In December, Fujifilm will release a 99x zoom lens that also achieves a wide-angle focal length of 8.4 mm, the top specification for a broadcast telephoto lens.
For this lens, Fujifilm has upgraded its optical shake compensation, to further increase the precision of correction for camera shake, which tends to occur at long focal lengths.
“This lens has an extremely wide working range, from 8.4 mm to 832 mm. It’s ideal for not just sports like baseball, but also activities such as …
Researchers at the CRNS-AIST Joint Robotics Laboratory, are working on ways to control robots via thought alone.
“Basically we would like to create devices which would allow people to feel embodied, in the body of a humanoid robot. To do so we are trying to develop techniques from Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI) so that we can read the peoples thoughts and then try to see how far we can go from interpreting brain waves signals, to transform them into actions to be done by the …
The Gocen is a device which scans and plays handwritten sheet music in real time. It is being developed by a group at the Tokyo Metropolitan University led by Assistant Professor Tetsuaki Baba.
“First, the system looks at the stave, then at the notes, then at the position of the notes, to determine the high notes. In addition, it directly reads words such as piano or guitar. The computer automatically recognizes them, and changes the instrument. Also, for example, if this melody is in F …
Japan Display has developed a paper-like low-power color reflective LCD, which can display video.
“Ordinary liquid crystal displays have a backlight, and produce the picture by using a liquid crystal shutter. But this panel doesn’t have a backlight. It reflects light from above, and the liquid crystal shutter is used to produce a monochrome image. At the same time, color filters are used, to give a color picture.”
“This display has what’s called a Light Control …
Japan Display has presented three prototype displays, titled “Innovation Vehicles”, which combining the latest mobile display technologies from Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi.
“Japan Display was established in April, by the three companies. During the six months since then, technology developers from each company have worked together, to see what new technologies we could create. The result is this Innovation Vehicle.”
The three versions that have been developed consist of: …
Pinch is an interface which connects the displays from multiple touch devices together. It is currently under development by a research group at the Tokyo University of Technology.
When the user places a thumb and index finger on two adjacent screens and pinches, the screens link up. The screens can be lined up freely, whether vertical or horizontal, and the pictures can be matched up if they’re misaligned.
The connected devices share each other’s position and screen size via Wi-Fi. …
At the University of Tokyo, the Naemura Group is developing paper computing technology, which can automatically erase, copy and print hand-drawn sketches on paper.
As well as using a camera and computer, this system uses a laser and UV light, making it possible to work directly with the hand-drawn sketches using the computer.
So for example, the user can leave only the edges of hand-written characters, creating 3D like text, or draw a figure by hand and color it in automatically.
“This is …
Tokai Rubber Industries has developed the world’s first all-rubber speaker. This speaker utilizes Smart Rubber, which conducts electricity and can freely expand or contract, to generate sound.
Previously, the company developed flexible, all-rubber touch sensors using Smart Rubber. This all-rubber speaker arose from the company’s new line of development: materials for artificial muscles. Q. “Until now, thin speakers have been piezoelectric and film types, as used in …
At the Chiba Institute of Technology, a group led by Shuro Nakajima has developed a robot wheelchair that can climb over steps.
This robot can make a variety of movements, using its four-wheel drive and five axes. Normally, it rolls along on its wheels, but if there’s a step or ditch, it can get over the obstacle by using its wheels as legs. All the user needs to do is tell it which direction to go, using a joystick. The robot automatically assesses the surrounding terrain and moves …
On October 11, NTT Docomo will start the Utsushite Honyaku service, which instantly translates foreign-language restaurant menus when you point a smartphone’s camera at them.
Utsushite Honyaku is a commercial version of a service that’s been available as a trial version. As well as menus, the new service can now handle signs. It works between Japanese and four languages: English, Korean and both simplified and traditional Chinese.
“For example, suppose you visit Korea, and you …
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