icuco launches "icuco®eyes," an anti-leaving device for pick-up and drop-off buses!

Background of development of "icuco®eyes," an anti-leaving device for shuttle buses

In recent years, accidents at daycare centers have been on the rise as the number of daycare center users increases and the workload of childcare workers increases. In 2021, the number of accidents in which children were killed or seriously injured at daycare centers, kindergartens, and after-school childcare clubs nationwide increased by 332 cases from the previous year to 2,347, the highest number since 2015 This is the highest number since 2015.

In addition, accidents involving children being left behind on pick-up buses have become a social problem, and from April 2023 it has become mandatory to install anti-leaving devices on pick-up buses.

Source: Nao Sakata, "1 in 30 4- and 5-year-olds... Childcare worker placement standards 'inferior compared to the rest of the world'", "Equipment alone does not lead to safety," despite decision to assist in bus abandonment case", Tokyo Shimbun TOKYO Web, (May 2023). Retrieved May 15, 2023. https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/213030)

icuco aims to protect the safety of children and improve the efficiency of operations at childcare facilities by providing safety devices that conform to the "Guidelines for Safety Devices to Support the Prevention of Buses Being Left Behind for Pickups and Drop-offs.

About "icuco®eyes

Designed to the highest quality standards by icuco, a company originating from an automobile parts manufacturer, icuco®eyes is an anti-leaving device for buses used for pickups and drop-offs, designed with three eyes (human eye, sensor eye, and camera eye) to watch over and ensure zero oversight.

icuco®eyes" is a service that monitors the safety of children using buses and streamlines the checking of boarding and alighting. The application and the anti-displacement device on the bus make it easy to record the boarding and disembarking of children. The records are saved as data, and check forms are automatically generated, making it possible to greatly reduce the workload of childcare workers.

[Features of "icuco®eyes"

(1) Services developed to high quality standards provided by a company originating from an automotive parts manufacturer

icuco®eyes" is a service developed by combining the knowledge accumulated through icuco's childcare service business with technologies from the automobile industry.

We provide equipment that has passed tests under the actual bus usage environment, which is possible only from an automotive parts manufacturer.

(2) Easy conversion of preschoolers' boarding and alighting records and in-vehicle check records into easy-to-use forms via smartphone app

Checks of boarding and exiting the kindergarten and in-vehicle checks can be easily recorded electronically by using the standard equipment smartphone app (icuco for nanny).
By simply performing the usual checks, forms are automatically generated, which greatly reduces the amount of clerical work.

(3) Linkage with the preschool management system "icuco®book" for arrival/departure, contact logs, etc., for total preschool operation efficiency

icuco®eyes" can be linked with "icuco®book," a business automation suite that aims to bring innovation to the childcare domain in the cloud era. In addition to the linkage with the arrival/dismissal and contact book, icuco®eyes also has a function to inform the preschool and parents of the bus service information. icuco has a system that delivers peace of mind to both preschools and parents.

▶ Products eligible for subsidies approved by the Cabinet Office
Conforms to the "Guidelines for Safety Devices to Assist in Preventing Buses from Being Left Behind for Pickups and Drop-offs" for the confirmation formula at the time of getting off the bus.

*Agency for Children and Families, List of safety devices to assist in the prevention of buses being left unattended for pickups and drop-offs (Japanese only)https://www.cfa.go.jp/policies/child-safety/list)

Future Development

In addition to the currently released "icuco®touch&care," a sensor to check for sleepiness, and "icuco®book," a preschool management system, icuco has now launched "icuco®eyes," an anti-leaving device for buses used to pick up and drop off children.

We are building a system to constantly update all of our products, including "icuco®eyes," to make our services even easier to use.

Through ICT and IoT services, we aim to develop a unique system that will enable all people involved in childcare to watch over children safely and with peace of mind, thereby moving from "individual upbringing" to "co-nurturing," in which society as a whole watches over and nurtures children.

icuco started as an internal project, winning the top prize of the "First Musashi Innovator's Gate", a new business creation program of Musashi Precision Industry (TSE 7220) in 2017. icuco was incorporated in 2018 and icuco in 2019. The company was incorporated in 2018, and in 2019 icuco was awarded a special prize in the "World Dissemination Competition" hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in 2020.
icuco will help build an environment where people can work more like human beings through the power of IoT and cloud computing in the healthcare industry, which is waiting for the arrival of innovations in the childcare domain and other areas.