In 1964 , the last sentence Tokyo hosted the Summer Olympics , the nation revealed one of the biggest mic pearl in transportation history : the debut of the shinkansen , the world - renowned fastball trainthat became a Japanese icon . The first high - swiftness train in the mankind , it spur similar engineering science to open to Europe and other East Asian nations , paving the means for current magnetic levitation trains and , arguably , the Hyperloop .
Nations often inaugurate revolutionary fresh technology to the earth at the Olympic Games . And the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be incredible .
Tokyo is one of the most futuristic , complex , and sophisticated cities on Earth . It has thebusiest wagon train station in the world(Shinjuku station sees 3.64 million people pass through per sidereal day ) . It has thesecond mostFortune 500 companies in the world , thetallest tower in the world , and thebusiest urban shipping systemin the world .
Emerging tech in Japan is going to shift how we experience the Olympics in 2020 , and could even change world .
Tokyo , the world ’s great city . Image : Wikicommons
1. A Village of Robots
Japan isone of the most automated nation on Earth . The major robotics manufacture in the US , China , Korea , Germany , France , and other countries work out with — and compete with — the robot builders in Japan . So of course , we ’ll see an army of robot swarm Japan during the event . Enough to populate a small village , which is on the button what the Olympics committee wants to do .
Last hebdomad , Asahi Shimbunreportedthat a government citizens committee is launch a computer programme to instal robots around the metropolis , in “ an go-ahead toward a ‘ cosmopolitan succeeding fellowship ’ where golem and information technologies that assist humans regardless of age , nationality or handicap are timeworn . ”
This “ robot village ” will be in Tokyo ’s Odaiba neighborhood , which will also be home to the athletes ’ Olympic Village . ( It ’s already home to a 60 - understructure Gundamstatue . ) But they will be far from the only robots in the capital for the Games . Here ’s the estimation : Many of the 920,000 foreigner expected to dwell Tokyo per day during the Olympics can call for nearby automaton to help with terminology version , focus , or beckon for transportation — transportation that itself could be robotic , ego - driving cars . From areahotelstoshopsto Tokyo’sHaneda International Airport , helpful , personal , genteel automaton will coexist along the million of homo to carry their luggage , assure them into their lodging , or drive them to sightsee at TokyoSkytree .
The famous 60 - foot magniloquent Gundam statue in Tokyo ’s Odaiba district , visualize here in 2009 . Odaiba will serve as emplacement for the Olympic Village in 2020 , which the governance hopes to populate with helpful robots . citation : AP
2. Instant Language Translation
The English skill grade in Japan , compared to other in advance nation , islow . And while the turn of outlander check to speak Japanesehas skyrocketed in the last decennium , there ’re still significant language and cultural roadblock that tourists scat into . That ’s why Japan is rolling out cut - edgeinstant version technologyfor 2020 .
The country ’s regime - bankroll National Institute of Information and Communications Technology offer VoiceTra , a actual - clip version app that accommodates 27 languages for text displacement , include Urdu and Bhutan ’s Dzongkha . interpreter displacement is a bit hard ; the bureau pronounce the app realise 90 % of spoken content . It cross English , Japanese , Korean , and Chinese so far and is expected to accommodate over 10 linguistic communication by 2020 . The software will be usable on calculator and telephone and at tourist - dense spots like landmarks and shopping centers and for safety , hospital .
Meanwhile in the private sector , Panasonic is makinga palm tree - sized gadget outwear around the neck that ’ll translate Japanese into 10 language for the G of visitors congeal to deign on the city . The electronics heavyweight also plans to render visitors with a smartphone app that scans Japanese mansion and translates them on the spot . These are divine service that could be utilitarian in countries across the orb .
little , hand-held devices from companies like Panasonic will read phrasal idiom to Japanese on the spot for alien visitors in 2020 . Image : itmedianews / YouTube
3. Self-Driving Taxis
We ’ve antecedently report on theRobot Taxi design from DeNA , the Nipponese gaming giant that ’s project to get driverless hack on Tokyo ’s roads by the 2020 Olympic Games . That ’s a meaning accomplishment when some of the biggest names in technical school — Google , Apple , Uber — plus railroad car manufacturers like BMW , Toyota , and Mercedes are all scrambling to be the first to get full functioning self-reliant vehicles on the road .
But Tokyo is the biggest , densest urban center on planet Earth : 13 million human beings , 4,600 people per square mile . Plus during the Olympics , it ’s estimated a banging 920,000 foreigner will roam the megalopolis on any given day . If Japan gets driverless cab on Tokyo streets in time for the Olympics , it ’s pass to be an insane test run .
In August , Japanese fellowship DeNA and ZMP unveiled the new looping of their self - ram Robot Taxis , project here . It ’ll hopefully be in armed service by the Olympics . credit entry : Robot Taxi
4. TV Broadcasts in Glorious 8K
Japanese State Department television broadcaster NHK plans to air the Olympic Games intantalizingly detail 8 G high-pitched definition . Just like the color TV roar of the sixties , Nipponese companies are hoping to make the young , ultra - vivid image quality the de facto look at on screens in Japan and beyond .
The made - in - Japan resolution , Japan Timesreports , offers next - genesis screen declaration : 7,680 by 4,320 pixels , or 16 clock time as many pixels as current HD . NHK has been at the definitive worldwide forefront of 8 K development , having started researching itway back in 1995 . If anyone is bring 8 K to the humanity , it ’s Japan , and it ’ll be going gangbusters at the Olympics .
Next month , Nipponese electronics company sharp-worded willstart selling8 K tv set — at $ 125,000 a pop . Clearly , those 85 - in 8 potassium display are n’t meant for intermediate consumers — for now . By 2020 , NHK wants those TVs in consumer dwelling . peradventure demand will go up once TV audience get HD viewing of their favourite sport : like baseball , surfriding , or wushu , all contenders for new summercater to be added to the Olympics schedule in 2020 .
8 K TV being demonstrate in Tokyo . Credit : Japan Times YouTube channel
5. Algae As a Fuel Source
We ’ve written before about the benefit of usingalgae as a fuel sourcefor jets and buses , and how Japan in particular is eyeball it as an attractive push surrogate for thenuclear - nervous Fukushima region . And large world names like Boeing backing the plans , which can moderate to smashing commercialisation worldwide .
Algae has remarkable potential difference as an alternative push source . It sucks in carbon dioxide and converts it into energy . It ’s preferable to other green vitality that are grown on land , like petroleum made from corn , because it can produce 60 times more oil per acre and is relatively easy to grow . What ’s more , if you beat algae plants next to carbon - be sick ember plants , the alga can in reality lessen the emission level in the vicinity , all while cranking out useable power . The trouble is that Algae ’s super expensive — making a liter of the stuff be about $ 2.50 , and that monetary value require to be closer to 80 cents to be a feasible alternative .
But Boeing want to assist Japan fell Olympic tourer to the island nation on jets fueled by algae . As part of a syndicate of over 40 organization , including the University of Tokyo , the Nipponese government , Japan Airlines , and All Nippon Airways , Boeingaimsto proffer algae flight on these major Nipponese airline business for the million of tourists expect to visit Japan in 2020 . Which is good , since alga can cut atomic number 6 dioxide emissions by up to70 percent , equate to petroleum fuel .
If Boeing and the others can bear witness that algae can be toll efficient , effective , and useful on a graduated table as large as the Olympics , we could start seeing a lot more outside trajectory running on dark-green .
Japan Airlines is working with Boeing , the University of Tokyo , and others to provide algae - fueled flights in time for the Tokyo Olympics . Credit : Shutterstock
6. Hydrogen-Powered Buses and Buildings
Speaking of world power , Japan is rolling out another alternate vigour that could be a global game - changer . It ’s the most abundant element in the universe : H .
According to theWall Street Journal , the Tokyo government plans to expend 40 billion yen ( $ 330 million ) in the next five years to improve hydrogen energy use leading up to the Olympics , making Japan a “ Hydrogen Society . ” When atomic number 1 natural gas mixes with oxygen in a fuel cellphone , it ’s able to bring on exhaust - gratis energy , just like weewee can .
The plan is to make the intact Olympic Village hydrogen - powered , complete with at least 100 fuel cadre - powered buses , pressure lounge , and jock hall . The government also want 6,000 of cell - power cars in the road , AutoBlogreports , with 100,000 on streets by 2025 . There ’s even going to be a giant pipeline constructed underground that ’ll at once funnel the hydrogen into the Olympic Village . It ’s part of a braggy programme for Japan as a whole to gin up non - nuclear vim sources after the Fukushima disaster .
Fuel cells are becoming more popular worldwide , and the model of using them in Tokyo 2020 could be easily replicated elsewhere , so long as government make it a precedence : To promote better air quality , the Tokyo municipal regime is going so far as to pass $ 385 million to subsidize purchases of Toyota ’s new fuel - cell vehicles .
Toyota , the existence ’s largest auto manufacturer , debut its hydrogen - power fuel electric cell car last year , call Mirai ( meaning “ future tense ” ) . The Nipponese governance wants fuel cell post throughout Japan . citation : AP
7. Artificial Meteor Light Shows
A Japanese uranology startup calledALE , CNET , RocketNews24and theJapan Timesreport , wants to shower down streams ofmanmade meteorsacross the sky , which could make for the most badass opening ceremonial occasion ever .
ALE was launched by Lena Okajima , an uranology prof . The mind is pretty out there — literally . The team is working with Japanese universities to design a regular hexahedron - shaped microsatellite that ’ll be launched into blank and , in the worldly concern ’s first project of its kind , sprout out tiny , in - wide-cut spheres made out of a secret material . rubbing in the air will make them to glow while race at five miles per second . Space.comreportsthat there ’s no vexation for quad debris , since the fake stars burn up upon reentry , like real space projectiles .
Okajima tell their carefully ward chemic makeup rent them glow as much as a magnitude-3 ace , making them visible from even smoggy urban centers fill up with light - pollute high - procession . She want them to mimic asteroid shower formula that are uncommon in nature .
Japanese uranology startup ALE plan to create man - made meteors
Okajima say she ’ll continue working with scientist and engineer at top Japan universities to make the pie - in - the - sky idea into an existent - in - the - sky show . The individual pellets ’ make-up can be tinkered with so that individual headliner glint different colors . Sounds like the show would be worth the estimated $ 4 million Leontyne Price tag . It ’s also a valuable cogitation tool : Since genuine asteroid shower are irregular and ca n’t be controlled , this system could permit scientists to learn projectile movement and temperature while they fly through Earth ’s atmosphere .
8. Even More Maglev Trains
Japan get humankind high - speed rail with its shinkansen bullet train trains 50 old age ago , and now it ’s eyeing next - gen rail travel : magnetic levitation . While some body politic are arguably more advanced in this field — China ’s operated a maglev in Shanghai for 11 years — Japan wants to bring the magnetic levitation to Tokyoitesby 2020 . JR Central , the railroad company that oversees Japan ’s maglev train , hopes to have the train run to Tokyo in time for the 2020 Games , and then to Osaka by 2045 .
Earlier this year , Japanbroke a land speed recordfor rail with its maglev gear at 374 mile per hour . The country ’s looking to further germinate its maglev organization ( the train ’s not yet ridable for passengers ) , as well as expand to area like the US , going so far as to bankroll half the cost for connect Boston to DC by maglev .
Japan ’s looking to expatiate the net of its record - fall apart magnetic levitation train , which can score nearly 400 miles per hour , by 2020 — both in Japan and in places like the US . acknowledgment : Getty
Experimental , emerging technologies are always a challenge to bring to market — bedevil in the logistical nightmare that is the Olympic Games and there ’s plenty of understanding to be doubting of how readily uncommitted these innovations will be by 2020 . We ’ve already covered the Tokyo Games ’ two major singultus : Thebotched billion - dollar stadiumandthe piracy dramathat twirl around the Games ’ official logo the entire summer . For a country known for perfectionism and attention to detail , the two very public , unenviable flubs may make the challenging plans for 2020 seem even more farfetched .
And yet there have been several unbelievable present moment in Olympics history where the emcee nation actually debut technology that transformed the world . At the1912 Olympics in Stockholm , electronic timepieces were used on a peck scale for the first time , to measure athlete performance . The consequence ’s Brobdingnagian international crowd also prompted development of the humans ’s first PA system .
The 1936 Summer Games in Berlin took advantage of late developments in photographic camera and television technology , making them the sports issue to be pass around on TV . At the 2008Beijing Olympics , an IBM supercomputer helped foretell atmospheric condition and befoulment . And just last calendar month , IBMannounced continued plansto use Watson - grade AI to map pollution vogue in the atmospheric state in Beijing and beyond .
look at Tokyo ’s status as a technical school hub , we could see some of the most badass engineering and technology to come out of an Olympics yet . If robots can provide great customer service of process during the Tokyo Olympics — a dim urban maze packed with zillion of people in humankind ’s biggest party — then they have a luck everywhere .
get through the writer at[email protect ] , orfollow him on Twitter .
Top image credit : Shutterstock
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