InterNepcon Japan 2016 is the first electronics trade show in Japan this year.
The three-day exhibition began Jan. 13 at Tokyo Big Sight. Although 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 year-over-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 with squeezing even more booths into the venue by narrowing aisles and renting out non-premium space in the lobby area.
Visitor attendance also increased this year. There was an eclectic amount of products on display; too many to describe in detail. The majority of products centered on automobile and wearable electronics. I estimate that 25% of the companies showcased products related with 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 products 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 battery 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 hard time entering this market in Japan. The hurdles are not only prices.
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 forecast 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 the 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.
Dominique K. Numakura,
DKN Research Newsletter #1602, Jan. 31, 2016 (English Edition) (Micro Electronics & Packaging)
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Headlines of the Week (Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further information of the news.)
1. Panasonic developed a elastic substrate for stretchable wearable electronics. A stretchable conductor ink will be supplied together.
2. Yamaha will roll out a 3D inspection machine “YSi-V 12M TypeHS” for assembled high density circuit boards. It is said to increase productivity 25%.
3. Showa Denko developed a solder mask resist for 20 to 30 micron class COF modules of flat displays.
4. Omron commercialized a absolute pressure sensor. It has +/-5cm accuracy, for measuring altitude.
5. Hitachi founded the Global Center for Social Innovation-North America in Santa Clara, CA, for local R&D works.
6. Tokyo University codeveloped 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 semiconductor 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 started volume production of 0402 size (0.4 x 0.2mm) chip inductors with the highest Q performance at high frequencies.
10. Tokyo University developed an organic thin photovoltaic cell introducing transparent titanium oxide electrode.
11. Tohoku University developed a flexible super capacitor for integrated circuits processed by blue violet laser. It will be valuable as the power source for wearable devices.
