Flying cars, ANA avatar robots buzz at CEATEC
CHIBA, JAPAN: Avatar robots by All Nippon Airways and flying car prototypes drew attention as a major electronics show near Tokyo opened on Tuesday to spur cross-industry collaboration to tackle common social challenges such as Japan’s labour shortage and aging population.
Organisers of the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies, or CEATEC, hope over 780 exhibitors from diverse sectors including tourism, construction machinery, health care, mobility, housing and telecommunications will find new alliance partners at the show in the city of Chiba, east of Tokyo, through Friday.
ANA’s booth at the Makuhari Messe convention centre attracted crowds for its avatar technology that allows people to remotely control a robot in a distant location. The robot relays what it sees and senses in real time.
The airline says the new technology can offer remote travel and enable users to keep in touch with ageing parents living far away.
In a demonstration, an ANA cabin attendant remotely controlled one of the stick-shaped “newme” robots that are 1-1.5 metres high, with the attendant’s face shown on a tablet computer attached to it. The attendant conversed with people around the moving avatar via the tablet screen.
Drone manufacturer Aeronext Inc unveiled a miniature model of a “flying gondola” that the company is developing to offer multiple riders a fun and comfortable flying experience.
“We envision it to be like a Ferris wheel gondola that flies in the sky freely, a totally new flying experience,” Aeronext CEO Keisuke Toji said. “I want passengers to enjoy scenery from the sky as a form of entertainment.”
Tyco Electronics Japan G.K., a Japan unit of US technology company TE Connectivity Ltd, offered visitors a virtual reality ride on a single-seat battery-powered flying device called the “rFlight” that can take off and land vertically.
In a demo, a participant lay on his stomach on the device and experienced a three-minute flight in a caged area with a virtual reality goggle showing the view over New York.
Among major electronics manufacturers, Sony Corp has returned to the event for the first time in six years but will not demonstrate its TVs, games or other entertainment products.
Its booth is dedicated solely to technologies related to the health care sector, such as microscopes capable of showing three-dimensional images and displays to be used in surgical theaters.
Major construction companies including Taisei Corp and Shimizu Corp have also joined the trade fair at a time when the sector is increasingly relying on new technologies to cope with a labour crunch.
This year’s expo also includes 250 foreign exhibitors from 24 countries and regions, including China, India and the United States, up from 206 from 19 countries and regions last year, according to the organisers.
A total of 787 companies and organisations are participating in the show this year, up from 725 last year, with 160,000 people expected to visit, up from 156,063.