Sony showcases cinematic, financial and robotic advances
By Burt Lum
One of the popular tech events ushering in each new year is the annual conference of the Pacific Telecommunications Council, www.ptc2004.org.
In early January, the telecom industry converges on the Hilton Hawaiian Village to meet, attend presentations and make deals.
An unofficial and unaudited estimate of the dollar value of the deals to flow through the PTC is in the billions. Granted, the number is unofficial, but given the scope of many trans-pacific fiber projects, it does not seem farfetched.
If only there were a way to funnel a percentage of that money to the Hawai'i tech sector.
This year's conference added a twist. Sony Corporation co-sponsored a day to showcase its business innovations in digital media and the visitor industry. Where most telecom vendors will sponsor a session or lunch, Sony's presence dominated an entire day at the conference.
It didn't have as much to do with telecom infrastructure, but the involvement of Sony added the perspective of telecom use from a major multinational entertainment and electronics manufacturer.
Sony showcased its end-to-end digital solution for the entertainment industry, called e-Cinema.
It outlined a future of cinema, from content creation using digital cams to worldwide distribution via high-speed telecom links into theaters showing features from digital projection systems.
You might think of this as the professional parallel of shooting with a DV cam, editing on your computer, uploading to the Internet and streaming from your Web site.
For the visitor industry, Sony presented its smart-card technology, Felica, found at www.sony.net/Products/felica. It's like a cash card you can use from public transportation and vending machines for e-commerce. The JR lines in Japan have adopted this technology so commuters can enjoy coinless travel.
The highlight of the luncheon was Sony's consumer robotics.
Its twin QRIO robots' seamless dance was a masterful combination of robotics, and sensor and artificial intelligence technology.
Quite amazing and all packaged in a cute, two-foot form factor.
Check out Sony's Quest for Curiosity (QRIO) at www.sony.net/SonyInfo/QRIO.
;-)
Burt Lum is one click away at www.brouhaha.net.
