Earphones Vibrate to Wake Up Wearer

King Jim Co Ltd will release earphones that function as an "alarm clock" by using motors to generate vibration April 22, 2016.

The company expects that the earphones, "Mezamashi (alarm) Earphone NMR10," will be used at the time of taking a nap in a train, office, etc. They are targeted at those who cannot notice alarms from a smartphone or do not want others to notice alarms. They can also be connected to a smartphone as normal earphones to listen to music.

The earphones are equipped with vibration motors and driver units in parts to be inserted into the earholes. They feature the "alarm function" to set off the alarm at a preset time and the "timer function" to activate the alarm after a preset period of time, and the motors vibrate the earphones. The strength of vibration can be set at three different levels.

The Mezamashi Earphone NMR10 is wired earphones. Powered by an AAA alkaline battery, they can be used for about six months, according to King Jim. The price of the product is ¥6,000 (approx US$52.8, excluding tax). The company aims to sell 10,000 units in the first year.

New Impreza Sedan Automatically Applies Brakes When Backing

The new Impreza, which Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) Ltd showed off at New York International Auto Show 2016, comes with a system that automatically applies the brakes at the time of backing the car up.

The system detects obstacles located behind the car with sensors embedded in the rear bumper. When there is a possibility that the car crashes into an obstacle, it sets off a voice alarm. If the driver does not avoid the crash by, for example, operating the brakes, the system automatically applies the brakes to avoid the crash or reduce the damage caused by the crash.

To improve visibility at night, the new Impreza has the "high-beam assist" function using a stereo camera. It automatically switches between high and low beams of the headlamps in accordance with the states of preceding and oncoming vehicles.

The vehicle also has the "steering wheel-interlocked headlamp" function. It moves the light axes of the headlamps in accordance with steering so that light is directed to the vehicle"s traveling direction at an intersection, curve, etc. As a result, the nighttime visibility was further improved.

Moreover, the new Impreza features the "Eyesight ver.3" safe driving support system and is capable of detecting blind spots. The Eyesight ver.3 offers functions such as adaptive cruise control (ACC) supporting automatic braking and all vehicle speeds as well as lane departure prevention.

The new Impreza is equipped with the "FB20 Type" naturally-aspirated (NA) horizontally opposed direct-injection engine with a displacement of 2.0L. The engine was developed by replacing about 80% of the components of FHI"s previous NA engine with the same displacement and reducing the weight. The maximum output of the FB20 Type is 113kW, which is 3kW higher than that of the previous engine.

Sensor Equipped Computer Mouse Checks Mental Stress Level at Workplace

Alps Electric Co Ltd showed a sensor equipped computer mouse that enables to check mental stress level at workplace.

The mouse, which is equipped with a vital sensor and an environmental sensor, was demonstrated at Medtec Japan 2016, which took place from April 20 to 22, 2016, at Tokyo Big Sight.

Specifically, the sensor equipped computer mouse comes with (1) a "wearable near-infrared spectroscopic sensor" that can measure "hemoglobin level," which indicates the degree of anemia, etc, in addition to the degree of oxygen saturation and pulse and (2) an environmental sensor that can measure temperature, humidity, etc.

The mental stress level of the user can be measured just by using the sensor equipped computer mouse in normal ways, Alps Electric said.

The wearable near-infrared spectroscopic sensor was unveiled at Medtec Japan 2015, which took place from April 22 to 24, 2015, at Tokyo Big Sight. It measures the amount of hemoglobin combined with oxygen (oxyhemoglobin) and the amount of hemoglobin not combined with oxygen (deoxyhemoglobin) by using LED lights with two different wavelengths in the near-infrared region.

Based on the amounts, the degree of oxygen saturation and pulse are calculated. It is also possible to measure the time variation of the amounts of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin (hemoglobin level).

This time, the new sensor realizes a high measurement accuracy regardless of capillary distribution and measurement point. Alps Electric plans to complete the development of the sensor in fiscal 2016 and start to ship samples by the spring of 2017.

Vibrating Cushion Prevents Driver From Dozing

Thanko Inc released the "Vibrating Cushion for Eye-catch Precrash Alarm" to be combined with an external doze warning device sold by the company April 12, 2016.

The new product contributes to preventing the driver from falling into a doze with a warning sound from the doze warning device and the vibration of the vibrating cushion, the company said. Its price is ¥12,800 (approx US$118, including tax).

The vibrating cushion can be combined with the "GPS Model of Eye-catch Precrash Alarm" doze warning device (¥69,800 including tax).

With face recognition and pupil detection functions that use infrared light, the device can judge whether the driver is dozing or not based on the state of the eyelids (open or closed) as well as whether the driver is looking aside and gives a warning. It detects the speed of the vehicle by using a GPS, and, depending on the setting, it does not give a warning at low speeds.

Also, the device can be used in conjunction with an automatic vehicle locator (AVL) for use in commercial vehicles such as taxis, trucks and buses.

The warning of the device is Japanese, but it is an imported product. Judging from a picture of the product, it seems to be a product of Hao Nai Industrial Co Ltd. Thanko has been selling various models of the doze warning device since 2013 and increasing the number of models on sale by, for example, releasing a model powered from a cigarette lighter port in February 2016.

New "Boon," "Passo" Compacts Feature High Fuel Efficiency

The new "Boon" and "Passo" compact cars are the gasoline engine vehicles (two-wheel-drive vehicles excluding light cars) that have the highest fuel efficiency under the JC08 test mode.

The new Boon and Passo were released by Daihatsu Motor Co Ltd and Toyota Motor Corp, respectively, April 12, 2016. The fuel efficiency of 28.0km/L (approx 65.9mpg in the US) was realized by using fuel-saving technologies that Daihatsu developed for light cars. It is 1.5% higher than the fuel efficiency of the previous models.

This time, the compression ratio of the engine was increased from 11.5 to 12.5, significantly contributing to the improvement of fuel efficiency. It was realized by employing the "Dual Injector" and improving the "EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) System," which improves fuel efficiency by recirculating exhaust gas.

The engine of the new vehicles is the "1KR-FE" 1.0L in-line three-cylinder engine, which is the same as the engine of the previous models. But the Dual Injector, which is used for the engine of Daihatsu"s "Mira e:S" light car, was employed. It injects fuel into the combustion chamber by using two injectors per cylinder.

The number of injection ports of the previous models" engine is six per injector, but the number was increased to eight for the new models. As a result, the particle size of injected fuel was reduced. The shape of the suction port was changed so that strong tumble flows (longitudinal vortexes of air-fuel mixture in cylinders) can be generated.

Also, the Atkinson cycle was employed, and friction loss was reduced by changing the piston shape. Furthermore, the responsiveness of the EGR valve was improved to increase the amount of reused exhaust gas. The maximum output and maximum torque of the new engine are 51kW and 92N·m, respectively, which are the same as those of the previous models" engine despite the improvement in fuel efficiency.

Electric Flavoring Fork Adds Taste to Salt-free Meal

A prototype of the "electric flavoring fork," which generates a salty taste by stimulating the tongue with electricity, was announced in Japan.

The electric flavoring fork was developed based on the "electric flavoring" technology being researched by Hiromi Nakamura at Rekimoto Lab, Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, the University of Tokyo. It is an application of an "electric test for taste" used to judge whether a taste cell of a tongue is dead or alive. And it exploits the fact that a tongue feels salty or sour when electricity is applied to it.

The electric  flavoring fork is targeted mainly at those who need low-salt or salt-free diet such as hypertensive patients. This time, the prototype was prepared for "No Salt Restaurant," a project to offer a salt-free full-course meal.

The handle of the fork incorporates a rechargeable battery and electric circuit. When the user inserts the head of the fork into the mouth with food while pressing a button on the handle, a certain level of electric current is applied to the tongue. The degree of saltiness differs depending on eating habits, age, etc. This time, three current levels were available. The prototype costed ¥2,000 (approx US$17.7) in addition to the cost of a fork.

The electric flavoring fork generates not only a salty taste but sour and metallic tastes. This time, with help from cooking experts, it was found that spices such as pepper and garlic make it easier to feel salty.





 

Hitachi, Honda Prototype Compact Alcohol Detector

Hitachi Ltd and Honda R&D Co Ltd announced March 24, 2016, that they have prototyped a compact alcohol detector to be used with a smart key.

When the alcohol detector finds that the driver is under the influence of alcohol, it makes it impossible to start up the engine. The two companies consider that the detector will contribute to preventing accidents caused by drunk driving.



The prototyped alcohol detector is equipped with a sensor that detects saturated vapor included in human breath (saturated vapor sensor). The sensor has a structure in which an insulating ceramic is sandwiched between electrodes. When the driver blows on the detector, water vapor in the breath is adsorbed by the insulating ceramic, changing the current flowing between the electrodes. By using this phenomenon, the sensor can judge whether it is a human breath or not within a few seconds.

Hitachi and Honda R&D improved the sensitivity of the sensor by employing a fine comb-shaped electrode with a length of about 5mm and shortening inter-electrode gap to 20-30μm. Though the new sensor does not require a mouthpiece on which the driver blows, its sensitivity is 10 times higher than that of conventional alcohol sensors using a mouthpiece. Also, the size of the new sensor is 1/50 that of sensors for conventional automotive alcohol detectors.

To judge whether the driver is under the influence of alcohol or not, Hitachi and Honda R&D employed three semiconductor gas sensors that measure the densities of ethanol, acetaldehyde and hydrogen, respectively. By including acetaldehyde and hydrogen, which are contained in the breath of a drunken person as metabolites, the measurement accuracy for ethanol was improved.

In Japan, when the amount of ethanol in 1L of breath exceeds 0.15mg, it is considered as being under the influence of alcohol. The prototyped alcohol detector can measure even an ethanol density that is 1/10 of the threshold within three seconds. Also, compared with the case where only ethanol is measured, the measurement accuracy was improved by about 200%, the companies said.

Furthermore, the new alcohol detector functions in conjunction with an automotive smart key. When the detector is placed on, for example, the center console of a car, it shows measurement results on an automotive screen and reads them out. If the detector finds that the driver is under the influence of alcohol, the engine won"t start.

Honda Launches Fuel-cell Vehicle With Drive Range of 750km

Honda Motor Co Ltd started lease sale of the "Clarity Fuel Cell" fuel-cell vehicle (FCV) March 10, 2016.

It is the first sedan-type fuel-cell vehicle that has realized an interior space large enough for five adults by storing the power train under the front hood. Its drive range is about 750km (approx 466 miles) under the JC08 test mode. With a tank capacity of 141L, 5.0kg of hydrogen (filling pressure: 70MPa) can be used for driving the vehicle.



In the case that the vehicle is sold, its reference price starts from ¥7,660,000 (approx US$67,299). It is the second commercially-available fuel-cell vehicle, following Toyota Motor Corp"s Mirai FCV.

Honda expects to lease about 200 units of the Clarity Fuel Cell in fiscal 2016. And it plans to collect users" opinions and check how the vehicle is used. Asked about sale of the vehicle to individuals, Honda Executive Sho Minekawa said, "We will start it after slightly more than a year." When a reporter asked a question about the possibility of developing a fuel-cell SUV (sport utility vehicle), etc, Honda President Takahiro Hachigou said, "It is still under consideration, but we want to develop various cars powered by fuel cells."

For the Clarity Fuel Cell equipped fuel-cell vehicle, Honda employed a newly-developed platform. The platform has a frame structure integrating the front and rear parts for the protection of components and the improvement of the interior space"s shock resistance.

The platform is expected to be applied to environmentally-friendly vehicles such as electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs). A power train including an engine can be stored in the front space, and a battery can be placed under the floor or near the hydrogen tank.



Though Hachigou did not mentioned a specific date when the platform will be applied to other vehicles, he said, "We will apply it to other vehicles such as a PHEV one by one."

The maximum output and maximum torque of the drive motor are 130kW and 300N·m, respectively. The maximum output and output density of the fuel cell stack are 103kW and 3.1kW/L. The FCV uses a lithium-ion battery. It measures 4,915 (L) x 1,875 (W) x 1,480mm (H), and its wheelbase is 2,750mm. Its mass is 1,890kg.

The Clarity Fuel Cell shares some parts such as the circuit board of an inverter, DC-DC converter and battery cell with the Accord PHEV. On the other hand, Honda newly-developed the cases of a boosting converter and inverter, which are expected to be used for other vehicles to be released in the future.

Toyota Announces Overview of "Lexus LC500h" HEV

Toyota Motor Corp announced the overview of the "Lexus LC500h" coupe to be exhibited at Geneva Motor Show 2016, which will be open to the public from March 3 to 13, 2016.

The LC500h is a hybrid version of the Lexus LC500 gasoline vehicle, which was announced in January 2016 at Detroit Motor Show (NAIAS) 2016.

For the LC500h, Toyota employed the "Multi-stage Hybrid System," which uses two motors, as well as a stepped automatic transmission. As a result, it became possible to generate a strong driving force even at low speeds. Moreover, the vehicle can drive on electricity in a wider speed range.

The LC500h comes with the "2GR-FXS" 3.5L V-6 engine, whose maximum output and maximum torque are 220kW/6,600rpm and 348N·m/4,900rpm, respectively. The maximum output of the entire system combining the engine and the motors is 264kW. The lithium-ion battery for driving the motors is stored under the floor.

The LC500 gasoline vehicle is equipped with a 5.0L V-8 engine whose maximum output and maximum torque are 349kW/7,100rpm and 530N·m/4,800-5,600rpm, respectively.

Concept Car Deforms to Reduce Air Resistance While Running

Toyoda Gosei Co Ltd showed the concept car Flesby covered with a polymer material as a

 future car.

The concept car "Flesby," was exhibited at the 44th Tokyo Motor Show 2015, which will be open to the public from Oct 30 to Nov 8, 2015, in Tokyo.

The concept of the Flesby is to ensure safety for pedestrians by using a polymer material and to change the shape of the vehicle so that it has less air resistance when it is running. Toyoda Gosei considers that it is ideal to change the strength and shape of the vehicle in accordance with driving status and external environment.

Moreover, LED lamps are used to display the driver"s intentions such as "Turn Left" and "Stop" and messages including "Do Not Rush Out (in front of the vehicle)" to communicate with other drivers, etc.

The concept car Flesby is a single seater and measures 3,040 (L) x 1,200 (W) x 1,370mm (H). It is a compact car expected to be used for shopping and driving in the neighborhood. It seemed that the vehicle was designed with emphasis on safety.

According to Toyoda Gosei, the Flesby is still in the phase of concept, and the company plans to start from developing materials.

Toyobo Develops "Wearable" Conductive Film

Toyobo Co Ltd developed a functional film-like material for cloths capable of measuring biological information by using its own conductive material.

The film-like materiall, "Cocomi," is used for electrodes and electric wires of sensors that measure the biological information of the wearer and realize both natural comfort and high-accuracy measurement.

The film-like material material has the following characteristics. It features a high stretchability and can be stretched to roughly double length. It is as thin as about 0.3mm, and its conductive layer has a high conductivity. It can be easily attached to a cloth by thermo-compression bonding.

When the new film-like material material is attached to clothes, it realizes natural comfort similar to the comfort of normal clothes because it is thin, does not cause a height difference at the part connecting electrodes and electric wires and is flexible enough to cope with body movements. According to Toyobo, human skin can be stretched to 1.7 times its original length. So, the stretchability of 100% is higher than that.

Also, because of its high conductivity, the film-like material material enables to collect high-accuracy biological information such as weak myocardial electric signals. Moreover, with the "sensory measurement technology," it can optimize the positions of electrodes and further improve accuracy.

Toyobo plans to apply the new material and clothes capable of measuring biological information to sportswear and use them for medical purposes. And the Toyobo group intends to offer total solutions including wearable clothes.

 

Canon"s High-sensitivity Camera Can Shoot Video in Dark

Canon Inc announced a super high-sensitivity camera capable of shooting color video in the dark July 30, 2015.

The camera, "ME20F-SH," can shoot low-noise full HD video even in a low-illuminance environment in which it is difficult to discern objects with the naked eye. It is expected to be used for monitoring the occurrence of natural disasters, the lives of wild animals, etc.

The price of the high-sensitivity camera is ¥3 million (approx US$24,213, excluding tax). It is scheduled to be released in early December 2015.

For the new camera, Canon made improvements to a 35mm full-size CMOS sensor that the company developed for shooting full HD video in 2013. The pixel of the sensor measures 19 x 19μm. The company applied its own technology to the pixel area and readout circuit.

It realizes a high sensitivity (minimum object illuminance: 0.0005lx or lower), which is equivalent to an ISO sensitivity of four million when the maximum gain is 75dB, and low noise. Therefore, it can recognize objects in the dark by using a weak light source such as starlight without artificial lighting or moonlight, Canon said.

The highest frame rate of the high-sensitivity camera is 1,080/60p. But it is not possible to shoot video only with the camera; it needs to be connected to an external recorder and monitor with 3G/HD-SDI or HDMI output.

The lens of the ME20F-SH is interchangeable and uses the "EF" mount, which is the same as the mount of Canon"s "EOS" series of digital cameras. It is possible to choose a lens with an appropriate angle of view and brightness in accordance with application or situation, the company said. The external dimensions and mass of the main body (excluding the lens) are approximately 102 x 113 x 116mm and 1.1kg, respectively.

Panasonic"s Digital Camera Corrects Camera Shake Along 6 Axis

Panasonic Corp will release an interchangeable lens camera equipped with a system that corrects camera shake along six axes Aug 20, 2015.

The system, "Dual IS," corrects camera shake by combining the "image stabilization in the body (BIS)," which widely corrects large angle changes and translational shake from right to left or up and down, and "image stabilization in the lens (OIS)," which corrects small angle changes. It is suited for shooting pictures in a dark place and taking telescopic images, which are likely to cause camera shake.

This is the world"s first system that stabilizes images along the four axes (yaw, pitch and x and y axes) corrected by the BIS and the two axes (yaw and pitch) corrected by the OIS, Panasonic said.

When the new camera, "Lumix GX8," is released, there will be six OIS lenses that support the Dual IS. But almost all OIS lenses are scheduled to become compatible with the Dual IS through firmware updates.

Panasonic also added "4k Focus Select" as a new function of "4k Photo," which extracts 4k images from 4k video taken by the camera. It enables to shoot images while shifting the focus from the near side to the far side with the 4K Photo so that a picture with a desired focus can be selected after the shooting. This function will not be available at the point of the release of the product but will be added through a firmware update in the future.

The price of the "DMC-GX8" (only the main body) is about ¥145,000 (approx US$1,168, excluding tax), and that of the "DMC - GX8H" (the main body and a high-magnification zoom lens kit) is about ¥180,000 (excluding tax).

New Toyota Sienta Based on Aqua"s Hybrid System

The hybrid version of the Toyota Sienta small minivan, which Toyota Motor Corp released July 9, 2015, is based on the system of the Aqua small hybrid vehicle (HEV).

On the other hand, Toyota employed a water-cooled motor and generator instead of air-cooled ones to improve efficiency and changed the location and thickness of the battery pack placed in the center of the vehicle to lower the height of the door aperture.

As in the case of the Aqua, the Toyota Sienta combines the "1NZ-FXE" 1.5L engine with a motor and generator.

The transaxle of the new Toyota Sienta consists of a motor, generator, planetary gear mechanism, reduction gears, etc. Toyota employed the water-cooled motor and generator to enhance cooling efficiency. Also, the company lowered the gear ratio of the differential gears in the aim of coping with the increase in mass because the new Toyota Sienta is a seven-seat vehicle.

In the Aqua, the battery pack is located under the rear seats. On the other hand, the battery pack of the new Sienta extends to under the front seats so that the height of the rear door aperture is lowered to 330mm and even women and children can easily get in and out of the vehicle.

Toyota reduced the thickness of the battery pack by about 3cm. Though the company used the same cell, it reduced the size of the air passageway used for cooling. A large-capacity, high-pressure-loss blower was employed to keep cooling performance despite the narrower air passageway.

ARETI MINUS ION 2 WAY STRAIGHT/CURLING IRON 20mm (i679) (Copy)

ARETI MINUS ION 2 WAY STRAIGHT/CURLING IRON 20mm (i679) (Copy)

PANASONIC NANO CARE HAIR DRYER （EH-TNA9J） (Copy)

PANASONIC NANO CARE HAIR DRYER （EH-TNA9J） (Copy)

Tomy Shows Off Toy Car With "Air Engine"

A "speed war" is breaking out in the toy industry, and the war is being led by the "air engine car" and "linear liner."

The former is "Bakuon Bakusou Air Zero" developed by Sega Toys Co Ltd. It is a toy car powered by air pressure. The latter is Tomy Company Ltd"s "Linear Liner Superconducting Linear L0 Series Special Set," which is a toy linear motor car that is powered by magnetic force and can run while floating.

Air engine car

For the Bakuon Bakusou Air Xero, air is sent to the auto body with a dedicated external pump to store compressed air in it. A piston is moved by using the force that discharges the compressed air, and the power is transmitted to wheels. The maximum speed of the air engine car is 20km/h. If the toy car were made in real scale, its speed would be 750km/h (scale speed).

 

The product will be released July 16, 2015, in Japan. Its manufacturer"s suggested retail

price, when sold as the "starter kit," which includes the dedicated pump, auto body, etc, is ¥1,800 (excluding tax, approx US$14.6). In the "category of boys" toys," it was given one of the five "awards for excellence" that are given in each category at Nippon Toy Award 2015.

Linear liner

On the other hand, the maximum speed of the linear liner is about 6km/h, and its scale speed is 500km/h. It is scheduled to be released in September 2015. Its manufacturer

"s suggested retail price is ¥35,000 (excluding tax).

At Nippon Toy Award 2015, it was given the grand prize, which is given to one of the five winners of an award for excellence in the category of "innovative toys." The category is targeted at toys that are excellent in material or technology or whose novelty has been acknowledged.

New Toaster Bakes Bread While Humidifying It

Balmuda Inc (Musashino City, Tokyo) announced the "Balmuda the Toaster," a toaster equipped with a humidifying function.

The Balmuda the Toaster is a new toaster that generates water vapor inside it and finely controls the pattern of temperature change. It can bake both sides of a slice of bread well while keeping enough amount of moisture in it, the company said.

The price of the toaster is ¥22,900 (excluding tax, approx US$184). Balmuda will start to ship it in mid-June 2015.

The toaster has two major features. First, it is equipped with a boiler using a mica heater in the lower front side in addition to a pair of conventional bar-shaped heaters located on each of the upper and lower sides. Second, it controls inside temperature with its own heating patterns.

The user of the toaster supplies 5cc of water through the water supply port located on the top face before baking bread. When it begins operation, it starts to be filled with water vapor by the boiler, forming a thin water layer on the surface of the bread. As a result, the surface of the bread is lightly baked by the upper and lower heaters first, keeping moisture inside it. Then, the bread continues to be heated to warm up the inside. After that, its surface is browned at a high temperature to finish the cooking.

By adjusting the time when steam is generated and the timing of applying electricity to the upper and lower heaters, the toaster can make a toast full of contrast that has a good scent from the surface and enough moisture inside, Balmuda said.

The toaster comes with four heating patterns: (1) the "toast mode," (2) "cheese toast mode," (3) "French bread mode" and (4) "croissant mode." In the toast mode, for example, a slice of bread is baked at a temperature of about 60°C to pregelatinize starch and improve the softness and flavor of the bread and, then, at a temperature of about 160°C to make the surface turn light brown and warm up the inside of the bread. Lastly, the temperature is raised to about 220°C to brown the surface and improve its flavor.

Because the temperature at which a slice of bread can be warmed up and the temperature that can brown its surface differ depending on the kind of the bread and ingredients, the toaster controls the temperature so that the flavor of any kind of bread can be maximally improved, Balmuda said.

In addition to the four modes, the toaster comes with the "classic mode," in which bread is heated with a constant heater output as in the case of conventional toasters. The output level in the classic mode can be selected from 300, 600 and 1,300W.

Ear Cover Serves as Low-priced Hearing Aid

Chubu Design Research Center will release a hearing aid that is made of urethane foam and attached to an ear in July 2015.

The ear cover-like hearing aid, "My Ears," was developed by the company to enable elderly people whose hearing ability started to deteriorate to watch TV, etc.

Chubu Design Research Center plans to sell the hearing aid at the Tokyu Hands stores, etc at a price of ¥1,980 (approx US$16, excluding tax). It was exhibited at Welfare 2015, a trade show on the welfare/health industry, which took place from May 21 to 23, 2015, in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

The My Ears looks like an ear cover for cold weather or headphones. It is hung from ears and does not require a power source. It covers ears and accentuates sounds with a frequency of 1,800 to 2,000Hz, which even elderly people can hear, by using a resonance phenomenon produced by covering the ears.

In an acoustic analysis conducted at Nagoya Institute of Technology, the hearing aid strengthened sounds coming from the front by 14dB and sounds coming from all directions by 11dB on average (increase in sound pressure). Its weight is about 13g for one ear.

In general, the hearing ability of humans begins to significantly deteriorate for high frequency sounds (2,000Hz or higher) at an age of about 60 years.

"Hearing difficulty is believed to cause dementia," said Toshio Watanabe, representative director of Chubu Design Research Center. "When hearing ability deteriorates, it makes us feel alienated and withdraw from society."

Even elderly people have a hearing ability for the frequency range of 1,800 to 2,000Hz, which the My Ears accentuates. It is an approach that makes use of the remaining ability instead of making up for the lost one.

A family member of an elderly person who used the new hearing aid said, "It became possible to watch TV with the same sound volume with other family members," Chubu Design Research Center said.

Chubu Design Research Center also tested the effects of the hearing aid by using it two hours a day for a month with

ten subjects. Though their pure tone hearing ability did not change, the "language understanding" of many of them improved not only when they are using the hearing aid but also when it is not being used.

Watanabe considers that, by correctly interpreting accentuated sounds as a language and getting used to the interpretation, attentiveness and concentration improves even without the aid.

Subaru Legacy Ranks 1st in Collision Safety

Japan"s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and National Agency for Automotive Safety & Victims" Aid (NASVA) announced the results of the "Automotive Assessment (for fiscal 2014)," which compares the safety performances of commercially-available cars, May 8, 2015.

In the "collision safety evaluation," which evaluates safety against accidents, 10 of the 13 vehicles tested were given the top rating of "five stars."

In the collision safety evaluation, the safety of each vehicle type is evaluated based on the actual data (e.g. the results of collision tests using actual vehicles and advanced safety technologies). According to MLIT, the average score on the evaluation is showing an increasing trend. In fiscal 2014, a new record of 182.5 points was marked, and 71.4% of the vehicles tested were given five stars.

"It indicates that vehicle safety is improving overall," MLIT said.

The 10 five-star vehicles are Toyota Motor Corp"s "Voxy/Noah/Esquire" and "Harrier," Nissan Motor Co Ltd"s "Teana," Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) Ltd"s (Subaru) "Forester," "Levorg/WRX" and "Legacy," Honda Motor Co Ltd"s "Vezel" and "Grace" and Mazda Motor Corp"s "Mazda3" and "Demio."

Of the ten vehicles, FHI"s Legacy was given the highest score (188.8/208). Also, Nissan"s Teana and Honda"s Grace received a perfect score in the "test of neck protection performance at the time of a rear-end collision," which evaluates the amount of load applied to the neck by a vehicle behind, for the first time in the history of the Automotive Assessment.

In addition to the collision safety evaluation, the Automotive Assessment includes the "preventive safety performance assessment," which evaluates advanced safety technologies that prevent accidents from occurring, and "child seat assessment."

"It is necessary to have assessments designed for the traffic conditions in Japan," the Committee for Evaluation and Review for the Automotive Assessment said. "The number of traffic deaths was 4,113 in 2014, but two-thirds of them are pedestrians and drivers of two-wheeled vehicles. In view of reducing the number of casualties, preventive safety assessments, which reduce the number of accidents, are important."

The committee will add the evaluation of "device to provide rear-view information," which displays a rear view on an automotive monitor," to the preventive safety performance assessment in fiscal 2015.

The following are the 10 five-star vehicles.



 

New Toyota Corolla Comes With High-efficiency 1.5L Engine

Toyota Motor Corp partially remodeled its Corolla and employed a high-efficiency 1.5L engine.

To achieve a thermal efficiency of 38%, which is higher than the efficiency of the engine of the previous model (36%), Toyota employed the Atkinson cycle, which improves fuel efficiency, increased compression ratio, improved combustion, etc.



The engine is also equipped with an idle reduction mechanism (start-stop system). As a result, the company improved fuel efficiency by 3.4km/L (approx 8mpg).

 

The new engine has the same parts and size of the basic structure and the same combustion technology as the high-efficiency 1.3L engine that Toyota started to use in the spring of 2014. But the new engine has a different length of piston stroke to increase displacement.



In addition, its air intake and exhaust system has a shape suited for a 1.5L engine. And Toyota employed different peripheral components by, for example, using an aluminum alloy part for connecting the engine to the body in place of a cast iron part to reduce weight.



The name of the new 1.5L engine is "2NR-FKE" while that of the previous engine is "1NZ-FE." The compression ratio was improved from 10.5 to 13.5.

The fuel efficiencies of the new "Corolla Axio" sedan and "Corolla Fielder" wagon (1.5L engine, CVT) are 23.4km/L and 23.0km/L, respectively, which increased from 20.0km/L and 19.6km/L.



Among the previous Corolla models, only the hybrid model is equipped with an idle reduction mechanism. This time, the gasoline engine model (1.5L engine, CVT) also comes with the mechanism.