An entirely new system of infrastructure is currently being explored in one of the busiest and most densely developed areas of Tokyo. The scene is the labyrinthine environment of the Ginza shopping district, which contains hundreds of restaurants, bars and shops, and yet no street names whatsoever. For many Western visitors this provides quite a hefty dose of disorientation, on top of the difficulties presented by the language barrier. What initially appears to be a fantastic tourist destination can easily become a confusing and frustrating puzzle environment. However a new public information system, which promises to one day solve the problems of all those poor souls not native to Ginza’s streets, is currently entering its largest viability trial to date.
The answer is this; a multi-billion Yen ubiquitous networking system. Basically a comprehensive database of environment-specific information, accessible by portable handsets such as GPRS-enabled phones or specialised PDAs (which are being developed in conjunction with the network). The network uses Radio-frequency Identification (RFID), infra-red, or Bluetooth tags, placed within the environment itself, as its information storing nodes. It is through these tags that information is transmitted to handsets which are within range. The data can comprise any combination of text, audio or video (hence everything from maps and audio directions, to foreign language versions of a shop’s or restaurant’s offerings). Examples of use given by the YRP Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory (responsible for running the project with Tokyo’s local government) include situations such as a tourist disembarking from an underground train and immediately being able to consult his handset to access visual data regarding the street layout above, thanks to data stored in a node at the station.
Most of the technology’s current appeal lies in improving services for tourists and strangers to this complex environment, though other uses have also been discussed, including essential safety info in emergency situations and navigational audio help for blind users. One could speculate endlessly about the possibilities of the system, though in reality it is still in its infancy, despite now entering its largest trial since its inception in 2006. Still, it’s hard to resist the odd flight of fancy when faced with such a revolutionary new technology…
In essence the system’s services could mean that; if I were dropped into the Ginza district tomorrow (where i have never before been), I could quite comfortably, not only navigate the area but also efficiently locate whatever I need, be it a designer shoe outlet, a high class sushi bar, or a late night jazz club… Furthermore, once there I would be able to view an English version of the menu on my handset before confidently ordering, knowing exactly what to expect on my plate shortly after (for many business folk used to traveling the world and randomly pointing at strange menus this might represent quite a welcome bit of assistance). Local people too would be able to benefit from the new technology, especially postal workers, delivery couriers, and taxi drivers (even Tokyo-local drivers often have trouble finding addresses, even if supplied in Japanese, due to the complex district ordering system). In addition, interesting guidebook-style information could be available near to significant landmarks and bus and train times could be transmitted in the vicinity of all stations. Plus, with RFID tags containing locational data on every lamp-post, I imagine it would now be practically impossible to get lost in Ginza (as long as you could find a nearby lamp-post that is).
Unfortunately it’s not all futuristic day-dreaming and sci-fi speculation; there are also considerable security concerns which are hampering the progress of the project (as well as serious cost issues). The most immediately pressing one is that of sabotage - namely rogue users installing their own tags within the network’s catchment area. This is this system’s equivalent of spam or bogus advertising and one example has already occurred with an RFID tag placed on a lamp-post containing a url direction to a porn site. It is the standard problem with openness, currently troubling many sectors of the web and technology market, and one which is predictably present in this area too. Further down the line there are also issues of surveillance and personal freedom, as tagging could quite feasibly be used to track a person’s movements within a certain area (clothes can easily and covertly be RFID tagged). Suggestions that companies might seek to employ the tags to monitor workers efficiency and lunch break length are hopefully only a whimsical reference to George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, rather than a realistic prospect for the future.
Put simply, ubiquitous networking such as this offers solutions to two basic problems of environment; navigation and interaction (specifically relating to problems arising from language barriers). Obviously these obstacles exist also for strangers to London or New York, just as much as in Tokyo, and indeed the project potentially represents a technological solution that could make us feel at home and comfortable where-ever on the planet we find ourselves - surely an attractive marker in the progress towards bringing together different corners of the planet. Despite the security risks that exist (and the system’s relatively undeveloped stage), this ambitious project dares to really capture the imagination, and at the very least offers a glimpse of a potentially radical new way of approaching modern urban environments - even if for the time being it is only in our minds.
Dejan Levi