Market Context — Why This Technology, Why Now

The global push for sustainable infrastructure and renewable energy sources, alongside increasing climate change resilience efforts, is driving unprecedented demand for accurate and efficient subsurface analysis. Regulatory mandates for environmental impact assessments and safety in large-scale construction or resource projects necessitate advanced geotechnical insights. This technology provides a critical competitive edge by enabling faster, more cost-effective, and data-driven decision-making in these high-stakes global markets.

Key Competitive Advantages
01

Generates high-precision AI learning data, accurately reproducing diverse subsurface structures.

02

Reduces ground survey costs by ~20% through improved AI prediction accuracy.

03

Accelerates development time by approximately 3 years compared to in-house solutions.

Market Opportunity
Construction and Civil Engineering
~$6.5B domestically (AI est.)
Aging infrastructure, urban development, and large-scale disaster recovery projects urgently require advanced and efficient ground surveys. High-precision subsurface data directly optimizes design and reduces construction risks.
Tier 1 construction firms Infrastructure development companies Geotechnical engineering consultancies
Resource Exploration & Energy
$10B–$50B globally (AI est.)
Technological development is accelerating for geothermal power plants, mineral resource exploration, groundwater management, and CO2 underground storage (CCUS). High-precision subsurface analysis data enhances decision-making quality for effective underground space utilization and environmental impact reduction.
Geothermal energy developers Mining and mineral exploration companies Oil & gas exploration firms CCUS project developers
Disaster Prevention & Mitigation
$1B–$5B domestically (AI est.)
Accurate understanding of subsurface structures is essential for evaluating risks such as landslides, earthquakes, and liquefaction. This technology contributes to improving the accuracy of hazard maps and developing early warning systems, enhancing societal safety and security.
Government geological survey agencies Disaster management organizations Civil engineering firms specializing in risk assessment
IP Defensibility — Why Competitors Can't Replicate This
What This Patent Covers

This patent protects an information processing apparatus and program for generating AI learning data with diverse subsurface resistivity structures. Its broad and meticulously designed claims, coupled with a swift grant after early examination without office actions, indicate strong novelty and inventiveness, providing a robust foundation for licensees.

Competitive White Space

This patent primarily covers the software and methods for generating AI learning data from subsurface resistivity. It leaves white space for developing novel hardware for physical resistivity data acquisition or advanced real-time AI inference engines for field deployment.

Economic Impact
~$1M/year estimated ground survey cost reduction per facility (est.)
estimated ROI · USD · AI analysis
ROI Calculation Logic

Assuming an adopting company conducts 100 ground survey projects annually, with an average cost of ~$50K (AI est.) per project, leveraging this technology's AI learning data could streamline the overall survey process by 20%. This is estimated to result in an annual cost reduction of 100 projects × ~$50K/project × 20% = ~$1M (AI est.).

Speed to Market
7× faster than in-house development
This technology is provided as an information processing apparatus and program, making integration into existing ground analysis systems or AI development environments relatively straightforward. Algorithms for subsurface resistivity setting and smoothing are already established, and proof-of-concept is complete, eliminating the need for licensees to conduct research and development from scratch. This could shorten time-to-market by approximately 3 years compared to in-house system development.
Competitive Positioning

X: Data Generation Accuracy & Diversity
Y: Survey Efficiency & Cost Performance

Business Models & Applications
💻 Software Licensing
A licensing model for integrating this technology into existing ground analysis software or AI development platforms. Available for both on-premise and cloud-based SaaS deployments.
📊 Data Generation as a Service
A service model that generates and provides customized, high-precision learning resistivity structure data for specific regions or projects, based on client requirements.
⚙️ Integration into Exploration Devices
A hardware integration model for embedding this technology into next-generation geophysical exploration devices or underground exploration robots, enabling real-time data generation and analysis.
Adjacent Application Opportunities
🌍 地熱発電
Efficient Identification of Geothermal Reservoirs
High-precision subsurface resistivity structure data generated by this technology could more accurately identify potential geothermal reservoir sites, increasing the success rate of exploratory drilling. This is expected to significantly reduce initial survey costs and development time for geothermal power projects.
🌳 環境技術(CCUS)
Safety Assessment for CO2 Storage Sites
In CO2 Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) projects, this technology could be used for high-precision subsurface structure modeling to assess reservoir sealing capabilities and CO2 leakage risks. This is expected to improve the reliability of storage site selection and minimize environmental risks.
🚧 インフラ点検
Detecting Degradation & Voids in Underground Infrastructure
This technology could be adapted to generate learning data for high-precision, non-destructive estimation of degradation and voids in underground infrastructure, such as road cavities or water pipes. This has the potential to enable early detection of risks associated with aging infrastructure and support efficient maintenance planning.
Integration Roadmap — Estimated 18-Month Deployment
Phase 1: Technology Integration & Requirements Definition
Duration: 3 months
Define technical requirements for integrating this technology's APIs or modules into existing ground analysis systems and AI development platforms. This includes compatibility with existing data and interface design.
Phase 2: System Development & Data Linkage
Duration: 9 months
Based on defined requirements, develop the system incorporating this technology. Establish data linkage with the licensee's existing ground data and geophysical survey data, building the learning data generation pipeline.
Phase 3: Validation & Operations Optimization
Duration: 6 months
Conduct real-world project validation using the developed system, verifying the quality of generated learning data and AI analysis results. Optimize operational workflows and improve performance based on field feedback.
Technical Feasibility
This technology is provided as an information processing apparatus and program, making its integration into existing ground analysis software, AI development platforms, or cloud-based data processing systems technically feasible. The layer setting unit, classification unit, resistivity setting unit, smoothing unit, and learning resistivity structure data generation unit described in the claims can be implemented as software modules, ensuring high compatibility with existing equipment through standard data formats.
Success Scenario
Upon adopting this technology, high-precision subsurface data generated by AI could be utilized during the planning phase of ground survey projects to identify optimal survey points and trial excavation locations. This is estimated to reduce unnecessary on-site surveys and trial excavations by 20% annually. As a result, it is expected to lower overall project costs and shorten construction periods, while enabling more reliable decision-making based on enhanced ground evaluation.
Patent Record
APPLICATION NO.
特願2023-085483
REGISTRATION NO.
7385968
FILING DATE
2023/05/24
GRANT DATE
2023/11/15
EXPIRATION DATE
2043/05/24
PATENT HOLDER
学校法人早稲田大学
Examination History
2023年09月01日
出願審査請求書
2023年09月01日
早期審査に関する事情説明書
2023年09月26日
早期審査に関する通知書
2023年10月31日
特許査定