Japan’s major annual electronics show kicked off Tuesday in tandem with a mobility show at the same venue in the first joint trade fair to boost collaboration between the sectors, with many companies featuring artificial intelligence.
The cohosting of the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies and Japan Mobility Show Bizweek comes as the boundary between tech and auto companies is increasingly blurred as vehicles become more connected and autonomous with high-tech software.
The organizers, Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association and Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, said they hope the joint event will spur more cross-industry activities to drive innovation.
AI is one of the main themes of the trade show, with about half of the around 800 participants in the tech section of the joint event showcasing products or technology relevant to AI.
“We have entered a new era where we have to think about how we are going to utilize AI to find solutions to our challenges, rather than thinking if we should introduce AI or not,” Kazuhiro Tsuga, head of JEITA and chairman of Panasonic Holdings Corp., said in an opening speech.
Among the companies that are participating in the auto section of the event, Toyota Motor Corp. is showcasing a portable hydrogen tank that can power electric generators and cooking grills at the time of a disaster.
The automaker said it will ramp up efforts to popularize green technology by suggesting various ways to use hydrogen in addition to moving fuel cell vehicles.
Panasonic is exhibiting perovskite solar cells that can be placed on the surface of glass with high power generation efficiency.
“There are many ways to utilize this technology, such as putting it on car windows” to help power an EV, a Panasonic official said.
Sony Group Corp. which set up an electric vehicle joint venture with Honda Motor Co. in 2022, is displaying its latest vehicle safety system utilizing its image sensor and laser technologies, which can detect driver drowsiness while driving.
“There are many technologies we didn’t even think of,” Masanori Katayama, JAMA Chairman, told reporters after he saw some exhibits. “We hope to continue our collaboration with the tech industry.”
Among AI-related products, NEC Corp. is displaying an AI service that can understand the content of a movie and automatically output its summary in text.
The technology can be used in various situations such as drawing up a report for an auto insurance company in the case of a car accident utilizing a dashboard camera, the company said.
“It will also come in handy when creating a summary of a sport event or when workers need to make progress reports at places like construction sites and nursing homes,” an NEC official said.
TDK Corp. has developed a semiconductor component that mimics the structure of the human brain and cuts electricity consumption of AI to one-hundredth of that of existing products.
Around 1,000 firms in total are participating in the joint event at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba, near Tokyo, through Friday.
Entrance is free of charge, but visitors need to register online before arriving at the venue, the organizers said.
