Cover Story
An Agricultural Revolution through Electronics
With growing public concern regarding food safety and reliability, plant factories, which are capable of producing crops in clean, controlled environments, are on the increase.Plant factories are proving to be havens of electronics technology.Just how will the electronics industry ride the revolution it has initiated at plant factories?
Why All the Attention?
Food safety and reliability concerns send plant factories on a growth trajectory
Mounting consumer concern about food safety and reliability is causing companies involved in the food industry to take a closer interest in plant factories—facilities for cultivating crops in an environment shut off from the outside world.Plant factories can cultivate vegetables without any pesticides and in an almost entirely aseptic environment.Systematic production and shipping of vegetables is also possible as operations are unaffected by climatic fluctuations.Plant factories that employ electronics technology have the potential to dramatically alter agriculture as we know it.As a wider range of options become available, it would hardly be surprising if electronics manufacturers were to try their hand at crop farming.
Feature Spread
Bank vault becomes vegetable plot
Spread out in an old underground vault beneath Otemachi, Tokyo, is a vegetable plot.Recruitment agency, Pasona Inc., established the facility in 2005 as part of its agricultural human resource development program.Flower, rice and vegetable cultivation using artificial light is undertaken in six different rooms.
Innovative New Technologies Abound
Knowledge from consumer electronics and semiconductor businesses enables cheap vegetable production
Electronics technologies acquired in consumer electronics and semiconductor fields—backlights and reflective sheets used in liquid crystal panels; airflow control technology applied in semiconductor plants—are being increasingly applied at low cost in the establishment and operation of plant factories. The biggest problem for fully-regulated plant factories that employ artificial light is the cost of lighting. However, there is still potential for large cost reductions, depending on the measures taken. Some estimates predict that a 100g lettuce could be produced for around 90 yen, which is comparable to the cost of a lettuce grown outdoors.
Special Feature
Detroit Motor Show: Environmentally Friendly Automobiles Make a Full-scale Entrance
United States automakers are adding environmentally-friendly vehicles to their fleets at a quickening pace.At the 2008 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) held January 13-27 in Detroit, Michigan, General Motors Corp. announced it would be rolling out a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) in 2010.Meanwhile, Chrysler LLC was desperate to make up for its late arrival on the environmental vehicle scene, unveiling three concept cars in one go—a plug-in diesel hybrid, an electric vehicle and a fuel cell plug-in vehicle.We examine the future of the US automotive market as glimpsed through the 2008 NAIAS.
Macworld Conference & Expo:Apple Proclaims the Opening of the Ultra-thin Notebook PC Age
Apple, Inc. introduced its ultra-thin notebook computer, “MacBook Air”—4mm at its thinnest point, around 19.4mm at its thickest—during the Macworld Conference & Expo in January 2008.MacBook Air possesses a 13.3-inch liquid-crystal panel, typically found on A4-sized notebooks, and weighs approximately 1.36kg.Usual notebook features such as LAN cable and modem ports, as well as an optical disk drive, have been left out in order to realize the extraordinarily thin profile.There is a high likelihood of rival companies introducing similar products.The age of the ultra-thin, large-screen mobile notebook computer is almost upon us.
Guest Paper
An Optical Disc Media Capable of “Several Terabytes” in One Cartridge
Hitachi Maxell, Ltd. and Hitachi, Ltd. have developed a stacked volumetric optical disk (SVOD) that can store an enormous 2.4 terabytes on one cartridge and a dedicated read/write drive.The SVOD was realized by stacking several tens of extra-thin Blu-ray Discs into a single cartridge.It will function with existing file management software as if it were a 2.4 terabyte optical disk.Hitachi Maxell explains the reasons for developing SVODs, SVOD characteristics and the direction of future development.
Documentary
The Singing Voice Synthesis Software “Hatsune Miku” (Part 1): The Encounter Started from Ringtones
Tutorial
High-speed Transmission Related Design and Evaluation (Part 1)
High-speed interface technology, currently found in servers and routers, allowing transmission at several Gbits/s, or even more than 10 Gbits/s, is likely to find its way into audio-visual equipment and other devices. This series explains the key points and evaluation methods for incorporating high-speed transmission into such devices. The first installment provides an overview of high-speed transmission technology.
How to Create a Strong Patent (Final): Create a “Strong Patent” by Selecting a Strategic Subject
The final installment in the series introduces methods for choosing “themes” to follow in the creation of “strong patents.” Strategic themes can be selected through the careful identification of fields predicted to enjoy continued expansion and a rising number of patent applications. We also introduce strategies to apply when budgeting for patent applications.
World Report
Looking into the Advances of “1-Chip Mobile Handsets”
We Opened Up Really Cheap Mobile Handsets from India
Keyword
UMPC
Key Person
Komoro Nunobiki Strawberry Farm’s Tsuyoshi Kuramoto: “Plants and Computers Fit Together Well”
NE Interview
ASUSTeK’s President, Jerry Shen:
“Housewives and Children Are Looking for Low Cost Personal Computers”
News
- Hitachi Develops Pb Free High Temperature Solder
- Kadokawa Group Holdings Uses YouTube’s Video Identification Technology
- An LSI which “Hardwarizes” OSs and Increases System Call Handling Speed by
- 100 Times Is Developed
- Matsushita Electric Works and UC Santa Barbara Develop a New Type of Blue LED
