Casio 2002 Annual Report Download - page 8

Radio-Controlled and
Solar Powered Watches
Radio-controlled wristwatches are
watches that always display the cor-
rect time. They do this by capturing
radio waves from a transmitting sta-
tion that relate the “standard time”
generated from cesium atomic
clocks, the ultimate standard for pre-
cision, to constantly adjust the time.
In Japan, the infrastructure necessary
for these watches was completed in
2001, and we have since launched
our radio-controlled watches nation-
wide. This promising market is
expected to expand throughout
areas where such infrastructure is
in place. Europe is already making
use of this technology. With the
infrastructure now in place, the
United States intends to follow suit,
and the Republic of Korea will be
able to receive radio waves from
Japan. Additionally, by incorporating
a solar power feature in our radio-
controlled watches, an addition that
enables high-capacity drive and was
made possible through the develop-
ment of low-power-consumption LSIs
that utilize SOI transistor technology,
we eliminated not only the need to
adjust the time but also the need
to change batteries. This is the van-
guard of wristwatch technology—its
features make it maintenance-free.
Casio is shooting for a revolution in
watches, taking them where they
are destined to go—from mechanical
to quartz and now from quartz to
radio controlled and solar powered.
We intend to breathe new life into
the timepiece market by capitalizing
on our technologies to develop
ingenious products and create new
markets.
6
Focusing on Strategic Products
That Capture the Casio Spirit
Our Script for Change