Future fair
With assurances that the future is on its way, Spencer Kelly traverses the obligatory time tunnel, when visiting Hitachi's Inspire Life expo in London.
In keeping with current green concerns, travel was one of the big themes at the event put on by the Japanese hi-tech giant.
TALKING GREEN CARS
Hitachi is betting on an organic hydride fuel device that processes a car's emissions and turns them back into more fuel.
Another green idea being developed is a fuel cell that takes methanol and water in and gives out energy, along with some vapour and carbon dioxide.
New car-to-car technology also envisages that vehicles will one day talk to each other, upcoming road signs, and even see round corners.
Cameras fitted at important junctions will use a type of wireless technology, which is said to be more reliable and faster than wi-fi, to communicate with the car.
This means the driver can see any upcoming traffic hazards before they actually come into view.
INDOOR GPS
Drivers can already find their way around more easily, thanks to the Global Positioning System (GPS), which gives them their exact co-ordinates anywhere on Earth.
However, GPS relies on being outdoors and in range of satellite reception.
This could become a thing of the past if an indoor positioning system being tested is successful.
It uses ultra-wideband wireless technology to talk to transceivers set around a room.
By measuring the signal received from each one, a box can triangulate its position on a map so it can be found.
PLASTIC ELECTRONICS
Hitachi is also developing organic polymers, which are a class of substances used to make everything from bin bags to solar panels.
They allow circuitry to be printed onto flexible surfaces. For instance, someone could have solar cells printed on the back of their curtains that would convert the sun into electricity for the house.
Polymers are already being used in some electronic devices.
MIND CONTROL
Also on show was a device designed to allow patients who are paralysed, and can't communicate, to answer simple yes or no questions.
It measures the blood flow through a patient's brain according to how hard they are thinking.
By controlling how much it needs to work the patient can give their answer.
HANDY SCANNER
A digital pen scans words as someone is writing them by recording the movements made, like an optical mouse.
The pen's scanner watches the special tiny dots printed on the paper, and when placed back in its holder, it downloads all the scanned material to a computer.
The document also gets a timestamp and the software will show up any doctoring of the original text
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation
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