Our social systems business provides a variety of systems that support public infrastructure, including systems for railroad stations (automatic ticket gates, ticket vending machines) and road traffic systems (traffic control systems).

We are currently focusing particular attention on our solutions business, which, with the help of our software business, is working to help clients cope with management challenges such as the declines in railway passenger revenues in Japan caused by the country's declining birthrate.

Our security operations are addressing new social needs in the increasingly important areas of safety and security. In addition, we are working to create new station-based services using IC cards and mobile networks.

OMRON as a corporation has always had a strong public service component. Over the years, we have used our technology and know how to develop better automatic ticket gates and ticket vending machines for use at train stations and automatic boarding gates for use at airports, in order to make transport terminals more comfortable and convenient. OMRON specializes in developing systems that increase the safety and convenience of public spaces such as stations, airports and roads. This is particularly true in the field of station operation systems, where our efforts to improve network compatibility helped support the development in Japan of PassNet, a system that allows passengers to use a single prepaid card on more than 20 different train lines. We are currently working on new services that will take advantage of the increasing popularity of mobile devices, such as network-based services that will relay local town, train transfer and other useful information to passengers' mobile devices whenever they pass through an automated ticket gate with their train pass or IC card.

OMRON's systems are also making a significant contribution to the creation of a safer and more comfortable motorized society. Through our traffic control systems (which allow for centralized management of traffic information such as vehicle volume and the status of traffic flow), our ETC systems (which significantly reduce congestion by allowing for automatic nonstop collection of highway tolls) and our incident detection systems (which inform approaching traffic of accidents or objects that have fallen on the road ahead of them), OMRON is continuing to develop and implement new systems to make our motorized society safer and more comfortable.

Office burglaries, unauthorized removal of OA equipment, illegal access to computer systems and leaks of classified information have become everyday occurrences, and companies today face unseen threats not only from conventional criminals, but also from cyber criminals.

OMRON offers individual security services such as access management systems that use IC cards for employee identification, facial recognition systems and vehicle management systems, but we also offer total security management solutions, helping clients develop and implement security policies and conduct risk assessments. Moreover, OMRON is helping to maximize corporate value for its clients by developing new security solutions for plants and other facilities in the manufacturing sector, providing safety management and improving productivity at the same time.