tech

Mori Building, Panasonic test urban‐heat and language‐guidance solutions at tourist spots in Tokyo

6 Comments

Panasonic Corp and Mori Building will launch a series of collaborative field experiments at Mori’s various Hills facilities in Tokyo to test new urban technologies and solutions. The aim is to develop and confirm innovative solutions that provide increased comfort and convenience for foreign visitors to Tokyo, who are expected to reach some 20 million by 2020.

As the number of foreign visitors to Tokyo steadily rises, Mori’s Hills facilities and other major tourism spots are working on challenges such as providing protection from summer heat and arranging more foreign‐language services. Meanwhile, Panasonic is looking to accelerate the development of innovative solutions to meet these challenges.

Mori’s Hills facilities, known as “cities within cities,” provide ideal environments for real‐life field experiments of products and services expected to be incorporated in cities in the coming future.

Panasonic’s Cool Spot solution will be tested from August 27 at Toranomon Hills, Mori’s latest multi‐use high‐rise building. The Cool Spot is a micro‐thermal environment created with mist, air curtains and light‐blocking panels to help people avoid heat stroke. Panasonic is also aiming to add moisture‐capturing blocks to the Cool Spot to help efficiently reduce the overall temperature inside, as well as a stand‐alone power system consisting of solar panels and a storage battery. The company will utilize the findings from this experiment in developing future products.

From September, Panasonic’s automatic multi‐language interpretation device will be tested in field experiments at Roppongi Hills and VenusFort, the two Hills facilities visited most frequently by foreign visitors.By offering the devices at information desks, Panasonic will be able to confirm their appeal and functionality for users while also identifying areas for improvement.

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"As the number of foreign visitors to Tokyo steadily rises, Mori’s Hills facilities and other major tourism spots are working on challenges such as providing protection from summer heat and arranging more foreign‐language services."

I know a lot of Japanese who are now questioning the wisdom of holding the Olympics in mid-summer given the scorcher we've been having, so changing the date would be an obvious first if the aim is to make visitors more comfortable for the 2020 Olympics. Won't help people who have to come in the summer for other reasons, but still. As for language services, always helps to push the tech, so long as it's not trying to replace good old people power because at the moment it simply won't do, and I don't see that changing in five years. Even all the tech has to include manual translation and input, despite claims that robots can have 'conversations', because people don't speak in Mathematics. So, keep the progress coming, but don't forget to have people running the show.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Why is the city and government only concerned about the comfort of Olympic visitors, rather than everyday citizens? Radiant heat is a problem throughout all of Tokyo because of poor planing from the start. More trees and green spaces while cities develop, would be an actually solution rather than a temporary, expensive bandaid. As for the Olympics, Smith has an enexpensive, common sense idea, but that's exactly why they will never do it.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Panasonic will be able to confirm their appeal and functionality for users while also identifying areas for improvement.

Here's room for improvement: appify your tech, and stop trying to fob single-function devices off on us.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

"Why is the city and government only concerned about the comfort of Olympic visitors, rather than everyday citizens?"

Ummmm...cuz that's what everyone who ever hosted an Olympics does, Stuart...which is why I would wish we had lost our bid...For instance, think of the $2billion in 1976 dollars that it cost for Montreal's Olympic Stadium...a stadium that is only now used for the odd car show...how much good could that money have done to improve the average Canadian there?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Kenny Iyekawa: "Ummmm...cuz that's what everyone who ever hosted an Olympics does, Stuart"

Agreed, and that is the ONLY good that will come out of the Olympics being held here. Heck, even after the failed Osaka 2008 bid within a year they updated many major signs in shopping centers and train stations by putting them in four languages (Japanese, Chinese, English, Korean), since the main reason they lost was that the city was considered so foreign "un-friendly". Big improvement (even though your average foreign resident probably doesn't need it), and it's still getting better with increased traffic thanks to the cheap yen and Olympics hype. So, at least THAT element is a plus among the many minuses.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

The automatic translation device doesn't exactly sound like much of a solution I'm afraid. I'm assuming it'll be a one person per time device & each person will take at least a minute stumbling through using it. Given expected visitor numbers I can't help but think simply better, more logically thought out & well planned signage would be a better solution.

As for the heat, I think we can be sure that the current Olympic records for any outdoor event are safe. No one's going to be performing at their best outside in the middle of a Tokyo summer now that they've canned the roofed stadium.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

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