0:00:37 > 0:00:38What is your favourite animal?
0:00:38 > 0:00:40ROBOTIC VOICE: Sponge Bob is the best.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43I thought he was a cheese at first though.
0:00:43 > 0:00:51Samurai Chatbot?
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Welcome to Tokyo.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58It's a place that loves tech.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01It's my kind of place.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05An odd kind of place.
0:01:05 > 0:01:11Where ancient traditions blend with ambitious visions.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14Where legends are born.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17And brought to life.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Where a little space is really rare.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24And friends can take all shapes and sizes.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28This is Joji, he's a biologist.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32And this is Akane, he's a dog.
0:01:32 > 0:01:39He's 11 and ever since he was a puppy, he's
0:01:39 > 0:01:40been a nervous little corgi.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44I'm getting the sense now that he slightly stressed?
0:01:44 > 0:01:48But all that barking doesn't necessarily mean he stressed.
0:01:48 > 0:01:55In this case, he just wants to say hello.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58Joji wanted to find out what Akane was actually feeling,
0:01:58 > 0:02:04so he invented a collar which monitors the dog's heart
0:02:04 > 0:02:12rhythms and changes colour, depending on whether he's calm,
0:02:12 > 0:02:17excited or alarmed.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20It can be used by owners to hear beyond the barks and learn how
0:02:20 > 0:02:21to manage stressful environments.
0:02:21 > 0:02:26His barking to other dogs is completely from aggression.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30But I found out it's different, comparing two cats
0:02:30 > 0:02:32and dogs, the reaction.
0:02:32 > 0:02:38With cats, it's pure hatred, is it?
0:02:38 > 0:02:42Yes, it goes purely red.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44But with dog, it doesn't go so up.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46There's a different attitude to technology here,
0:02:46 > 0:02:48to that in the West.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53Our believe that it's a force for good and can you
0:02:53 > 0:02:56used by all, for all.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00I have the idea that technology is not only for humans, we kind
0:03:00 > 0:03:04of use the resource of the world.
0:03:04 > 0:03:09The technology that we make from that is not just for us.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12It should be used for animals and maybe plants
0:03:13 > 0:03:18and the whole global system.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30Some stuff here is decidedly Japanese.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33But increasingly, this country is also pursuing the same tech goals
0:03:33 > 0:03:34as the rest of the world.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38For example, it too is getting in on the autonomous driving scene.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41Nissan plans to have ten vehicles with some level of autonomy
0:03:41 > 0:03:45in showrooms by 2020.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49The Nissan I'm in today has similar driver assist functions to the cars
0:03:49 > 0:03:51currently on the road.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54It's a pro-pilot technology keeps its distance from the car
0:03:54 > 0:03:56in front and stays in lane.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58What's quite funny is, when it took over it put me
0:03:58 > 0:04:04in the proper position in the lane, rather than where I was.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06Over by the white line.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08This particular car demands that I keep my hands
0:04:08 > 0:04:10lightly on the wheel.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13So though it does look as though I'm doing the driving,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16trust me, the car really is doing its own thing.
0:04:16 > 0:04:17Which is slightly unnerving.
0:04:17 > 0:04:22What's unusual about this car compared to other autonomous cars
0:04:22 > 0:04:25we've seen, is this doesn't have an array of sensors all the way
0:04:25 > 0:04:28round, it doesn't have lidar or radar, or anything like that.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30It just has one camera.
0:04:30 > 0:04:31That's it.
0:04:31 > 0:04:37That lack of expensive sensors makes the car very affordable,
0:04:37 > 0:04:39although the self-driving software therefore has to be
0:04:39 > 0:04:40very, very smart.
0:04:40 > 0:04:46I get the feeling that this technology is almost there, we can
0:04:46 > 0:04:49almost just have autonomous driving.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54But maybe we need just one more thing, one more innovation to really
0:04:54 > 0:04:57carry it across the line.
0:04:57 > 0:05:03Well, Japanese car-makers think that thing could be detailed 3-D maps
0:05:03 > 0:05:09of the entire road system.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Autonomous cars ultimately have to work in any conditions.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15But how do you self drive safely when the road looks like this?
0:05:15 > 0:05:18When even the most advanced sensors are going to
0:05:18 > 0:05:22struggle to see the road.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25The thought is, rather than just reacting to what their senses see,
0:05:25 > 0:05:29cars should already have information about what the roads
0:05:29 > 0:05:30should look like.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34All the major Japanese manufacturers have now teamed up to form
0:05:34 > 0:05:38a new company to make these maps.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43A fleet of cars will gather point cloud data using lidar,
0:05:43 > 0:05:45precise GPS position and video.
0:05:45 > 0:05:55The information is then processed to create vector maps of the roads
0:05:55 > 0:05:57which is said to be accurate down to centimetres.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59The mapping work is already underway.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03The 30,000 or so kilometres of Japan's highways are the first
0:06:03 > 0:06:06target and is seen as an easy win because the road conditions
0:06:06 > 0:06:10there are less complicated than in urban areas.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14Mitsubishi Electric hopes to shrink the mapping gear even smaller
0:06:14 > 0:06:16than this and then mount it on highway patrol cars,
0:06:16 > 0:06:23so maps can be regularly updated with little outlay.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26In the meantime, this being Japan, autonomous driving technology has
0:06:26 > 0:06:29already been installed in that other essential method
0:06:29 > 0:06:34of transport, the chair.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Now, once every year Japan puts a whole load of its innovations,
0:06:38 > 0:06:42crazy and otherwise, on show for the world to see.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45It is an exhibition called C-Tech and it takes place in the eastern
0:06:45 > 0:06:49outskirts of Tokyo in Shiba and Dan Simmons is there.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59I've just arrived in Honda's 3D-printed car.
0:06:59 > 0:07:04It's made from the same ABS plastics as the mass produce models.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08The idea is we would design our own car, at least the shell,
0:07:08 > 0:07:13that's the bit that's 3-D printed.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16Hopefully, just for a little bit of extra cost, they can put
0:07:16 > 0:07:18in a few more seats.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Now, what if you could speak with your finger and draw
0:07:21 > 0:07:22what you are saying?
0:07:22 > 0:07:24That would raise a smile, right?
0:07:24 > 0:07:28Well, only if you draw a smile, it seems.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30This playful app has a few uses.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33As well as talking to those who can't hear, the voice
0:07:33 > 0:07:38recognition makes it much quicker than typing things out.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Now, where this app really comes in useful is when you meet somebody
0:07:41 > 0:07:44for the first time and you don't speak the same language,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46because it has a translate function.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50It's quite fun, let me show you how.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55What's your name?
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Tsuyoshi?
0:08:02 > 0:08:04OK, where is the best restaurant?
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Here is delicious sushi.
0:08:13 > 0:08:14Perfect.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19And I'm in the know.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21Thanks.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23Fed up with carrying your cards?
0:08:23 > 0:08:31Fujitsu reckon they've got our hands down better alternative.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33This palm reader may not know your future,
0:08:33 > 0:08:38but it knows all your credit cards you've registered on its database.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41You did that, didn't you?
0:08:41 > 0:08:45It recognises you by looking at the veins through your hand.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49It's more secure than a fingerprint, which being 2-D, can
0:08:49 > 0:08:52more easily be copied.
0:08:52 > 0:09:06Now, when it comes in next year, you'll still need to use a PIN,
0:09:06 > 0:09:09but we know they are not palming us with a secure system
0:09:09 > 0:09:12because it's already being used at some of Japan's cash machines.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14More ways to identify us from from researchers,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17with these earbuds that listen to the wearer.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19They emit a beam and then using a tiny integrated microphone,
0:09:20 > 0:09:21they listen for the echo.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23What they've discovered is apparently our ear canals
0:09:23 > 0:09:26reflect sound uniquely.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30That means they could be used as ID without the need for us
0:09:30 > 0:09:32to do anything really.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52The Japanese are known for their quirky tech ideas,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55but this one could transform some people's lives.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57This hair clip allows wearers to feel the sounds around them.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00It's quite an unusual feeling to have this particularly experience
0:10:00 > 0:10:03through your head onto your skull, even when you are talking,
0:10:03 > 0:10:05because these can pick up when I'm talking,
0:10:05 > 0:10:07as well as anybody else.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11The new version, still in prototype, detects pitch of sound as well
0:10:11 > 0:10:14and could be used to teach deaf people how to play
0:10:14 > 0:10:16an instrument, possibly.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20The mikes inside which control the vibes are directional,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23so wearing two means you can tell where a sound is coming
0:10:23 > 0:10:24from as well.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29That is crazy.
0:10:29 > 0:10:35That's just bouncing up and down on my head.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38I can't wait for the presenter of another version of Click
0:10:38 > 0:10:43to have a go himself.
0:10:43 > 0:10:51Why don't you put that on your hair?
0:11:02 > 0:11:06Next week, we have another very special show for you.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08We're in Zurich for the world's first Cybathlon.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11It is an athletics event for people with robotic limbs and robot
0:11:11 > 0:11:14wheelchairs and it promises to be a brilliant event.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17A competition for the athletes and also for the tech teams
0:11:17 > 0:11:19who devised the devices they'll be using.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22Earlier this year I met up with some of the participants.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26This is a taster of what happens when I tried an early version
0:11:26 > 0:11:28of a self-balancing, stair-climbing wheelchair.
0:11:28 > 0:11:29The full account is on YouTube.
0:11:36 > 0:11:37Now I press...I pressed the wrong button.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40It shut down.
0:11:40 > 0:11:47Whoa!
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Does this look as terrifying to you as it does to me?
0:11:51 > 0:11:53No, it doesn't work and I think I have to stop.
0:11:54 > 0:11:55Have you thought this through?
0:11:55 > 0:11:58You haven't even got a name for the safe position thingy.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01You realise I am hanging on the edge of a cliff here.
0:12:01 > 0:12:01Do you want to ask me some questions?