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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

Panasonic to Release Spherical Fan/circulator

Panasonic Corp announced a spherical air blower that is 25cm in diameter and can be used both as a fan and air circulator.

With its own ball-like structure, the blower, "Q," blows out about seven times as much air as it sucks from its suction port. It sends air that is powerful and going straight and efficiently stirs and circulates air in the entire space, the company said.

Furthermore, the blower has the "1/f fluctuation" function and can send natural, fluctuating wind so that it does not cool people too much. As a result, people in the space do not get tired even when they are exposed to wind for long hours, Panasonic said.



The structure of the new product derived from a ball structure that shows the characteristics of induced airflow. The pressure of the air sucked from the suction port is increased by a turbofan and ejected as high-speed airflow. Moreover, the amount of air is increased by about seven times because the air being ejected induces air near the air outlet. As a result, a powerful, straight wind is sent to the space.



The strong wind significantly moves airflow and efficiently stirs air in the entire space. The new blower can be used not only in summer but also in winter for lessening the unevenness of temperature caused by a heater, Panasonic said.

The air blower measures 250 x 250 x 277mm (including the stand) and weighs 2.1kg. Its maximum and minimum power consumptions are 18.5W and 2.5W, respectively. It is manufactured in Japan with a monthly production rate of 2,000 units. There is no manufacturer"s suggested retail price. It will be released May 20, 2015, at an estimated retail price of ¥40,000 (approx US$336).

Olympus Announces Lens-interchangeable Camera Using Smartphone

Olympus Imaging Corp announced the "Olympus Air A01" lens-interchangeable camera using the Micro Four Thirds (MFT) system Feb 15, 2015.



It looks like the lens mount of a mirrorless camera and is operated with a smartphone. Olympus Imaging will start to sell the camera exclusively on its online shopping site March 6, 2015. The price of the "body" (mount) is ¥36,504 (approx US$308, including tax). A set of the body and a 14-42mm lens unit (F value: 3.5-5.6) is priced at ¥53,784. The company plans to produce the camera at a rate of 1,000 units per month.

The new camera is the first product to be released for the "OPC Hack & Make Project," which Olympus Corp announced in September 2014. The most distinguishing feature of the camera is that users can freely develop accessories and applications for controlling the camera.

Olympus Imaging will offer 3D data on the outer shape and SDKs (software development kits) for Android OS and iOS for free. Also, it plans to regularly host events for users who develop accessories and applications in the aim of forming a community of developers.

For the new camera, Olympus Imaging will provide eight smartphone applications including "OA.Genius," which makes it easy to take photos, "OA.ModeDial," which enables to manually adjust shutter speed and aperture, and "OA.ArtFilter," which provides 23 kinds of filters. In addition to those applications, by using smartphone applications developed with the SDKs, it becomes possible to use the new camera in various ways, the company said.

The camera measures 56.9 x 57.1 x 43.6mm, and its mass is about 147g (body). It is equipped with a 16.05-Mpixel 4/3-inch "Live MOS Sensor." Its sensitivity, shutter speed and continuous shooting speed are ISO200-12,800, 1/16,000-4 seconds and about 10fps (frames per second), respectively. The recording formats for still images are JPEG and RAW, and the format for videos is MPEG-4AVC/H.264 (up to 1,920 x 1,080 pixels/30fps). The camera has an electronic image stabilization function. It supports microSD memory cards as recording media.

When its built-in lithium-ion (Li-ion) rechargeable battery is fully charged, the camera can take about 320 images. The battery is charged via a microUSB port.



Prior to the commercialization of the camera, Olympus Imaging lent a prototype of the product to some developers for free. This time, as results of the lending, the company showed (1) a system that moves the camera on a rail for shooting, (2) system to be installed in a tourist resort for taking commemorative pictures, (3) system to be attached to a human body for taking selfies, (4) suction pad- and block-like attachments to be attached to the back side of the camera"s body, etc.

Olympus Announces Lens-interchangeable Camera Using Smartphone

Olympus Imaging Corp announced the "Olympus Air A01" lens-interchangeable camera using the Micro Four Thirds (MFT) system Feb 15, 2015.



It looks like the lens mount of a mirrorless camera and is operated with a smartphone. Olympus Imaging will start to sell the camera exclusively on its online shopping site March 6, 2015. The price of the "body" (mount) is ¥36,504 (approx US$308, including tax). A set of the body and a 14-42mm lens unit (F value: 3.5-5.6) is priced at ¥53,784. The company plans to produce the camera at a rate of 1,000 units per month.

The new camera is the first product to be released for the "OPC Hack & Make Project," which Olympus Corp announced in September 2014. The most distinguishing feature of the camera is that users can freely develop accessories and applications for controlling the camera.

Olympus Imaging will offer 3D data on the outer shape and SDKs (software development kits) for Android OS and iOS for free. Also, it plans to regularly host events for users who develop accessories and applications in the aim of forming a community of developers.

For the new camera, Olympus Imaging will provide eight smartphone applications including "OA.Genius," which makes it easy to take photos, "OA.ModeDial," which enables to manually adjust shutter speed and aperture, and "OA.ArtFilter," which provides 23 kinds of filters. In addition to those applications, by using smartphone applications developed with the SDKs, it becomes possible to use the new camera in various ways, the company said.

The camera measures 56.9 x 57.1 x 43.6mm, and its mass is about 147g (body). It is equipped with a 16.05-Mpixel 4/3-inch "Live MOS Sensor." Its sensitivity, shutter speed and continuous shooting speed are ISO200-12,800, 1/16,000-4 seconds and about 10fps (frames per second), respectively. The recording formats for still images are JPEG and RAW, and the format for videos is MPEG-4AVC/H.264 (up to 1,920 x 1,080 pixels/30fps). The camera has an electronic image stabilization function. It supports microSD memory cards as recording media.

When its built-in lithium-ion (Li-ion) rechargeable battery is fully charged, the camera can take about 320 images. The battery is charged via a microUSB port.



Prior to the commercialization of the camera, Olympus Imaging lent a prototype of the product to some developers for free. This time, as results of the lending, the company showed (1) a system that moves the camera on a rail for shooting, (2) system to be installed in a tourist resort for taking commemorative pictures, (3) system to be attached to a human body for taking selfies, (4) suction pad- and block-like attachments to be attached to the back side of the camera"s body, etc.

Hitachi Appliances to Launch Powerful, Slim Vacuum Cleaner

Hitachi Appliances Inc announced a cordless cyclone vacuum cleaner whose suction power is about 10 times stronger than its predecessor Jan 29, 2015.



Hitachi Appliances realized the strong suction power of the cleaner, "Power Boost Cyclone PV-BC500," by using a newly developed brushless motor, etc. The company plans to release it Feb 21, 2015, with no manufacturer"s suggested retail price.

The expected retail price of the cleaner is ¥80,000 (approx US$678).

The new vacuum cleaner can be used both as a "stick type" and "handy type." For example, it can be used as a stick type by extending the extension pipe of the handle for floor cleaning and as a handy type by rotating the handle to clean a desktop, chair, car interior, etc.

"The center of gravity is near the floor in the stick mode and near the hand in the handy mode so that less load is applied to the hand," Hitachi Appliances said.

It takes about 3.5 hours to fully charge the 2,500mAh lithium-ion (Li-ion) rechargeable battery of the cleaner. The cleaner can be continuously used for about 30 minutes in the normal mode and about eight minutes in the high-power mode.

In a demonstration, Hitachi Appliances used the cleaner to lift up a 6-pound (about 3kg) bowling ball to show its suction power. While the predecessor uses an alternating-current brushless motor, the new cleaner is equipped with a high-revolution direct-current brushless motor.

The company realized the small, light-weight motor by using glass fiber-based composite resin for its casing and blade. Also, it improved motor efficiency by about 20% by optimizing its revolution speed at 85,000rpm.

Hitachi Appliances to Launch Powerful, Slim Vacuum Cleaner

Hitachi Appliances Inc announced a cordless cyclone vacuum cleaner whose suction power is about 10 times stronger than its predecessor Jan 29, 2015.



Hitachi Appliances realized the strong suction power of the cleaner, "Power Boost Cyclone PV-BC500," by using a newly developed brushless motor, etc. The company plans to release it Feb 21, 2015, with no manufacturer"s suggested retail price.

The expected retail price of the cleaner is ¥80,000 (approx US$678).

The new vacuum cleaner can be used both as a "stick type" and "handy type." For example, it can be used as a stick type by extending the extension pipe of the handle for floor cleaning and as a handy type by rotating the handle to clean a desktop, chair, car interior, etc.

"The center of gravity is near the floor in the stick mode and near the hand in the handy mode so that less load is applied to the hand," Hitachi Appliances said.

It takes about 3.5 hours to fully charge the 2,500mAh lithium-ion (Li-ion) rechargeable battery of the cleaner. The cleaner can be continuously used for about 30 minutes in the normal mode and about eight minutes in the high-power mode.

In a demonstration, Hitachi Appliances used the cleaner to lift up a 6-pound (about 3kg) bowling ball to show its suction power. While the predecessor uses an alternating-current brushless motor, the new cleaner is equipped with a high-revolution direct-current brushless motor.

The company realized the small, light-weight motor by using glass fiber-based composite resin for its casing and blade. Also, it improved motor efficiency by about 20% by optimizing its revolution speed at 85,000rpm.

Sharp Shows Off Health-checking "Cockpit"

Sharp Corp exhibited a prototype of the "Health-Checking Cockpit," which checks the physical and mental health conditions of the person sitting on it, at Semicon Japan 2014, which runs from Dec 3 to 5, 2014, in Tokyo.


The company has been receiving inquiries about the equipment from corporations and vendors of "housing for the elderly with home-care services." And it has already been introduced to several facilities on a trial basis. Sharp expects that it will be employed by businesses, fitness clubs, drugstores and nursing homes, planning to commercialize it in the first half of fiscal 2015.

The Health-Checking Cockpit is chair-like healthcare equipment having a monitor. It was designed based on the "premium seat" of an aircraft.
The equipment can measure body weight (BMI: body mass index), blood pressure, pulse rate, mental stress, blood vessel health (hardness), etc, and show measurement results on a monitor with a "total (health) score." Blood pressure is measured by A&D Co Ltd"s blood pressure meter that has Bluetooth capability and complies with the Continua Health Alliance standard. Pulse rate, mental stress and blood vessel health are measured by a pulse wave sensor.


The pulse wave sensor uses an algorithm that Sharp developed in cooperation with U-Medica Inc. Based on the waveform of pulse waves measured with near-infrared light (about 670nm), it calculates (1) the degree of mental stress by measuring the automatic nerve (sympathetic nerve and parasympathetic nerve) balance through frequency analysis and (2) the stress resistance through time (variation in pulse interval) analysis.
Moreover, the propagation velocity of the pulse wave is calculated by differential calculation of the pulse waveform in the aim of estimating the hardness of the blood vessel, which is an indicator of arterial sclerosis.


Measurement results are stored in Sharp"s cloud server. The company plans to have partners such as medical institutions and establish a system that automatically sends back analysis results. For example, it is considering providing a service of making a database of measurement results and enabling the user to interactively communicate with a medical doctor or counselor via the monitor.
The equipment was introduced to one of Sharp"s offices in November 2014.
"We are discussing its usability, data management, product design and so forth," the company said.

GPS-controlled Robot Mower Developed for Golf Courses

Mamiya-OP Co Ltd will release a robot mower for golf courses in 2015.
The company runs electronic device businesses (e.g. banknote counters) and deals with sports goods. It developed the robot in cooperation with Jacobsen, a US-based major manufacturer of lawnmowers for golf courses.
Mamiya-OP will launch the "Robot Mower for Five Successive Fairways," which is made by combining Jacobsen"s mower and the "I-GINS (integrated-GPS inertial navigation system)," an autonomous driving system developed by Mamiya-OP. The company aims at global sales of ¥2 billion (approx US$16.7 million) in three years.
The price of the robot mower is US$70,000-90,000 per unit. In general, a large amount of cost is spent for lawn mowing in golf courses. And the introduction of the robot can halve the annual cost.
"It is possible to pay off the introduction cost of the robot mower in three years," Mamiya-OP said.

Combination of gyroscope, GPS

By using a GPS, three-axis gyroscope and encoder, the robot can move along a preset route with a margin of error of 3-5cm at a speed of 10km/h while mowing the lawn. When it is running on the boundary of a fairway, it automatically draws a map and creates a route for mowing the lawn in the fairway. It takes less than 20 minutes to mow the lawn on a fairway.
Also, the robot can detect obstacles such as a human on a fairway. It has a sensor on each of its front and rear sides and can detect even obstacles as small as a golf ball. The function to detect obstacles was developed in cooperation with ZMP Inc, a venture firm that deals with autonomous driving and robot technologies.
Mamiya-OP will release robot mowers for greens and rough. And it plans to apply the autonomous driving system to agricultural machines and snowplows.