The 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show kicked off Jan. 6 in Las Vegas, giving Georgia-based affiliates of foreign electronics makers a platform to showcase their products and technology.
Murata Electronics North America, a unit of one of the first Japanese companies to bring manufacturing to Georgia in the 1970s, is exhibiting its electronic components: tiny, unseen parts that enable devices like televisions, computers and cell phones to function.
To put a face on its technology, the company rolls out its robotic spokesman, Murata Boy. The white robot, standing about 20 inches tall, rides a bicycle with no human assistance, illustrating the power of Murata's sensors.
His "cousin," Murata Girl, is making her U.S. debut at CES. Sporting a white dress, she stands atop a unicycle with tiny arms outstretched. She uses sensors to balance and avoid collisions. Her backpack contains a Bluetooth module that sends and receives signals and music.
The robots are used to educate American consumers on the Murata technology behind many of the devices they use every day, said Tom Yamamoto, a former president of Murata Electronics North America.
"Murata is not that much known among general public, particularly here. Among Japanese, Murata is pretty famous, but not many people know us" in the U.S., said Mr. Yamamoto, who visited Georgia in the early 1970s and moved here in 1983.
Foreign companies with Georgia operations often exhibit at CES, the largest trade show of its kind.
Last year's event included a keynote address from Chairman Zhou Houjian of Hisense Group, a major Chinese appliance and television manufacturer with North American headquarters and distribution and R&D centers in Gwinnett County. At this year's show, the company is introducing Internet-connected TVs and the Hi-Touch TV, which can be controlled remotely by gestures.
Hisense-branded TVs were sold in the U.S. for the first time last year through appliance retailer hhgregg. That deal helped the company achieve 300 percent sales growth in the U.S. for the first 11 months of 2010 compared to the previous year, according to a news release.
Georgia's CES lineup also includes an array of foreign firms that sell audio equipment through a Fayetteville distributor and Novero, a Dusseldorf, Germany-based company unveiling a new video player designed as a stylish pair of glasses.
Novero's primary products are Bluetooth accessories including the Victoria line of necklaces, which double as wireless headsets and retail for $259-$999. The company's North American sales and marketing office is in Atlanta.
Kaijet, a Taiwanese firm that makes computer peripherals powered by USB ports, is also attending the show.
Some Georgia-based firms with global operations are also marketing their advances at the show, including ARRIS, a Suwanee-based firm that supplies broadband access equipment for telecommunications companies, and SED International Holdings Inc., a distributor of computers and related equipment.
For the full list of Georgia exhibitors, click here.
