Glasses that tell you how to get home, adverts that know where you are looking and a T-shirt that knows how fast your heart is beating were on display at a huge tech gathering in Japan Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The gadgets were all part of this year’s Cutting-Edge IT & Electronics Comprehensive Exhibition (CEATEC), Asia’s largest electronics fair, just outside Tokyo.<\/p>\n
Leading the pack was a tiny projection device that can be attached to a pair of glasses to give the wearer an ever-visible screen.<\/p>\n
The prototype — dubbed Toshiba Glass and weighing 42 grammes (less than 1.5 oz) — might offer directions or a simultaneous translation, or could assist factory workers who need both hands free while working, a Toshiba researcher said.<\/p>\n
“We still don’t know what wearable formats will be the most accepted in the future,” said Toshiba senior research scientist Yoshiyuki Kokojima.<\/p>\n
“Constantly seeing a small screen may get tiring to the eyes, but you could get information without even lifting a finger. It’s less effort than consulting a wrist watch.”<\/p>\n
Leading mobile carrier NTT Docomo was showcasing a T-shirt that uses a special textile to keep track of the wearer’s pulse.<\/p>\n
The data is transmitted to a smartphone, which must run a specific app, the company said.<\/p>\n
While Docomo’s offering might have concentrated on health, Fujitsu unveiled something to encourage a bit more relaxation, in the form of a device that could help a barman read his customers’ minds.<\/p>\n
Small sensors in a bar track where a drinker is looking and automatically offer information on screens about that bottle of expensive wine he keeps gazing at — such as where it comes from and what year it is.<\/p>\n
“This could be one way of marketing in the future,” said Fujitsu spokesman Naoki Mishiro.<\/p>\n
NTT Docomo’s Yubi Navi might prove useful for customers struggling to find their way home after a night at such an accommodating bar.<\/p>\n
Billed as “just like holding someone’s hand”, the small rubber cuboid fits snugly in the palm and buzzes or vibrates to guide the user through unfamiliar streets.<\/p>\n
The kit offers freedom from the tyranny of having to keep your eyes glued to a smartphone for directions, the company said.<\/p>\n
After a user types in the intended address on their connected phone, the device takes over, nudging left or right until the destination hoves into view.<\/p>\n
Its inventors say the Yubi Navi also offers a way to communicate with someone who is far away, effectively “squeezing” their hand by activating your own device.<\/p>\n
“Touch sensation can create a new type of gadget for the future,” an NTT Docomo presenter said.<\/p>\n
Nearly 550 companies are taking part in the trade show, which has gathered foreign exhibitors from 24 countries and territories.<\/p>\n
The show runs until Saturday.<\/p>\n
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