Fujitech launches contact-free controlled elevators 
Fujitech has rolled out contact-free controlled elevators that use infrared sensor technology to read a signals given by users hovering their hand over a dashboard. The model also features a congestion indicator to show how crowded an elevator is. Developed for hospitals and food manufacturers, the company claims it is receiving a growing number of enquiries from owners and managers of office buildings.
TOKYO - Japan Inc is poised to ride the wave of anxiety over touching surfaces that has arisen with the coronavirus pandemic, as hygiene concerns fuel demand for touch-less technology.

Japan owns about half the global market share in the sensors market, and Covid-19 has given contactless technology new impetus even if some of these were initially built with an eye to raising productivity and easing manpower concerns.

The high-tech war against the coronavirus is taking centrestage with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe having declared a state of emergency in seven prefectures - Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka - until May 6.

Hokkaido announced its own emergency decree for a second time amid a second wave of cases, while Aichi, Gifu, Ichikawa and Kyoto have also declared their own states of emergency.

The unfurling crisis has led Japan to boot up its latest supercomputer, Fugaku, the successor to the K Computer that was once the world's fastest, the Nikkei reported.

While it is still under development, Fugaku will be used to find clinical treatments for Covid-19 from about 2,000 existing drugs, some of which are not being considered for clinical trials.

Among the new technology that has been rolled out is what are branded as "elevators of enhanced public hygiene" by lift maker Fujitec. Launched on April 1, the model comes with an optional add-on contactless panel feature that taps infrared sensor technology to detect a user's destination floor when they hover their hands over the dashboard.

This was targeted at hospitals and food manufacturers, but the company has reportedly been receiving an increasing number of inquiries from general office buildings.

The new model also comes with basic functions like anti-bacterial lift buttons and a congestion indicator that shows how crowded an elevator is, which Fujitec said "will help users give consideration to social distancing".

IT services conglomerate Fujitsu, meanwhile, is conducting a three-month field trial ending May 25, of a contactless, multi-biometric authentication and payment system.

It has tied up with convenience store operator Lawson to open an outlet at its office at Fujitsu Shin-Kawasaki Technology Square that has no checkout counters.