Released “LEDS HIGHTLIGHT” drawing unit Interview with the person in charge of development

Thank you for your daily work.
Please tell us various things about the LED drawing unit released recently from the perspective of the person in charge of development?


Mr. Hirose
I will answer as far as I can.

A new challenge

Thank you.
So, roughly when did you plan this LED drawing unit?
Please tell us about the background to development.


Mr. Hirose
I joined Stanley mid-career around 2020, and that is when planning began.
Stanley’s LED lighting products are represented by automotive lighting, but the “LED drawing units” that have been developed in recent years are more like projectors.
In that sense, it was a project with special expertise within Stanley.
I had experience in the development of such products in the past, also including in my previous jobs, so it was decided I would participate in this project.
I think that applying Stanley’s automotive drawing unit technology and “using drawing units in areas where they have never been used before” was the background to the project.


Did development proceed smoothly?

Mr. Hirose
The development of the drawing unit required new knowledge, such as the concept of “resolution,” which is not related to Stanley’s regular LED lighting products.
It was necessary to start by updating our concepts and assumptions about light, and we struggled to get to the development start line.
In addition, we also had difficulties in determining the specifications.
We were able to say simply, “We will use technology for automobiles as a quasi-standard good for consumers,” but no clear target had yet been envisioned.
If it was an automotive product, we would have been able to see the anticipated specifications to a certain degree.
However, determining specifications for consumer use from a situation where you only have the technology is like grabbing a cloud.

“Any place, any size”

“Capable of both indoor and outdoor use”

“Anybody can handle it simply”

We struggled to translate the broadly defined request to “respond to every possible situation” into a realistic form.

In a sense, it could also be described as the work of imposing restrictions (lol).
It was a very challenging development.

A compact and focus-free design considerate of ease of use

-When I first saw the actual product, I was impressed by how compact it was.

Mr. Hirose
While there are naturally products of various sizes in the market, we thought that the small size of this product would give it a certain advantage.
However, rather than being the result of differentiation from other companies, this size is the overall result of pursuing efficiency of light use, including product weight and other factors.


So rather than aiming to be compact, it just ended up being compact.
You say this product is focus-free; what is the advantage of that?

Mr. Hirose
There are many products on the market that require the adjustment of focus matched to the location.
Our product is designed to focus itself from a minimum distance of one meter so illumination from any kind of location is possible.
We designed the product emphasizing ease of use so there is no cumbersome setup that changes depending on the location.

That’s the biggest merit of being a general-purpose product, isn’t it?

A marking design lineup that meets needs

There are various marking designs that can be illuminated, aren’t there?

Mr. Hirose
The lineup was created after sales staff listened to requests from customers and taking versatility into consideration.
The lineup was created after sales staff listened to requests from customers and taking versatility into consideration.
Actually, the internal structure needs to be changed depending on the drawing pattern, and it is currently difficult to change the drawing simply.
Starting with this product, I would like to obtain requests from various industries and also develop new drawing patterns.

The possibilities for drawing units, including needs, have only just started so I look forward to the future.
Mr. Hirose, thank you for talking to us in detail today.

Mr. Hirose
Thank you too.