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EPTE Newsletter: INTERNEPCON Japan 2016

INTERNEPCON Japan 2016 was the first electronics trade show in Japan this year. The three-day exhibition began on January 13 at Tokyo Big Sight. Even though the electronics industry is still in the midst of a recession, many companies attended the show with hopes of discovering some new technologies or other avenues for business ventures.

The event continues to grow each year. Event organizers booked more than 2,000 companies and organizations for the trade show. The entire floor space was sold out—the staff was creative, squeezing even more booths into the venue by narrowing the aisles and renting out non-premium space in the lobby area. Visitor attendance also increased this year.

There was an eclectic array of products on display—too many to describe in detail. The majority of products centered on automotive and wearable electronics. I estimate that 25% of the companies showcased products related to automobile electronics. There were automobile electronic products featured, but the most popular technology was self-driving cars. Self-driving cars are no longer a thing of the future. The leaders in this field demonstrated actual trials for a packed audience. They believe their product will be commercially viable within three years.

Electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) were another popular topic in the automobile section of the show. Many companies featured power source devices that included batteries electrode and electrolyte materials. The advancement in these technologies will have an impact on increasing the battery life in cars.

Companies from Taiwan featured products related to automobile electronics. This is a new business venture for many of these companies. Traditionally, the Japanese automobile industry does not purchase materials and parts from foreign companies. Taiwanese manufacturers may have a hard time entering this market in Japan. Price is not the only hurdle they face.

Hands down, the most popular products at the show were wearable electronics.  The floor size dedicated to this segment was larger than last year, and was very popular for many visitors. There was a wide range of technologies ranging from raw materials to electronic devices such as glasses and goggles. The trend this year is functional material, especially fabric and elastic materials. There were many manufacturers for raw materials and chemical companies that promoted functional materials such as included conductive, elastic, transparent and more. They all forecasted a huge market in medical electronics; typical examples are shirt-type sensors. Several textile companies displayed prototype models for these healthcare applications. Yamaha, a musical instrument supplier, featured a glove-type motion sensor for keyboard players.

There were several sessions related to wearable electronics in the technical symposium. It was standing room only—many were trying to learn the next technological trends to generate some business in the upcoming year. I asked several exhibitors if there was any substantial business in the wearable electronics segment; all of them answered not yet. Most were at the exhibition to introduce new technology with hopes of attracting potential customers.

Vendors and customers were very excited with the next generation of technology unveiled at the show. Wearable electronics will wire the human body with sensors that will provide huge amounts of data.

Headlines of the Week  (To read the entire stories, click here.)

1. Panasonic (Major electronics company in Japan) 12/24

Has developed a new elastic substrate for the stretchable wearable electronics. A stretchable conductor ink will be supplied together.

2. Yamaha (Major motor cycle manufacturer in Japan) 1/7

Will roll out new 3D inspection machine “YSi-V 12M TypeHS” for assembled high-density circuit boards that will increase productivity 25%.

3. Showa Denko (Major chemical company in Japan) 1/8

Has developed a new solder mask resist for 20– 30 micron class COF modules of flat displays.

4. OMRON (Major device supplier in Japan) 1/12

Has commercialized a new absolute pressure sensor that has +/- 5cm accuracy to measure altitude.

5. Hitachi 1/14

Has founded Global Center for Social Innovation—North America in Santa Clara, California for the local R&D works.

6. Tokyo University (Japan) 1/14

Has co-developed an innovative manufacturing process of carbon fibers. The productivity could be ten times higher. It reduces energy consumption and CO2 emission.

7. Fuji Film (Major film material supplier in Japan) 1/19

Will build a new manufacturing plant in Tainan-city, Taiwan, for the production of semi-conductor materials. The first product will be developing solution.

8. AIST (R&D organization in Japan) 1/21

Has developed a conductive transparent wrapping film. It will be valuable to generate RF devices on the packaging of the foods.

9. Murata (Major component supplier in Japan) 1/25

Has started the volume production of 0402 size (0.4 mm x 0.2 mm) chip inductors with the highest Q performance at high frequencies.

10. Tokyo University (Japan) 1/26

Has developed a new organic thin photovoltaic cell introducing transparent titanium oxide electrode.

11. Tohoku University (Japan) 1/26

Has developed a new flexible super capacitor for integrated circuits processed by blue violet laser. It will be valuable as the power sources of the wearable devices.

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To reach Dominique K. Numakura, click here.

For more information on the news included here, contact haverhill@dknreseach.com.