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「Hello, everyone.
The theme of the C&C Users Forum and iEXPO 2008 is “Creating a human-centric, earth-friendly information society.
How can IT and networking contribute to maintain worldwide harmony and create a human-centric society?
We would like to search for hints to this here today.
“The Marunouchi Area, upon which the current Tokyo International Forum stands, was originally a sea called HIBIYA-IRIE.”
About 400 years ago, Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa settled in Edo and reclaiming this land, he carried out large scale municipal construction in order to prevent floods and build a safe city that was full of water and greenery.
As a result, Edo became the most populated city of its age, as well as an environment-friendly city.
Edo also offered a rich culture for its residents to enjoy and was a networked city that incubated businesses through its communities of people.
This city was the backdrop to flourishing industries that affect the 21st century even now.
History has hailed Edo as an city of innovation that linked people and information.
Using the old, yet surprisingly progressive Edo as our inspiration, we will consider the future of the information society.
“Well everybody, get ready to open the door to a human-centric and Earth-friendly information society.”
The Earth.
This planet runs on a miraculous, delicately balanced mechanism and is home to 7 billion people and various forms of life.
In order to protect this precious Earth and the people who live on it for posterity,
we must change our lifestyles and design a new society.
“Creating a human-centric, earth-friendly information society.”
Hello, everybody. Today, through investigating Edo and Japanese characteristics and traditions, we will search for ways of creating a new society and new business methods.
“And experiencing “The Real Future” with us is the great Edo business innovator, Mr. Gennai Hiraga.”
“Thank you for your invitation from the 21st century.”
“We at NEC are aiming for a human-centric, Earth-friendly Information Society. “
Creating a society that doesn't put stress on the global environment is a big concern at the moment.
Mr. Gennai, what were things like in the Edo era?
“In the Edo era we used plants grown in the energy of the sun as fuel and thoroughly recycled the remaining ashes as fertilizer and raw materials.
It was a society that was highly energy efficient.
Not only ashes, but metal objects such as swords, tableware and furniture, kimonos made from precious cloth, books, in fact many kinds of objects were remade by recycle shops to suit their new owners.
With radical reuse and circulation, we were able to realize a three-R society - reduce, reuse and recycle.
The social structure created by the people of Edo was a true innovation in itself.»
“It is up to us in the 21st century to take a page out of Edo's book with its efficient use of energy and high quality of life to create a society that puts less stress on the Earth.”
Answering to such challenges, NEC is moving ahead in various innovations to optimize the overall social system, focusing in particular on the reduction of carbon dioxide.
For example, the award winning energy saving server ECO CENTER heightens the cooling efficiency of internal heat release, bringing about a 55% cut in energy consumption.
Furthermore, increased saving of energy has been realized in the construction of data centers with heat simulations in the planning stages and proposal of appropriate operation in monitoring during operation.
Maintaining high performance,
NEC is aiming to cut the electricity consumed by the users' IT environment by up to 50% and reduce carbon dioxide to a cumulative total of 910,000 tons by 2012.
“Cutting the output of carbon dioxide by 50% in just three years! Undoubtedly remarkable innovation.”
NEC is putting much effort into taking action on a global scale with “Innovations for understanding the Earth.”
For example, NEC has contributed highly sophisticated carbon dioxide sensors “TANSO” to “IBUKI”- a technical satellite being developed to survey the effects of greenhouse gas.
IBUKI is expected to launch in 2008.
Up until now, slight changes in density of carbon dioxide could only be measured in 256 places in limited countries. However, thanks to TANSO, 56,000 points all over the world can be measured in one go.
“So, IBUKI will be able to verify the progress made in the emission reduction process set out in the Kyoto Protocol.”
In addition, NEC has been put in charge of production of one of the world's fastest super computer - “Earth Simulator.”
With its ability to make fine calculations, it predicts the future shape of the world, contributing to research in the global warming mechanism.
As you can see in the case of the Marunouchi area, precise simulations can be made in units of only 5meter as to the direction of the wind and change in temperature.
“So, understanding the Earth is the first step in creating an Earth-friendly society.”
“OK, Mr. Gennai, let's move on to the subject of a “human-centric information society.”
What was life like in Edo?
“For example, daily foods consisted of fresh fish and vegetables and could be procured safely and directly from the producers.
Moreover, peddlers, with a detailed knowledge of past purchases, would make customized deliveries daily, tailoring to the tastes and size of the household.,
Furthermore, payment could be made in a simple cashless,paperless manner just twice a year.
And not only food products, but political and financial news, what's on at the theatre and entertainment information could be obtained easily by anybody.
“Our society is complex with a vast source of information and services.
It is up to us to pick the right information at the right moment.
Anybody can have free access to various information and services anytime, anywhere.
IT is following in the footsteps of the Edo age with its message boards full of the latest news and its detailed knowledge of the client's needs, just like the peddlers.
For example, please take a look at this demonstration using digital signage.
NEC digital signage - not just simple display panels, but intelligent signage.
Using NEC's unique facial authentication technology, a person's sex and age can be automatically determined and customized information can be displayed to individual users, for example at a bank, it can propose “ladies loans” to young women in their twenties and home loans to men in their thirties.
“This is good. What could only be achieved in Edo through person to person contact is now made possible through IT.»
At NEC, we provide unique SaaS type service platforms - from customer analysis and optimum contents management to a mobile payment infrastructure using easy to use, safe mobile phones.
We can support the creation of new business through user friendly service models.
By the way, Mr. Gennai, small theatre entertainment was very popular in the Edo era, wasn't it?
Let's have a look at the very latest, modern entertainment systems that have sprung from new service models.」
Hello there.
Up here in the square, digital signage is being used to offer movie information.
And movie tickets can be downloaded through a mobile phone.
We're aiming to make the system easy to access & paperless.
If you take this mobile phone to NEC's digital theatre in Hall B5, you can watch a digest version of the latest 3D films, “Center of the Earth” and the long-awaited “The Sky Crawlers” by director Mamoru Oshii.”
NEC's digital cinema projector has received the seal of approval in Hollywood with its high quality visuals and environment friendly film-less technology.
Please experience the system easy to access & paperless digital cinema theater in the Hall B5.
One of the biggest problems in the film industry is that enormous printing costs are incurred every time a movie is released.
However, with digitalization, costs will be cut dramatically.
Up until recently the used film was thrown away as industrial waste and I am hoping that we can introduce this digital system into cinemas all over the world as quickly as possible.
Many will benefit from this, including our Earth.
Apparently, in Japan there are about 40 million people who go to movie theatre, When we consider how best to promote movies and provide movie goers with information,
promotion through mobile phone seems the best way to more forward. After all, most of those that watch movies are also carrying mobile phones.
That's very interesting!
I see that by using NEC's service platform it is possible to create many new services that transcend types of business and industry.
Also, people of any age can safely and easily use the new services.
“In order to improve the society of the future, it is up to us as human beings to bring about innovation.”
“Innovation is brought about by fresh possibilities born from new conjunctures.
We at NEC aim to realize a “human-centric and Earth-friendly information society,” creating new innovations through our world famous and unique core technologies integrated with our overall resources.
The music swells…
“The time is right to create a new way forward for the information society with the symbiotic relationship between man and nature that is typical of the Japanese sensibility.”
“Creating a human-centric, earth-friendly information society.”
