Japan Special Click

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Coming up next, it's Click.

This week...

Click in Japan.

The fashion will glow, the furniture will move

and the fur will fly.

I'm getting the sense now that he slightly stressed.

BARKING.

What is your favourite animal?

ROBOTIC VOICE: Sponge Bob is the best.

I thought he was a cheese at first though.

Samurai Chatbot?

Only in Japan!

Welcome to Tokyo.

It's a place that loves tech.

It's my kind of place.

An odd kind of place.

Where ancient traditions blend with ambitious visions.

Where legends are born.

And brought to life.

Where a little space is really rare.

And friends can take all shapes and sizes.

This is Joji, he's a biologist.

And this is Akane, he's a dog.

He's 11 and ever since he was a puppy, he's

a nervous little Corgi.

I'm getting the sense now that he slightly stressed?

But all that barking doesn't necessarily mean he stressed.

In this case, he just wants to say hello.

Joji wanted to find out what Akane was actually feeling,

so he invented a collar which monitors the dog's heart

rhythms and changes colour, depending on whether he's calm,

excited or alarmed.

It can be used by owners to hear beyond the barks and learn how

to manage stressful environments.

His barking to other dogs is completely from aggression.

But I found out it's different, comparing two cats

and dogs, the reaction.

With cats, it's pure hatred, is it?

Yes, it goes really read.

But with dogs, it doesn't.

There's a different attitude to technology here,

to that in the West.

A belief that it's a force for good and can be

used by all, for all.

I have the idea that technology is not only for humans, we kind

of use the resource of the world.

The technology that we make from that is not just for us.

It should be used for animals and maybe plants

and the whole global system.

Trying to scratch the point he likes.

He's got a whizzle spot has he?

Everyone's got a whizzle spot.

You can see the colour changing.

There he goes, there's the leg going.

I love the whizzle spot.

LAUGHTER.

You can see the blue, green and the red.

Yeah, it's all going on now.

You don't need a collar for that.

Some stuff here is decidedly Japanese.

But increasingly, this country is also pursuing the same tech goals

as the rest of the world.

For example, it too is getting in on the autonomous driving scene.

Nissan plans to have ten vehicles with some level of autonomy

in showrooms by 2020.

This Nissan I'm in today has similar driver assist functions to the cars

currently on the road.

Its pro pilot technology keeps its distance from the car

in front and stays in lane.

What's quite funny is, when it took over it put me

in the proper position in the lane, rather than where I was.

This particular car demands that I keep my hands

lightly on the wheel.

So it does look as though I'm doing the driving,

trust me, the car really is doing its own thing.

Which is slightly unnerving.

What's unusual about this car compared to other autonomous cars

we've seen, is this doesn't have an array of sensors all the way

round, it doesn't have lidar or radar, or anything like that.

It just has one camera.

That's it.

That lack of expensive sensors makes the car very affordable,

although the self driving software therefore has to be

very, very smart.

I get the feeling that this technology is almost there, we can

almost just have autonomous driving.

But maybe we need just one more thing, one more innovation to really

carry it across the line.

Well, Japanese car-makers think that thing could be detailed 3-D maps

of the entire road system.

Autonomous cars ultimately have to work in any conditions.

But how do you self drive safely when the road looks like this?

When even the most advanced sensors are going to

struggle to see the road.

The thought is, rather than just reacting to what their senses see,

cars should already have information about what the roads

should look like.

All the major Japanese manufacturers have now teamed up to form

a new company to make these maps.

All the major Japanese manufacturers have now teamed up to form

a new company to make these maps.

A fleet of cars will gather point cloud data using lidar,

precise GPS position and video.

The information is then processed to create vector maps of the roads

which is said to be accurate down to centimetres.

The mapping work is already underway.

The 30,000 or so kilometres of Japan's highways are the first

target and is seen as an easy win because the road conditions

there are less complicated than in urban areas.

Mitsubishi Electric hopes to shrink the mapping gear even smaller

than this and then mount it on highway patrol cars,

so maps can be regularly updated with little outlay.

In the meantime, this being Japan, autonomous driving technology has

already been installed in that other essential method

of transport, the chair.

Now, once every year Japan puts a whole load of its innovations,

crazy and otherwise, on show for the world to see.

It is an exhibition called C-Tech and it takes place in the eastern

outskirts of Tokyo in Shiba and Dan Simmons is there.

I've just arrived in Honda's 3-D printed car.

It's made from the same ABS plastics as the mass produce models.

The idea is we would design our own car, at least the shell,

that's the bit that's 3-D printed.

Hopefully, just for a little bit of extra cost, they can put

in a few more seats.

Now, what if you could speak with your finger and draw

what you are saying?

That would raise a smile, right?

Well, only if you draw a smile, it seems.

This playful app has a few uses.

As well as talking to those who can't hear, the voice

recognition makes it much quicker than typing things out.

Now, where this app really comes in useful is when you meet somebody

for the first time and you don't speak the same language,

because it has a translate function.

It's quite fun, let me show you how.

Tsuyoshi?

OK, where is the best restaurant?

Here is delicious sushi.

Perfect.

And I'm in the know.

Thanks.

Fed up with carrying your cards?

Fujitsu reckon they've got our hands down better alternative.

This palm reader may not know your future,

but it knows all your credit cards you've registered on its database.

You did that, didn't you?

It recognises you by looking at the veins through your hand.

It's more secure than a fingerprint, which being 2-D, can

more easily be copied.

Now, when it comes in next year, you'll still need to use a PIN,

but we know they are not palming is off grid has secured the system

is because it's already being used at some of Japan's cash machines.

More ways to identify us from from researchers,

with these earbuds that listen to the wearer.

They emit a beam and then using a tiny integrated microphone,

they listen for the echo.

What they've discovered is apparently in our ear canals

reflect sound uniquely.

That means they could be used as ID without the need for us

to do anything really.

How does it get from the watch to my body?

Its contact with the skin.

Dream it.

If we dream it together it'll happen.

We need to change the battery.

This is obviously a two person operation.

That's blue, isn't it?

We had green.

Blue and green should never be seen.

The Japanese are known for their quirky tech ideas,

but this one could transform some people's lives.

This hair clip allows wearers to feel the sounds around them.

It's quite an unusual feeling to have this particularly experience

through your head onto your skull, even when you are talking,

because these can pick up when I'm talking,

as well as anybody else.

The new version, still in prototype, detects pitch of sound as well

and could be used to teach deaf people how to play

an instrument, possibly.

The mikes inside which control the vibes are directional,

so wearing two means you can tell where a sound is coming

from as well.

That's just bouncing up and down on my head.

I can't wait for the presenter of another version of Click

to have a go himself.

Why don't you put that on your hair?

Welcome to the Week In Tech.

It was a week that saw the launch of the coolest Kicks in Hill Valley

for the autumn winter season 2015.

The self lacing Nike Mags are back to the future to fame will receive

a short production run of 89 pairs.

All to be raffled off for charity.

It was also the week where researchers at MIT have been

experimenting with furry materials for wet suits.

These fabrics act like the coat of an otter and could

keep the wearer warmer.

Private space company Blue Origin surprised everybody this week

including its founder, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos.

By successfully testing the launch abort system on its new rocket.

Before the shuttle and rocket touched down, Jeff Bezos

said our next flight is going to be dramatic.

No matter how it ends.

There is confidence for you.

Illegal guns, drugs and baby hedgehogs.

Just some of the things available to purchase

on Facebook's new marketplace.

The social network has apologised, blaming a glitch that prevented it

from screening out dodgy deals and criminal commerce.

Facebook says it's working on fixing the problem.

And finally, not got the cash for a drone,

but still want to film from the skies?

Well, a Dutch outfit has created this, the AER,

basically a big foam dart with and action camera

to be fitted to it.

Not so much flying footage as filming one falling with style.

during

Saturday

during Saturday

OK, we're going to break away from Japan for a couple of minutes

and had across the Pacific to California.

Because this has been a very big week for Google.

We have lots in store for you today.

Turns out the rumour mill was right, this was a hardware launch

for the search giant, which took aim at several

big competitors.

So today, I'm very excited to introduce you to a new phone

made by Google.

He is Pixel, Google's new smartphone.

And the ad certainly tears a few strips of one of its competitors.

Can you guess which one?

Sounds like there's nothing new in this game, the iPhone-esk

Pixel packs a good processor, a great screen and a better camera

than its competitors.

The price is competitive too, the smaller version of the phone

will sell from ?599.

Pixel will let you activate its renamed Google assistant

with a press of a home button, just like Siri.

And watch out Samsung, here comes Daydream View VR,

a virtual reality headset made for the Pixel, unlike Gear VR

Google's goggle doesn't come with any additional sensors,

so in that respect it's a bit more like Google cardboard,

or maybe Google carpet, because it's softer you see.

That may explain the lower price tag, ?69, but it does come

with a nice little controller that neatly slots into the headset

when not in use.

Google also announced a set of connected Wi-Fi bases,

promising to boost the connectivity around your house.

Your house is really where Google wants to be.

Because now Amazon's Echo is in the firing line with this

new personal assistant device, Google Home.

OK, back to Japan now, because C-Tech is still happening

and Dan is still there.

We met the origami bird last year, but it's been given a major upgrade

with two extra wings, it can now hover.

It's the tiny microcontrollers that parts manufacturer Roam want to sell

you, but I suspect the bird itself would be a bigger hit.

And it can now be gesture controlled using a wristband over Wi-Fi.

To get this baby to fly this year, we just do a quick flick of the rest

and there it goes.

And I think, a bit more power up, up.

And away.

There she goes.

And hopefully...

Oh, my word!

How far away can this bird actually fly, I wonder.

Oh no, don't go in there.

Do not go in there.

It seems to have gone quite a long way.

I still seem to have control here.

Woops!

That was him, by the way, that crashed it.

Can we have our bird back please?

This innovation may not look like much, but it could power

thousands of new gadgets.

This could be our new flexible friend.

It is Panasonic's bendy battery.

They've managed to do this because the outer casing is made

of a mixture of plastic and aluminium and the live

materials, the active materials inside this lithium battery have

been painted on to the connectors.

And this could be invaluable to a few bits of technology,

flexible screens or bendy phones we might have in the future.

They're all going to need power that can bend with them.

This is going to be available in mass production from 2018,

so Panasonic will have samples for manufacturers to play

with by the end of this month.

Time for a touch-up.

This vanity mirror holds a secret.

Place your face in the circle and it analyses your skin, showing

you both your visible spots and blemishes and those you may have

coming in the future.

But just when you thought, shock, horror, why would I want one

of those, the magic happens.

It prints out a personal make-up patch, that when applied,

looks so real, you can hardly see it.

Masayo Fuchigami doesn't just use the system,

she helped design it.

TRANSLATION: With this, layers of make-up will not be

necessary and only a patch is needed.

It requires less time and it feels lighter.

Epson has created a large box for large businesses,

so they can create their own paper rather than use a recycling plant.

As well as being greener, it says it is more secure

because everything is reduced to a pulp before it kicks out up

to 12 new sheets and minute.

Come on, baby.

Come to daddy.

Good girl.

You OK?

I think that works, perfectly safe.

We'll leave Dan at C-Tech and return to...

I'm not exactly sure where, actually.

I think I'm in Tokyo's Mori Art Museum.

This interactive artwork by a creative group called Team Lab

is taking me on an exhilarating journey.

These crows are the three legged crows from Japanese mythology.

They are the embodiment of the soul.

As they fly around, they leave these incredible trails in space.

It's like I'm in the middle of some massive piece of 3-D calligraphy.

As you walk about, the crows chase each other in a work that

rendered in real time by a computer programme.

This is not a pre-recorded animation.

It's not just a passive projection either.

It's very interactive.

Along with eight projectors, there are motion sensors on both

the floor and the ceiling to recognise people's movements.

As the crows fly around the room, if they hit you, if they hit

the point where you are standing or if they collide with each other,

they explode in these amazing flowers of light.

It is enveloping, engulfing, disorientating.

Feel like I'm tumbling through space.

The idea behind this installation is to have a collective experience

by interacting with the peace.

TRANSLATION: In this new era of digital art, technology

is just another tool, no different to brush really.

It makes you feel as if there are no borders between you,

the work of the around you.

You forget who you are and where you are.

I wanted to create an experience where this borderlessness

makes you feel positive.

And as the show ends, all the crows have exploded

into these flowers of light, which just drift away into space.

Next week, we have another very special show for you.

We're in Zurich for the world's first Cybathon.

It is an athletics event for people with robotic limbs and robot

wheelchairs and it promises to be a brilliant event.

The competition's for the athletes and also for the tech teams

who devised the devices they'll be using.

Earlier this year I met up with some of the participants.

This is a taster of what happens when I tried an early version

of a self-balancing, stair-climbing wheelchair.

The full account is on YouTube.

I pressed the wrong button.

It shut down.

Good.

OK.

LAUGHTER.

I'm so happy we are about to go up some stairs.

Whoa.

Does this look as terrifying to you as it does to me?

No, it doesn't work and I think I have to stop.

Have you thought this through?

You haven't even got a name for the safe position thingy.

You realise I am hanging on the edge of a cliff here.

Do you have any questions?

I've got one big one I'd like to ask you - what do we do now?

Hello.