The world’s first Sea-Air Integrated Drone blazes a new path towards oceanic sustainability and carbon neutrality

The Sea-Air Integrated Drone is the first drone of its kind to be able to fly in the air and swim underwater to perform various and complex tasks, leading a new path toward sustainable ocean economies and carbon neutrality.

Underwater robotics firm QYSEA recently teamed up with Japanese telecommunications operator KDDI to develop the world’s first sea-air integrated, remote-control-operated drone, which was constructed by the commercial drone manufacturer PRODRONE. The Sea-Air Integrated Drone was first unveiled during a flight showcase at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise in Yokohama. With sights set on modernizing “offshore and marine operations with its intelligent capabilities, high working efficiency, and minimized manpower required,” the drone will be the first of its kind to fly in the air and swim underwater.

Designers: QYSEA, KDDI, and PRODRONE

Known for an impressive catalog of underwater robotics and marine technology, QYSEA implemented the use of their industrial-class FIFISH PRO V6 PLUS ROV into the build of the heavy-duty aerial drone. Six years prior to its conception, KDDI first began “[combining] advanced mobile communication networks with drone technologies that would deliver extended flying distances and lengths.” Since then, KDDI and QYSEA have worked together to develop seamless drone operations between air and sea.

Defined by KDDI’s long-range mobile communication technology, operators can control the drone via remote from long distance ranges, whether the drone has submerged underwater or taken flight. Once the drone has landed in its designated location, the FIFISH ROV detaches and deploys to get to work, allowing the operator to remotely control the drone with the ROV from a safe distance. Describing the drone’s remote-controlled operations, the team at QYSEA notes,

“Without the need to leave their onshore working location, the operator can deliver inspections with real-time visual feedback and operate through underwater environments with a variety of sampling, measurement, and manipulation tools, as well as be able to live-stream operations for multi-person collaborations.”

In addition to the variety of operations the drone can manage, the Sea-Air Integrated Drone has shown its competency across additional marine-based industries. In offshore wind power plants, the drone can perform complex maintenance tasks.

In the world of aquaculture, the Sea-Air Integrated Drone can fly out to monitor livestock and crops, in addition to regular maintenance tasks. With further information to be released in early 2022, the Sea-Air Integrated Drone is sure to lead a new path toward the development of a sustainable ocean economy and the global goal of carbon neutrality.

The post The world’s first Sea-Air Integrated Drone blazes a new path towards oceanic sustainability and carbon neutrality first appeared on Yanko Design.

Apple alters its contracts to comply with Japan’s antitrust laws

Japan's antitrust regulatory agency just wrapped up an investigation into Apple, and in order to ensure its compliance with the country's antitrust rules, the company will change the sales contracts it has with three of Japan's major mobile service p...

KDDI Qua tab QZ10 Waterproof Android 7.1 Tablet

KDDI Qua tab QZ10

KDDI Corporation has recently launched their newest waterproof Android 7.1 tablet, the Qua tab QZ10. Measuring 8.6mm thick and weighing 503g, this waterproof (IPX5) and dustproof (IPX8) tablet is packed with a 10.1-inch WUXGA multi-touch display, a 3GB RAM and a 32GB of expandable internal storage (up to 256GB).

Apart from that, the tablet sports a 5MP front-facing camera, a 13MP rear-facing camera with LED flash, One Seg TV Tuner, a 7000mAh battery and built-in high-quality stereo speakers.

Running on Android 7.1 OS, the Qua tab QZ10 provides 4G LTE, WiMAX 2+, WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2 and NFC for connectivity. The KDDI Qua tab QZ10 is available now for 48,600 Yen (about $456). [Product Page]

The post KDDI Qua tab QZ10 Waterproof Android 7.1 Tablet appeared first on TechFresh, Consumer Electronics Guide.

6 next-gen green cell phones

By Cat DiStasio In the grand scheme of things, mobile phones haven't been around that long. Less than 20 years ago, hardly anyone had one, and devices of that era certainly weren't capable of doing what today's smartphones can do. Cell phone technol...

Kyocera Digno Rafre Is a Washable Smartphone for Germophobes

Kyocera Digno Rafre Washable Smartphone

Seeing as how most of the time we tend to handle our smartphones without caring whether our hands are clean or not, it’s no surprise that these devices are often likened to keyboards and compared to toilet seats in terms of the germs they carry. Digno Rafre was built with this exact problem in mind.

Kyocera collaborated with KDDI to make Digno Rafre, the world’s first soap-proof smartphone a reality. Just to put things into perspective, as to how dirty smartphones really are, researchers from consumer group Which? concluded back in 2013 that these mobile devices carry up to 20 times more germs than toilet seats. That’s a really disturbing thought, considering how often we keep them in our hands. Waterproof handsets are no longer a novelty in Japan, as Sony, one of the country’s biggest players in this industry, has been designing its flagships that way for a few years now. However, Kyocera thought it’s about time to step up the game and make one of its devices soap-proof.

So if a device is waterproof, what could stop people from soaping them up? It turns out that the waterproofing isn’t enough to withstand the scrubbing they’d have to go through in order to get rid of bacteria. Digno Rafre gets along well with soap, so provided that it gets washed in advance, it could be even be used in a kitchen, without having to worry about food ingredients getting infested with germs. More than that, the display is said to work even when wet, and while that might point out in the direction of a resistive panel, the manufacturer hasn’t confirmed that.

In terms of specs, Digno Rifre is an 10.1 mm thick device running Android 5.1 on a 5-inch HD display. It sports a 13 MP rear camera and a 3,000mAh battery, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage that can be furthermore expanded using a microSD card.

The following video puts an emphasis on the smartphone’s most important feature, that of surviving without any problems a soap wash.

Kyocera even made a video ad to exemplify a real-world scenario when a soap-proof smartphone could come in hand. It’s great to see that after the handset makes contact with the cake, the mother grabs it and gives it a good scrub with soap and water. However, more importantly than what happened to the phone after it landed on the cake is what happened to the cake itself. Real germophobes would get rid of it in its entirety, and not just of the part that got in contact with the phone.

https://www.youtube.com/v=Vc6eNqoLeQs

Digno Rafre, the world’s first washable smartphone, may get well with soap and water, but if you’re planning to get one, it’s probably better not to put it in the dishwasher, as I’m not sure it could survive that.

KDDI will start selling the device next Friday, and the JPY 57,420 ($465/€440) doesn’t make it an immediate choice, given that there’s no word on what type of chipset it uses.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about Kyocera Digno, the waterproof smartphone, or the Kyocera Hydro Life waterproof phone.

Fujitsu’s latest Arrows Tab packs a multi-user fingerprint reader

Fujitsu's latest Arrows Tab packs 2,560 x 1,600 display, fingerprint reader

For Fujitsu, fingerprint readers on smartphones are old hat; on Android tablets, however, they're still rare. The company should make those sensors easier to find with its latest Arrows Tab, the FJT21. The 10.1-inch slate uses its fingerprint reader to streamline Android 4.2's multi-user support, signing anyone in with a swipe. Families can also implement both a simple mode for newcomers and a content-restricted kids' mode. Fujitsu isn't leaning solely on sign-in technology to sell its tablet, though. The FJT21 centers on a 2,560 x 1,600 LCD with Gorilla Glass 3 protection; under the hood, there's a fast 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 1.3-megapixel front camera and 64GB of expandable storage. Japan's KDDI will ship an LTE-equipped version of the new Arrows Tab in late November. Sadly, it's doubtful that we'll see an equivalent model reach the US.

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Via: Impress Watch (translated)

Source: KDDI (translated)

Nikkei: KDDI plans 220 Mbps cellular network upgrade for summer 2014

Nikkei KDDI prepping smartphone with 220Mbps LTEAdvanced data

Think 150Mbps LTE-Advanced data is quick? KDDI could offer far more bandwidth next year. Nikkei claims that the Japanese carrier plans to upgrade its cellular network to 220 Mbps data as soon as summer 2014. Service would reportedly launch with an Android smartphone, and rely on new wireless technology; it's not clear whether this entails a faster LTE-A variant or something new. KDDI hasn't confirmed the rumor, so we wouldn't consider moving to Japan just yet. If there's any truth to the claims, however, even NTT DoCoMo's upgraded LTE could soon feel downright pokey.

[Image credit: TAKA@P.P.R.S, Flickr]

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Source: Nikkei (subscription required)

Sharp’s Serie SHL22 coming to Japan with a fast f/1.9 lens and chunky battery

Sharp's SHL22 hits KDDI this week with an ultra fast f19 lens and chunky battery

Cramming 13-megapixels into a phone means nothing if you don't have nice optics to boot. Fortunately, Sharp's Serie SHL22 has an unusually fast f/1.9 lens to go with its high-resolution sensor. Launching on KDDI this Friday, this Aquos Phone runs Android 4.2, has a fairly big 3,080mAh battery, a 4.9-inch 720p screen using Sharp's own IGZO technology, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 600 clocked at 1.7GHz, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD). The phone is a bit thicker than what we're used to these days, at 9.9mm (0.39 inches), but we're willing to ignore that if it means leaving our charger at home. Marginally informative video after the break.

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Via: AV Watch (translated)

Source: KDDI (translated)

KDDI’s HTC J One variant packs a microSD slot (updated)

KDDI's HTC J One variant packs a microSD slot, additional camera features

These days, the presence of a microSD slot on new handsets is arguably more important than the amount of storage on the inside. One such slot found its way onto the Chinese variants of HTC's One, and now Japanese network KDDI has unveiled its model -- the HTC J One (aka HTL22) -- also with expandable memory on the spec sheet (up to 64GB cards supported). An accompanying promo video has informed us of some new camera modes as well, including a best shot feature like Nokia's Smart Group Shot or BlackBerry's Time Shift, the ability to edit out background photobombers, and creating slow-mo highlights within video clips. We'd hope to see a camera software update bringing these features to US Ones in the future, but for now, check out what you're missing in the video below.

Correction: We originally reported that some of the camera modes shown off in the HTC J One promo video below were new, but commentors have pointed out that these features already exist within the gallery / Zoe UI. The video gives the impression that these features were moved to the camera UI, alongside HDR and panorama (like on the GS4), but that's not the case. A few eyes also spotted there's some extra detail on the back panel below the camera. Fear not -- we're digging.

Update: We've come to the conclusion that the black oblong under the main camera -- similar to the one found on KDDI's J Butterfly variant -- is for IR communications (read: it's different from the power-key emitter). Oh, and that logo under the flash signifies FeliCa NFC-based payment support.

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Source: KDDI