For sponsor companies, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are a "golden opportunity" to develop and showcase new technologies, "not only to impress foreign visitors but hopefully to provide a legacy for future generations," according to KYODO. With "everything from a mist curtain to cool people off" to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and robots delivering drinks, companies are "sparing no expense as they gear up for a marketing bonanza." Electronics maker Panasonic Corp. aims to do its bit to spread "omotenashi," the Japanese spirit of hospitality, with its "Green Air Conditioner," which it is trialing this summer. The air conditioner sprays a "very fine and dry mist," which evaporates quickly and brings down the temperature in a semi-enclosed space surrounded by a stream of air dubbed the "air curtain." The company is "trialing the air conditioners at bus stops, rest areas and similar spots in Fujisawa," southwest of Tokyo, from Aug. 1-Sept. 30. "Hospi," another product from Panasonic, is a robot that can deliver drinks to customers and clear dishes from tables at airports or hotel lobbies. Demonstrations were held at Narita Airport and the ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, earlier this year. Panasonic is also "developing an automated electric-powered robot cart that can assist disabled people in wheelchairs with their luggage." The carts will "follow behind with the person's bags." Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. has been "developing new ways for spectators to view sports" using its "Kirari!" immersive 3D telepresence technology. Toyota Motor Corp. has a blueprint for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles or buses, "which only emit water, to ride around the Olympic venues in an official capacity." The development comes in line with the Tokyo organizing committee's goal of making the Olympics a model of a "hydrogen society" (KYODO, 8/29).
