Mori Building, Panasonic test urban‐heat and language‐guidance solutions at tourist spots in Tokyo

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Panasonic Corp and Mori Building will launch a series of collaborative field experiments at Mori’s various Hills facilities in Tokyo to test new urbanntechnologies and solutions. The aim is to develop and confirm innovative solutions that provide increased comfort and convenience for foreign visitors to Tokyo, who are expected to reach some 20 million by 2020.

As the number of foreign visitors to Tokyo steadily rises, Mori’s Hills facilities and other major tourism spots are working on challenges such as providing protection from summer heat and arranging more foreign‐language services. Meanwhile, Panasonic is looking to accelerate the development of innovative solutions to meet these challenges.

Mori’s Hills facilities, known as “cities within cities,” provide ideal environments for real‐life field experiments of products and services expected to be incorporated in cities in the coming future.

Panasonic’s Cool Spot solution will be tested from August 27 at Toranomon Hills, Mori’s latest multi‐use high‐rise building. The Cool Spot is a micro‐thermal environment created with mist, air curtains and light‐blocking panels to help people avoid heat stroke. Panasonic is also aiming to add moisture‐capturing blocks to the Cool Spot to help efficiently reduce the overall temperature inside, as well as a stand‐alone power system consisting of solar panels and a storage battery. The company will utilize the findings from this experiment in developing future products.

From September, Panasonic’s automatic multi‐language interpretation device will be tested in field experiments at Roppongi Hills and VenusFort, the two Hills facilities visited most frequently by foreign visitors.By offering the devices at information desks, Panasonic will be able to confirm their appeal and functionality for users while also identifying areas for improvement.