Pen-type Device Displays Characters Written in Air on Monitor

SMK Corp developed "Wireless Input Pen," which can transmit characters written in the air and displays them on a monitor.

The pen was exhibited at the company's exhibition "TEXPO 2008," which took place in Shinagawa, Tokyo from June 4 to 6, 2008.

The pen has a built-in triaxial acceleration sensor and the Bluetooth function. The sensor detects the positional information and recognizes the inputted characters. The characters are wirelessly transmitted to a monitor via Bluetooth. The maximum transmission distance is reportedly about 10m. It is expected that the pen will be used in place of a laser pointer in sales presentations.

According to SMK, it is the world's first pen-type device that can transmit characters written in the air to a monitor and the company is currently applying for a patent. Thus far, Anoto AB of Sweden and CandleDragon Inc have prototyped a pen that can transfer characters written on paper to a monitor, etc.

Shinya Saeki, Nikkei Electronics

TechOn!

Hitachi, Osaka Gas Use Wearable Sensors to Raise White-collar Productivity

Motohiko Hamada, Nikkei Automotive Technology

Hitachi Ltd and Osaka Gas Co Ltd jointly developed a new analysis and assessment technology to improve white-collar productivity. Through a test, the companies confirmed that the technology helps quantitatively comprehend, for example, business activities and communications of white-collar employees inside an organization.

The analysis and assessment technology combines Hitachi's "Business Microscope," a system that visualizes activities in an organization using Hitachi's proprietary sensor technology incorporating infrared and acceleration sensors, and Osaka Gas' action monitoring technology.

Data will be stored after measuring the time of face-to-face communications between employees and their actions, for example, using the Business Microscope. Then the action data is analyzed by the action monitoring technology in an effort to actualize underlying problems. In action monitoring, action data is analyzed using knowledge such as human engineering, environmental psychology and gesture and expression analysis.

Combining each company's excellent sensor technology and action monitoring technology, the two companies conducted a verification test at the headquarters of Osaka Gas for four months from July to October 2007.

Through the test, in which 30 workers engaged in the information and communication department wore the sensors, the companies found the amount of communication with superiors doubled and the area of communication expanded beyond the organization in a free-address office, where employees have no fixed seat and sit in their favorite place in a common work space, compared with a fixed-address office.

The test also revealed realities concerning how long the employees concentrated on doing the same task and factors that interrupted their concentration.

The two companies are planning to conduct more verification tests to provide a consulting service to analyze and improve operations at general companies.

TechOn!

Tests conducted on Kibo space lab's robotic arm

Jun. 09 HOUSTON, United States

Tests are conducted on the robotic arm of Japan's ''Kibo'' space research laboratory in the International Space Station. (Photo taken from NASA TV)

Kyodo.

Japan's top film rental chain offers high-definition downloads

TOKYO (AFP) — Japan's top film rental chain Tsutaya on Thursday unveiled a download-on-demand broadband service, letting customers rent titles from home without going to the store.

The service by Tsutaya, which counts 27.2 million members at its 1,330 branches across Japan, is the latest sign of the growing market for high-definition television in Japan.

Tsutaya, part of the Culture Convenience Club (CCC) Group, will start the service Friday by allowing downloads of the first season of hit US television series such as "Heroes," "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives."

A customer can download a title and watch it over a 48-hour period using Actvila, a portal set for interactive services launched by Japan's major television makers.

Tsutaya plans to raise its catalogue of downloadable titles to 2,000 by the end of the year via agreements with four major Hollywood studios -- Paramount, Warner Brothers, Walt Disney and NBC Universal.

Renting a full-length movie through the service will cost 735 yen (seven dollars), with a lesser price for shorter films.

Use of the service requires high-speed fibre-optic connections, which are gradually replacing ADSL lines. Nearly 12 million of Japan's 48 million households have a fibre-optic Internet service.

Tsutaya hopes that the new service will pull in more customers with higher disposable incomes in the 40-50 age range.

Actvila was developed by Japan's major television makers -- Sharp, Sony, Matsushita, Toshiba and Hitachi -- and is compatible with several dozen models of plasma or liquid crystal display sets.

Prices of such high-definition televisions have been on the decline, creating a larger market of viewers.

Japan has been a leader in digital television broadcasts, which require advanced sets, and plans to end analogue broadcasts entirely in 2011.

AFP.

Japan, U.S. To Cooperate in Methane Hydrate Research

AOMORI, Japan (AFP) — Japan and the United States on Saturday agreed to cooperate on research into methane hydrate, known as the "ice that burns" which is seen as a promising future energy source.

Energy ministers from the world's two largest economies signed the cooperation agreement at a meeting in northern Japan that comes amid mounting concern about record-high oil prices.

Methane hydrate, or methane gas trapped in frozen water, looks like ice but burns. Its deposits can be found in permafrost regions and seabeds.

Under the three-year cooperation agreement, Japan hopes to conduct an on-shore production test in Alaska.

The deal was signed between Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari and US Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman.

The Japanese ministry and US department plan "extensive research with respect to methane hydrate exploration and resource assessment," a statement announcing the bilateral cooperation said.

"To establish technology for commercial production, we have to conduct test-production for several months," a Japanese ministry official said.

Japan already carried out test-production for several consecutive days in Canada, but it needs to carry out on-shore production for a longer test period, he said.

The meeting in Aomori, Japan, comes after oil prices posted their biggest ever one-day rise, soaring to 138.54 dollars in New York after hawkish remarks by a senior Israeli official about oil producer Iran.

AFP.

Toyota develops new fuel cell hybrid with improved cruising distance

TOKYO — Toyota has developed a new fuel cell hybrid, a green car powered by hydrogen and electricity, that can travel more than twice the distance of its predecessor model without filling up, the automaker said Friday.

Continue reading article at JapanToday.

Riken Makes Developments in Alzheimer's Disease Research

Tokyo, June 9, 2008 (Diginfo) - A team from the Laboratory for Proteolytic Neuroscience at RIKEN is conducting extensive research on Alzheimer's disease, specifically focusing on the study of somatostatin, a neuropeptide that inhibits the secretion of growth hormones. This research in intended to lead to the discovery of new medicine for Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease is a cognitive dysfunction disorder that occurs when nerve cells are impaired and and thus affects brain activity. There are around 24 million Alzheimer patients worldwide. Amyloid peptide has been identified as the pathogen that exhibits neurotoxicity and consists of 42 amino acids which are produced in the brain. The disease occurs when amyloids peptides accumulate in excess outside of the nerve cells.

The Researchers at Riken also discovered that Neprilysin, which breaks up amyloid peptide, diminishes with age and decreases even further upon the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

In the laboratory, they treated an Alzheimer's disease model mouse with a gene therapy that boosted the activity of Neprilysin by 10 times, and as a result, were able to suppress the accumulation of the amyloid peptide.

Riken is currently conducting bio-chemical and histological analysis of the brain using an Alzheimer's disease model mouse.

JCN.

Panasonic develops new fluorescent bulbs that last for 13,000 hours

OSAKA —
Panasonic on Monday announced the new Pa-Look Ball Premium Q (quick) compact
fluorescent light bulbs with the industry’s first “hybrid lighting method” that enables instant
brightness. The new product will be available in Japan starting this July.

Energy-efficient fluorescent light bulbs have been attracting attention as an
environmentally-friendly choice for home for their long lifespan and the property to give off
warmth like incandescent lights. These fluorescent bulbs, however, were considered
unsuitable for places where they were turned on and off frequently, such as bathrooms, as
they could not light up as instantly as incandescent bulbs.

To solve the problem, Panasonic said it has successfully developed the “hybrid lighting method” by installing a newly-developed compact “quick lamp” in the center of the spiral arc tube structure inside the pear-shaped Premium Q fluorescent light capsules. The “quick lamp” allows the bulb to obtain 60% of full brightness within the first second after it is turned on, which is 50% faster than current Pa-Look Ball Premium bulbs and stands as the industry’s quickest ramp-up time.

A built-in timer automatically turns off the “quick lamp” when the spiral arc tube lamp develops enough brightness. As a result, the new Premium Q bulbs achieve brightness equivalent to that of 54-watt incandescent bulbs with an energy consumption of only 10-watts, cutting down CO2 emissions and electricity bills by 80%.

The new Premium Q last approximately 13,000 hours and can be switched on and off approximately 40,000 times.

Japantoday.

Bridgestone ships 10 millionth runflat tire

The company claims that its runflat tires continue to operate at a specified speed for a specified distance after losing pressure under normal conditions at 0kPa air pressure. This reportedly improves safety in the event of a sudden loss of pressure as with a puncture, by ensuring that handling remains steady.

The Bridgestone group has said that it recognizes runflat tires as strategic products. As runflat tires can also contribute greatly to safety and reduce environmental burden, Bridgestone is hoping yo strive to further permeate and expand the market.

Bridgestone is seeking to achieve stable supply of runflat tires to automakers and drivers the world over in the future. The company produces runflat tires at six plants in Japan, the US, Poland and South Africa.

Automotive Business Review.

Mitsubishi Motors Provides i MiEV Electric Vehicles for Use at G8 Summit

Tokyo, June 6, 2008 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) today announced that it would provide 10 i MiEV[1] electric vehicles for official use at the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit. The electric vehicles will be used as transport for visiting world leaders and members of the media. Additionally, the vehicles will comprise one part of an on-site display[2] and test drive.

MMC hopes that through its small contribution, attendees of the G8 Summit will find a new appreciation for the superior practicality and environmental viability of electric vehicles.

MMC will bring the i MiEV electric vehicle to market next year (2009) in Japan, as part of its plan to help reduce global warming and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The i MiEV is based on the " i " minicar, and utilizes a large-capacity lithium-ion battery and a compact, high-output electric motor in place of the traditional powertrain.

At present, MMC is conducting fleet tests in cooperation with several domestic electric power companies, in order to make electric vehicles a common sight on Japan's roads as soon as possible. Plans are also under way to begin fleet testing of the i MiEV at more than one U.S. power company as early as this fall. Data about the effects of local climate and driving preferences, gathered in the aforementioned tests, will allow MMC to make meaningful progress toward bringing the i MiEV to market.

[1] MiEV: Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle
[2] The large-capacity lithium-ion battery used in the i MiEV will also will also be displayed at the event.

Toyota to Provide 78 Hybrid, Other Vehicles to G8 Summit

Tokyo, June 6, 2008 - (JCN Newswire) - Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announced that it will provide 78 conventional hybrid and other environmentally friendly vehicles for official use and demonstration at the July 7-9 G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit.

The vehicles will be used to transport participating country officials, shuttle media and government representatives and serve as next-generation test ride vehicles as part of the summit's Environmental Showcase of environmentally related displays and demonstrations at the venue's International Media Center.

TMC provided the environmentally friendly vehicles in response to a Japanese government request to help ensure that the summit and the preparations for it are as environmentally considerate as possible. This is especially because one of the major themes of the summit is the environment, particularly measures aimed at combating global warming.

TMC will provide (including backup vehicles) 11 Lexus LS600h/LS600hL sedans, 15 Crown Hybrid sedans and 43 Estima Hybrid minivans for transporting participant country officials. In addition, five units of the hydrogen-powered Toyota FCHV-BUS[1] will be used for shuttling government and media representatives.

The test ride vehicles for the Environmental Showcase will include one Toyota Plug-in HV[2], two battery-powered i-REAL personal mobility vehicles and a TOYOTA FCHV-adv[3]. Also at the Environmental Showcase, TMC will put on technological displays that include a stationary fuel cell and a high-pressure hydrogen tank developed by TMC for fuel cell vehicles.

Some of the aforementioned vehicles will also serve the June 7-8 Energy Ministers Meeting in Aomori Prefecture and the June 15 G8 Science and Technology Ministers Meeting in Okinawa Prefecture.

*1 Fuel cell hybrid vehicle bus
*2 Hybrid vehicle rechargeable from household electricity and able to run solely on electric motor power
*3 Fuel cell hybrid vehicle-advanced

JCN.

Mitsubishi Chemical Uses LEDs, Solar Cells for Plant Factories

Jun 6, 2008 18:48
Satoshi Ookubo, Nikkei Electronics

Mitsubishi Chemical Corp will release a lighting system consisting of LEDs and solar cells for factories by the end of 2009 at the earliest.

The lighting system reducess electrical costs by using sunlight and LEDs, which have a longer life than fluorescent lamps. With this system, lighting costs can be reduced by approximately 30%, according to Mitsubishi Chemical.

The number of plant factories that use a lighting source such as a fluorescent lamp is increasing because, for example, vegetables grow better with lighting. But the use of such lighting equipment makes it difficult to reduce the cultivation cost due to the electricity used by the equipment and the cost required to change light sources.

Prior to the market entry, Mitsubishi Chemical will introduce, on a trial basis, the LED and solar cell lighting system to a new factory owned by Fairy Angel Inc, a vegetable cultivation venture company. With cooperation from Fairy Angel, which has expertise in the operation of vegetable factories, and lighting equipment manufacturer CCS Inc, Mitsubishi Chemical will begin a joint experiment aimed at the optimization of the latest lighting system.

Fairy Angel's new factory is being constructed in Mihama Town, Fukui Prefecture, Japan and its operation will begin shortly. The lighting system using LEDs and solar cells will be introduced to part of the factory.

Fairy Angel is considering selling vegetable factories in the future, and intends to utilize the lighting system based on the latest joint development for this plan. A system with fluorescent lamps and a regular power source will be used for most of the cultivation lines in the factory. Mitsubishi Chemical has made an investment of approximately 16% in Fairy Angel.

Mitsubishi Chemical provides LED chip, fluorescent material

The LED used in the lighting system is reportedly composed of an LED chip and a fluorescent material developed by Mitsubishi Chemical. Initially, the process to combine the chip and the material to fabricate the LED will be outsourced.

The specifications of the LED for use "will be determined during the optimization process," Fairy Angel said. White, blue and red LEDs are likely to be used on a trial basis. In addition to Mitsubishi Chemical, other manufacturers may provide LEDs for the joint experiment, depending on the emission color.

The Si-based solar cells will be first procured for use in the lighting system. With a view to entering the market in 2015, Mitsubishi Chemical is promoting the development of organic solar cells. The company intends to expand the use of organic solar cell to the lighting system for plant factories in the future.

TechOn!

NEC Electronics Sets Up Taiwan Software Development Center

Tokyo, June 6, 2008 (Jiji Press) - Japan's NEC Electronics Corp. <6723> said Friday it has established a new center within its wholly owned Taiwanese unit to take charge of the development of software for system large-scale integration chips used in optical storage devices.

Anticipating growing demand for system LSI chips for use in Blu-ray Disc recorders and players, NEC Electronics picked Taiwan as the location for the software development center because many companies in the sector are based there.

With an initial workforce of about 10, the new center, named Taiwan Storage Technologies and Solutions, will also offer technical support services and undertake marketing activities.

NEC Electronics has annual sales of some 20 billion yen in system LSI chips for use in optical storage devices.

JCN.

Toyota-Matsushita JV to Build Auto Battery Plant in Northern Japan

Nagoya, May 27, 2008 (Jiji Press) - Panasonic EV Energy Co. said Tuesday that it will spend about 30 billion yen to build a plant in northeastern Japan to make nickel-metal hydride batteries for hybrid vehicles.

The new plant, to be located in the town of Taiwa in Miyagi Prefecture, will start operating in early 2010, said the joint venture between Toyota Motor Corp. <7203> and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. <6752>.

Panasonic EV Energy will also expand its existing battery plant in Kosai in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, where the company has its head office.

Through the measures, the firm hopes to double its annual battery production to some one million units in 2010.

The firm also hopes to start mass production of next-generation lithium-ion batteries at an early date.

Panasonic EV, owned 60 pct by Toyota and 40 pct by Matsushita, is strengthening its production capacity as Toyota aims to increase its annual hybrid vehicle sales to one million units by the early 2010s.

JCN.