Category Archives: Technology

May 30, 2016

Toyota invests in computer science and human-machine interaction aiming at reducing highway injuries and fatalities

By GBMC

AI (Picture – micronobal.com)

“Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announced on September 4, 2015 that it would invest approximately $50 million over the next 5 years to establish joint research centers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University to broaden its focus on computer science and human-machine interaction with an immediate goal of reducing highway injuries and fatalities.

As we age, mobility becomes more challenging; and larger segments of society are unable to drive or move freely. Also, the demands on healthcare systems and those who support the physically infirm continue to increase. Toyota believes the opportunities to improve every-day living through artificial intelligence supported technologies are boundless, with significant breakthrough potential for the development of life-saving intelligent vehicles and life-improving robots.” (Toyota Newsroom)

Is Artificial Intelligence Research the key to our future challenges? What is your take on this?

More details from:

http://newsroom.toyota.co.jp/en/detail/9233109/

https://livestream.com/Toyota/PressConference

Leave a comment | tags: computer science, GBMC, highway injuries, human-machine interaction, intelligent vehicles, Japan, life-improving, life-saving, MIT, robots, Stanford University, TMC, Toyota Motors Corp, vehicles | posted in Business, clever software, Invest, Japan, software, Technology

May 23, 2016

FLIGHT TEST Review: the Falcon 8X from Dassault is out now!

By GBMC

FALCON 8X (Picture Flightglobal – Dassault)

“When the annual EBACE business aviation show kicks of in Geneva on 24 May, Dassault’s new flagship business jet, the ultra-long-range Falcon 8X, will be just days away from its planned joint European Aviation Safety Agency (CS 25) and US Federal Aviation Administration (FAR 25) certification. Its entry into service is planned for the third quarter of 2016.

Dassault describes the 8X as an evolution of its hugely successful Falcon 7X/EASy III cockpit – rather than a revolution – but one with a slew of extra cabin options, a substantial range increase and a raft of further avionic and reliability upgrades. All this while retaining the 7X’s outstanding characteristics, including its fly-by-wire digital flight control system; its flexibility in short field (and therefore non-hub) operations, both for landing and take-off; continued certificated steep approach capability (e.g. to airports such as London City, Lugano, La Mole and St Moritz); having a basic empty weight lighter by up to 25% or more than competitors; and with direct operating costs lower by even more significant margins, of up to 35%.” (Flightglobal)

“Longer fuselage than the 7X, but with no empty weight penalty and more engine power 8X performance still delights.” (Dassault Aviation)

Congratulations! Looking forward to seeing it in the air (flying)!

Let us know if you find a Video of it …

Leave a comment | tags: 7X, 8X, aerospace, aviation, Dassault, Dassault Aviation, EBACE, Falcon, Falcon 8X, FLIGHT TEST, French aviation, GBMC | posted in Business, EU, Technology

May 16, 2016

World’s first ocean cleaning system to be deployed in 2016!

By GBMC

Ocean Cleaning System (Picture – The Ocean Cleanup)

“The world’s first system to passively clean up plastic pollution from the world’s oceans is to be deployed in Japan in 2016! The coastal array will be the first time an operational Ocean Cleanup system is to be deployed in the ocean. Spanning 2000 meters (and with a barrier length of over 2300m), it will become the longest floating structure ever deployed on the oceans, even though this will be just 2% of the full scale structure. Deployment is expected in Q2 2016. On May 20 2015, The Ocean Cleanup and the city government of Tsushima (a Japanese island which lies between Japan and Korea) jointly agreed to conduct research to bring the world’s first Ocean Cleanup array to Tsushima Island.” (The Ocean Cleanup website)

Boyan Slat, founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup:

“Taking care of the world’s ocean garbage problem is one of the largest environmental challenges mankind faces today”

Great Project!

More details from: http://www.theoceancleanup.com/blog/show/item/worlds-first-ocean-cleaning-system-to-be-deployed-in-2016.html

1 Comment | tags: Boyan Slat, GBMC, Japan, ocean cleanup array, plastic pollution, The Ocean Cleanup, Tsushima, Tsushima island | posted in Environment, Japan, Technology

April 25, 2016

EU-Japanese Teams (2) shortlisted for UK Railways Projects !!!

By GBMC

JTREC trains (Source – JTREC website)

Dutch-Japanese team shortlisted to compete for West Midlands (UK) Franchise:

“The U.K. Department for Transport (DfT) announced on 7 April 2016 that three bidders have been shortlisted for the West Midlands passenger franchise, including West Midlands Trains Ltd, a subsidiary of the Abellio Transport Holding (Dutch national passenger rail operator (NS) Group), with JR East and Mitsui & Co. as minority partners. The new operator will take over the franchise in October 2017, with the contract award expected to be made in June 2017.

The DfT also announced that the consortium of JR East and Mitsui & Co. has been awarded a new Pre-Qualification Questionnaire Passport, which enables the consortium to express interest in franchises for the next four years, in an easier and less cumbersome way.” (Source: JR East Newsletter #20)

For further information, please check: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/three-train-companies-shortlisted-to-compete-for-west-midlands-franchise

2. Franco-Japanese team shortlisted for new trains in Liverpool (UK):

“Merseytravel, an executive body that provides professional, strategic and operational transport advice to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, announced on 11 January 2016 that five bidders including a team composed of French and Japanese companies have been shortlisted for a contract to supply around 50 EMUs (Electric Multiple Units) for the Merseyrail network.

The Franco-Japanese team is composed of Mitsui, a major Japanese trading company, J-TREC, JR East’s subsidiary rolling stock manufacturing company, and France’s Alstom.

Bids are due to be submitted by the end of April and a preferred bidder will be identified towards the end of the year. The project is likely to cost around £400m.

This joint action between French and Japanese companies is the first of its kind in the European Union, and concrete business results are expected.” (Source: JR East Newsletter #19)

For more information about J-TREC, please click: http://www.j-trec.co.jp/eng/index.html

The official announcement by Merseytravel can be accessed from: http://www.merseytravel.gov.uk/about-us/media-centre/news/Pages/Another-step-towards-new-Merseyrail-trains-as-bidder-shortlist-announced.aspx

Congratulations! Great to see EU-Japan Industrial Cooperation and breakthroughs in the highly sensitive Railways Sector !!! What do you think?

Leave a comment | tags: Abellio Transport, Alstom, DfT, EMUs (Electric Multiple Units), GBMC, J-TREC, JR East, Liverpool City Region, Merseyrail network., Merseytravel, Mitsui, Mitsui & Co, West Midlands passenger franchise, West Midlands Trains Ltd | posted in Business, EU, Invest, Japan, Technology

April 18, 2016

Japan’s Electricity Market deregulated: the end of an era?

By GBMC

Electricity Market in Japan

“Japan’s power utilities have lost their monopoly over electricity on Friday April 1st in an unprecedented shakeup that could give a much needed jolt to Japan’s long stagnant economy.

Already, a price war has broken out among many of the more than 260 companies that will be allowed to sell electricity in Japan’s $70 billion retail market. From April 1, Japanese consumers will be able to buy electricity from suppliers ranging from telecoms conglomerate Softbankand trading firm Marubeni to travel agency H.I.S. and a Hokkaido-based supermarket co-operative that has branched out into solar parks.

They and others like Japan’s biggest city gas operator, Tokyo Gas are packaging other services, offering loyalty programs and advertising them.

The new entrants are betting they can make money in a low-margin business by undercutting the monopolies brought low financially by the Fukushima disaster and saddled with a high-cost business model after decades of guaranteed profits.

The government is hoping increased competition in the final remaining restricted part of the electricity market will boost efficiency and innovation and cut prices that are among the highest in the world.

But the new entrants are competing for space in a market in long-term decline as the population falls and consumers from factories to households look to trim power use.

What is more likely to happen is regional monopolies would merge and relatively few of the newcomers would survive the coming battle for market share.” (Reuters)

The page has been turned: this is definitely good news for Japanese consumers and this should also work in favour of further deployment of Renewable Energies in Japan! What do you think?

Leave a comment | tags: electricity market in Japan, GBMC, Japan Electricity deregulated | posted in Business, Japan, Social, Technology

April 4, 2016

E-Fan: AIRBUS group’s Electric Plane crossed the Channel in 2015!

By GBMC

AIRBUS E-Fan4

” The potential of electric aviation

At 11am, 10 July 2015, on a calm, sunny summer morning, the Airbus E-Fan touched down in Calais to enter its name in the record books.

The all-electric plane became the first twin-engine electric plane taking off with its own power to negotiate the English Channel, more than 100 years after Louis Blériot first made the intrepid journey.

E-Fan’s first flight above the sea

Travelling in the opposite direction to the pioneering Frenchman and powered by lithium-ion batteries, the E-Fan took off from Lydd on the English south coast, completing the 74 kilometre flight east to Calais, France, in around 37 minutes. Flown by test pilot Didier Esteyne, the all-electric plane weighs around 600 kilogrammes and travelled at an altitude of about 1,000 metres [3,500 feet].

E-Fan’s initial production targets

Airbus Group will invest in, and construct, the E-Fan’s Pau assembly site, which will be leased to its wholly owned Voltair subsidiary responsible for the electric aircraft’s development, production, sales, delivery and customer support.

Construction is expected to begin in 2016, with the facility ready to initiate E-Fan 2.0 series production the following year, enabling the aircraft’s commercialisation in late 2017. The initial E-Fan production rate is targeted at approximately 10 aircraft annually, with the capability to grow based on market response.” (AIRBUS Group website)

Looking forward to new records, challenges and innovation results!

Will Paris – Tokyo by E-Fan be possible one day?

Check the Videos from:

http://www.airbusgroup.com/int/en/innovation-citizenship/airbus-e-fan-the-future-of-electric-aircraft/Cross-channel-flight.html

http://www.leparisien.fr/high-tech/e-fan-l-avion-electrique-d-airbus-a-traverse-la-manche-10-07-2015-4934155.php

Leave a comment | tags: Airbus, Blériot, cross the Channel, E-Fan, electric aviation, electric planes, GBMC | posted in Business, EU, Technology

February 29, 2016

Sharp’s Air Purifying Technology Found Effective against Bird Flu

By GBMC

Testing Plasma cluster Ion Technology (Source – Sharp Corp)

“Sharp Corporation announced on November 17 that it has found its air purifying technology is effective to inhibit bird flu virus.

Sharp plans to develop air cleaners and air conditioners using the “Plasma cluster Ion” technology to help prevent infections of the disease to humans.

Sharp conducted a joint research with Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. They found that highly concentrated ions generated using the technology can decrease the infectiousness of H7N9 virus by 99 percent in a container box of 1 cubic meter for about 47 minutes.” (Source: EU-Japan Centre)

More details from (in Japanese): Sharp’s Air Purifying Technology Found Effective against Bird Flu

Leave a comment | tags: air cleaners, air conditioners, Air Purifying Technology, Bird Flu, GBMC, H7N9 virus, Japan, Plasma cluster Ion Technology, SHARP, Sharp Corp | posted in Business, Japan, Social, Technology

February 22, 2016

Tokyo Institute of Technology and Fujitsu Achieve Wireless Transmission Speeds of 56 Gbps, World’s Fastest

By GBMC

Transceiver CMOS chip and module (Picture – Adalidda)

“Tokyo Institute of Technology and Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. today (1 February 2016) announced that, in an effort to further enlarge the capacity of wireless equipment, they have developed a CMOS wireless transceiver chip that can process signals at high speeds with little loss across a broad range of frequencies, from 72 to 100 gigahertz (GHz). They also developed technology to modularize it. With these developments, they succeeded in achieving wireless transmission speeds of 56 Gigabits per second (Gbps), the world’s fastest.” (Source: Adalidda)

Impressive! What’s next?

More details from: Tokyo Institute of Technology and Fujitsu Achieve Wireless Transmission Speeds of 56 Gbps, World’s Fastest

Leave a comment | tags: CMOS chips, CMOS transceivers, CMOS wireless transceiver chips, Fujitsu, GBMC, Japan, Tokyo Institute of Technology, transceiver modules, wireless, wireless transmission, Wireless Transmission Speeds of 56 Gbps | posted in Business, Japan, Technology

February 15, 2016

Japan is planning an “International Robot Competition” in 2020!!!

By GBMC

The future of robotics

“A committee of experts to discuss an international robot competition that the Japanese government wants to hold in 2020 met for the first time on Feb. 2, and suggested that the competition cover three categories: product-making, services, and public interest projects.

“Product-making” would cover fields like factory work and agriculture. “Services” events would include areas like customer service and providing care for the infirm. “Public interest” would cover fields like checks on public infrastructure and disaster rescue operations.” (The Mainichi Shimbun)

Japan(2020) = (Olympics + Robots) x C2 !

Great but to which extend should humans push for robot development?

More details from: Japan is planning an “International Robot Competition” in 2020!!!

Leave a comment | tags: 2020, EU-Japan cooperation in Robotics, GBMC, International Robot Competition, Japan, Japanese robotics, robotics, robots, Tokyo Olympics 202 | posted in Business, clever software, Japan, Social, Technology

February 8, 2016

Japan: GPS Shoes to Help Track Elderly People with Dementia

By GBMC

Docodemo GPS Shoes (Picture – Docodemo)

” A Kyoto-based company has started selling shoes with the global positioning system to help track down dementia-suffering seniors who wander off and often get lost.

The company which runs nursing homes experienced their inhabitants were getting lost for a short period of time. That was the reason for the company deciding to develop a special apparatus to prevent similar incidents.

The GPS terminal is implanted in the left heel of the “GPS Dokodemo (everywhere) Shoes,” and enables family members and caretakers to monitor the wearer by using smartphones or computers.” (Source: EU -Japan Centre)

Great idea! Maybe this could also be used to track (younger) loved ones, lost while shopping in Department Stores or Shopping Malls? What kind of application would you like to suggest?

More details from (in Japanese): GPS Shoes to Help Track Elderly People with Dementia

1 Comment | tags: dementia, dementia in Japan, Docodemo, Dokodemo, GBMC, global positioning system, GPS shoes, Japan, track elderly people, tracking | posted in Business, Japan, Social, Technology

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Category Archives: Technology

Toyota invests in computer science and human-machine interaction aiming at reducing highway injuries and fatalities

FLIGHT TEST Review: the Falcon 8X from Dassault is out now!

World’s first ocean cleaning system to be deployed in 2016!

EU-Japanese Teams (2) shortlisted for UK Railways Projects !!!