Only in Japan: The best technologies you can't buy

by Martyn Williams

February 11, 2008 —

Just a few years ago Japan's lead in all things digital was easy to see. Japanese
consumers could buy new domestic gadgets from companies like Sony,
Toshiba, and Panasonic,
often a year or two before they hit the market in other countries. But now things
have changed. With gadgets increasingly coming out at the same time around the
world, it's no longer the hardware that makes something cool, but what you can
do with it.

Mobile Digital TV

Take OneSeg,
Japan's mobile digital TV system. The entire electronics industry, TV broadcasters,
and the government all agreed on a single broadcasting standard, eliminating
the technical competition that's holding back such services in the United States
and Europe.

The result is a popular service that features all the regular terrestrial channels
at no cost. Already, 14 million cell phones with the service have been sold,
and the sight of people watching TV is becoming more common on trains and in
cafes across Japan.

The latest phones also allow you to record TV shows. And if you're in a public
space but forgot to bring your headphones, it's no problem. A couple of button
presses brings up the subtitles so you can enjoy the show with the volume turned
down. In addition, a companion data service provides information about the current
show, promotions from the broadcaster, and, often, a link to the TV station's
mobile Internet home page.

Mobile Wallet Service

Something else that's popular in cell phones these days is the "Osaifu
keitai," the mobile wallet service. Phones have smart cards embedded
inside, and these cards let you add applications like electronic money, your
commuter pass, an airline mileage card, or a credit card just by downloading
some software.

The strength of Japan's mobile wallet system is that the industry has settled
on a single smart card, Sony's Felica. Once a person's phone has this hardware,
he or she can add more functionality with software.

NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest cellular carrier, gives all its customers an electronic
credit card application called DCMX Mini. It has a 10,000-yen ($94) credit limit,
and charges appear on the phone bill. Big spenders can apply for more credit
and use it just like a regular credit card. All you have to do is bring your
phone within an inch of the reader and the transaction can be completed.

Electronic money--something that was tried many times but failed during the
dot-com bubble--is now becoming very popular, thanks to "Osaifu keitai."

Of the electronic money systems in Japan, Edy from BitWallet
is the market leader, accepted in more than 71,000 convenience stores, bookshops,
and coffee chains, and at vending machines. More than 37 million cards and cell
phones that support Edy are on the market, and the network handles close to
a million transactions per day on average.

Connected Cars

In Japan, car navigation systems have been a must-have accessory in automobiles
for years. Streets in cities like Tokyo often don't have names, so a navigation
system can really save you time. But the latest systems, offered by companies
like Nissan, come with
something extra.

Hook your navigation system to your cell phone, and you have a connection through
which you can get the latest road and traffic data. The navigation system already
knows where the nearest gas station is, but with the network link it can also
tell you where the cheapest station is, thanks to daily updates on gas prices.

When you're driving, the phone can connect you to an operator who will help
you on your journey and even remotely reprogram your navigation system so that
you never have to take your hands off the wheel.

About 10 percent of streets are covered with sensors that provide information
on traffic. Nissan is experimenting with a new service that collects data about
the roads you've driven and the speeds you've achieved, and feeds it to a central
computer that adds the information to the traffic database for a more complete
picture of jams.

High-tech is also being employed in car safety systems like the Round
View Monitor. The video from four cameras around the vehicle is processed
and brought together into a single image so that you get the illusion of seeing
your car from above. It makes backing into tight spaces really easy and is a
big-step beyond the single cameras now found on some large cars and trucks.

Warning of the Big One

One area that's taken very seriously by people in Japan is earthquakes and disaster
prevention. The problem is, you never know when a quake could strike, right?
Well, not necessarily.

A new warning system has just gone into operation that seeks to quickly detect
the weak but fast-moving primary waves from a quake and use them to estimate
when the slower-moving but destructive secondary waves will hit.

The system won't help people living at the epicenter of an earthquake, since
both kinds of waves arrive virtually simultaneously. But in the event of a major
quake, warnings of anywhere from a few seconds to up to a minute can be supplied
almost instantaneously.

That's enough time to halt trains and bring factory equipment to an emergency
stop, and for homeowners to switch off the gas. Most deaths in the Kobe quake
of 1995 were from fires that started after the quake, so preventing flameups
is important.

Robots

No discussion of cool tech in Japan would be complete without robots. Japanese
researchers are leading the world in robot technology, and humanoid bots like
Honda's Asimo
are especially impressive.

The latest version of Asimo can serve drinks on a tray and has gained the ability
to work intelligently with other Asimo robots in the vicinity to get jobs done
faster. Two of the robots have spent most of January working at Honda's Tokyo
offices, bringing tea or coffee to guests--and almost certainly entertaining
the visitors at the same time.

Rival car-maker Toyota has a clutch of robots including one unveiled in December
that
plays the violin. (It follows a trumpet-playing robot created a year earlier,
so perhaps a robot orchestra is in the making?) The company also has Robina,
which is intended to serve as a guide in a public space. Toyota put it into
use last year at a public hall in Japan and expects robots like Robina will
be commercially realistic in the middle of the next decade.

Taking on a much more serious role is Twendy One, a home-help robot developed
by Tokyo's Waseda University. It can do many of the basic tasks that a frail
person may need help with, such as assisting people out of bed and serving up
toast and drinks.

The robot is still under development but could have a bright future. Japan's
population is aging fast--already, 22 percent of people are over 65--and the
birth rate is slowing. That likely means a future shortage of workers. It's
one of the reasons money is being poured into robot technology in this already
technology-saturated nation.

IDG News Service