Abstract: Provided is an air conditioner including an indoor unit provided with a microphone element for receiving voice instructions, such that a voice instruction spoken by an operator is acquired with high quality and control based on the voice instruction spoken by the operator is likely to be ensured. The air conditioner includes an indoor unit, a transmission unit, and a reception unit. The indoor unit has a main body and a microphone element. The main body has formed therein a blow-out port through which air-conditioned air is blown out toward a space to be air-conditioned. The microphone element accepts a voice instruction captured from a voice capturing portion arranged at a position that deviates from a ventilation space through which the air blown out from the blow-out port flows, in such a manner as to face the space to be air-conditioned. The transmission unit transmits the voice instruction accepted by the microphone element to an outside as a signal.

Abstract: Provided are a boron nitride powder having a relatively small particle size, in which an amount of metal impurities present on a surface of the boron nitride powder is significantly reduced, and extremely high purity is achieved, and a method for producing the boron nitride powder. A hexagonal boron nitride powder has an average particle size (D50) of 2.0 to 6.0 ?m and a specific surface area measured by a BET method of 4 to 12 m2/g, in which a concentration of a calcium element is 1 ppm or less, a concentration of a silicon element is 5 ppm or less, a concentration of a sodium element is 5 ppm or less, and a concentration of an iron element is 1 ppm or less on a surface of hexagonal boron nitride particles constituting the powder, the hexagonal boron nitride powder preferably has an average aspect ratio (major axis/thickness) of 1 to 7, and is useful as a filler for resin.

Abstract: A surgical manipulator system comprising at least one surgical manipulator, at least one guide, a detector, and a drive controller. The surgical manipulator has a surgical device for performing a desired operation. The guide guides the surgical device. The detector detects a position and/or orientation relationship between the surgical device and the guide, and/or a position and/or orientation relationship between the surgical device and another surgical device. The drive controller controls the surgical manipulator such that the surgical device is guided by the guide.

Abstract: A control system for an image sensor that has an array of pixels and a fetching circuit. During a charge accumulation interval each pixel generates a corresponding instantaneous pixel signal cumulatively responsive to the light the pixel has received from an incident image. At the end of the accumulation interval, the fetching circuit composes an image signal from the values attained by the array's various instantaneous pixel signals. The control system has a drive control circuit and a contrast detector. The contrast detector is coupled to the array for deriving an instantaneous image contrast signal from the instantaneous pixel signals. The drive control circuit then uses the instantaneous image contrast signal for adjusting the array's accumulation interval so the image signal will have good contrast.