Now, Shout In 3 Languages With Japanese Megaphone

Japan’s obsession with keeping order, and its tech prowess, has reached its natural conclusion with an intelligent megaphone that can issue commands in Chinese, English and Korean. Panasonic Corp. recently unveiled the device – essentially a smartphone paired with a handheld loudspeaker – betting that police, event organizers and transport staff seeking to control crowds will be eager to get their hands on something that lets them bark orders to a disparate group of people at once. While the gadget might fall into the category of another Japanese invention in search of a problem – a net gun debuted in 2002 to control soccer fans – there’s a decent chance it might succeed. Tourism is climbing in Japan. More than 20 million people have visited this year, up 23% from a year earlier, according to the Japan National Tourism Organisation. The megaphone is able to match spoken Japanese to 300 preset expressions in English, Korean and Chinese with a press of a button. It goes on sale on December 20. A prototype on display at a showroom is already quite capable: it can tell you to get off the grass in three languages. Still, some things get lost in translation. A warning not to use drones ended up saying “the thief shocking is not permitted here”, (mistaking drone for the Japanese word for burglar, or dorobo), Panasonic says it will iron out the kinks.