OLYMPUS TECHNOZONE Vol.49 2001-03
|
INDEX
| 1
| 2
| 3
| 4
| 5
| 6
| 7
| 8
| |
|
OTF80 Technology Fair and DreamTech exhibition provided product inspiration
|
 |
|
|
| March 28th 2001:
the first HDPS100 system in place and on display. |
|
--So when did you first start planning to develop a high-definition
display?
It started with a display of element imaging technology at
OTF80 (the Olympus 80th anniversary Technology Fair) in December 1999 by the
Imaging Technology Department. Straight after OTF80 we began talking about developing
a commercial product and spinning it off into a separate business division. What
we have now is the first complete machine for sale. From April 2001 onwards we
plan to begin test sales and then create a new business from it.
From my position in the Information Products Division, my role is to pull this
whole new business together. As Product Manager, Mr. Nishio has taken the lead
to date in developing a commercial product.
I have asked Mr. Komiya from the Imaging Technology Department to continue the
work on the development of the necessary element imaging technology, as he has
done up until now. Since we're planning on developing a series of new products,
we have to continue making refinements and improvements to the underlying technology.
That's right. At the same time as we push this as a product
for people to buy, we are also having to theorize the next piece of new technology.
----The new machine is a 100-inch flat-screen display, but
not
made in a curved "arch" shape?
That's correct. It's a flat-screen display,
using a total of nine projectors in a three-by-three configuration.
The prototype that was on display at OTF80 had a depth of 2.7 meters,
but we've been able to shrink that down to just one meter.
Both the shape and the structure of the product
have changed since we first displayed prototypes at OTF80 and then
later at the DreamTech show (an exhibition of technological dreams
for the 21st century) in July 2000. Now the projectors are arranged
in a symmetrical way, but before the arrangement was much more
complicated. We've simplified it tremendously.
We've improved the design to make it easier
for customers to set up the machine. Now it can be installed by
two people.
We've also cut down substantially the amount
of time needed to put a system in place. It's possible to complete
the entire set-up in just half a day.
We started working on this product about two
years before we released this first version. At the start, we dived
into development of the imaging technology. With Mr. Komiya, I
myself participated in a number of study groups and meetings concerning
key component technology. Because we also paid a lot of attention
to the design for the display at the DreamTech exhibition, we had
a good grasp of all the various aspects, including design issues,
by the time we came to develop the final commercial version. The
design has effectively been hammered out by improving on the deficiencies
found in a variety of processes.
Once you get to the level of an actual product,
points such as ease of installation, portability, as well as after-sales
service and maintenance, all these become very important. Based
on the experience we had acquired, we were able to tackle and solve
each of these issues.
Since we mostly handle color printers within
our department, we're quite accustomed to being extremely strict
when it comes to matters of product quality and technological perfection.
Although the images with printers and displays are different, they
are still both imaging output devices. We were also able to make
use of the experience we have gained through our OEM printer business
in working out how to design the specifications for the best overall
effect.
|
