Japan: original products XXI. century

1999/12/12 Kortabarria Olabarria, Beñardo - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Patenteak/Asmakizunak

If you think Japan has lost the ability to present news, you are wrong. It is true that the current Japanese economy does not date from a few years ago and there have been many problems, but Japanese research and development centers are not paralyzed. This slowed country image is part of the Japanese innovation strategy. In recent times in Japan there have not been too many new products, but it must be borne in mind that the Japanese innovation strategy is currently reflected mainly in production lines. According to this strategy, the products that will be marketed from today until 2010, Japanese products, food preparation systems, ways of watching television, the use of the Internet, the way of consulting doctors, etc., and other everyday attitudes.

One of the samples coming from can be the artificial retina that Mitsubishi has recently taken. Cameras with this retina will allow photographers greater control over images. For example, the photo of the footballer kicking the ball, only so that the ball appears can be redeemed in the camera itself. Hitachi also has its new product, a 256-megabyte two-chip pickup system in the same package. This will allow greater memory and capacity of personal computers, servers, etc. You can also mention the project of the Tohoku Institute, a train that uses solar energy to walk.

To understand the Japanese vision of research it is essential to know the center created 28 years ago by the Japanese Institute of Technology of the Future, Iftech. 50 people work here. Surveys are conducted to inform all sectors and industrial companies of the technological advances that occur worldwide. Every four years, Iftech conducts a broader survey of entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers, etc. Objective of the survey? Establish when lab work will have results and when new products will be created. Electronics, information, transportation, health, wellbeing… are part of this survey. Welfare, for example, is gaining great importance, as it is increasingly important in the consumption of electronics in Japan. Today, in one third of the 44 million Japanese families, at least, there are people over 65, and about half the population is larger. Japanese research and development departments are working on an increasingly broad market. The examples of products created for this special market can be many. For example, the University of Tokyo has designed an electric car for drivers who have lost leg reflexes, the so-called Kappo, which is called "run" in Japanese. Both the riser and the brakes of this car are used with hands. Like this, robots that help older people are increasingly numerous. The R 100 robot, for example, with a database of 100 sentences, can also do small interviews. Weather prediction, talk, robotates that can call emergency, robot dogs, … leisure robots are a reality in a word in Japan and economically successful. For example, in June Sony launched the robot dog Aibo. This robot dog spoke, greeted and was able to play with balls. In 20 minutes, 3,000 of this type were sold. These leisure robots are nothing more than the reflection of what they will be shortly, that is, electronic servers capable of performing domestic tasks.

Thanks to the surveys carried out, the Japanese industry is aware that, as with the elderly market, it has to work also for the youth market. The best way to know what future life will be like is to visit the Matsushita Research and Development Center in Tokyo. In it you can see the computer house of the coming century, based on the house server. This domestic server, in addition to organizing the leisure and work of appliances, will carry the agenda of those who live at home, medical history, economic accounts…. Of course, the appliances are not going to be like the current ones: without opening the refrigerator you can know what is inside, how much there is, if enough, if you should buy more and ask the supermarket. The oven will explain how to prepare the food, control the temperature, explain at what point the food is…. The toilet will not be a common toilet, it will sit and give weight, it will indicate how the fat/weight ratio is, it will analyze the body temperature, it will take tension, it will analyze the urine… and all this, according to Japan, for the year 2003. You can also cite more curiosities, a kit that will allow you to make the video consultation, mobile video phones, faxes with poxpole width, mobile flat screen TVs that can be placed like glasses... They look like fiction products, but they are closer to reality, because they are saying they will be on sale within five years.

Therefore, the new technological revolution also comes from Japan. That is, in those Asian areas creativity has not been completely extinguished.

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