Japanese firms are exploring business opportunities amid the spread of the new coronavirus infection, ramping up "contactless" products and services to help workers and customers keep a safe distance.
Such companies have incorporated the latest thermal sensors and camera technologies into many of their products or services, with the aim of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
Iris Ohyama Inc. has launched a thermal camera for temperature measurement with an artificial intelligence technology. The AI thermal camera can measure body temperatures of up to 20 people wearing masks simultaneously, by pinpointing their foreheads in a contact-free manner.
IHI Corp. has put on the market a system that combines an infrared camera and AI to find a person with a fever in a crowd.
Such developments were intended to quickly identify people with symptoms of fever at offices, event venues and commercial facilities, among other places.
There also has been an increasing demand for goods and services to reduce direct and indirect contact among people.
Major elevator manufacturer Fujitec Co. has introduced a new function in its elevator using an infrared sensor to allow people choose their destination floor solely by holding up their hands over a floor selection button.
Mitsubishi Estate Co. has started negotiations with customers on the internet for new condominiums in central Tokyo. Generally, sales of condominiums have been conducted face-to-face, from looking at units to finalizing contacts.
The firm has now started showing materials and drawings of the property on the internet, allowing users to feel as if they were actually visiting a model room, as they see a three-dimensional images using virtual reality technology on a personal computer screen.
Mitsubishi Estate Co., which has received inquiries from about 20 people in the past month, intends to return to the number of business negotiations it had before a decline due people voluntarily refraining from outings, it said.
Minnano Taxi Corp., the developer of a taxi hailing app, is calling for the use of cashless payments using smartphones and other devices to prevent the spread of the virus through hand-to-hand transfers of cash.
In the distribution industry, there has been an increase in the number of households using a package drop-off service, which hadn't previously been popular.
Yamato Transport Co. and Japan Post Co. have introduced a drop-off system to leave parcels at designated place, allowing customers to receive them without face-to-face interaction. The firms uses the system after receiving customers' consent for it before the delivery. Customers can receive packages without signing for delivery following verbal confirmation of their names and addresses.
It is expected to take time until any drugs or vaccine for the new coronavirus can be devised, even after the spread of the disease is controlled and the state of emergency is lifted. Given such circumstances, using contactless products and services could become common practices, observers said.
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