On Thursday, July 31—the final day of the month—we participated in the “Summer Holiday Manufacturing Festival at the Industrial Promotion Center,” held at the Uji Industrial Promotion Center, which also serves as the base for our Quality Control Center.

Despite the sweltering 38°C heat, the area around the center’s entrance was bustling with bicycles, food stalls offering shaved ice and snacks, and the lively atmosphere of a summer festival. Local families from Uji came out to enjoy the event together.

Our company took part in the “Uji Venture Company Factory Tour,” hosting two 40-minute sessions at 10:30 AM and 11:30 AM for about 10 elementary and junior high school students and their parents.

The “teachers” for the day were a diverse group of engineers from Japan, Turkey, and the United States. They engaged with the children while explaining how we visualize airflow and objects, and introduced the Doppler LiDAR technology developed by MetroWeather.

Together, we observed how a piece of paper fluttered in the air from an air conditioner, using it to explain how “moving objects reveal the presence of wind.” This led to a discussion on the Doppler effect in light, which is crucial for Doppler LiDAR. We also showcased the user interface used at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan to visualize wind, and explained the cloud-based system that enables us to display distant wind conditions in real time.

After a talk on light and lasers in Doppler LiDAR, the children put on laser safety goggles and participated in a demonstration using fluorescent sheets to visualize invisible laser beams.

Finally, everyone had the chance to see and touch a real Doppler LiDAR.

When one child asked, “How much does a LiDAR cost?” the answers ranged from ¥100,000 to ¥100 million, sparking excitement. One sharp comment—“If we can see the wind on our smartphones in the future, won’t we no longer need Doppler LiDAR and your company will disappear?”—led to a deeper conversation about how we must continue research and development to provide the technologies needed at any given time.

As a parting message, our engineers gave the children a summer homework challenge: “Beyond the cloud, how can we change the world through the internet?”

This is a question we, too, must constantly ask ourselves in a world of rapid technological advancement.

Metro Weather will continue to evolve so we can deliver the right solutions at the right time for the future being built by the children of Uji. We will also continue working hand-in-hand with local communities, governments, businesses, and organizations to support the limitless potential of children and contribute to the development of society.