You may be familiar with the Japan's revised Energy Saving Act, which was issued on May 30, 2008, drafted for the office and home environment where energy use continues to increase significantly. The key revisions include a change from energy management per business center (per branch, per shop) to energy management of the entire company (including all business centers such as headquarters, factories, branches, and business offices). Any company with an annual energy consumption of over 1500kl crude oil equivalent is subject to this act. It is hard to imagine what we really mean when we talk about crude oil equivalent, but according to the website of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, this act seems to apply to family restaurants franchises that consist of a number of restaurants and companies with small and medium-sized business centers. In response to such measures, all business centers are required to keep a track of its annual energy consumption for the fiscal year 2009 (April 1, 2009 – March 31, 2010). In other words, the need to be able to "visibly" confirm such usage is growing.

There may be some companies that may have no idea where to start even though they recognize the importance of implementing energy-saving measures. To help such companies Panasonic offers the "Web supporter – energy and power saving support system." The operational status of the air conditioning at grocery store was made "visible" on the sample screen I saw. (Energy spent on air conditioning accounts for approximately half of the total power consumed in a building). If we express the amount of energy used as a graph, you can clearly see in which areas of the building energy has been wasted and the administrator can advise the respective departments that need to make improvements. If there is no sign of improvement despite the advice given, the administrator can control the air conditioning, so that the departments would not be able to change the temperature settings. All of these operations may be done from an ordinary personal computer.

The energy consumption per department was expressed as a graph. You can change the graph to express energy consumption per hour, day, month, or year, so if there is a drastic deviation in the amount of energy consumed, you can easily tell when and where it occurred. In addition to these figures, if you pre-register the floor plans of the room, you can also display them on the control panel, letting you check on the operation mode of the equipment within the room, the suction temperature, and whether the lights in the room are on or off by right clicking the mouse.

"Network compatible environmental/power monitoring system" was originally designed to monitor the amount of power used in a room and the surrounding temperatures via the network in data centers and server rooms that tend to consume a great amount of electricity. In addition to monitoring the indoor environment by installing temperature and humidity sensors, this system lets you remotely control (on/off/reboot) the power supply of the network equipment. Moreover, by adding a door sensor, you can also keep an eye on the security of the room by monitoring whether the doors are open or closed and controlling the electronic locks. In addition to such monitoring ability, the "multiple-circuit energy monitor" lets you check on the electric current, electricity, and integral power consumption of each circuit. By connecting to the power distribution board, you can gather and analyze data on the respective volume of power consumption and calorific values in real time. As a result, you can see in which circuit of the server room the power is concentrated. You can also check the current status and log information on the web browser, and the administrator is notified by e-mail or SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) if any problems occur.

Expressing the amount of electricity consumed and the surrounding temperatures as numerical values, thereby making them "visible," and combining that with the ability to monitor each site with the images obtained from the network cameras, thereby making each site "visible," will enable prompt investigation in case problems occur. You can confirm the cause of the problem using images, for example, "the power consumption increased because the door was left open," so you can deal with the problem according to the degree of urgency. According to a staff in the booth, "In order to prevent thermo-runaway of the server, in some cases the room is set at incredibly low temperatures like 15 degrees Celsius even in the summer time. However, as long as you control the indoor environment well, you don't need to turn the temperature down so low." There was a case where raising the temperature settings of the server room by 1 degrees Celsius successfully decreased electricity consumption by approximately 2%. If you can set the temperature of the server room at the same level as other rooms in the office, it will not only contribute to saving energy, but it may also lighten the physical burden placed on the people working in the server room for maintenance, etc.

The revised Energy Saving Act obligates companies to measure the amount of energy used. The "multiple-circuit energy monitor" may offer great assistance, since it can store data on an SD Memory Card. The files are saved in a folder each month and you can collect logging data by day, hour, or per detail (per minute). The data is saved as a csv file, so they may be used on the personal computer. Approximately 3 years worth of data can be stored on an 1GB SD Memory Card.

The eco status of the Panasonic booth based on the amount of energy used in the entire booth was shown on the display. The dog animation on the screen seemed to be in good humor since the status at the time was "favorable." If the amount of energy usage increases, it barks out a warning, "you're using too much energy!", which appears on the screen and the dog character goes into a bad mood.

This is an electricity monitoring system that uses HD-PLC. It measures power consumed by each home electronic device (such as floor lamps and air purifiers) using an electrical measuring instrument and sends the data to a personal computer via the power lines. It makes the power consumed by the various devices at home "visible" by simply plugging it in; there is no need to connect network cables such as LAN. A prototype of a system comprising of an HD-PLC adapter and electrical measuring instrument was on display, but it seems there are no plans at the moment to make it commercially available.

Although companies are obligated to keep track of the annual energy consumed by each business center, just keeping an eye on how much electricity is used every month only gives you an idea about the total amount of power used each month. You won’t be able to learn how each department spends electricity or whether there is any waste. That is why Panasonic proposes IT solutions that make power consumption "visible." These solutions express energy consumption as graphs or charts from different angles such as per business center, per categories (e.g. air conditioning, lighting) and per trends in the consumption volume. These data can be easily processed on a personal computer, so it can be used for various purposes - the data may be outputted on a ledger, or used as reference to raise awareness within the office. If a company succeeds in saving energy as a result of such efforts, it will not only succeed in also reducing costs, but the company will also be able to use such efforts as a PR tool.

The "H.264 High Quality Video Transmission System" was exhibited next to the "Digital Signage Solution" corner. Just like the "acTVila Full," a network service for home digital TVs, this system delivers MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video feed. The recommended line speed is about 12Mbps. A prototype of the "H.264 High Quality Video Live Transmission Service," which encodes video feed recorded with a digital camcorder to H.264 in real time and directly delivers the video to a high definition TV or Blu-ray disc/DVD recorder "DIGA" using a broadband line, is also being introduced in this corner.

This service, which delivers live content, is particularly recommended to companies that use satellite communication systems to live broadcast internal events or conferences. The satellite communication system requires considerable amount of initial financial investment and maintenance including expensive satellite usage charges, moreover, in some cases, an antenna dish might be necessary. On the other hand, if a company has an established internal network such as LAN or VPN, the "H.264 High Quality Video Live Transmission Service" may be operated at low cost since it lets you transmit high quality video over the Internet. It is easily and conveniently operable, so I am sure it offers a much wider range of applications such as live broadcasting of high quality footage of an internal event to each branch or use for group training programs.

Another interesting thing I found is the local video on demand transmission server for the Blu-ray disc/DVD recorder "DIGA" and digital TVs compatible with "acTVila Full" (an IPTV service offered in Japan). When you hear of video transmission, you might imagine a large-scale service using the Internet, but this service is designed for video transmission targeting relatively small local areas such as schools, hospitals, and shopping malls. For example, when showing educational video content in classes at schools, this system lets you store several educational video in a single local VOD (Video On Demand) transmission server installed in the faculty room. You can then transmit such content to digital TVs or the "DIGA" set up in each classroom via the LAN, instead of sharing the same DVD between the classes each time. The great thing about this local VOD transmission server is that even if there is a difference in level of progress between each class the video is available where and when needed. In addition, it lets you use the same video feed when holding a joint class, so that you can transmit the same content to multiple digital TVs at a time.

You can replace or make changes to the video content by directly connecting external memory media such as DVDs or USB flash drives to the system. Once the data is stored, you don’t need to bother distributing the data on a media or be anxious about losing it. You can also make a playlist by combining several video contents stored in the system and air it continuously like a demo footage.

This is the local VOD transmission server. As you can see, it is quite compact; a little smaller than 20cm x 20cm. It has 2 USB ports, which let you transfer video content from a USB flash drives and external HDD on to the system. It is portable, so you can easily use it in numerous different ways. For example, you can bring it to a business meeting and show a promotional video to your clients.

An exhibition featuring Digital Signage was being held within the same hall along with the Interop Tokyo 2009. This event focuses on "Digital Signage," the next generation advertisement platform, which uses video content and the network. The spread of the broadband network has realized smoother transmission of high quality images, thus advertisement is shifting its shape from print to video. Also, a solution that enables simultaneous delivery of high quality images to remote locations is drawing more and more attention. I believe that from now on there will be greater focus on developing ways, both in terms of hardware and content, to communicate information in an easily viewable manner. A system, which delivers content via Internet, was introduced at the "Digital Signage Solution" corner in the Panasonic booth.

Examples of menus or commercials were shown on the displays of different sizes ranging from 42-inch to the 103-inch at the "Digital Signage Solution" corner. "NMStage Ver.3.0" is a Digital Signage Solution that lets you deliver full high definition content to a maximum of 3,000 terminals via the Internet. It lets you set the display schedules per terminal (it can also set different schedules for weekdays and weekends) by transferring the content you would like to show to the terminal of the display device (such as NM controllers) in advance. Since you can send content to the terminal beforehand, the device can display the content on schedule even in case the network fails at the time the content is to be aired. It automatically detects the line speed and the conditions when sending the content, so this solution effectively transfers content even when there are different lines such as fiber-optic and ADSL present. You can transfer content in 2 ways; one way is to pre-set the delivery time during the day, so that the content may be delivered at night, and the other way is to transfer the content immediately. Moreover, in a case of an emergency, such as an earthquake, you can display important information on all terminals regardless of the display schedules.

The solution supports a variety of formats including moving images (MPEG2, WMV), still images (JPG, BMP) as well as Flash, html (Internet access is also available), and PowerPoint slide shows. You can also insert subtitles into still images or display moving images and still images at the same time. To display content, all you need to do is register the content just like you would copy a file on to a PC, drag and drop the content to the display template, make a playlist, and set the display schedule. If you want to change some of the content, you can just send the replacement data rather than re-creating and send the entire data again. So you can modify information such as the data of stores in a shopping mall that may require frequent updates very easily. You can also remotely check if the data has been successfully updated once you're done.

"Content being displayed properly" may be the biggest concern for advertisers who place ads on such signage. But it would be a hassle to actually go and check whether the content is properly displayed, and you may not be able to go to the remote areas. In such cases, the "Plasma Display Panel Status Monitoring Function" will offer advertisers a peace of mind. This function will detect if the content is not being shown on the display, allowing you to more accurately manage display log data. You will be able to check the numbers of displays that have shown the content properly out of all the displays set to air the same content. It will also send an error message to the administrator via the network in case of any malfunction, etc. Since it monitors operating conditions of the displays in real time, you can promptly respond even if someone intentionally shuts down any display out of mischief. You will be able to provide an accurate display log data to the advertisers and this may lead to enhanced credibility.

Since the signage using a large display has great impact, the quality and freshness of content are also important factors. The 103-inch Digital Signage and touch panel system displayed in this corner are the same as those you would find at the Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi. These have received an outstanding performance award in the Landscape category at the "Digital Signage Preaward 2009." I heard that the panels set up in favorable locations are touched over 20,000 times per week.

Back in the day when I went to grade school, we went into a "viewing room" and opened up the doors with latch and key to watch programs on science and social studies when we needed to watch TV for classes. But nowadays, many schools may have TVs in every room. In Japan, analog broadcasting will end, and all terrestrial broadcasting will be come digital in July 2011. Leading up to this, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT) are providing assistance to purchase new TVs to schools nationwide. Moreover, according to the overview on the supplementary budget (proposal) for FY 2009 provided by MEXT not only includes assistance to purchase new digital TVs, it also encompasses installation of LAN in every class room. So it seems that equipping schools and classrooms with IT is well underway.

The "Elite Panaboard" located in the corner for "Solutions for the Entire Classroom" is a screen board that beautifully displays images from the projector. It's not just a projector screen, however. If you use a special software, you can use a dedicated electronic pen that also functions as a mouse to write text and symbols on the board or to call on to the screen diagrams installed on the software. The teacher can also project the educational material he/she created on his/her PC onto the screen, and conduct a mini quiz where students fill in the blanks. You can also change the font color and grade the quizzes right there and then, so this may make the class more fun and exciting. The staff manning the corner said that in comparison to blackboards, you can use many more colors, and you can also connect to the Internet, so the demonstration of the "Elite Panaboard" manages to really capture the hearts of children. In the lower bit of the screen you will find speakers, so just like with a TV, you can project audio-visual content. The screen is made of steel plate, so it is very sturdy. You can also put up documents written on the simili paper using a magnet.

You can bring the text hand written using the electronic pen alive on the board　using the text recognition function. You can also expand it very easily. Watching the hands of the staff conducting the demonstration at the booth made me think that it might be quite easy to operate once you get use to it.

On the right side of the "Solutions for the Entire Classroom" corner, there is a demonstration, which has applied the "HD Visual Communication System" introduced in the main stage presentation to the educational arena. The demonstration had established a communication with a satellite classroom, and involved shooting the screen of the "Elite Panaboard" located at the back end of the corner using a digital camcorder, and displaying the image on the TV screen via the network. I was looking intently at the screen, but I could read the small letters very clearly. The application of this system to the educational arena may prove to be handy in showing an experiment to children who can't get their hands on equipment or sharing images of rare educational materials. If you have 2 digital camcorders, you can use them to take close up images of the hands or of educational materials to give a better idea of texture, which will contribute to making the imagery more dynamic.

According to the staff in the corner, camcorders that shoot images in high resolution are key to the system as well. "Professional camcorders can shoot video beautifully, but they are harder to master, too big to use in the classroom, and expensive. But this system employs digital camcorders for consumer use, so teachers can easily master them."

In the "Solutions for the Entire Office" corner, there is a space designed like a small office, to showcase ideas for improving energy efficiency and saving energy in the office environment. In this corner you will find solutions that well balances comfort and eco - such as green lighting using LEDs, IP conference phones that let you conduct high quality telephone conference by simply connecting to the LAN, and the digital color imaging system that can not only print, but also create a digital file of various documents - and presentations are held regularly.

On the ceiling of this space, you will find LED based lighting for the office environment, "EVERLEDS," that is not too bright or too dark. In comparison to fluorescent lights, LEDs have a longer life, and there are new products on which you can attach brightness sensors. The sensors adjust the brightness of the light in the room in accordance to the brightness outdoors, so you can be even more energy conscious. LED based lighting is made up of small LEDs. In comparison to fluorescent lights with the same brightness (FLR 40 x 2 lights), the "EVERLEDS" are 26% more energy efficient, and because they have a 3.3 times longer life, you don't have to change the bulbs as often.

The staff in the booth recommended that I try the IP conference phone, so I gave it a try. With this IP conference phone, you can conduct a telephone conference via either the IP network line or an ordinary telephone line very easily. The "Easy Conference Experiential Room" set up at the edge of the booth and the "Solutions for the Entire Office" corner were connected by IP conference phones. Even in areas of the exhibition hall where there is a lot of noise, you can hear the person on the other end very clearly. And although people on both ends may speak simultaneously, this conference phone responds well, and lets you speak stress-free. So, when you want to have a meeting with the staff from an office far away, you can save time and transportation costs by conducting a one-hour telephone conference rather than physically gathering everyone at one of the offices. You can also reduce CO2 otherwise emitted during transportation. Like the "HD Visual Communication System" introduced on the main stage indicates, there is a demand for communication that incorporates high resolution transmission/reception. But on the other hand, the IP conference phone that lets you easily conduct an audio conference is also drawing much attention as a product that is extremely practical and easy to implement.

By the way, do any of you get nervous during conferences and meetings, and start talking quite fast? Well, on the base unit of the IP conference phone, Panasonic has embedded its original technology, which changes the rate of speed, so even if someone is talking really fast you can hear them clearly. This may come in handy especially when you're conducting a meeting in a foreign language. It is also compatible with PoE (Power over Ethernet), which sources power from the LAN terminal, so you can use it in any room that has a LAN, rather than creating a dedicated conference room. In the exhibition corner, I found a bag containing the whole kit labeled "Conferencing from Anywhere kit." This will make it convenient when you store it away or carry it around.

Of course you can use network cameras as well. Network cameras bring real-time monitoring to life using the Internet and LAN. You can remotely change the angle of the camera on the other end, zoom in and much more. The images may be displayed on the PC, but if there is a PC input compatible TV in the conference room, you can display the images on this TV as well.

The digital color imaging system can not only print and copy documents, but it can also make a digital file of hard copies and send faxes. Once you have use it, you will see how convenient it is for yourself. And its eco performance has improved lately. Have you ever had to wait a long time when you want to copy a document first thing in the morning? The digital color imaging system, "WORKiO," has significantly reduced the warm-up time. It can instantaneously raise the temperature of the fixed unit, which uses IH fixing method made possible with IH (Induction Heating) technology used in rice cookers and cooking heaters. It only needs 15 seconds after it has been turned on to get ready to print. Many people may not be using the stand by or energy saving mode because they "don't want to wait when they are busy and in a hurry," but if this digital color imaging system can warm itself up quickly and print and copy documents without making you feel stressed out, then this may give way to new ways of using it while saving energy.

Even if you print a document from your PC the printing won't start automatically. As shown in the photograph, you will be first prompted to scan your ID card. When you scan the ID card, it will show you the list of data that may be printed by the ID. You would then choose the document you want to print from the list. If you mistakenly printed something, you can delete it from the list at this time. Not being able to print without scanning your ID card means that the person who wants to print the document must be standing in front of the printer, so you won't have to worry about losing confidential documents.

The "HD Visual Communication System" realizes high resolution TV conferencing using the Internet. At every showing, many people gather to watch the presentation held on the main stage, which describes this system in detail. You can watch this presentation by clicking on the image shown in the entry one before this one, so please take a look.

As I watched the presentation, I, too, felt that it was unique how the system wasn't built using special equipment dedicated to high definition video communication; this system uses familiar products such as high definition TVs and digital camcorders. At Interop Tokyo 2009, it won the Unified Communication Special Award, Product Division of the "Best of Show Award." Developing an H.264 real-time encoder, Panasonic has brought beautiful resolution to life, and the effective echo canceller received great praise for enabling uninterrupted communication even when speakers in both sites speak at once. I could even see the texture of the LSI when close up images of smaller parts were shown, so I could tell that the imagery was crisp and clear, but often times technologies that make simple things effortless tend to be extremely difficult. Getting appraised by a panel of judges comprised of specialists has honed my appreciation for the high definition video communication.

The "Best of Show Award" nominates products and services for various divisions of the award from among those exhibited at the Interop Tokyo 2009. These products and services are determined pursuant to stringent evaluation by key figures of the IT industry and visitor polls. Sometimes none of the products and services qualifies for awards for the various divisions, so it is a very strict evaluation process.

A demonstration of a HD Visual Communication System was held on the main stage of the Panasonic booth. The Panasonic booth at this year's Interop Tokyo is focused on IT solutions that "make everything visible." Well, the HD Visual Communication System is a TV conferencing system that employs full high definition images. It is a system that makes remote communication "visible" in high quality.

The scene of the demonstration conducted on stage is a design development meeting for a new cordless phone. The meeting was held with the design room in the satellite studio in Ariake, which is a few dozen kilometers from Makuhari Messe. Communication was established via Internet using the HD Visual Communication System. On stage you will find a 65-inch full high definition plasma display, and on it, the live feed of the design staff in the satellite studio was shown. The high definition video feed shown on the plasma display is so clear and smooth it makes you wonder if the image isn't coming from a secret room nearby. Even if you look at the video up close, there is hardly any noise or interruption in the image. This full high definition video was brought to life using the H.264 standard for video compression that efficiently compresses high resolution images. This is an application of the know-how Panasonic has acquired through its development of the DVD recorder/Blu-ray Disc recorder "DIGA." This has made possible transmission/reception of high resolution, high definition video at the HD Visual Communication System's minimum bit rate of 2 Mbps. By employing "UniPhier (Universal Platform for High-quality Image Enhancing Revolution)," which lets you share the latest technology very efficiently, Panasonic can effectively share technologies across products of various categories and significantly enhance development prowess.

Another thing that was amazing was the fact that the conference went very smoothly. This may be attributed to the high performance echo canceller. Even when people on the main stage and the satellite studio spoke at the same time, the connection was smooth and uninterrupted. And there was hardly any time lag between the video and audio feeds, so it seemed as though you were naturally speaking to someone sitting right in front of you. If there is constant audio interruption and a time lag between the video and audio feeds, people taking part in the conference may get too frustrated and may not be able to concentrate on the meeting. So this is an important issue. In the demonstration, they used a special microphone, but because the stereo echo canceller is not embedded in the microphone but in the body of the unit itself, the echo canceller also works on the audio feed that comes in from a separate line input terminal. So you can send a clear audio signal taken from the mixer even during a large conference that requires the use of multiple microphones.

Two digital camcorders may be connected to the high definition video communication unit at the same time. In the demonstration, the main camera was used to capture the image of the woman in the satellite studio, and the sub-camera was used to capture the image of the parts that are lying by her hands up close. The images of the parts were so clear, it seemed as though we were looking at the actual parts; we could even see the small letters printed on the base material and the texture of the material as well. If you can see parts only few centimeters long that are in a satellite office far away so clearly, it may have great potential in helping to reduce the labor and cost necessary in sending product samples to and fro. You can also playback the high definition video shot with the connected camcorder, so you can use video as a visual resource (in the demonstration, a video of users being interviewed about what they thought about the new cordless phone was played back). There is also an RGB input terminal for PCs, and you can switch back from images from the 2 digital camcorders and the PC easily by using the remote control.

As I watched the demonstration, I became curious about what the backside and the input/output terminals of the high definition communication unit look like. What I saw were familiar HDMI, LAN, audio input/output terminals you find on digital AV equipment you have at home. So you don't have to have special tech wiz. People who are familiar with wiring AV equipment can easily set the system up.

Digital camcorders used in the demonstration and exhibited in the booth, and the plasma displays are things we see often. You will be able to easily set up and use a full high definition TV conferencing system.

Looking at the demonstration of the high definition communications system up close, I thought that this would help reduce the frequency of long distance travel for meetings. This may have been said for TV conferencing systems in the past, but full high definition video communication communicates far more information. When people converse, they not only pay attention to their voices, but they also look at the expressions on their faces and the changes in the pitch and rhythm of one's voice to detect slight changes in emotion. In this respect, I thought that the high definition communication system promises excellent quality, sufficient for reading such information from the screen. This will help you have a truly fruitful TV conference, and even when you have to ask someone for a favor, they may more readily say "yes" if they can see your sincere expression on the screen. This may also contribute to not only cost reductions but also to ecological conservation by reducing travel, thereby reducing the movement of people, and by reducing the movement of things.

In my previous entry, you saw what the Panasonic booth looks like overall, but I took pictures of each corner, so please take a look.

On the main stage, 2 MCs, one playing the part of the eco manager and the other a product developer, introduces each corner of the Panasonic booth in a very fun, lively way. In the middle of the presentation, they established a live connection with the satellite office in Ariake to conduct a demonstration of a HD Visual Communication System. The scene set for this demonstration was a design meeting for cordless phones. The full high definition video feed displayed on the large screen clearly shows the expressions of the people on the other side, and by switching to a different camera, you can get a close up view of parts lying by your hands, so you can discuss these in detail. Such communication would be difficult with a fixed camera.

Plasma displays for industrial use. You can install them vertically, or use it as interactive floor guidance by employing a touch panel function, so you can use it in a different way than a "VIERA." "Digital Signage" displays various information that suit the installed location in a timely manner. You may have seen advertisement and news broadcasted in train stations and shopping malls recently. Here, you can, for example, air high definition images or show menus on the displays set up elsewhere using the network. If you look at the 103-inch plasma display set up vertically up close, it looks very dynamic, it almost feels like a big wall.

You will find "Solutions for the Entire Office" corner within the "Office Network" corner. Here you will find a digital color imaging system and an easy to use remote conferencing system that you can set up using an IP phone and network cameras. The IP conference phone on the desk is connected to the IP conference phone in the "Easy Conference Experiential Box" found at the edge of the Panasonic booth. And in this box you can experience audio communication. The digital color imaging system will keep track of the number of pages printed by each employee/IC card, so wasteful printing will become quite apparent, and this may help the employees think, "we shouldn't waste." Not only does this digital color imaging system give such advice it also reins in power used during standby, and it starts up quick when you want to print, so its energy-saving and ecological performance are must-sees as well.

In the "Solutions for the Entire Classroom" corner, you will find the "Elite Panaboard," which displays images from the projector, as well as high definition image communication system, which is meant for remotely conducting lectures in satellite classrooms. You can even see the small letters very clearly, so this system can live broadcast experiments, and people who couldn't fit into the classroom can still listen to the seminars conducted by famous lecturers in a different classroom and still feel as though they are part of the class.

Good morning. The Interop Tokyo 2009 has just begun. I traveled from Osaka early in the morning, but the route to Makuhari Messe was already crowded with people. I'm sure many people travel from afar to attend this exhibition. I, too, have arrived at the exhibition and will now go take a look around the Panasonic booth!

Hi! This is atsuko. Last month, mino-san reported about the "Panasonic China Environmental Forum 2009" from Beijing. Well, the "Interop Tokyo 2009" will begin in Japan on 10th of June. According to the official website, there are numerous themes featured at this year's exhibition, but many focus on "ecology" and "next generation." Some of the themes are – Green ICT (Information and Communication(s) Technology), NGN (Next Generation Network), next generation data center, next generation wireless, and IPv6 platforms. It has been more than 10 years since a layman like me has begun to use Internet at home, so it may be natural that there is focus on the "next generation" in the world of networking as well.

The key phrase of this year's Interop Tokyo 2009 is "How can we achieve our full potential through ICT?" This will be realized by emerging into new business sectors and new frontiers using the most advanced technologies including ICT technology, rather than by employing traditional business models and in traditional business sectors. Perhaps this means that we should examine the latest technologies, products, and solutions indispensable to realizing the optimal network environment with our eye on the future. And may be this exhibition, which began 16 years ago to take a closer look at the interoperability of network devices, is shifting from "smooth operability" to the next level. 　It seems that products and solutions must first and foremost be eco conscious (on the official website this is referred to as the "eco system").

Each year, "ShowNet," a showcase for demonstrating network solutions, which are key when examining connectivity, is set up at the same venue Interop Tokyo is organized in. This is a mammoth demonstration of how various equipment and services offered by the exhibitors can connect to one another. Numerous communication lines are used to connect the Makuhari Messe and the data center in central Tokyo each year, but this year it will be a super broadband with a total bandwidth of 131 Gbps. You can take a look at the structure of this gargantuan network by downloading this pdf.

At the Panasonic booth you will find IT solutions that "make everything visible." You can learn about the various services and solutions that, for example, make power consumption in the office environment and homes "visible." There is a special website (only in Japanese) available right now where you can have a look at the booth map and a list of exhibited products.

You will find various IT solutions that "make everything visible." Before the exhibition began, I asked the Panasonic staff in charge what will be made "visible" in each corner. The Visual Communication corner illustrates how "communication may be made visible." Here you will see a demonstration of a remote conferencing system that features true-to-life images. With respect to the Office Network corner, by "making comfort and eco visible" Panasonic proposes solutions that maintain the level of work efficiency while reducing costs. In the Home Network corner, Panasonic better helps prevent crime and realizes a comfortable lifestyle by "making safety and eco visible." And lastly, in the 'eco ideas' for IT Solutions corner, Panasonic "makes electricity visible" and conducts demonstrations that let you see the power consumption of the Panasonic booth in real-time.

The booth map available on the special website. The booth is divided into 4 sections – Visual Communication, Office Network, Home Network, and 'eco ideas' for IT Solutions. If you click on the names of the corners, you can see a list of the products displayed in each section. And if you want to know more about the products, just click on the name of the product and you can jump to right to the product website.

The Interop Tokyo 2009 will be held from June 10 (Wed) to 12 (Fri). Workshops and conferences are held before the exhibition begins, from the 8th. The venue is once again Makuhari Messe. I will be reporting about the booth from onsite, so please check back for my entries.

Official site of Interop Tokyo 2009
http://www.interop.jp/en/

Please click here for a list of the products exhibited in the Panasonic booth.

Interop Tokyo 2009

Period: June 10 (Wed) -12 (Fri), 2009
Venue: Makuhari Messe, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
Organizer: Interop Tokyo 2009 Steering Committee
Official site: http://www.interop.jp/en/