Truth be told, I wasn’t very impressed with what electronics makers showed at the CEATEC 2011 tech exhibition – especially because a lot of the new products were “leaked” to the Japanese press before the event started.

However, here are a total of five of the coolest innovations Japanese companies showed at the CEATEC 2011 in video form, delivered from our friends at Diginfo TV (YouTube channel). All the videos were shot directly on location and are in English.

Video 1: Toshiba’s 55-inch, naked-eye 3D TV with facial recognition (our coverage)

Video 2: Sony’s “DEV-3″ binoculars that shoot videos in full HD and 3D

Video 3: Pioneer’s augmentend reality-based car navigation System (our coverage)

Video 4: NTT Docomo’s smartphone jackets that measure body fat, radiation, or alcohol (our coverage)

Video 5: NTT Docomo’s smartphone battery that fully charges in 10 minutes

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Just 20 kilometers to the east of Tokyo at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, CEATEC is winding down, following a gadget-filled week where impressive prototypes appeared to outnumber consumer devices. Unlike IFA in Berlin, which is just as much for the public as it is for industry insiders, Japan’s consumer electronics show gives manufacturers a chance to show off their prototypes and components to a smaller, mainly local audience. Many products announced here will never leave the country’s shores, but can inspire future devices that will be marketed to a worldwide audience. Click through our gallery below for a broader look at the show, then jump past the break for a roundup of our CEATEC 2011 coverage. Arigatou gozaimashita!

Richard Lai contributed to this report.

Continue reading CEATEC Japan 2011 wrap-up

CEATEC Japan 2011 wrap-up originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve already shown you Panasonic‘s cool hair-washing robot on video, but the company is currently showcasing two more robots at the CEATEC 2011 tech exhibition in Japan: one is the so-called HOSPI-Rimo (an assistance robot that we covered two weeks ago), the other model is aptly named RoboticBed.

The video below shows the HOSPI-Rimo (Remote Intelligence and Mobility/pictured above) in action at CEATEC 2011. To recap, this medical, mobile robot is supposed to make it easier for bedridden patients to get in touch with doctors or family members who are living far away (“virtual visits”):

The so-called RoboticBed, which made its debut in 2009, is actually pretty awesome.

It’s essentially a bed that can transform itself into an electric wheelchair and vice versa. Panasonic says the newest version show at CEATEC 2011 is “more practical” and safer than previous models:

Via Robonable [JP]

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Panasonic took the wraps off a new version of it’s super-strange (and awesome) hair-washing robot at the CEATEC 2011 tech exhibition that currently takes place in Japan (the first version is about one year old). The robot handles the entire process of hair washing autonomously: wetting, shampooing, conditioning and drying.

The new version washes your hair with a total of 24 (instead of just 16) fingers. Panasonic also says they improved the scanning system (the robot scans the head’s shape before it does its magic), allowing for a better “experience”. The old model also lacked the conditioning and drying functions.

Users can get their data (preferred washing method, shape of the head) stored to save time when getting their hair washed next time.

These videos show Panasonic’s robot in action (at CEATEC 2011):

Via Robonable [JP]

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I admit I just walked by microchip maker Rohm‘s booth at this year’s CEATEC 2011, but the Japanese company actually showcased something very interesting: it developed the world’s smallest chip resistor [JP], which, at just 0.3 x 0.15mm, is a whopping 44% smaller than the previous model.

Rohm’s pitch at CEATEC is that 500,000 of the new resistors could be used in an hourglass (instead of sand).

In fact, the company says the devices are too small to be processed with equipment that’s currently available: Japanese business daily The Nikkei is reporting that Rohm is currently looking for partners that could help develop technology to actually mount the resistor on a circuit board.

Smartphones, for example, use up to 400 chip resistors, which means the smaller resistors get, the thinner and lighter handsets could theoretically become in the future.

Rohm is currently planning to start mass-producing the resistors in fall 2012.

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The CEATEC 2011 exhibition started today in Chiba (just outside of Tokyo), and what I saw was either disappointing (like gear that’s already available in stores) or already widely covered, as most Japanese companies pre-announced almost all novelties (for example, Docomo’s awesome smartphone jackets).

One exception was Mitsubishi’s so-called “Diamond Vision OLED”, a semi-spherical display boasting a diameter of 2.7m. It’s very similar to their huge OLED globe that’s currently on display in Tokyo’s National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation.

This new model consists of a total of  696 OLED panels, each sized at 32 x 32mm. Sized at 96 x 96mm, the OLEDs forming the aforementioned globe are considerably larger, but the panels share the same pixel pitch (3mm).

Mitsubishi said that the Diamond Vision OLED has a brightness of 1,200cd/m2 and consumes 11.2kW of power. The company plans to commercialize the display for digital signage systems.

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Earlier this week, CrunchGear was at CEATEC 2010, Asia’s biggest technology and electronics exhibition, which takes place yearly in Chiba (one hour away from Tokyo). All major Japanese electronics makers showcased their newest products (plus numerous prototypes) at the event, and we condensed 12 highlights from CEATEC into a long list after the jump.

Click through for videos and more information on each device you’re interested in.

Mitsubishi Diamond Vision OLED Display • Modular OLED Display • Commercially available since last month • $ 400,000 for a 155-inch display • From the post: “Buyers can order the display in any size they want.”

Hitachi LCD Projector • Smallest and shortest-focus projector • Combination with touchscreen whiteboard • On sale in the US within this month • From the post: “It produces 80-inch images from a distance of just 56cm.”

Toshiba Naked-Eye 3D TVs • World’s first glasses-less 3D TVs • 2 sizes: 22 and 12 inches • On sale in Japan in December • From the post: “Images can be viewed in 3D when users look at the screen in one of nine distinct viewing angles.”

Fujitsu Windows 7 Tablets • 2 protoypes • Will run Windows 7 • “Currently in development” • From the post: “The hardware looks quite nice in both cases.”

Sharp Android Phone IS03 • 3.5-inch LCD with iPhone 4 resolution • Android 2.2 • Massive spec list • From the post: “My first impression was that much like Sharp’s Galapagos (Android-based) tablet, the UI was too sluggish.”

Fujitsu Social Bear Robots • Robots shaped like teddy bears • Hundreds of pre-programmed patterns of behavior • Target groups: nursing homes, schools • From the post: “I was surprised how responsive the robots actually are.”

Toshiba Folio 100 Android Tablet • 10.1-inch LCD touchscreen • Android 2.2 • Europe-only device • From the post: “Big downer: Toshiba won’t let you access the Android market through this tablet.”

Fujitsu Dual Touchscreen Phone • Prototype phone • 2 capacitive touchscreens • Symbian OS, “Android theoretically possible” • From the post: “What’s cool is that you can actually separate contents on both screens, for example using Twitter on top and checking emails on the bottom.”

Olympus AR Walker • Augmented reality headsets • Showcased by mobile carrier NTT Docomo • 3 working prototypes • From the post: “When you run, the AR Walker can show you how many calories you burnt, how fast you go or provide information about the route ahead.”

Panasonic Lumix Phone • Cell phone with Lumix camera • 13MP CMOS sensor • Wi-Fi and DLNA support • From the post: “And both the design of the device and the way Panasonic presented it were disappointing.”

TDK Bendable And Transparent OLED Displays • 2 passive matrix mini OLED panels • Flexible type is just 0.3mm thin • See-through type has a transmittance of about 50% • From the post: “What’s cool is that both prototypes are showcased as black-and-white and color models.”

Sharp Galapagos Android Tablets • 5.5-inch and a 10.8-inch versions • Sharp plans e-book service supporting the devices • both models launch in Japan in December • From the post: “Turning pages or zooming (and then moving the screen around) was just a little too laggy for my taste.””

CrunchGear

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Thinness in a portable device is an attribute worth coveting. Thinness of yet another layer in your home entertainment center hoagie, however, is a little bit less attractive — at least it is when it comes with a big compromise. Such is the case with Sharp’s thinnest Blu-ray recorder, just 35mm thick yet capable of writing to BD-R discs or the newer, pricier, 100GB BDXL discs. So far so good, but rather sadly to make that magic happen in a package so svelte the company has had to ditch the internal HDD that’s common in these devices, the idea being you’ll just write to BDXL’s instead. Even with a stack of re-writeables at your disposal that’s going to be a lot less convenient and a lot more expensive than having a good ‘ol pile of platters spinning inside. Of course, with no price or release date given, it’s possible that this reduction of internal hardware also comes with a reduction in cost, but as we all know it’s pretty rare that a skinnier device costs less than its bigger boned brethren.

Sharp shows off 35mm thin BDXL recorder at CEATEC, world doesn’t stop to wonder why originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Oct 2010 09:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Projectors might be great for movies and essential for presentations, but they are rarely sexy. A notable exception currently showcased at CEATEC 2010 is the ultra-short throw LCD projector (the follow-up model to the CP-A200) showcased at Hitachi’s booth or rather the combination of the device and a whiteboard with touch control.

Measuring just just 45x303x85mm and weighing less than 4kg, the projector itself is the smallest, lightest and shortest-focus projector out there. It produces 80-inch images from a distance of just 56cm.

The whiteboard type display is 78 inches large. In the videos below, you can see a Hitachi employee showing how the system (projector plus screen) works. He tries hard to boost the wow-factor (which, for me at least, worked well).

Here is a video I shot at Hitachi’s CEATEC booth:

Here’s another one:

CrunchGear

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