Archive for NEC
November 12, 2008 at 3:01 pm · Filed under RFID, Biometrics, Robot, NEC, Mobile
As the use of e-money gains popularity in Japan, versatile FeliCa RFID readers that support multiple forms of electronic currency are popping up in convenience stores and vending machines, making it easier for users to pay with the swipe of a phone. Electronics giant NEC is jumping in on the action with a FeliCa payment terminal modeled after a life-sized android.
The robot — a prototype that NEC demonstrated at the recent iEXPO 2008 trade show in Tokyo — incorporates existing technology, which means a finished version can be produced and deployed at short notice. NEC hopes to land it a job at an amusement park selling entrance tickets to visitors with FeliCa-enabled wallet phones, also known as osaifu keitai.
To pay the robot, users simply select the appropriate e-money icon on the robot’s chest-mounted touch screen panel and then swipe their phone over the reader/writer embedded in […]
Original post by Edo
November 15, 2007 at 11:19 am · Filed under security, Biometrics, NEC, electronics, Law
To anyone planning a visit to Japan, please note: YOU WILL BE TREATED AS A POTENTIAL TERRORIST WHEN YOU ARRIVE. As many foreign residents in Japan are already painfully aware, a new law that takes effect November 20 will require non-Japanese people entering the country to be fingerprinted and photographed in the name of fighting terrorism.
Over the past few days, Ministry of Justice officials at airports across Japan have been staging promotional events and showing off the new hardware that will be used to collect the fingerprints and scan the faces of the estimated 5 to 6 million foreigners potential terrorists that enter the country each year. The devices, which proudly bear the NEC logo, consist of a monitor, two fingerprint readers (one for each hand) and a camera that captures mugshots. The devices are being installed at immigration counters nationwide so that you can be fingerprinted and photographed […]
Original post by Edo
September 25, 2007 at 9:55 am · Filed under Crime, Biometrics, Sentient Tech, NEC, electronics
NEC Corporation has teamed up with Aida Engineering to develop a briefcase-sized DNA analysis system that allows police to perform comprehensive DNA testing at crime scenes in as little as 25 minutes. NEC is calling the device the world’s first portable all-in-one DNA analysis system able to handle all DNA testing processes from extraction to analysis. Designed specifically for law enforcement officials and planned for release in 2008, the system measures 50 x 40 x 20 cm (20 x 16 x 8 in.), making it small enough to be carried to crime scenes or other locations where quick DNA analysis is required.
Nowadays it typically takes about one day to complete a DNA analysis (one week if re-testing or confirmation is required), and a variety of different equipment is used to perform the separate processes. NEC’s new portable system, on the other hand, can perform all the processes within the […]
Original post by Edo
July 20, 2007 at 3:00 pm · Filed under security, Smart Tech, Asia, Biometrics, Imaging, Sentient Tech, Transportation, Imaging/Display, NEC
On July 19, electronics giant NEC announced it has developed the world’s first automated border control system that uses facial recognition technology capable of identifying people inside their automobiles. The system is already in operation at checkpoints on the Hong Kong - Shenzhen border.
Built around NEC’s NeoFace biometric face recognition system, as well as NEC’s electronic passport technology, the system is designed to boost the speed and efficiency of Hong Kong Immigration Department operations by allowing residents with microchipped national ID cards to remain in their vehicles while automated cameras verify their identities. Hong Kong residents aged 11 or over are required by law to carry a national ID card (HKID), and the recently issued “smart” IDs are embedded with chips that contain biometric and personal data.
The system works by first reading a vehicle’s license plate as it approaches a border gate. Because each vehicle in Hong Kong […]
Original post by Edo
December 8, 2006 at 11:21 am · Filed under Smart Tech, Sentient Tech, Transportation, Household, NEC, SGI Japan
SGI Japan has unveiled an intelligent room system, called RoomRender, that can control the electronics, appliances and hardware in a room based on the spoken commands and emotions of the room’s occupants. The company installed the RoomRender system in one of its Tokyo office meeting rooms on December 5. With the cost of RoomRender’s basic components estimated at between 5 and 6 million yen ($40K to $50K), the company initially hopes to see the system put to use in company meeting rooms, homes, hotels, hospitals and care facilities.
RoomRender relies on AmiVoice voice recognition technology (developed by Advanced Media) to recognize and analyze spoken commands, enabling the room to close the blinds, turn on the heater, etc. as instructed. When linked with a home entertainment system, RoomRender can be instructed to record TV shows. At present, RoomRender does not have the ability to learn the routines and preferences of its inhabitants, so it has to be told specifically what and when to record, but perhaps one day when RoomRender can predict your behavior, you won’t have to tell it to record your favorite show — it’ll just know.
RoomRender also includes features that respond to the mood of its occupants. FeelingWall — a wall whose colored lights change according to the mood of the people in the room — relies on Sensibility Technology (developed by SGI and AGI), the same technology used in KOTOHANA, which was developed by SGI Japan and NEC. Like KOTOHANA, FeelingWall interprets emotions based on the intonation and rhythm of voices, adjusting the color and lighting accordingly. RoomRender can also be programmed to control an aroma diffuser, releasing fragrances that correspond to various moods. Features like these mean that if an inhabitant sighs “I’m tired,� the room can automatically respond by dimming the lights, causing the light of the FeelingWall to pulsate gently, turning on some relaxing background music and emitting a soothing fragrance from the aroma diffuser.
SGI, which recently became Segway’s official distributor in Japan, is also developing a function that enables RoomRender to control the two-wheeled transportation devices. In the future, RoomRender will be able to send a Segway to an occupant that asks for it, and it will return a Segway to its battery charger when the power starts running low.
Unfortunately, this also means you won’t be able to use the Segway as an escape vehicle if your relationship with RoomRender suddenly turns sour.
[Source: IT Media]
Original post by Edo
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