Your company is the offspring of U.S. and Japanese parents, isn't it?
Yes, we started out in 1962 as a joint venture between the U.S. company General Precision and Mitsubishi Electric and three other Mitsubishi companies. Our U.S. parent subsequently underwent a series of ownership changes, and we became a wholly Japanese-owned enterprise in 1989. We operate as a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric, which owns 60% of our equity. Like my predecessors as president, I came from Mitsubishi Electric.

How would you characterize your business in terms of sales composition?
Our sales presently total about 25 billion yen ($200 million) a year, and defense and space systems account for about one half of that total. Flight simulators and navigation guidance systems account for most of our business in defense and space systems. We also supply the Japanese Defense Agency with training simulators for submarines and even for hovercraft. In addition, we supply the agency with detonation fuses for missiles and other items based on our core technologies. What about the other half of your sales?

What about the other half of your sales?
Parking systems are a fast-growing line of business and now contribute about one-fourth of our total sales. Some of our parking systems include video monitors that read, recognize and record license plate numbers to allow for automatic billing. Mitsubishi Electric is a world leader in artificial retinal technology, and our visual recognition is the most accurate in the parking systems sector.
   The rest of our business consists mainly of training simulators for private sector applications and a unique product line called Talking Signs (R). We provide training simulators to such customers as driving schools and train companies. We also install flight simulation systems at science museums and other locations for educational and amusement purposes. Talking Signs, meanwhile, make the world more accessible to visually impaired individuals.

How does the Talking Signs system work?
It's a way-finding system. You install small, inexpensive transmitters in public places, such as subway stations, and equip visually impaired persons with compact receivers. The receivers are handy and compact--no bigger than cellular phones. And we are working on receivers that will be tiny enough to fit into eyeglass frames.
   The transmitters emit a continuous stream of voice messages. For example: "Here is the entrance." "Here is the ticket machine." "Here is the men's room." The system uses infrared signals, like television remote control units. So they are immune to electromagnetic interference, and they don't affect medical devices, such as pacemakers.

Who created the technology?
Engineers in the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center at San Francisco's Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute developed the technology originally. Talking Signs, Inc., headquartered in Louisiana, created the first commercial applications. We have bought an equity stake in that company, and we have licensed the technological and production rights.
   San Francisco has been a pioneer in equipping public places with Talking Signs. Several other U.S. municipalities also have adopted the technology, and demand is surging. In Japan, pilot systems are in operation at commuter train stations, department stores, hospitals and other sites. Also, we have begun applying Talking Signs technology to the walk signals at intersections under the auspices of Japan's National Police Agency, and the agency plans to deploy the technology nationwide.

What's next for Mitsubishi Precision?
The technology for basic flight simulation is pretty well established. But pilots need to do more than simply fly their planes. They're in the sky for a reason: conduct reconnaissance, for example, or whatever. So we are upgrading our simulators to support training for the entire range of skills required in completing a specified mission.
   We also are extending our simulator technology into new markets. For example, we have begun supplying automakers with systems that simulate how different vehicle specifications would feel on the highway. The automakers can test-drive vehicle concepts without having to create a physical prototype.
   Meanwhile, we are promoting our diversified products actively. We anticipate a lot of growth in parking systems and in Talking Signs.

Mitsubishi Precision president Takehiko Tatsuko (third from left) meets with San Francisco's Mayor Willie Brown (third from right). "The city by the bay" uses Mitsubishi Precision's Talking Signs to make public services more easily available to visually impaired individuals.