Conventional lightning rods attract lightning, but Lightning Suppression Systems’ PDCE lightning rods are actually able to prevent lightning strikes.
“Ordinary lightning rods collect the ground charge and cause it to discharge between the ground and the thundercloud. Our products prevent the ground charge from coming up to meet the lightning as it comes down from the cloud, and so prevent lightning from striking in the area around the device.”
Major examples of their application include the Great Buddha Statue at Ushiku and the Chikyu, a drillship used for deep earth exploration. The Chikyu is fitted with a superstructure that rises to a height of 120m above sea level and has the potential to attract lightning. Because the drillship is engaged in boring the seabed, it is unable to move away from a thunderstorm. For this reason, a PDCE lightning rod is attached to the top of her superstructure to prevent lightning strikes.
“This depends on the height at which the device is mounted, but if the device is mounted at a height of 1, lightning will not strike inside a cone with a radius of 5. If the device is attached to the top of a concrete telephone pole, at a height of 20m, lightning will not strike within a radius of 100m.”
The products are already commercially available, and are priced between $25,000 and $37,500. Lightning Suppression Systems is planning the commercial development of products for home use, and for mounting on disaster prevention wireless system masts and outdoor surveillance cameras, to be priced at around $6,000.
[Source here]
Fujifilm decided today to bring its latest compact tough camera, the XP50 in Japan.
Fujifilm XP50 comes with a 14Mpix sensor, with 5x optical Zoom, 1080p HD video support as well as being waterproof to a depth of 5m and shockproof from a height of 1.5m and capable to withstand cold weather up to -10 degrees Celsius.
The estimated price for the compact camera is 20,000 Yen .
[Source here]
The Interactive Plasma Display, a 65-inch digital blackboard developed by Panasonic, enables four people to write simultaneously in different colors.
“With models from other companies, errors occur if your sleeve touches the screen. But this model works by using pens alone, so you don’t get errors. Young children write by placing their left hands on the screen. But the left hand doesn’t act as a sensor, so they can write using pens.”
The Digital Pen System was newly developed for this Interactive Plasma Display. It uses a feature of plasma display panels: the pixels themselves light up at high speed. So this system detects and displays the pen position 60 times a second, on each pixel in a full high-definition (HD) picture.
“This display can be used for small-group discussions in schools and universities. It’s also useful for business presentations. If several people are giving a presentation from different PCs, they all need to be connected through cables. But with this display, there’s no need for that; you can use wireless connection.”
In addition, the digital pen has a multipurpose button. You can use this button to switch to the drawing menu display, without using the toolbar on the screen.
“This 65-inch model will be released in July. We also plan to release larger versions by the end of the year. They’ll be 85- and 103-inch models.”
Panasonic expects demand for displays like this will reach 350 million sets worldwide in 2015. So, it plans to keep developing big-screen plasma displays.
[Source here]
Shunkosha currently has FeliCa NFC-enabled straps installed on the Ginza and Marunouchi train lines for a trial period which started yesterday, and will extend to June 3rd. Users simply need to touch their phone and obtain the embedded URL for the website being promoted by the ad campaign. For now, the travel agency HIS will be the advertiser in this initial phase.
It looks to be a process marginally easier than scanning a QR code, although I wonder how many people will actually use it after the novelty has worn off.
I still think that gaming might be a better way to advertise to people than by sending them to a URL. Perhaps some kind of real-life card collection game, where you can only obtain certain cards in specific locations as with the Japanese location-based game Colopl.
That would certainly be something I’d like to see the Japanese Tourism Agency get behind, for domestic tourists as well as those from overseas, especially Korea and China.
[Source here]
NTT Docomo has developed an experimental display with touch panels on both the front and back, hoping to use it for games or other applications in the future.
An NTT Docomo representative said, “We have offered a new idea for the operation of touch panels, which have widely spread because of smartphones.”
The SM-T300, from Star Micronics, is a mobile printer for smartphones.
“This is a printer you can carry with you. It can be used outdoors for mobile purposes. For example, it can print from an iPad, smartphone, or Android device.”
The SM-T300 has a rubber-type case that can withstand being dropped from 1.5 meters. It’s also waterproof and dustproof, meeting the IP54 international standard.
“Basically, this product is for printing receipts and delivery slips. The battery lasts up to 11 hours, so you can use this printer for a long time. It communicates with the host device through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. We offer a special-purpose communication support library for sending data.”
The SM-T300 also comes with a magnetic card reader as standard. So it can be used to issue receipts for delivery services, and to bill for simple transactions at events.
[Source here]
It’s a stressful world we live in. A report indicated that one in every fifteen people is depressed in Japan. Perhaps you have noticed a friend or a colleague showing signs of depression? Maybe it shows in a tweet or in a post on Facebook, or something they mumbles when you’re having lunch together. There’s a new website named Utsuppo (Utsu means depression in Japanese) which recently launched. It is a depression notification service.
The website is quite simple. You can enter the name and email address of a person with signs of depression. The person with symptoms of depression will be notified by email that a friend is concerned. The email comes with a general survey about depression and tips about how to get better. By answering the survey the individual finds out whether they really are depressed or not.
Utsuppo was created by U2plus, a medical community for battling depression. The founder went through depression himself in the past, leading to his current efforts to help and support people with similar problems. He sees it as essential that as a society, we not miss the first signs of depression in those around us. And this is exactly what Utsuppo aims to do.
The website was created in just a week with help of Liverty, a group of people with a mission to develop as many creative web service and projects as possible. The group is lead by a serial entrepreneur in Tokyo, Kazuma Ieiri. The whole project of Utsuppo started when the founder of U2plus pitched his idea to Mr. Ieiri, who is now an investor as well.
[Source here]
Sharp brings added comfort to the kitchen with the new R-642 and R-742 microwave ovens. Sharing a good meal with family and friends is a key element in our quality of life – especially if the preparation is easy and stress-free. With the new R-642 and R-742 grill microwave ovens, Sharp helps make these convivial gatherings even more enjoyable for all. With their elegant looks in black, white and metallic silver, the ovens can be blended harmoniously into every kitchen design.
The new Sharp R-642 and R-742 microwave ovens, with their fresh design in black, white or metallic silver, blend ideally into any kitchen. They have 20 litres and 25 litres capacity respectively together with an integrated quartz grill, and are ideal for defrosting, steaming, reheating, roasting, grilling and even producing the complete “au gratin” recipe. Eleven microwave power levels and eight pre-programmed auto-cook and defrost functions make every meal effortless to prepare. A clock display is built into the oven.
[Source here]
