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Panasonic Cockpit digital dash prototype hands-on (video)
Sure, we may not see flying cars in our lifetime, but a mainstream digital dash is a definite possibility. The all-glass vehicle dashboard has been conceptualized by other manufacturers in the past, but this year it's Panasonic's turn to try its hand at building a multi-display system. The electronics maker brought its Cockpit prototype to the CEATEC floor, causing quite a stir among passersby. The dash itself was little more than a semi-functional mockup, presenting recorded rendered video on the main 20-inch LCD and dual 10.4-inch secondary displays. The main display's current objective appears to be improving safety, using a series of cameras to eliminate blind spots and alert drivers to other road hazards. Real-time driving stats are displayed atop a video feed, either from the rear camera (when in reverse), or one up front. We spent a few minutes behind the wheel of Panasonic's mockup, which consisted only of a pair of (rather comfortable) leather seats, along with a trio of LCDs, which the company claims are currently based on panels used in other Panasonic products, but may eventually utilize custom displays. This wasn't an actual vehicle prototype -- only the "cockpit" was on hand. The main display will (hopefully) focus the driver's attention away from distractions on those two smaller screens -- the one in the center can be used to control standard vehicle settings like climate and entertainment, while a second display positioned directly in front of the passenger seat can play movies and other content. Are we there yet? No, so you better get comfortable for the long drive ahead. Overall the setup looked like it could have potential, though Panasonic warned us not to expect anything final until the end of the decade (2018 at the earliest). Jump past the break for a Cockpit drive-by.%Gallery-135772%
Fujitsu Arrows Tab LTE F-01D with gesture control hands-on (video)
NEC's waterproof MEDIAS N-06C to get a sprinkle of Gingerbread and 1GHz power Wireless, Tablet PCs Sony's Tablet S and P get 3G in Japan NTT DoCoMo begins testing automated Japanese / English translation app that actually works (video) We'll probably never match Japan's obsession with waterproof gadgets, but anyone would appreciate how the local manufacturers also manage to keep them thin and light at the same time. The Fujitsu Arrows Tab LTE F-01D we fiddled with here at CEATEC is one such example: while it's thicker than Samsung's 10.1-inch counterpart by almost 3mm, we were surprised that Fujitsu's latest Android tablet also weighs just under 600g -- not bad considering it's suitable for use in the shower. What's more, the F-01D comes with a rather unique feature that's great for use in the bathroom or the kitchen: camera-based gesture control, which works in the browser (to scroll pages or go back and forth) as well as the 1seg or DLNA TV viewer (to change the channel and volume). You'll see in our video after the break that the gestures worked liked a charm for us, though initially we had to make sure that the tablet wasn't facing any strong light behind us (a typical problem in large conventions). Anyhow, if you're up for grabbing an F-01D, it'll be available on NTT DoCoMo in Japan next week. %Gallery-135783%
Murata Wireless Power Transmission System supports laptops, we go hands-on (video)
Do we really need another wireless charging system that's incompatible with industry standards? Murata seems to think that we do. The company's prototype uses neither conductive nor inductive transmission, instead bringing its new capacitive coupling technology to the cordless charging mix. Capacitive coupling uses square transmitter and receiver electrodes, instead of the coils used with Qi devices. It also doesn't require a physical connection like near-obsolete conductive tech, which dictates that both the charging pad and receiving device use metal connectors that must be joined to transfer current. The Murata system is far from being production-ready, with only 70 percent efficiency (30 percent of electricity is lost during transmission). The sample the company had on hand can support 16 watts of output with a maximum of 2.1 amps, making each pad capable of charging several small gadgets, or one larger device, like a laptop. Murata seemed more interested in demonstrating the concept behind capacitive coupling than actually proving that it works -- the laptop we saw "charging" was a plastic mockup, though the base did glow red when the laptop's charging pad came into contact (though it also glowed blue at times, as you can see in the image above). We did take a close look at an iPhone case, however, which appeared to be remarkably thin -- much thinner than models from Powermat, for example, though the case does extend below the dock connector. Another advantage of the square electrodes is that you don't need to place devices in a certain position on the mat in order for them to charge -- they simply need to be positioned within the general charging area. We take a closer look in the video after the break.%Gallery-135770%
NTT DoCoMo menu translator app hands-on (video)
NTT DoCoMo menu translator app hands-on (video) NTT DoCoMo begins testing automated Japanese / English translation app that actually works (video) NTT DoCoMo exhibits on-the-fly speech translation, lets both parties just talk (video) Have you ever tried to read a Japanese menu? If there aren't pictures to reference, you'll likely have a difficult time figuring out what to order -- unless you can read Japanese, of course. NTT DoCoMo hopes to improve the dining experience for those of us that can't tell our ウニ (sea urchin) from our カニ (crab), building an app that can translate any of 9,000 possible menu entries from Japanese into English. It also supports English to Japanese translation, along with Chinese (both Mandarin and Cantonese) and Korean translations as well. The app worked fairly well, occasionally mistaking things like salmon caviar for "a rare part of the pork." OK, so perhaps there's a bit more work to be done. Either way, real-time visual language translation is definitely tricky stuff, and could be enormously helpful to travelers once devs figure out how to make it work -- and work well. Jump past the break to see the app do its thing at CEATEC.%Gallery-135633%
NTT DoCoMo Shared Bicycle Initiative hands-on (video)
Well, NTT DoCoMo is at it again, this time dabbling in the fine art of bicycle sharing. The Japanese mobile carrier's own flavor is currently undergoing beta testing in Yokohama, just outside Tokyo, and uses a familiar kiosk system to collect and dish out bikes. Residents (and tourists with Japanese cell phone numbers) can rent bikes 30 minutes at a time for 105 Yen (about $1.40) for the first half hour, then 210 Yen for each subsequent period. You also rent bikes by the month for 1,050 Yen (about $14). Overall, this implementation doesn't appear to be different than what's already been installed in some US and European cities, but it's apparently a first for the Tokyo area. The next iteration is far more exciting, however. Rather than visiting a kiosk to rent a bike, you'll be able to use a smartphone app to locate some available wheels, with position information broadcast by a built-in GPS. Once you find a bike you want to rent, the system will send an unlock code to your handset, which you'll enter into a handlebar-mounted PIN pad. The current prototype is an e-bike, though future models may not include pedal assist, since swapping out batteries could be a logistical nightmare for maintenance crews. The bike can be left anywhere (within a predetermined area, we presume), and is immobilized using a rear tire lock. Locking the back tire to prevent theft (if a lock is used at all) is a trick that definitely only works in Japan -- you can't leave a bike unattended for five minutes in New York City without it disappearing, even with a wheel lock. Conceptually, the system appears to be very similar to the Social Bicycles model that we wrote about earlier this summer as part of our Insert Coin series, though that US-based prototype includes a u-style lock, for securing the bike to a post or tree. We'd love to see either concept hit production soon, and if the Yokohama trial goes off without a hitch, then a standalone counterpart will definitely have a better chance of becoming a reality. So go rent some bikes! And jump past the break for a look at both systems at CEATEC Japan.%Gallery-135630%
NTT DoCoMo bad breath, body fat and food analyzers hands-on (video)
It's been a busy year for NTT DoCoMo's research and development division, with the company presenting a goldmine of future accessories at its CEATEC booth. We're not seeing anything terribly exciting in the smartphone department, beyond a wider adoption of Android, but from the battery with a 10-minute charge time that we saw yesterday to the bad breath, hunger, body fat and food analyzers that you'll find below, there are certainly quite a few gadgets worth checking out. We're bundling a few of them here, so jump past the break for our hands-ons with three different health accessories (including a bad breath analyzer!) and a clever food analyzing app.%Gallery-135632%
KDDI shows off sensory enhancements for smartphone users, throws a free-viewpoint virtual concert
Japanese carrier KDDI's never been shy about showing off its latest and greatest from its lab, and here at CEATEC 2011 we got to lay our fingers on a couple of its in-development smartphone sensory enhancements, along with a free-viewpoint concert concept that's being researched on. The first demo we saw was actually the same haptic smartphone prototype that was unveiled back in May, but we thought it'd be nice to give it a go with our very own hands -- read on to find out how well it performed. %Gallery-135629%
Toshiba Regza DBR-M190 stores 15 days of HDTV from six channels, we go hands-on (video)
There's no question that Japan gets all the cool gadgets -- many of which never make it stateside. Well, we have yet another tease for you, in the form of an eight-tuner Toshiba DVR with five terabytes of storage. The DBR-M190 reserves six of those tuners (and four TBs of storage) for its Time Shift recording, which as its name implies, transports you to an alternate dimension -- in realtime, mind you -- allowing you to watch past HD episodes of those favorite Japanese programs that you otherwise neglected to record. OK, fine, it can't actually shift physical time, but the home DVR does allow you to record 15 full days of HD content from six channels. Or 30 days from three channels, or 90 days from one -- you get the idea. It also offers 3D Blu-ray playback. Huzzah! There's some pretty heavy compression in place in order to squeeze all that HD content with the allotted storage, but Toshiba reps insisted that the content looks acceptable. Clever as they are, reps also neglected to have that heavily compressed HD video available for demo at CEATEC, but were happy to let us peek at a show recorded using a much more liberal amount of compression, which nets you just one-fifth of the advertised amount (think three days, not 15). Still, three days of 24 hour content from six channels ain't too shabby, but that 200,000 yen price tag (about $2,600) is a bit of a deal breaker, no? As is the fact that you can't plug this puppy into cable networks overseas (Time Shift is only compatible with basic cable channels in Japan). Jump past the break to see it in action, and expect to see it hit Japanese shores sometime in mid-December.%Gallery-135627%
Toshiba's 4K, glasses-free 3DTV announced in Japan with more specs this time
We first saw the retail edition of Toshiba's 3840x2160 resolution autostereoscopic (no glasses) 3DTV when it was announced in Europe at IFA last month, and now it has debuted in Japan during CEATEC. This time the company dropped a few more details, revealing that in lenticular 3D mode it's limited to an effective resolution of 1280x720, and showed off the face tracking that automatically optimizes the experience for up to nine simultaneous viewers depending on where they're sitting. Also mentioned were an optional THD-MBA1 input adapter due in 2012 and that 4K-res streaming IPTV is currently being tested. The Regza 55X3 will be priced comparably to its $10K~ Euro-spec counterpart when it arrives in December, but there's still no word on when it will ship in the US. Check out a few pictures of the presentation in the gallery below. %Gallery-135528%
Only in Japan: Toshiba's Regza DBR-M190 serves 5TB of home media
Sometimes gigabytes aren't enough. You have to start talking terabytes. That's the case with Toshiba's new Regza Server, more numerically known as the DBR-M190. The just-announced home media server boasts 5TB of storage, enough for 15 days of MPEG4AVC-compressed digital TV -- from six different channels. Of course, that "server" in the name means you'll be able to stream captured content as well. The sad news? "You" means only Japanese consumers. But if you're one of the chosen many, this media-slinging behemoth will cost you 200,000 yen, or around $2,600.
PS3 will support 4K stills after a future update, moving pictures remain out of reach
Once you've cleared the $25k or so in your budget that it will take to snag one of Sony's 4K VPL-VW1000ES your next problem will be finding some 4096x2160 res content to view on it. While showing off the new beamer for its Japanese audience at CEATEC today, Sony announced the PS3 will get a firmware update around the beginning of 2012 that will allow it to natively output 4K stills. There's a PlayView "visual magazine" already available on the PlayStation store in Japan that supports 4K and 3D, but this update will bring super high res viewing of your vacation pics, or any other high res image files you can snag, to the living room. While your friends will no doubt be impressed by the museum-quality art gala you're now capable of hosting, we're starting the timer for 4K video sources -- if we don't hear anything concrete at CES then we'll be incredibly disappointed. %Gallery-135571%
NTT DoCoMo battery claims 10-minute charge time, we go hands-on (video)
It's not uncommon for our batteries to need the occasional boost while we're running around a trade show, but spending more than a couple minutes tethered to a power outlet can be seriously detrimental to our productivity. And we're definitely not alone. NTT DoCoMo, one of Japan's largest carriers, has developed a prototype battery that's capable of achieving a complete charge in just ten minutes. NTT reps weren't willing to get into much detail about the new technology, which currently employs an external lithium-ion battery sleeve and is only designed to support NEC's super-slim Medias Android (Japan only) smartphone. They did let us take a look at the battery sleeve's AC adapter, which supports output of up to 6.0 amps, but otherwise appeared to be fairly generic. A pair of amp meters compared the power draw of a standard battery with that of the ultra high speed charger, which pulled 0.55 amps and 5.86 amps, respectively -- at least according to the demo equipment on hand at NTT's CEATEC booth. The model we saw definitely looked very much like an early prototype at this point, and the carrier didn't seem to have any idea of when it may begin to be implemented in handsets and other devices, only committing to a release "as soon as possible." Still, we're pretty excited about the potential here (imagine being able to charge your phone completely with only a quick stop at an airport kiosk), and wouldn't hesitate to pick a battery up -- assuming of course that the final version is a bit more refined. Click on through the gallery shots below, or jump past the break for our hands-on video to get a closer look.%Gallery-135558%
We're live from CEATEC 2011!
From one messe to the next. We're on the ground at Japan's Makuhari Messe for CEATEC, on the hunt for robots, green tech, 3D, smartphones and a boatload of prototypes from every product category. The big news this week is obviously that mysterious smartphone we're expecting to see in Cupertino on Tuesday, but CEATEC is the highlight here in Tokyo, providing Japanese companies with an opportunity to shine on home soil, and giving us a sneak peek at what we can expect in the months and even years to come. We'll be bringing you hands-ons throughout the week, so use this link to stay on top of everything CEATEC.%Gallery-135523%
Hitachi glasses-free 3D technology lets you view weird chicken things from multiple angles
We might not have chosen the above weird baby chick to pitch our autostereoscopic technology to the world, but at least it makes for some memorable imagery. The hatchling is a 3D image generated by projectors, overlayed on top of a real world object, which can be viewed by multiple people at multiple angles without the need for 3D glasses. Built-in sensors detect the viewer's positions and adjust the viewing angle accordingly. Of course, this isn't the first time we've seen this sort of technology -- heck, this isn't even the first time we've seen this sort of thing from Hitachi, but the company says it's continually getting better, with a marked depth resolution improvement over a technology shown off this time last year at CEATEC. The company is looking to implement the technology for both digital signage and entertainment purposes, eventually revolutionizing the way the world looks at 3D baby chickens.
NTT DoCoMo's mobile accessories smell your breath, tell you to put the burger down (video)
Sick of your friends saying you look fat in those jeans? Apparently, NTT DoCoMo feels your pain and aims to swap out the peer criticism with smartphone objectivity. Shown off in advance of CEATEC Japan 2011 (an annual electronics trade show), the operator took the wraps off several mobile-based accessories, ranging from gamma ray and UV light monitoring phone cases to a breathalyzer-like add-on for measuring body fat (you paying attention, HTC Rhyme?). There were also a couple of applications on hand for checking photos of food against a calorie database à la Google Goggles, and an AR implementation for weather services on tablets. It's not clear whether the Japanese carrier actually intends to release these innovations to the mass-consuming public, but as with all things tech in that corner of the world, they're sure to get it before we ever do. Jump past the break for a video peek at Nippon's creep towards a Hitchhiker Guide-style wireless world.
Murata's fatigue sensor demoed, coming soon to mobiles and handhelds near you
Need further confirmation that an IV drip of 5-Hour Energy is what your body really needs? Look no further than Murata's newfangled fatigue sensor. Demonstrated at CEATEC in front of thousands of jetlagged Americans, Europeans, Easter Islanders and Samoans, this compact device is built by "integrating a photoplethysmographic sensor, which measures a pulse and a blood oxygen saturation level, and electrodes that measure electrocardiogram (ECG)." We're told that the unit measures a fatigue degree (reported on a 1 to 100 scale) based on the "pulse, blood oxygen saturation level and electrocardiogram measured by the sensing parts," and while we're guessing the prototype will have to shrink significantly before it happens, the company seems focused on cramming this thing into cellphones and portable game consoles of the future.You know -- so Nintendo actually can know when you need to lay down the gaming and step outside for a bit.
TDK develops 1TB optical disc, leaves other optical storage feeling emasculated
We've heard about 1TB-sized optical discs in the past, but TDK has now revealed a 1TB monster of its own at CEATEC. Unlike existing Blu-rays which use four recording layers at most, TDK's creation features 16 layers on both sides of the disc, each capable of storing up to 32GB apiece. If you're keeping track of the optical storage arms race, that's seven more gigabytes per layer than Pioneer's 400GB and 500GB disc achievements made back in 2008. TDK's prototype also has the potential to leverage existing Blu-ray technologies, since it's made from a material already found in BDs and shares the same beam aperture. On the down side, the current version's recording layers measure 260μm -- that's more than twice as thick as its Blu-ray counterpart -- and causes aberrations in today's fat-layer-hating optical lenses. Outside of its Biggest Loser qualifications, though, TDK says "its commercialization depends on disc manufacturers." Considering the company has yet to sell the 10-layer 320GB discs revealed at CEATEC 2009, however, we're doubtful this 1TB improvement will hit stores anytime soon.
Pioneer's prototype laser HUD could help you drive home, connected to an Android smartphone (video)
Another year, another attempt to project light onto transparent screens, but Pioneer's Network Vision HUD is one of the cooler prototype heads-up displays we've seen. First off, it uses lasers to generate its ethereal navigation images -- lasers make everything better -- and second, it's presently sourcing that data from a Android smartphone, making it a fantastic potential addition to infotainment ideas like Nokia's Terminal Mode. Pioneer told Network World that it's planning to actually sell a version of the technology by 2012, but that it might be an aftermarket product rather than an integral part of your car's windshield. They are, of course, entertaining deep-pocketed auto manufacturers as well.
Sharp shows off 35mm thin BDXL recorder at CEATEC, world doesn't stop to wonder why
Thinness in a portable device is an attribute worth coveting. Thinness of yet another layer in your home entertainment center hoagie, however, is a little bit less attractive -- at least it is when it comes with a big compromise. Such is the case with Sharp's thinnest Blu-ray recorder, just 35mm thick yet capable of writing to BD-R discs or the newer, pricier, 100GB BDXL discs. So far so good, but rather sadly to make that magic happen in a package so svelte the company has had to ditch the internal HDD that's common in these devices, the idea being you'll just write to BDXL's instead. Even with a stack of re-writeables at your disposal that's going to be a lot less convenient and a lot more expensive than having a good 'ol pile of platters spinning inside. Of course, with no price or release date given, it's possible that this reduction of internal hardware also comes with a reduction in cost, but as we all know it's pretty rare that a skinnier device costs less than its bigger boned brethren.
Hitachi's MEMS display: big aspirations in a little prototype
We know the following to be true: microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology can foster some very inventive gadgetry, and it's a wonderful four-turn, 45-point Scrabble word (barring special tiles and presuming an abnormally-large board). That said, the MEMS display sector is still quite small and still a ways from reaching the market (hello, Mirasol), which makes every appearance a bit more interesting than the last. Hitachi's little showing caused quite the crowds at its CEATEC booth, with a pair of 2.5-inch QVGA prototypes built using Pixtronix's PerfectLight MEMS display tech within a LCD infrastructure. The color came through on the first screen, and animations was fairly fluid (with the exception of one or two brief moments of lag). The other display on hand was monochrome with a backlight that flickered on and off as a generic desk lamp shone directly onto it. It was still legible enough without the backlight, but it definitely took some straining. Pixtronix is promising 24-bit color depth, 170-degree viewing angles, and a 75 percent power reduction over equivalent LCD displays. As for Hitachi, the company reportedly plans to release displays in the 10-inch and under market by early 2012 -- so yes, in case you were wondering, these'll be back for next CEATEC, too. Enjoy the pictures below, so you have something to look back on. %Gallery-104599%
