QUEUEING outside what appears to be an ordinary cinema, members of the audience are invited to place their faces into a hole in the wall for a few seconds. High-resolution digital cameras perform a quick scan from several angles, and everyone takes their seats.

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Everyone in the cinema gets a role in the unfolding drama — there are soldiers, doctors, scientists and politicians involved in the story — as a Toshiba supercomputer hums away in the background processing the one-time-only film.

(..) 121 countries are taking part, but Aichi Expo is principally about Japan, which has pulled out all the technological stops to show that its gadgetry and ingenuity is the best in the world.

(..) Hitachi’s virtual reality safari. Hitachi equips visitors with portable handsets that contain a prototype of its mu-chip, (..)

As the handset is brought close to particular transmitters, it instantly downloads any information on offer in that area and displays it on a small screen.

The safari ride itself employs a revolutionary 3D projection system designed to work with a set of sensors strapped to the hands. Once immersed in the virtual reality world, solid-seeming objects can be plucked from mid-air and examined more closely in the hands.

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Other gadgetry that went on display for the first time yesterday included object-recognition binoculars created by NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest mobile phone company.

As users scan the surrounding area, the binoculars will recognise certain objects and details about them will appear in the eyepiece.

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DoCoMo hopes to use the technology in camera-equipped handsets. (..)

But perhaps the strongest influence over the Aichi Expo is exerted by Toyota, currently the world's most successful carmaker, (..)

One robot strolled into the arena and then balanced on one leg, another flexed a perfectly jointed hand in the air before playing a trombone.

(..) and a sedan chair that carries a person around on two robotic legs.

Amid the spectacle, though, there was a deliberately serious message about how these robots will enter everyday life. (..)

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STAR ATTRACTIONS UP FOR THE COUNT

Mitsubishi Infinity FX Theatre: revolutionary special effects cinema showing how the world would be without the moon

Mitsui Toshiba’s Futurecast cinema: scans the audience and converts them into the characters in the film

A frozen mammoth: uniquely complete 18,000-year-old found recently in Siberia

Toyota robot show: demonstrates the cutting-edge of robotics and of future vehicle technologies

3,000: Number of people who queued overnight in the snow to be first at the gate on the opening day

185: Number of days Aichi Expo will be open

15 million: Number of visitors expected

£1.6 billion: Total construction cost

121: Number of country pavilions