great gear

When it comes to finding ideas for turning your house or apartment into a one-of-a-kind stylish extravaganza, there's no better place than Interior Lifestyle Living. We sent Tomoko Maeda "On Site" to report on the latest household furnishings and other beautiful items for your home on display this year, reminding us that no matter what your budget, with a little work, you can make the place you live a beautiful reflection of who you are.

What if the materials that surround us in our daily lives were safe for both us and the world we live in? As you might guess from its name, EcoPro is an event featuring eco-friendly products that do just that. This year's edition brings together a variety of groups and individuals using natural materials in unique and innovative ways. Join Lemi Duncan "On Site" as she takes a look at some exciting new technologies that share the important goal of cleaning up and caring for our planet.

Industrial robots have been in the workplace now for decades, but it seems very likely that humans working in collaboration with robots will be a more and more likely occurrence as falling population is becoming a real issue in many countries, including Japan. In this "On Site" segment, Noam Katz is at the International Robot Exhibition to find out how robots are becoming intertwined in more aspects of our lives than ever before.

Earthquakes are by no means unique to Japan but they are so common, and often severe, that preparation for them is taken very seriously here. In fact, much effort has been placed into developing technology that can be useful in times of disaster, some of which is for minimizing damage and others are for surviving the aftermath. Join Yuka Matsumoto "On Site" at the 24th Earthquake Technology Expo to see what developers have come up with this year.

This is the last episode of "great gear." Being able to introduce all sorts of Japanese innovations and technology for so many years has truly been an honor. Join us for one last time with an exciting lineup. Like in many places around the world, the experience of buying food items in Japan is undergoing a radical transformation with new technology that's bringing grocery shopping into the 21st century. Let's find out more with Lemi Duncan "On Site" at the Supermarket Trade Show.