Mitsubishi elevators to automatically restore operations after quake
December 20, 2005The Mitsubishi Electric Corp. group said Tuesday it has developed Japan's first technology to allow elevators to automatically stop operations due to an earthquake, check themselves for damage and quickly restore operations if no problem is found. Standard elevators are designed to automatically stop at the nearest floor if an earthquake with an intensity of lower 5 or more on the Japanese seismic scale of 7 is detected.
Honda to mass-manufacture housing-use solar cells
December 20, 2005Honda Motor Co. said Monday it will start mass-producing solar cells for use in houses in the latter half of 2007, becoming the first carmaker to produce and sell solar cells in a full-fledged manner. The annual production scale of the next-generation electricity-generating cells, which will use a thin layer of special metals, will be large enough to supply energy for 8,000 households, it said.