Czech printing solutions company Y Soft has found some success in the world of 3D printing with its be3D line of 3D printers, one of which 3DPI had the opportunity to review recently. Now, the company is expanding its work in 3D printing and other areas with a newly launched R&D department dubbed YSoft Labs.
The new innovation center is geared towards exploring emerging office technologies and further grow Y Soft itself. With a long-term focus, YSoft Labs will receive half of the company’s profits to promote development in four specific areas: the Internet of Things, Business Process Management (BPM), 3D Printers and Workflow Solutions, and the Future of Print Management and Document Capture.
Y Soft CTO and board member Ondřej Krajíček says of the new division, “Our development teams are already experimenting with new technologies and pride themselves on staying ahead of trends in the market. The formalization of YSoft Labs with Martin de Martini and R&D is off to a great start already.” Martin de Martini, Head of YSoft Labs and Y Soft co-founder, adds, “It’s an exciting time for Y Soft as we invest in these initial technology areas. With YSoft Labs, we are bringing together talented teams of developers and project leaders interested in working together to conceive and create the next generation enterprise office products.”
The IoT Platform will result in a complete hardware and software ecosystem for everything from retail to vehicles and Y Soft has already developed an automated printing workflow controlled by robotic arms, as demonstrated in the video above. The BPM branch is focused on standardizing process for productivity for enterprises. In 3D printing, Y Soft hopes to find the best practices from 2D printing and apply them to 3D, working to allow for enterprise-wide networking. They are also intent on developing new 3D printer designs and capabilities. Finally, in Print Management and Document Capture, the company will evolve its flasghip product, YSoft SafeQ, designed for traditional printing.
Such R&D departments are not new for larger businesses and, in the growing world of 3D printing, it will be essential for printer manufacturers to develop products that remain cutting edge. And, by embracing such important areas as IoT, the Czech firm could become much bigger than a 2D and 3D printing company.
