"Japan's Top Inventions"

The behind-the-scenes tales of hit products and creations from Japan.

This is "Japan's Top Inventions."

On today's show, car navigation systems.

Did you know that an early version was made in Japan over 40 years ago?

Later on the show, mangoes and crates.

They have drops of water on them.

The fruit is nearly 50 degrees Celsius.

Just what is happening here?

Stay tuned to find out.

Hello, welcome to "Japan's Top Inventions."

I'm your host, Jason Danielson.

In the first half of the show, we take you "Behind the Creation."

Today's topic is this.

Car navigation systems developed in 1981.

There's a small monitor which you slide a map over the top.

The car's location is indicated with a dot of light.

It was a time before GPS was widely available.

This system calculated your position in real time.

You could see how far you had to go

until your destination with a single glance.

It was developed by a major Japanese automotive manufacturer.

The museum of a major automotive manufacturer.

It's a world-famous company.

On display are racecars and bikes that have competed around the world.

Over in this corner...

This is it.

A car navigation system, revealed in 1981.

A component which used helium gas detected the car's travel direction.

It was recognized as the first

by the world's largest technical professional association.

Our device came out first,

and later the use of navigation systems spread.

We believe that's why we were recognized.

Our story begins back in the 1970s.

Traffic jams were becoming a real problem in Japan.

The environmental impact and productivity loss were considerable.

At the time, a major manufacturer had developed an engine

which produced less emissions.

The next target was to add new electronic features to cars,

and a team was assembled to do so.

The leader of the project was engineer Tagami Katsutoshi.

Here's how he remembers things.

The company was good with engines,

but in terms of electronics,

it was already a bit behind.

In the '70s, electronics became more common in vehicles.

Power windows and power steering were features

added in a race to develop car electronics.

What could be possible for a vehicle with more electronics?

Tagami started working out a plan on his own.

As Tagami continued to develop a strategy,

he arrived at a conclusion.

Electronics should help make cars more intelligent.

This is from an actual document Tagami wrote at the time.

The final goal was to enter a destination

and have the car take you there itself.

"Programmed driving."

In order to achieve this, the car would need a navigation system.

But there was a problem.

How would the car know its current location?

There was no technology that looked like it could be used.

Then one day...

The phone rang for Tagami.

It was an executive from the research department.

He'd seen something interesting

while visiting a Defense Force exercise area.

Tagami went to hear the details.

The executive was eager to share.

"A tank can move on uneven surfaces.

No matter what direction it's driving in or how rough the ground is,

the tank gun is always pointing at the target.

Could we use that technology in a car?"

The gun is always on target.

So he asked how it does that.

They said that there's a gyroscope that controls the gun.

Now what's that?

Tagami began researching right away.

He found a company in Nagano Prefecture which made gyroscopes.

Would this allow the car to detect its heading?

Tagami quickly moved to purchase a gyroscope.

However...

The gyroscope had some 200 parts.

It required a lot of precision,

and it couldn't be fit into an automobile.

Was a car navigation system nothing but a dream?

Tagami had hit a wall.

A navigation system which could find the route

between the destination and your current location.

Creating something like this back then

required overcoming large technical barriers.

But the development team persevered,

and they were able to hit a breakthrough.

The developers continued researching gyroscopes.

They turned their attention from the ones

used in tanks to ones for missiles.

Test targets are fired into the air when testing missiles.

A different kind of gyroscope is used to determine the target's heading.

It's called a gas rate gyroscope.

Gas is expelled in a line within a vacuum cylinder.

As the target turns, the point at which the gas hits changes.

By determining this angle, the direction of travel can be found.

But the device is affected by changes to the external temperature.

An updated model which could keep a consistent temperature was created.

The sensor was protected with metal and fiber insulation.

In addition, the lid of the cylinder was eliminated

with unibody construction, improving the seal.

The new model was more accurate.

Work on the navigation system began.

But there was another issue.

In order to know the current location,

you needed to know the travel distance in addition to the direction.

But how could travel distance be measured?

The developers looked to this.

The number of wheel rotations.

A special sensor was added to the front of the car.

This would detect the number of rotations.

A computer in the back would calculate the travel distance.

Together with the direction from the gyroscope,

the current location would be displayed on a monitor.

The development team tested over and over again

to create the rotation sensor.

Over a year after the start of development,

in the spring of 1977,

they were finally able to show the current position as a dot of light.

By laying a map over the dot, you could confirm your route.

The early navigation system was complete.

The team installed their system into a vehicle.

They were ready to test it on a real road.

They left the company and entered an expressway.

Whether it was a normal road or an expressway,

the flashing light correctly indicated the car's position.

But then, as the car took the exit off the expressway,

suddenly there was a problem.

The dot of light was off the road.

It was completely off.

It wasn't just a small deviation.

Maybe there was a bug in the system.

Could be a lot of things.

Tagami returned to the office.

He carefully checked for a malfunction,

but there wasn't anything wrong.

However, the problem kept coming back at the same exit.

The light would go off-road.

What was causing the issue?

Tagami revisited the problem again and again.

One day, he had a thought.

Maybe it's the map that's wrong.

Tagami immediately reached out to the map company to check.

Their response?

"Parts have been exaggerated for readability."

I asked if their maps were always accurate,

and they casually said not always.

Like on a 1 to 10,000 scale map,

1 millimeter is 100 meters.

That means 50 meters is too small to show up.

The developers asked for the exaggerated sections to be corrected.

The maps were drawn to a larger scale

just for the car navigation system,

so that even small roads could be portrayed.

Winter 1981.

It was the final test before production.

They made an unusual choice for a starting location.

It would be a city 300 kilometers west of Tokyo. Suzuka.

Tagami was with the research executive who had been meeting with retailers.

He would drive the executive to his home in Tokyo.

6:00 AM. The executive marked his home on the map.

They would see whether they could make it all the way with the system.

The journey began.

Tagami drove on nervously.

He went from the streets onto the expressway.

The dot of light followed the roads on the map,

blinking as it went.

I was quite on edge.

It was all on the line.

Whether or not the project moved forward was all on me.

Maps were changed out as they drove on the expressway.

It was evening when they arrived in Tokyo.

Their dot drew closer to the circle on the map.

7:00 PM.

Tagami, hopeful but still uncertain, parked the car.

"It should be here."

Silence.

And then the executive spoke.

"It passed the test. My house is just over there."

There was that silence before being told it was right.

I felt so at ease when I heard that.

So...

Just so happy.

The team was waiting to hear the results.

I called them,

and they were overjoyed.

And so, in 1981,

the car navigation system was put into production.

As we entered the '90s,

modern systems which used GPS came onto the scene.

Companies around the world put out their products,

and a huge new market was born.

Car navigation systems are now commonly found all over.

How do experts view this invention?

We're joined by Furukawa Yoshimi to learn more.

Welcome to the show.

Thanks for having me.

This early model could display the path you took without GPS.

What was groundbreaking about this system?

We used to have map books which someone would keep an eye on

during the drive and give directions.

But people often got lost that way.

With the new system,

just knowing your current location and heading was extremely useful.

It could match the car's location to a point on a map.

Being the first to be able to do that,

it was a very groundbreaking product.

That's what I think.

Car companies around the world compete to have the newest technology.

What are some of the latest trends?

There are features like automatic brakes now

which try to minimize the damage in the event of a crash.

These kinds of new driving support systems are controlled by software.

As the software is updated, the capabilities also improve.

That's something you see a lot of lately in the industry.

How do you see Japan's role in the car industry?

For example, you can use self-driving technology

to help a driver avoid accidents

if they run into trouble on the road.

I believe it's most important for companies

to consider how to make use of automated driving technology

to contribute to society.

I'd like to see Japanese car companies

getting together to develop these features

and spread them to the world.

That would be great.

Thank you for your time. Good speaking with you.

It was my pleasure.

Top Niche Creations.

Our next segment is Top Niche Creations.

Our topic today involves this.

Tropical fruit, like papaya.

The export of tropical fruits is assisted by a machine

made by a Japanese company.

Just what kind of machine is it?

We sent our reporter to find out.

Hey everyone, Cyrus Nozomu Sethna here.

Today, I am in Kagoshima Prefecture in the south of Japan.

The company we're visiting is right over here.

Let's take a look.

I'm visiting a machine manufacturer that employs about 70 people.

Hello! Good afternoon.

Hello. Welcome.

Showing me around today is Furugaki Yoji,

who is involved with overseas projects.

It doesn't take long to find what we're looking for.

This is the system.

Look at that.

It's pretty big.

The machine is 2.5 meters wide and 3 meters tall,

with a front surface made of stainless steel.

So what is this machine used for?

It's a vapor heat treatment system.

To prevent insects in fruit from entering Japan,

this machine treats the fruit on location.

It's used in over 15 countries.

Tropical fruit, like mango and papaya.

Insects are a real threat in places where these are grown.

For example, the melon fly.

It lays eggs inside the fruit.

Larvae eat the fruit from within.

The fruit is spoiled, and cannot be sold.

The melon fly also reproduces quickly.

Even a single egg getting through could mean an outbreak in Japan.

That's where this vapor heat treatment system comes in.

Containers of fruit are placed inside.

Hot air and vapor are circulated inside to kill any pests.

I'm given a demonstration using mangoes.

One of the fruits is chosen to represent the group.

Something like a needle is inserted into the mango.

So, what is that?

It's a temperature sensor for the fruit.

Ah, like a thermometer.

With this in here, we can measure the temperature in the middle of the fruit.

I see.

Small cameras are set up inside to give us a special look today.

Now, it's time to see what happens to the mangoes.

It's close to 29 degrees Celsius inside right now.

The mango is at 20 degrees, the one with the sensor.

In order to treat the fruits,

we increase the temperature until the mango reaches 47 degrees.

After about 5 minutes...

the chamber temperature is up to 39 degrees.

Then, vapor is blown into the chamber.

You can see the mangoes here getting droplets on them.

They're sweating it out in there.

That's how it looks.

After 2 hours...

the mangoes are totally covered with water droplets.

The temperature at the core of the mango has reached 47 degrees,

similar to the chamber temperature.

This is maintained for 20 minutes.

So the pests are being eliminated.

That's right. All the insects have to be exterminated.

To guarantee that, we keep it at 47 degrees for 20 minutes.

Right.

The process is finally complete.

And how do the mangoes look?

Oh, fresh out of the sauna.

They certainly feel warm.

But they don't really look any different.

As you can see, the treatment doesn't affect the appearance.

If we cut the fruit open, the insides are still the same,

as is the taste.

The ideal treatment is when you don't notice any change.

So it's good if it's the same.

That's right. This treatment method only involves heat.

It's a safe procedure for fruit.

The company controls a large share of this market.

It was founded in 1948.

Originally, it made machines for drying tobacco leaf from Kagoshima.

It was known for its temperature control tech.

Then, in the '80s, in Okinawa,

there was an outbreak of melon flies.

In order to protect the local green bell peppers,

the Okinawan prefectural government asked the company

to develop the vapor heat treatment system.

It was important that the heat didn't damage the peppers.

After a year of constant testing,

they developed a vapor heat treatment system

that was able to vary temperature to the tenth of a degree.

Afterwards, machines went out to places like Pakistan for mangoes,

and Hawaii for papayas.

It started being used to treat pests in tropical fruits.

And now, the vapor heat treatment systems are being used

in an unanticipated way in the company's home of Kagoshima.

How are they being used here?

For these here.

Sweet potato?

Yes.

Kagoshima produces the most sweet potatoes in Japan.

Sweet potatoes are also used to make "shochu,"

a Japanese spirit enjoyed worldwide.

But in 2018, a fungal disease affecting sweet potato was discovered.

It causes rot in the leaves and stem,

and also spreads to the potato itself.

The harvest was seriously affected.

That's where the company's machines came in.

By raising the temperature of the potato to 48 degrees for 40 minutes,

the fungus is killed,

and further spreading of the disease can be prevented.

Sweet potatoes are a key part of Kagoshima's industry.

It's a great source of pride

that our machines can safely and effectively protect them.

There are a lot of applications for these machines.

Kagoshima, where the company is located,

is where a fungal rot affecting sweet potato was first found in 2018.

Since then, the disease has spread across Japan.

Eleven of the company's vapor heat treatment systems

are being used in the country.

They're helping to prevent the spread of the disease.

The situation was unexpected,

but the machines are making an important difference all the same.

That's all for this episode of "Japan's Top Inventions."

We'll leave you with more about the car navigation system

from the first half of the show.

See you next time! And Stay Inventive.

(The car navigation system was developed over 40 years ago.)

(The maps were physical.)

(Later, navigation systems would use digital maps.)

(Now, roads and cities can be displayed in 3D.)

(Tagami Katsutoshi helped develop the early navigation system.)

(When he retired from Honda, he was gifted a map from that first model.)

It's like a part of me.

Giving up is when you truly fail.

There's no such thing as failure if you keep trying and succeed.