This year’s SPAR Japan, held on June 4th and 5th in Kawasaki, was a rousing success. Our partner Koji Kawamura reports that attendance for the two-day event has grown by about 10% since it was held last year, with a record 750 people walking through the doors. This isn’t the only noteworthy statistic about this year’s conference: It also set records for the number of speakers (94) and the number of exhibitors (30). 2014 also marks the first year that attendees at SPAR gained continuing professional development (CPD) points, which count toward retention of their official Japanese surveying qualifications.
As SPAR continues to grow in Japan, the conference focuses on many of the same issues affecting other markets. For instance, UAVs were a hot topic in both the main session and on the exhibition floor. Keynotes included Hirofumi Chikatsu from Tokyo Electric University on innovations in photogrammetry, and Kenzo Nosaka from Chiba University, whose presentation “Self Control Multi-Rotor Helicopter Survey” closed out the final day. Other topics included the integration of point clouds with CAD data for plant modeling, the use of 3D scanners for BIM facility design, as well as presentations on mobile mapping and the use of scanning for the protection of historic assets.
SPAR Japan, a sister to SPAR Europe and SPAR International, is held in Kawasaki every June. We’re very proud of this year’s conference, and encourage you to consider attending if your business extends to the Japanese market. You can view the English-language program here. If you speak Japanese (and even if you don’t), you can view the conference pamphlet here.
For more information, please contact Koji Kawamura at [email protected].
