Toward zero use of new mined resources
In Sony Group's environmental plan, resource conservation is one of the four main perspectives. Sony is working to accelerate realisation of a circular economy both through collaboration within Sony Group and with other companies. In order to use resources efficiently throughout the life cycles of our business activities, products and services, we aim to minimise resource consumption and maximise resource recycling. We also value the desire of people involved in each of our businesses to conserve resources, and to work on this in their own ways.
The aibo Foster Parent Program
Toward the harmonious coexistence of humans and robots
Sony's aibo was born from a dream of creating a society where people and robots coexist in harmony. aibo is an autonomous entertainment robot that brings fun and joy to the entire family. aibo can form an emotional bond with members of the household while providing them with love, affection, and the joy of nurturing and raising a companion. aibo possesses a natural curiosity, bringing joy into people's everyday lives while growing alongside them as a partner. To make the story of aibo and its owners last, Sony is implementing the aibo Foster Parent Program.
- What is the aibo Foster Parent Program?
The "aibo Foster Parent Program" is an initiative to connect aibo to the next phase of its life by letting an aibo that has finished living with its owners be donated to Sony. Sony will check the condition of the donated aibo and provide any necessary treatment before offering it to aibo foster parents such as medical facilities and nursing care organisations that are keen to host aibo.
- Programme background
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Many owners who loved their aibo as a family member have expressed concern about their aibo's future and asked if their aibo could be taken back by Sony. We have also heard from many medical facilities and nursing care organisations keen to welcome aibo for its therapeutic properties. Sony is therefore working with customers through this programme to design aibo's lifecycle. Sony aims to extend the life cycle, and to create new opportunities for aibo to play an active role for longer, by respecting and connecting the wishes of former owners and prospective future owners.
Rebloom: tackling flower loss
The idea behind Rebloom
Flowers presented to live concert artists are usually cleared up by vendors after the concert, and many are discarded even though they are still in bloom and can still be enjoyed. Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. (SMEJ) calls such flowers "Rebloom Flowers" and is working to recycle them.
SMEJ, in partnership with the Japan Sustainable Flower Association, is actively involved in decoration of spaces, item development, workshops, and other activities that utilise Rebloom Flowers, in order to work toward solving the issue of still-usable flowers being discarded.
Image sensors boost recycling efficiency
Contributing to solving social issues through technology
Sony views the realisation of a sustainable society as one of its key themes and is working to develop technologies that contribute to solving environmental and social issues. Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (SSS)'s image sensors are utilised in recycling and contribute to the realisation of highly efficient resource recovery systems.
- What is an image sensor?
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Image sensors are semiconductors that play the role of the "retina" in the human eye. The performance of a camera's image sensor determines the quality of the photos and videos produced by the camera.
![Illustration showing [1] light being focused by [2] lenses onto [3] an image sensor](./img/block03-2.jpg)
- Strengths of SSS image sensors
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Among image sensors, global shutter image sensors are particularly good for capturing images of objects moving at high speed. The strengths of SSS’s global shutter image sensors include speed, high resolution, low noise, and distortion-free imaging. These advanced sensors enable precise data extraction from captured images, finding applications in diverse fields such as logistics, transportation and manufacturing. Recently, they have also been used to address needs in areas related to sustainability, particularly in recycling and resource conservation efforts.
- Use in "Reverse vending machines"
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Global shutter image sensors from SSS are supplied to TOMRA Systems ASA (TOMRA), for use in reverse vending machines for beverage containers and other items. The image sensors are used to instantly identify information such as material and shape, enabling the machines to sort containers from other waste and collect them without contamination by extraneous materials, providing users with a satisfying recycling experience without making them wait or making errors. TOMRA aims to encourage users to think about recycling and foster environmental awareness through the spread of automatic collection machines, and SSS's technology contributes to this goal.
Interview
- Kaoru Kamiyama
- Manager
Sustainability Div., Sustainability Dept.,
Sustainability Group
Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.
Currently, celebratory flowers presented to live venues are discarded after the show. To address this issue of flower loss, Sony Music Group has launched the Rebloom Flower Project. The still-beautiful flowers and greenery are collected after the concert, and reused in new ways instead of being wasted.
The collected flowers are reused as decorations, in workshops to inform children about the issue of flower loss, and in the production of goods using flowers, providing an opportunity for flowers to "rebloom" with new value. Furthermore, by expanding this activity beyond Sony Music Group and Sony Group to other entertainment companies and industries, we aim to create a future where more flowers can be enjoyed by people for longer.
Through our efforts, we hope to help society as a whole discover the value of extending the lifespan of beauty by creating new value for flowers while conserving resources, and we will happily help to spread this value into the future.