Research and Development

Konica Minolta aims to become "an innovative corporation that continues to create inspiring products and services in the field of imaging" and "a global corporation that leads the market by advanced technologies and reliability". Under these management visions, we promote portfolio management supported by group technology strategy.

The market surrounding us is shifting toward ubiquitous computing society through progress in infrastructure such as broadband, digital TV and home server, and overall digitization. Konica Minolta is currently working on medium to long term technology strategy to meet with these changes in the world of increasing social responsibilities including global environmental issues.

Most of our pillar products, such as digital MFPs (Multi-Functional Peripherals), optical pickup lenses, digital medical imaging systems, color proofing systems, flourished after more than ten years of research and development. Today, with a vision toward markets in the coming five to ten years, we are working enthusiastically to forecast the trend of the future technologies, confirm essential core technologies in the future, and promote in-depth and advanced technological innovations in such fields.

The technologies and products, which are attractive enough to win the global competition and thrust of Asian countries, such as Korea, Taiwan, and China, should be created by integration of technologies rather than something attained simply by assembling. Konica Minolta's digital MFPs are typical examples of this kind. They have been developed through total integration of technologies covering electric, electronic, optical, physical, chemical, materials, information, communication, and software technologies. In addition, electronic components and optical devices are becoming ever-more sophisticated through digitization, and most of them cannot be developed without specialized new materials and high-precision nanotechnologies. Konica Minolta's nanotechnologies are indispensable in such an advanced R&D competition.

Furthermore, software technology (color management) to "depict picture" in the "image", which is a core of imaging field, has been fostered through long years of experience in color film and prints. In this field, we will enhance and differentiate its know-how in today's digitized world.

In such global competitive environment, Konica Minolta will, while maintaining and promoting their advantages, strengthen total integration technology, cutting-edge core technologies, and software solution technology, and foster dynamic and innovative technology power into the future.