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JETRO Chicago is once again coordinating the Japan Innovation Showcase at CES 2016, which is being held in Las Vegas from January 6-9. Six companies will exhibit at the Japan Innovation Showcase (Booth 72150), including two first-time exhibitors. The Innovation Showcase will be located in the Robotics Marketplace, on Level 2 of the Sands Expo and Convention Center.

In addition, two Japanese companies will exhibit in Eureka Park, located on Level 1, Hall G, of the Sands Expo. Bonsai Labs will exhibit in Booth 80658, with Westunitis in Booth 80950. Eureka Park is dedicated to emerging start-up companies with innovative products that aren’t available yet. More than 400 companies are expected to exhibit in Eureka Park at CES 2016.

These eight Japanese companies are seeking new business opportunities and partnerships in the U.S. market, and are looking forward to active business talks with prospective partners.

Here’s a look at the eight exhibitors:

Paro Robots

PARO Robots was established in November 2008 to introduce the Therapy Baby Harp Seal Robot, “PARO.” Paro has five kinds of sensors – tactile, light, audition, temperature, and posture sensors – that it uses to perceive people and its environment. For example, Paro can recognize the source of light, learn its name, recognize words for greeting and praise, senses when it is being stroked, patted forcefully, and when it is being held by a person.

PARO allows the documented benefits of animal therapy to be administered to patients in environments such as hospitals and extended care facilities where live animals present treatment or logistical difficulties:

• PARO has been found to reduce patient stress and their caregivers
• PARO stimulates interaction between patients and caregivers
• PARO has been shown to improve a patient’s relaxation and motivation
• PARO improves the socialization of patients with each other and with caregivers
• World’s Most Therapeutic Robot certified by Guinness World Records

MJI

MJI’s slogan is “More Joyful Innovation,” and its Tapia robot is designed for your everyday life, soothing your mind by telling jokes and making you laugh when you come home tired. When you are in a good mood, she takes pictures to record the moment.

She calls your loved ones so you can always be connected to that special person, and she keeps you updated on the weather conditions before you go out. To top it off, she plays your favorite music when you are ready to relax.

The MJI robot weighs 6.5 lb., has Wi-Fi and 4LTE connectivity and cameras for motion-tracking, facial recognition and surveillance. The MJI is being geared towards the elderly and people who require a simple communication interface with their technology.

Miraisens

Miraisens provides various kind of solutions to extend your contents with 3DHaptics Technologies, such as Hardware Solutions (Actuators + Software), Consulting Solution and Licensing Solutions.

Its original 3DHaptics Technology was invented by integrating engineering and brain science. By specially designed stimulation (vibration), the body reacts unconsciously by letting the brain cause an Illusion and you can get a sense of realistic touch sensation.

Outstanding Technology

Founded in 2007, Outstanding Technology is in the forefront of visible light communication (VLC) technology. In August 2015, mass production of sales began for the world’s first “Visible Light Communication System” that is accessible even in environments that do not have accessibility to radio waves, thereby causing electro-magnetic interference and security problems.

Its ID illumination system “commulight”, for example, can specify the location of devices such as smartphones with up to 30 cm of accuracy and provides services based on the given location. “Commulight” uses the smartphone or camera’s reception receiver for the ID reception.

Topy Industries

Topy is the creator of the Crawler Robot, a small unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) with omnidirectional crawler technology that enables the movement of heavy luggage on stairs as well as mobility on uneven terrain and through narrow passages. This technology is remote controllable, which makes exploration possible in disaster areas and narrow spaces.

Topy says its technology can be applied to the moving mechanism of all mobile robots, and it can also help in the development of new solutions.

Yukai Engineering

Yukai Engineering is the maker of BOCCO, a Wi-Fi connected robot designed to keep you connected to your loved ones while you are away from home. BOCCO connects to discreet sensors in your home to send notifications to connected smartphones.

With the included app, you can send a voice or text message to BOCCO, which it will read out to family members who are back at home. By speaking to BOCCO, he will send voice messages securely back to the connected smartphones.

Bonsai Lab

Bonsai Lab’s FabPod is a compact size desktop 3D printer. FabPod is fun to use, perfect for those who are interested in learning the joy of creation. FabPod’s unique voice feature and internet connectivity makes cool product choices for educational and family use.

Westunitis

Westunitis is active in: Wearable computing system and hardware development; GUI design and Software fusion; Augmented Reality system development; and Sensor network system development. Some of its products include:

InfoLinker – a wearable glasses system that specializes in industrial applications
PicoLinker – the world’s lightest head mounted display