In a pandemic where people are fearful of touching surfaces, some Japanese companies are speeding up the development of products that mean consumers don’t have to use their fingers.
Already dubbed the “touchless economy”, examples include multinational NEC’s security panels that can recognise people even if they wear masks, preventing face-touching to remove them.
Lift manufacturer Fujitec wants passengers to select floors using only hand signals, while sensor maker Optex plans a similar concept for opening doors. Toshiba Tec, a subsidiary of Toshiba, wants to banish fingerprint-laden restaurant menus to the past with gesture-sensing, projected menus.
The global sensor industry has surged in growth due to the smartphone boom, and is one that analysts say will experience a second wave as we enter the Internet of Things era.
NEC’s security panels work by comparing the exposed part of a person’s face against an original image, with the software looking for similarities. AI and deep learning are part of NEC’s face recognition technology, which is still being perfected.
Fujitec has an optional feature allowing people using lifts to hold their hands near infrared sensors to select floors, rather than touching buttons on panels. It planned to sell these to medical facilities or pharmaceutical factories where hygiene conditions are strictly controlled, but the pandemic has expanded the company’s range of potential customers.
Toshiba Tec has developed technology allowing diners to choose meals by projecting menu options on a tabletop and using sensors to take their orders. Originally designed to free up table space by getting rid of the need for paper menus or tablets, they remove the need to touch either.
However, Alan Casey, a partner at consultancy Prophet, who has over 20 years of experience working in Japan and with Japanese companies, believes the “introspective” nature of the country often means that certain products become hugely successful there but fail to replicate this globally.
“This is often due to differing standards or alignment with Japanese preferences,” explains Mr Casey, who is now based in Hong Kong.
“While Japan often has an early adoption of technology, Japanese companies don’t sustain global leadership or achieve the full scale of potential,” he adds. Docomo’s i-mode (a mobile internet that launched in 1999); JR East’s contactless Suica smart card; Sony’s Mini-Disc format, and even Toto toilets are all examples of technologies that were ahead of their time but which failed to gain global adoption, he says.
These sensors detect and measure quantities such as light, heat, motion and pressure. Most people have an everyday encounter with sensors through their smartphones, which contain CMOS sensors that convert light into digital images for photography. Sony has been a huge beneficiary of this, controlling more than half of the global market for CMOS sensors.
Manuel Tagliavini, principal analyst of MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) and sensors at Omdia, a research company focused on the tech sector, says the sensors industry is spread globally, with established suppliers between the US and Europe but that “aggressive” competition is growing in the Asia Pacific region.
He cites Sony, South Korea’s Samsung, China’s Omnivision, US firm ON Semiconductor and Europe’s AMS and STMicroelectronics as examples of major players in the market.
The revenue generated by MEMS and sensors was almost $29 billion (Dh106.5bn) for 2018, and was set to grow at about 5-7 per cent last year. He says he has recently seen an acceleration in the deployment of sensors.
The sensor business is set to grow, with the incipient Internet of Things (IoT), greater sensor deployment in smartphones and wearables and the development of ‘smart cars’.
"While Japan often has an early adoption of technology, Japanese companies don't sustain global leadership,"
Sensors are not new in the automotive industry, says Richard Dixon, senior analyst at IHS Markit, a data and information services firm. “But it’s true their importance grows.”
The automotive sensor market was worth about $6bn last year, Mr Dixon says. And the number of these devices will grow as vehicles become electric and move slowly towards a level of autonomy, he says, adding that there are well over 30 different types of sensing device, measuring speed and distances, among other things. For the consumer, this means vehicles could become more comfortable, greener, and safer.
In terms of IoT, one of the first consumer products was LG’s internet-connected refrigerator released in 2000. It could sense shelf contents and keep an eye on expiration dates, and included an MP3 player, but retailed at $20,000. Over the years, sensors have become cheaper and internet-connected devices have become more affordable. With the promise of vastly increased internet speeds, 5G could herald the IoT economy.
“The increased bandwidth but even more the reduced latency of [5G] will accelerate the proliferation of connected devices worldwide,” says Mr Tagliavini, citing assisted and autonomous driving cars as major beneficiaries as reduced latency allows for real-time sensing, computation and reaction.
In mid-May, Sony announced the development of its first image sensor with an integrated AI processor which can perform tasks such as reading the size of crowds, scanning bar codes and monitoring driver drowsiness. The AI processor is stacked on an image-sensor, allowing it to process data without sending it to the cloud.
With sensors as the footsoldiers gauging the environment, 5G the carrier, and AI being the brain to process data gathered, IoT might be the next big thing, although privacy and surveillance concerns will shadow its development.
But the development of the “touchless economy” is spreading worldwide.
“Covid-19 is causing this direction,” says Mr Tagliavini. “Voice assistants, touchless, image recognition, they are accelerating now. It’s already started worldwide, not just in Japan.”
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Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
The%20specs
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 435hp at 5,900rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,800-5,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Price: from Dh498,542
On sale: now
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 290hp
Torque: 340Nm
Price: Dh155,800
On sale: now
THE BIO
Ambition: To create awareness among young about people with disabilities and make the world a more inclusive place
Job Title: Human resources administrator, Expo 2020 Dubai
First jobs: Co-ordinator with Magrudy Enterprises; HR coordinator at Jumeirah Group
Entrepreneur: Started his own graphic design business
Favourite singer: Avril Lavigne
Favourite travel destination: Germany and Saudi Arabia
Family: Six sisters
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Result
2.15pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,950m; Winner: Majestic Thunder, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
2.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,600m; Winner: Native Appeal, Adam McLean, Doug Watson.
3.45pm: Handicap Dh115,000 1,950m; Winner: Conclusion, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh100,000 1,400m; Winner: Pilgrim’s Treasure, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
4.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m; Winner: Sanad Libya, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,000m; Winner: Midlander, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Company%20profile
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RESULTS
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
JERSEY INFO
Red Jersey
General Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the leader of the General Classification by time.
Green Jersey
Points Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the fastest sprinter, who has obtained the best positions in each stage and intermediate sprints.
White Jersey
Young Rider Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the best young rider born after January 1, 1995 in the overall classification by time (U25).
Black Jersey
Intermediate Sprint Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the rider who has gained the most Intermediate Sprint Points.
Soldier F
“I was in complete disgust at the fact that only one person was to be charged for Bloody Sunday.
“Somebody later said to me, 'you just watch - they'll drop the charge against him'. And sure enough, the charges against Soldier F would go on to be dropped.
“It's pretty hard to think that 50 years on, the State is still covering up for what happened on Bloody Sunday.”
Jimmy Duddy, nephew of John Johnson
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
