wide format colour printer on the market will be demonstrating high speed colour poster printing at EXPO.
- B2B solutions and services – Canon’s B2B solutions are built to address the needs of specific customer verticals such as financial services, insurance, manufacturing or health. At EXPO, Canon is demonstrating what is possible in areas like document management, data management and marketing communication management with systems such as PRISMAdirect, demonstrating how workflows can be improved to significantly streamline production.
- Digital consumer services – Canon is building an ecosystem of products and services for every part of the imaging journey. Key initiatives include its photo cloud service, irista, family-focused application, Lifecake and the hdbook EZ – a new smartphone app that intelligently selects the best images from picture and movie libraries and automatically creates a personalised photobook.
Technology highlights at Canon EXPO Paris 2015
Canon also has many advanced imaging technology concepts for the future on display in Paris including:
- A 250 megapixel CMOS sensor, the world’s highest pixel count for its size. When installed in a camera, the new sensor is capable of capturing lettering on the side of an aircraft 18 kilometres away, far beyond what the human eye can see.
- A network camera with a new ultra-telephoto lens which achieves eight times the brightness of conventional lenses, making night filming possible for the first time without need of infrared lighting.
- A concept called Intelligent Imaging for Life, which allows people to share and print their photos from an interactive table in the living room, so a family can find photos and share memories as easily as placing an object such as a favourite child’s toy on the table.
- A range of ultra-high definition imaging technologies for the future including 8K cameras, displays and projector demonstrations.
Those unable to attend Canon EXPO in person can experience the technology concepts and imaging solutions virtually and read about all the highlights from the event here.
