otta

otta Inc., established in October 2014 by Fumiaki Yamamoto, operates a smart monitoring platform designed to enhance community safety. The founder's journey into this venture was deeply personal, sparked by the birth of his daughter and a desire to create a safer environment for children. Yamamoto's extensive background as a semiconductor robot engineer and later as a programmer, systems engineer, and mobile app development director provided him with a comprehensive skill set in IoT system construction, from embedded devices to server-side development.

The company's core offering, the "otta Monitoring Service," leverages Internet of Things (IoT) technology to track the location of vulnerable individuals, such as children and the elderly. Users carry a small, dedicated Beacon terminal that emits a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signal. This signal is detected by a network of fixed base stations, called "monitoring spots," and by smartphones of registered community volunteers, known as "MIMAMORI" (watchers), who have the free companion app installed. This hybrid network creates a wide-ranging, low-cost monitoring web that records the location history of the terminal holder, accessible to guardians via a mobile app. A key feature of the BLE terminals is a battery life of over a year, addressing a common pain point of frequent charging required by other devices. For nationwide coverage, the company also offers a GPS-based service and has developed "otta.g," a smart panic button with GPS and voice chat capabilities.

Otta's business model is multifaceted, primarily operating as a SaaS-style platform. The company partners with municipalities, local companies, and major electric power utilities like TEPCO, Kansai Electric Power, and Kyushu Electric Power to deploy the service. In many cases, initial costs are covered by corporate sponsors, allowing municipalities to implement the service with no budget outlay and distribute terminals to children for free. Revenue is generated through monthly subscription fees from users who opt for premium features, such as real-time location history on the app, which is shared with sponsoring partners. The company also provides its web service on an OEM basis to other businesses in the home security and monitoring space. Since its first proof-of-concept experiment in 2015, otta has expanded significantly, forming partnerships with companies like JapanTaxi (now Mobility Technologies) to turn thousands of taxis into mobile monitoring spots and achieving city-wide service deployment in Fukuoka.

Keywords: community safety, IoT monitoring, location tracking, BLE beacon, child safety, elderly care, smart city, town security, SaaS platform, public-private partnership, location-based service, asset tracking, smart panic button, connected devices, Fumiaki Yamamoto, community watch, GPS tracking, OEM service, remote monitoring