Skip to main content

Panasonic building utopian society in Tokyo suburb

Working toward a “Better Life, Better World”, Panasonic is showing off a line of social conscience products and solutions at 2014 ITS World Congress, including a side-view camera for vehicles and an ambitious planned community it is building in a Tokyo suburb. The side-view camera is already installed on more than 1 million Honda models in Asia and North America, according to Asuka Horita, a senior coordinator for Panasonic’s automotive module devices division, and effectively replaces side-view mirrors wit
September 9, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Asuka Horita of Panasonic with the side-view camera

Working toward a “Better Life, Better World”, 598 Panasonic is showing off a line of social conscience products and solutions at 2014 ITS World Congress, including a side-view camera for vehicles and an ambitious planned community it is building in a Tokyo suburb.

The side-view camera is already installed on more than 1 million Honda models in Asia and North America, according to Asuka Horita, a senior coordinator for Panasonic’s automotive module devices division, and effectively replaces side-view mirrors with a wider angle. The camera allows for safer passing during highway driving.

According to Gary Nelson, a senior sales manager for Panasonic, construction of the Fujisawa Sustainable and Smart Town began earlier this year and will be completed in 2018. The finished village will consist of 1,000 single family homes, two residential towers, a health centre and several community buildings and was built on the site of a factory where Panasonic manufactured home appliances. The land was repurposed when the plant closed and can now support a community of 5,000 people. Buildings, appliances, public land and community centres are engineered with sustainable Panasonic solutions and technology, showcasing the company’s commitment to changing the lives of people around the world for the better. Energy management solutions monitor energy consumption and deliver savings while security features such as closed-circuit cameras keep residents safe. A subsidised health center provides top-of-the-line care, and a car-share programme keeps people moving efficiently. Finally, a series of public parks and community centres brings the community together for music concerts, town hall meetings and other recreation.

%$Linker: 2 Asset <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 4 42556 0 oLinkExternal &#160;panasonic.com Visit Panasonic Website false /EasySiteWeb/GatewayLink.aspx?alId=42556 false false%>

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Exhibition space at ITS World Congress going fast
    May 17, 2012
    With over five months to go before the 18th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems gets underway in Orlando, Florida (from October 16-20), 89 per cent of the current exhibit floor plan has now been reserved, according to ITS America's director of business development, Barbara M. O'Connor.
  • Looking forward to Intertraffic Amsterdam
    September 2, 2015
    With nearly 95 per cent of the space filled, Intertraffic Amsterdam plans to host the very latest developments in traffic mobility and technology. Hall 9 will be rebranded as the Innovation Hall, with an Innovation Lab and the Smart Mobility Centre. Apart from all Innovation Award nominees, space will also be dedicated to start-ups, promoting their mobility solutions in a pitch presentation format. In addition, technical university students will be competing for the Student Award for smart solutions
  • Adgero to unveil world’s first operational road transport hybrid system at CVS
    April 22, 2016
    French transport tech developer Adgero will unveil what it says is the world’s first operational energy-saving, hybrid electric system for road transport at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham next week. Adgero’s hybrid technology consists of an electrically driven axle mounted under the semi-trailer, powered by a bank of ultra capacitors, and controlled by intelligent management software that automatically controls regenerative braking and acceleration boost.
  • AVs for seniors from Via in New South Wales
    July 18, 2019
    Autonomous vehicle (AV) developers seem to targeting ‘closed’ communities such as retirement complexes or universities and Via is also joining this trend. The company has launched a free AV service called BusBot for a retirement community in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. In partnership with local bus operator Busways, Transport for NSW and EasyMile, BusBot is operating in the Marian Grove Retirement Village in Toormina, a suburb of Coffs Harbour. Via says its technology allows the vehicle