The move is intended to encourage companies and other entities to take advantage of such data to develop new products and technologies. The government aims to start preparing a system to manage the massive amount of data this spring, and launch its operation within fiscal 2018.

Images of ground surfaces across the globe taken by Daichi-2, the Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 launched in 2014, and observation data derived from the images will be free.

Equivalent to 1 billion photos

Data acquired by the first Daichi, which began an observation mission in 2006, will also become available. The total volume of the data will be several petabytes, or the equivalent of about 1 billion photographs taken on the average smartphone. The images have a resolution of more than about two meters, at which point the letters on traffic signs are readable. No classified data on security will be included.

Satellite images and data are currently available to companies and other entities in the private sector if they file applications. However, the lack of a unified system to manage such data means JAXA has to find the individual data for which the applications are filed. This has placed a huge burden on the space agency.

Under the current system, users are charged from a few thousand yen to several tens of thousands of yen for one image, and dedicated software is required for converting data into images. As a result, it is not widely used.“Useful data have been useless treasures,” an official of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry said.The new system will allow companies and people to freely obtain data and image converter software via the internet if they complete membership registration.

Harvest optimisation

In the United States and Europe, where the private sector has taken advantage of space data, apps for tablet devices have been developed that analyze the colors of farm produce by using satellite images and help determine the optimal harvest time. Some overseas companies offer insurance products to cover harvest losses based on crop forecasts derived from satellite imagery.It is also hoped that satellite images of tourist spots will be used to make security operations more efficient, through analysis by artificial intelligence to forecast monthly congestion.

Under the “Space Industry Vision 2030” devised last May, the government has set a goal to double the market size of the nation’s space industry, including the usage of data, to about ¥2.4 trillion in the early 2030s.

“It will try to understand your mood and your playing ability and predict a bit about your next shot,” said Keith Kersten of Japan-based Omron Automation, which developed Forpheus to showcase its technology.

“We don’t sell ping pong robots but we are using Forpheus to show how technology works with people,” said Kersten.

Forpheus is among several devices shown at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show which highlight how robots can become more humanlike by acquiring “emotional intelligence” and empathy.

Although this specialization is still emerging, the notion of robotic empathy appeared to be a strong theme at the huge gathering of technology professionals in Las Vegas.

Honda, the Japanese auto giant, launched a new robotics program called Empower, Experience, Empathy including its new 3E-A18 robot which “shows compassion to humans with a variety of facial expressions,” according to a statement.

Although empathy and emotional intelligence do not necessarily require a humanoid form, some robot makers have been working on form as well as function.

“We’re been working very hard to have an emotional robot,” said Jean-Michel Mourier of French-based Blue Frog Robotics, which makes the companion and social robot called Buddy, set to be released later this year.

“He has a complex brain,” Mourier said at a CES event. “It will ask for a caress or it will get mad if you poke him in the eye.”

Other robots such as Qihan Technology’s Sanbot and SoftBank Robotics’ Pepper, are being “humanized” by teaching them to read and react to people’s emotional states.

Pepper is “capable of interpreting a smile, a frown, your tone of voice, as well as the lexical field you use and non-verbal language such as the angle of your head,” according to SoftBank.

– Robot in human shoes –

Developing emotional intelligence in robots is a difficult task, melding the use of computer “vision” to interpret objects and people and creating software that can respond accordingly.

“Empathy is the goal: the robot is putting itself in the shoes of the human, and that’s about as hard as it gets,” said Patrick Moorhead, a technology analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy.

“It’s not just about technology, it’s about psychology and trust.”

Moorhead said this technology is still in the early stages but holds promise in some areas, noting that there is strong interest in Japan amid a lack of caretakers for the elderly population.

“In some ways it can be a bit creepy if you’re crying and the robot is trying to console you,” he said.

“If you have no friends, the next best thing is a friend robot, and introverts might feel more comfortable talking to a robot.”

– ‘Emotion chip’ –

One CES exhibitor offered a promise of going further than the current devices by developing an “emotion chip” which can allow robots to process emotions in a manner similar to humans.

“There has been a lot of research on detecting human emotions. We do the opposite. We synthesize emotions for the machine,” said Patrick Levy-Rosenthal, founder of New York-based Emoshape, which is producing its chip for partners in gaming, virtual and augmented reality and other sectors.

It could be used to power a humanoid robot, or other devices. For example, an e-reader could better understand a text to infuse more emotion in storytelling.

As for Forpheus, Kersten said the robot’s ability to help people improve their table tennis skills could have numerous applications for sports, businesses and more.

“You could sense how people are feeling, if they are attentive or in a good state to drive,” he said.

Another key application could be in health care, he said: “In an elderly patient facility, you can determine if someone is in distress and needs help.”

Some of the technologies used in autonomous cars have been adapted in products unveiled at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, to help travelers with the weighty problem of dealing with baggage.

The “robot suitcase” from California-based startup Travelmate can be controlled with a smartphone app and can roll alongside its owner at speeds up to 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) per hour, navigating around obstacles.

“This is really a robot which follows you around,” said Travelmate founder and president Maximillian Kovtun.

Travelmate designed the device — which integrates elements of artificial intelligence — to roll at a pace that matches that of the user, or it can be directed with the smartphone app in the same manner as a drone.

Priced at around $1,100, it is slated to roll out in February for the US market, and later in Europe and Japan.

A competing offering from ForwardX, a Chinese startup with offices in California, is designed to be used with facial recognition, without need for a smartphone application.

“It uses computer vision and a driving algorithm to have a clear path,” said founder Nicholas Chee, who showed a prototype at CES.

The ForwardX suitcase also has gesture control technology and can be immobilized to protect against theft.

Chee said he expects the launch in mid-2018 at a price under $1,000.

Both Travelmate and ForwardX say their devices comply with US safety regulations because their lithium-ion batteries, banned in checked luggage, can be removed.

Also shown at CES was an auto-following suitcase from China-based 90FUN, which has been available in the Chinese market and is soon coming to America. It uses self-balancing technology from the personal transport maker Segway.

And finally for the weariest of travelers, a luggage product called the Modobag, which lacks artificial intelligence but offers a sizeable perk instead: as a ride-on suitcase which can carry its owner along with their clothes.

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Noppol Toochinda, ofo Thailand’s general manager, said ofo has broadened its business in Thailand, targeting mainly on expansion of shared bike service in leading universities nationwide, including Chiang Mai University. The company set up an activity at “CMU Bike Challenge 2017” event last November and offered a free bike trial. Ofo was known as a pioneer of bike sharing business in Chiang Mai and its service has been an overwhelming success that led to the latest business expansion.

“Chiang Mai is one of the top cities in Thailand and bikes are quite popular here. It’s known by both local people and international tourists, especially Chinese people who are familiar with ofo bike.

“Our new service launch in Chiang Mai will be officially ready for service in mid-January. First, we will start off in Nimmanhaemin area as one of the trendiest spots in Chiang Mai. This area is filled with boutique hotels, chic shops, cafés and restaurants. So, we collaborate with popular shops such as SomtamKrokNimman, Room No.7 and Cainito Homemade Restaurant to celebrate the firstbike sharing service in Chiang Mai andoffer our riders exclusive discounts, starting from mid-January on.” Noppol said.

The  launch of ofo in Chiang Mai marks another success for shared bikes service expansion in Thailand, which took only a few months to grow dramatically nationwide.

He added that over the last year in the US, “we’ve been trialling Shopping on Instagram – which makes it easy to purchase a product from within the app – and we’re excited to bring it to more countries in 2018.

“Video – here next year, but gone tomorrow: It’s predicted that by 2019 mobile devices will account for 72% of all online video viewing.

“Messaging will be a place for business: Alongside the shift to mobile, we’ve seen people shift their preferred method of communication toward messaging .We predict that this will continue to grow in 2018 and that will see even more business being done within messaging.”

The South Korean manufacturer used the 201 Consumer Electronics Show to debut its Nexo, a sport utility vehicle that uses voice commands, artificial intelligence and can be transformed into an autonomous car.

“We call this the next future utility vehicles,” said Hyundai vice president Ki-Sang Lee.

Hyundai said it plans to sell the Nexo in California later this year, in a bet on hydrogen even as many rivals turn to battery power.

The company said it resolved a number of issues in developing the Nexo, including starts in extreme cold weather and extending the range to nearly 600 kilometers (375 miles).

While a handful of companies have showcased fuel cell technology, obstacles include the lack of hydrogen stations and a low ratio of energy efficiency in producing fuel.

“We all understand that technological challenges and innovations are a never-ending process that will continue until we realize a mobile society of maximum convenience, zero accidents and no emissions,” vice chairman Woong-chul Yang.

To promote its efforts in self-driving technology, Hyundai has formed a partnership with Silicon Valley startup Aurora Innovation, headed by former Google car executive Chris Urmson, who appeared at the media event.

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USA-Las Vegas-Nevada – Las Vegas, Jan 9, 2018 (AFP) – 2018-01-09 T 01:29:34

The sources said that the Tokyo government plans to include ¥1 billion in the fiscal 2018 budget to cover relevant expenditures. In light of the global trend toward phasing out vehicles using gasoline — particularly in Europe and China, where the shift to next-generation vehicles (see below) such as EVs is accelerating — Tokyo hopes to lead efforts in Japan.

According to the International Energy Agency, cumulative sales of next-generation vehicles are estimated to reach as many as 20 million units in 2020. In July last year, both Britain and France announced they will end sales of gasoline and diesel cars by 2040.

In September last year, China, the world’s largest auto market, said it would impose fixed production quotas for next-generation vehicles on automakers, making it clear that a shift to EVs is part of its national strategy.

In Japan, cumulative sales of EVs and similar vehicles were about 150,000 in 2016. The diffusion rate of such vehicles in Japan is 0.59 percent, or less than half that of countries such as Britain and France. In Japan, 90 percent of EV owners live in detached houses. The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry and Tokyo metropolitan government believe that installing charging devices at condominium complexes is the key to popularizing EVs.

In Tokyo, 130,000 condominium buildings accommodate 60 percent of the city’s population. The national government launched a measure to subsidize the cost of purchasing or installing charging devices in fiscal 2012. However, only 30 such devices in 16 locations have been built in Tokyo under the measure as of March 2017. One challenge to installing charging devices at condominiums is the cost that residents must bear. Another is that installing the device requires the consent of three-quarters of a condominium’s unit owners.

The sources said that the metropolitan government will subsidize the installation costs that remain after condominium residents receive national government subsidies. According to the Tokyo government, purchasing and installing a charging device costs about ¥1.5 million. Of the cost, the national government subsidizes about ¥1 million and the metropolitan government plans to subsidize the remainder.

The Tokyo government will also begin a program to dispatch experts such as certified condominium management consultants to condominiums’ homeowners associations to help facilitate smooth discussions on installing the devices.

Increasing charging devices outside of residential areas is also considered important. According to a council consisting mostly of automakers, a total of 7,332 fast charging devices were installed in locations such as shopping malls throughout Japan as of September last year. From fiscal 2018, the metropolitan government will install charging devices at facilities such as parks and hospitals that it runs.

Automakers are also accelerating the shift towards EVs. Honda Motor Co. has announced that sales of EVs will account for two-thirds of its total sales by 2030, while Nissan Motor Co. said that EVs will account for 30 percent of its total sales by 2022. In December last year, Toyota Motor Corp. announced a goal of EV sales of 5.5 million vehicles, or about half of its global sales, by around 2030.

The Tokyo government also plans to expand its subsidies for purchasing next-generation vehicles such as EVs and fuel-cell vehicles, in an effort to encourage purchases of such vehicles. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said in an interview, “We want to create an environment where people don’t have to purchase gasoline cars in the 2040s.”

■ Next-generation vehicles

These vehicles include electric vehicles (EVs) that run solely by electric motors, as well as plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs) that mostly run on electricity and carry batteries capable of being charged with outside electricity. They also include fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) that generate electricity using hydrogen as fuel.

JAXA plans to begin full-scale operations of the new radar as early as fiscal 2023 in cooperation with another radar system separately designed by the Defense Ministry, the sources said.

The agency currently uses a radar system deployed in Okayama Prefecture to monitor space debris that travels over Japan in low Earth orbit at an altitude of several hundred to 2,000 kilometers. However, the current system only covers debris that is 1.6 meters across or larger. It cannot track particles of about 10 centimeters, which comprise the majority of space debris.

JAXA is to build the new radar system adjacent to the existing one. The agency aims to achieve 200 times the detection capability of the current radar, by significantly increasing the output of electric waves cast onto space debris and utilizing a processing technology for special signals.

As a result, JAXA will be able to monitor about 10-centimeter-sized space objects in low orbit, where many Earth observation satellites and others travel, they said.

If data analysis suggests the possibility of collisions between space debris and JAXA’s about 10 satellites operating in low orbit, the agency will use the new system to change the satellites’ orbit from the ground by remote control.

The Defense Ministry is also preparing to install a radar system in Yamaguchi Prefecture to monitor space debris in stationary orbit at an altitude of about 36,000 kilometers. Satellites traveling in stationary orbit include communication and meteorological satellites that are important for activities of the Self-Defense Forces.

JAXA intends to create a system in fiscal 2023 to monitor space debris pieces by using two radars in cooperation with the ministry as well.

The number of pieces of space debris — including broken pieces of artificial satellites whose operations were terminated, and wreckage from rockets — has been increasing yearly with the progress of each country’s space development.

About 20,000 space debris particles that are larger than 10 centimeters are mainly in low orbit.

In 2009, a U.S. satellite collided with a defunct Russian satellite, which sent the U.S. satellite out of control. In 2011, space debris objects approached the International Space Station, forcing ISS astronauts to take shelter temporarily to a spacecraft returning to Earth.

The U.S. Defense Department constantly monitors space debris using radar systems installed in various parts of the world, providing information of this kind to Japan as well. There were five cases in fiscal 2016 in which JAXA changed the orbit of its satellites based on information provided by the United States, according to the agency.

In 2016, the government specified in the basic space policy its plan to step up monitoring space debris from the viewpoint of national security.

“It’s necessary to formulate a system to protect Japan’s important satellites without depending on the United States. Our planned new radar will become the first step for this purpose,” said Mayumi Matsuura, a project manager of JAXA.

The young Swedish firm is giving visitors the full treatment with a glamor gadget that resembles a tiny alien spacecraft this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Face masks, which typically involve coating one’s face with skin-loving lotions that work their magic while drying for 20 minutes or so, were among top search terms at Google last year.

Foreo, which was founded in 2013 and boasts nearly a half-billion dollars in annual revenue, decided sheet masks were due for a make-over with some help from technology.

“The sheet mask hasn’t changed since ancient Egyptian times,” Foreo spokeswoman Dawn Watt told AFP at a CES event.

“This is the world’s first smart mask.”

The puck-shaped device fits easily in the palm of a hand. Face mask ingredients are placed inside and activated by heating or cooling elements as the “UFO” glides about a face.

“When you are finished it is like you’ve had a full facial experience, but in only 90 seconds,” Watt said.

Foreo chief executive Paul Peros was adamant that he used UFO, which the company said was a play on ‘Your Future Obsession,’ each morning and evening.

“Of course my wife thinks my face is prettier,” Peros quipped when asked.

“Why else would I do it?”

UFO models will be priced at $179 and $279 when they are released to the mass market in April, but can be bought at discount online at Kickstarter.

Foreo also sells mask ingredients priced at $10 for a seven treatment packets.

Watt said the beauty industry is steadily merging with the tech world in a trend that is inevitable and “amazing.”

The Fisker EMotion, which made its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, is part of a comeback effort for Henrik Fisker, a former BMW and Aston Martin designer whose first venture was halted in 2013 after selling only a few thousand vehicles.

This time, Fisker is pulling out all the stops for the vehicle, designed with butterfly doors and a sleek sportscar look, semi-autonomous driving, and a range of some 400 miles (650 kilometers) on a single charge.

The car, which is still two years from deliveries, “is a new take on the future of a luxury sedan,” Fisker told AFP on the CES show floor.

Fisker said the features such as the extended driving range “will make even people sitting on the fence (about electric cars) look at it.”

The new effort nonetheless faces an uphill battle in an industry where Tesla is showing rapid growth and other rivals from major automakers to startups — including one other making a debut at the tech show — are producing new electric cars.

Fisker is also working on its own battery technology aimed at improving range and speeding the charging time.

He said he hopes to have a charging system that can enable an extra 125 miles in nine minutes.

The company is also working on a solid state battery that Fisker said could achieve a full charge in one minute.

Like Tesla, Fisker is also working on a more affordable vehicle that would be priced around $40,000 after the Emotion. And it has designed a self-driving shuttle bus called the Orbit that could also launch in the next few years.

Partnering with Fisker is California-based technology firm Quanergy, which is developing the LIDAR used for autonomous driving.

The Emotion uses five LIDAR sensors integrated into the body and “it’s the only LIDAR with no moving parts,” said Quanergy CEO Louay Eldada.

The launch by Fisker’s new company comes after a high-profile bankruptcy by Fisker Automotive.

Before launching his own venture and the ill-fated Fisker Karma, Fisker designed vehicles including the BMW Z8 and Aston Martin DB89.