Highest of high-tech goes on display in Tokyo (reminder)

(Relaxnews) -

Japan will be living up to its reputation for being on the cutting edge of technological innovation with the opening on October 6 of the annual CEATEC trade show.

First staged in 2000, the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies is the largest information technology and electronics exhibition and conference in Asia, and second only in the world to the International Consumer Electronics Show, held each January in Las Vegas.

The theme of this year's event is "Digital Convergence: Defining the Shape of Our Future," and the goal is to create a new realm in which visitors are able to witness firsthand how both the lives and lifestyles of the next generation will be interconnected.

Another element this year will be emphasizing technologies that will play a leading role in protecting the environment, such as ideas that will promote reductions in the consumption of energy and help combat global warming.

According to organizers of the event, which is being held at the Makuhari Messe convention center to the east of Tokyo, a total of 196,630 people visited last year's event - which made it even more popular than the 2008 Tokyo Game Show, which attracted just over 194,000 visitors.

Organizers are bracing themselves for a fall in the number of visitors this year, however, due to the ongoing economic crisis. The number of exhibitors taking part will be announced at a press conference on October 5, but it is expected to be fewer than the 3,121 exhibitors of last year.
Around 77 percent of those taking part are from Asia, 12 percent from North America and a further 7 percent from Europe, and some of the technology they will be displaying is straight out of science fiction.

Panasonic will be unveiling its new three-dimensional plasma home theater system, a colossal 50-inch screen that requires viewers to wear "active shutter" 3-D glasses. The glasses automatically switch in sync with the television screen so that the right eye sees the right image and the left eye sees the left image, creating the 3D effect. The system will be shipped in Japan, Europe and the U.S. from 2010.

Not wanting to be left behind, Sony Corp. has big plans for 3D in 2010, including its first 3D compatible Bravia LCD screen, as well as 3D television support for all its existing games for the PlayStation 3.

Elsewhere, Germany's Fraunhofer HHI will be unveiling prototypes of three human-machine interaction devices, including a virtual mirror that works in exactly the same way as a real mirror, only with the user's reflection virtually textured onto new clothes.

The fair will also include numerous seminars, speeches and presentations, as well as serving as an important networking and information-gathering opportunity.

Event dates:
Premiere: October 6, 10 am - 12 pm
Exhibition: October 6, 12 pm - 5 pm, and October 7-9, 10 am - 5 pm

Admission: All visitors are required to register, either in advance or on the door. Registering via the www.ceatec.com website provides free entry. On the door, the cost is Y1,000 (€7.65) for an adult and Y500(€3.83) for a student. Children under the age of 12 are admitted free.

Venue: Makuhari Messe International Convention Complex, Mihama-Ku, Chiba City, 261-0023, Japan.

JR