Business / Tech

Japan Display unveils smart bus stop that runs on solar power and can display schedules

JIJI

Japan Display Inc. unveiled a smart bus stop Tuesday featuring a 32-inch screen that runs solely on solar power and internal batteries.

The product, developed jointly with partners including Nishi-Nippon Railroad Co., consumes very little power and does not require power source installation work. It can be used even during blackouts stemming from natural disasters.

Japan Display plans to install the device at up to 2,000 locations from 2019 in the city of Kitakyushu, where a demonstration test for the smart bus stop is underway.

Bus schedules and other information shown on the stop’s liquid crystal display are updated through communications technology.

The bus stop can also be used to display advertisements, local information, and directions to emergency evacuation centers in the event of a disaster.

A Japan Display executive emphasized the company’s wish to strengthen product development. At present, smartphone displays for Apple Inc. and other makers account for a large part of its sales.

“We need to do something new in a shift away from our intense devotion to mobile devices,” Managing Executive Officer Yoshiaki Ito told a news conference.

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