Design

Product Design

Speaker Camera

In recent years, security cameras have been increasingly introduced in medical and nursing care settings. They are used not only for crime prevention but also to ensure safety, such as detecting falls and alerting caregivers or nurses.
However, staff shortages remain a major problem on the front lines. Without sufficient personnel to respond, ensuring safety becomes difficult, and the increased burden per individual worsens working conditions.
The planning and development of the “Speaker Camera” began against the backdrop of these staffing shortages and the societal challenge of ensuring patient peace of mind.

During our discussions at i-PRO, we arrived at the concept of a “camera that allows communication even from a distance.” We reasoned that if staff could first confirm the situation via voice, it would be easier to manage with fewer personnel.
Beyond trouble notifications, the ability to immediately speak to users from the control room would enhance their sense of security and reduce the need for frequent on-site checks. This allows staff to focus on necessary interventions while reducing their workload. Thus began the development of the “speaker camera” that enables communication.

To create a concrete product vision, we incorporated three considerations tailored to the healthcare environment and user circumstances.

1) Consideration for Nighttime Conditions
In dark environments late at night, fall detection risks being missed. Therefore, we decided to incorporate invisible infrared lights and a camera unit capable of reliably capturing them, enabling detection even in locations with minimal light.

2）2) Consideration for Appearance (Environmental Harmony)
i-PRO design aims for environmental harmony. A small, white body is ideal, as exemplified by the i-PROmini. https://i-pro.com/products_and_solutions/ja/surveillance/new-products/i-pro-mini-lp
However, speaker cameras require additional components: speaker units, microphones, lenses, and infrared lights. To address this, we adopted a two-tone black-and-white design, integrating the lens and infrared light within the black parts to minimize their visibility. This reduces the impression of being watched, aiming to lessen discomfort in hospital rooms. The lower section features a white speaker unit with small holes arranged neatly for a quiet, unobtrusive appearance.

3) Installation Flexibility
The optimal installation location varies by facility.
We considered diverse mounting options: wall-mounted, ceiling-suspended, shelf-mounted, or pole-mounted. A key feature is the rear cover stand that rotates 130 degrees. Its sturdy metal construction includes screw holes and cable routing, enabling six different mounting methods.

The completed speaker camera is now being introduced into numerous settings, including medical and nursing care facilities, fitness centers, laundromats, and retail stores. In October 2025, it received the Good Design Award, with judges praising it for “achieving a high level of balance across three key areas—environmental harmony, ease of installation, and safety—demonstrating a sophisticated design philosophy.”

・Link to the product page
https://i-pro.com/products_and_solutions/ja/surveillance/products/new-products/speaker_camera
・Link to the Good Design Award
https://www.g-mark.org/gallery/winners/29913

Product Design

Millimeter Wave Rader

At large-scale facilities such as power plants, airports, and coastal installations, numerous security cameras have been deployed to enhance safety. However, precisely because the surveillance areas are vast, two major challenges have become apparent on-site.
The first is staffing reduction. While security personnel numbers have decreased, the area each individual must monitor has expanded, increasing the burden of responding to false alarms.
The second challenge is the cost of installation and operation. Covering an entire large site requires numerous cameras, sensors, power supplies, and communication equipment, leading to significant investment. Furthermore, false detections caused by wind, rain, animals, or debris were frequent, ultimately making human visual confirmation indispensable.
Against this backdrop, there has been a growing demand for new methods that can monitor larger areas more efficiently while reducing the number of units required.

Among these, i-PRO focused on millimeter wave radar.
This technology, capable of detecting people and vehicles with high precision even at night or in bad weather while minimizing false detections, held the potential to complement areas that conventional cameras couldn't fully cover. Particularly, its ability to monitor a wide area with a single unit was seen as contributing to both labor reduction and cost savings in large-scale facilities.
To verify whether this value truly aligned with on-site challenges, i-PRO conducted extensive interviews at trade shows and other venues, carefully advancing hypothesis testing. The results confirmed promising effectiveness in both labor reduction and cost savings, leading to the launch of full-scale product development.

In the design process, emphasis was placed not only on performance but also on aesthetic appeal that harmonizes with the surrounding landscape and ease of handling at the construction site, with improvements made repeatedly from a field perspective.
Regarding the structure, repeated prototyping and simulations were conducted to achieve miniaturization while maintaining optimal performance. This led to the distinctive layout featuring a camera at the center and millimeter wave radars on both sides.
Efforts were also made to enhance installation ease. The reduced size also contributes to weight reduction, significantly easing the burden during installation. While many competing products use separate mounting brackets, the i-PRO integrates the mounting bracket internally, simultaneously achieving both miniaturization and weight reduction.
This configuration results in a less imposing, compact appearance compared to typical box-shaped radars, creating a friendly presence that blends well with the surrounding landscape.

The completed millimeter wave radar is being introduced as a new security solution for large-scale facilities, including power plants, airports, and coastal facilities. In October 2025, it received the Good Design Award, recognized as “a product that achieves a high degree of harmony between functionality and aesthetic design, contributing to reduced staffing in security operations and lower environmental impact.”

・Link to the product page
https://i-pro.com/products_and_solutions/ja/surveillance/products/new-products/security-radar
・Link to the Good Design Award
https://www.g-mark.org/gallery/winners/29922?text=i-PRO