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System configuration using Vision Plex technology.
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Interest has been
shown in using the technology in medical education. In surgery,
the term "minimal invasive medicine" is applied to certain
endoscopic techniques. For a while now, HiVision technology has
been used to show operations performed by accomplished surgeons
to medical students. When the digital skills required during brain
surgery are being demonstrated to students by a renowned surgeon,
it isn't possible to get more than a few dozen people in the operating
room. To show the procedure in greater detail, it is better to
have large, high-fidelity screens. It is precisely in this way
that the technology can make a significant contribution to the
world.
I see. Few medical
students are fortunate enough to have this kind of valuable experience.
These kinds of realistic distant learning opportunities are going
to become much more important.
Absolutely. We
expect that high-fidelity cameras and display systems will bring
about epoch-making changes even in the field of ordinary education.
Prep schools and some universities have already started providing
classes by video. The teacher performs a prepared script in a studio,
just like educational programs on TV. In effect, a lesson is the
same as a TV program. One university has adopted this approach
in carrying out remote education with live broadcasts of lectures
to three campuses. This led to the ironic comment that, if you
take into consideration the total hours that a teacher spends making
the scenario, not to mention the staff required for shooting and
editing, it would be cheaper to hire three professors. In contrast,
what if a teacher gives a lecture the way he/she normally does
and is shot with a high-fidelity camera? This would give a clear
picture of the writing on the blackboard and could be shown at
remote locations on large high-resolution screens. Students would
be able to listen to the lecture as if they were in the same classroom
with the teacher. If this kind of thing were implemented, Japanese
students could enjoy real-time lectures by renowned professors
in America. Naturally, an interactive audio system makes it possible
to ask and answer questions in both directions.... We are afraid,
though, some teachers might lose their jobs as a result. But, we
think that the use of blending technology in conjunction with our
high-fidelity camera, in various applications, has great potential
to play a useful role in people's lives. Of course, a rival technology
is bound to appear at some point in the future. Even so, at this
time, we are clearly the frontrunner.
If we are to
reap the rewards of leadership, we cannot slow down. I certainly
hope that you can keep up the pace. I mean, even in Hollywood you
appear to have been very well received.
The camera's performance
has been rated highly, but I think that its practicality also has
great appeal. It can be used just as it is. It is so compact and
has the ability to shoot pictures at eight-megapixels. That is
another reason it has been so well received. We still aren't satisfied
even with these superior features and have been repeating field
testing. The business potential is an issue for the future, and
we still need to clearly identify how we can benefit from being
a frontrunner.
Maybe the best
way to exploit the technology is to start with industrial or corporate
applications.
That may be true,
but the appeal of courting the movie industry, the 'King of Content',is strong.
The other day
the Digital Archive Committee of the Liberal Democratic Party invited
me to talk about digital cinema. Currently, old Japanese movies
are in a poor state of preservation. They say that in Japan there
is a lack of concern for the preservation of culture. In France
and other countries, where people take great pride in their own
cultures, they have preserved old movies and they have proper facilities
where these works can be viewed at any time. In Japan, it seems
that many old movies disappeared during the war, when they were
melted down to extract the silver content. It is all the more deplorable
that what little remains is allowed to go on deteriorating, languishing
in inappropriate storage. Countries like France provide money to
preserve the cultural legacy of film. The committee was set up
because there is a feeling that we have to start taking similar
action in Japan. We have to create a digital archive where the
cultural legacy passed down to us in the form of film can be preserved.
This is another important task for the people working in the movie
industry. |
