7 coolest futuristic gadgets from Japan's biggest tech show

Two and half years ago Japan was hit by a massive earthquake, the tsunami and even now there are reports of radioactive water leakage from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, located about 240 kilometers from Tokyo.

But I would not have a sense of that walking the floors of CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) - Japan’s largest consumer electronics show.

Running from October 1-5 in Makuhari, just outside Tokyo, the show brings together many of the companies showing their products that are not yet available to consumers in North America, Europe or even Asia, but will shape the market going forward.

Here are some of the cool things I saw at this year’s CEATEC, a sense of what the future holds for the world of automotive and consumer electronics.

Click NEXT to see the coolest futuristic gadgets from CEATEC…

Sharper TVs

Sony already has 4K TVs selling in the US and Europe. At CEATEC Toshiba had a huge display of their version of the REGZA brand 4K TVs.  And the televisions are becoming affordable, experts say.

But the problem is at present there is not much content, other than films produced by the Japanese company’s Hollywood studio, and video games.

“Regular networks are not shooting and broadcasting in 4K,” says Tim Stevens, an editor at CNET and one of the judges at CEATEC.  And that transfer of broadcast technology may not happen soon, he adds.

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8K TVs

This year at CEATEC, Japanese giants Panasonic and NHK displayed their 8K TVs, with four-times the resolution of the HD TVs that we have in homes in the US.

The first application for the 8K TVs would be for displays at shows and large concerts and sporting events. With the launch date of 2020, Panasonic and NHK are aiming to be ready with the giant TVs for the Tokyo Olympics.

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NTT Docomo’s Intelligent “Terminator” Glasses

NTT Docomo is Japan’s largest mobile phone service provider. But the company is also vastly ahead in developing innovative technologies that will make the consumers’ lives easier.

At CEATEC, Docomo has displayed their version of Intelligent Glasses (a concept similar to Google Glass).  At the show we saw how a customer at a restaurant can look at a menu in Japanese and the DOCOM glasses will translate each food item into English.

But the possibilities are endless, says Hubert Nguyen, co-founder and editor of ubergizmo.com and another judge at CEATEC.

The glasses use augmented reality technology, he adds. The screen covers your whole vision and information can be added anywhere in your field of vision.

“It is like in The Terminator,” Nguyen says. “The Terminator would see a person and then the message on his glasses would identify the person.  Similarly by using Facebook or Google+ these glasses could also recognise a ‘friend.’”

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