"Shape of Mind" by Ken Yasuda is displayed at the basement level near the Oedo Subway access.

The TEF handheld Ubiquitous Communicator

Tokyo Midtown Introduces RFID Technology Throughout Its Roppongi Shopping Mall

By Jim Farrell

Tokyo Midtown is hardly your usual shopping mall. First, it is located in one of the most expensive cities in the world. Then it is located in one of the most expensive districts in that city — Roppongi. Roppongi is known worldwide as the embassy center of Japan and for its upscale housing restaurants and shops. Tokyo Midtown fits right in. It has nearly 60 of high-end restaurants, cafes and nightspots, along with over 50 of high-end shops as well as a brand-new five-star Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Tokyo Midtown also boasts its own medical center — with a dental facility, Fujifilm Square photographic gallery, and the Suntory Art Museum. Additionally, Toshio Shimizu, a well-known Japanese artist and proprietor of the Toshio Shimizu Art Office was engaged to produce and place 20 large art sculptures in the public areas of the mall. It is typical in Tokyo that department stores have supermarkets in their basement level. Tokyo Midtown is no different. Its basement boasts both a high-end supermarket (Precce) and a very familiar convenience store (7-11).

Precce Supermarket

7-11 Convenience Store

Looking through the "eye" of Ken Yusuda's "Key to a Dream," the editors get more information on the artwork from their TEF Ubiquitous Communicators.

How does a shopper navigate this large venue, find a shop, find a doctor, or find out more information on the impressive art displays scattered throughout the facility? On June 12, 2007, Tokyo Midtown, in conjunction with TEF, held a well-attended press event to introduce the complete RFID facilitation of the public areas. Over 500 RFID radio frequency (RF), and infrared (IR) transponders were installed and tested to make this project functional. The press members (and in the future, shoppers) were given TEF Ubiquitous Communicators to find their way around Tokyo Midtown. With the input of the RFID transponders scattered inconspicuously throughout the mall, the members of the press was guided by both voice and a GPS-like map to wherever they wished to go. Further, the communicators provided detailed information on the shops as well as the 20 artworks around the mall. This information included text as well as short movies played on the communicators. Currently, the shopper can select receiving information in Japanese, English, French, Chinese, or Korean.

This TEF RFID transponder and Ubiquitous Communicator technology has already had major deployments and been successfully utilized in shopping districts (Ginza), airports (Kobe), and several other public locations. Dr. Ken Sakamura, the Director of TEF, believes that the Ubiquitous Communicators and RFID transponders can eventually be available in entire cities.

Jim Farrell is Director of the USA Liaison Office for the T-Engine Forum. Contact him at jjjf3@earthlink.net.