GEMINI Laboratory by TOPPAN INC.: Refining Business Ideas through Collaborative Effort
"GEMINI Laboratory by TOPPAN INC." is a co-creation project aimed at developing services that merge the physical and virtual worlds by leveraging TOPPAN's extensive material data on building materials.
BASSDRUM supported the initiative by facilitating new idea generation for GEMINI Laboratory and creating concept models. The project was carried out as a collaborative effort with TOPPAN, utilizing workshops and prototyping to drive progress.
What We Did
Our role was to join forces with TOPPAN, collaborating to generate ideas through in-depth discussions and bring them to life as concept models.
The process of shaping an idea involves navigating numerous conditions, such as ensuring its technical feasibility and its value to customers. Good ideas are often nurtured within constraints, and some aspects can only be uncovered through hands-on experimentation rather than through theoretical discussion alone.
We worked closely with TOPPAN to build a unified team, conducting ideation sessions, workshops, and prototyping. Together, as one cohesive team, we tackled every challenge standing in the way of bringing the ideas to fruition.
Ideation
The themes of "leveraging material data" and "merging the real and virtual" had already been established before our involvement in the GEMINI Laboratory project. Additionally, the company's concept, "Plus One Layer," centers on enhancing the value of existing in-house assets by adding a single new element. To advance the project, it was essential to explore ideas that were not only innovative but also technically feasible within these frameworks.
When we joined the project, we reviewed several concepts previously explored by the TOPPAN team and proposed two new ideas with strong technical feasibility. These proposals built upon the project's core themes while driving it forward.
Idea 1
Develop a device that allows users to experience the texture of materials by integrating haptic feedback technology.
Idea 2
Combine iOS's RoomPlan functionality with augmented reality (AR) to apply new textures to real furniture within a virtual environment.
The core aspects of these proposals were carried through to the final concept models.
At BASSDRUM, we leverage our accumulated expertise to propose ideas that account for technical feasibility from the outset. In this case, by presenting feasible ideas early in the project, we minimized setbacks and ensured a smoother progression overall.
Workshop
The core experiential values of the proposed ideas were "haptic feedback" and "AR visualization using RoomPlan." Refining these ideas required hands-on experience and establishing a shared understanding within the team. This was particularly crucial for haptic feedback, as it remains an emerging technology with specific constraints and limitations that need to be clearly recognized by all stakeholders.
To ensure seamless collaboration between TOPPAN and BASSDRUM—two parties with expertise in different fields—several workshops were conducted to align our perspectives and advance the project cohesively.
Workshop Example 1
An academic lecture on touch and the principles of vibration feedback.
Workshop Example 2
A hands-on session to experience existing haptic feedback systems.
By fostering a shared understanding of the core technologies, we deepened our mutual recognition and successfully refined the ideas, ensuring they were transformed into practical and actionable concepts rather than remaining theoretical visions.
Prototyping
Handling a prototype often yields new insights and fosters deeper discussions, more so than verbal exchanges alone. To this end, we developed functional prototypes that could be experienced firsthand. This process helped us explore potential directions, recognize limitations, and share critical background information across the team, enabling discussions from a unified perspective.
Prototypes were not a one-off deliverable. They were iteratively updated in line with idea refinements, creating a cycle of experience and discussion that enabled continuous improvement.
By complementing discussions with occasional document use and hands-on idea exploration through prototypes, we fostered close communication that transcended the traditional boundaries between roles.
This approach led to concrete suggestions, such as exploring the experience of "touching virtual materials" and improving tactile resolution by using two types of actuators. As a result, we efficiently advanced both the generation and refinement of new ideas.
Demonstration of the tactile devices and experience systems.
Demonstration of the AR application.