+ Video
The Open Reel Ensemble adds a unique twist to the old-school art of reel-to-reel tape scratching, with USB controllers that manipulate the switches inside the tape decks and with solenoids that create vibrato effects by tweaking the speed of the tape as it passes over the heads.
To promote its laptops and showcase digital signage technology capable of utilizing real-time data over the Internet, electronics giant Toshiba tested an interactive digital billboard in Tokyo last weekend that allowed YouTube users and pedestrians with mobile phones to play video games against each other. (Watch a video of the game action.)
Played on a digital billboard above the entrance to the Yodobashi Camera superstore in Akihabara, each game involved up to six players in a 90-second race to paint squares on a grid and hunt for Toshiba's cuddly Pala-Chan mascot. Mobile phone players followed the action on the billboard and used the number keys on their handsets to control the game's paint brushes, while YouTube players on computers used the arrow keys on their keyboards. (More video.)
To participate, pedestrians in Akihabara called a phone number displayed on the billboard before the start of each game, while YouTube users simply clicked a button on Toshiba's toshibanotepc channel (where the game is still available).
Winners who played via mobile phone in Akihabara received Pala-Chan parkas from Toshiba representatives stationed near the billboard site.
The company plans to use similar interactive billboard games to promote other products around town in the future.
[Source: Nikkei]
On March 18, astronaut Koichi Wakata arrived at the International Space Station to begin his three-month space sojourn -- the longest ever for a Japanese spaceman. Although much of Wakata's time in space will be devoted to official research and maintenance duties, he plans to set aside a little free time for 16 offbeat experiments proposed by the Japanese public.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) selected the extra experiments from nearly 1,600 proposals they received after asking the public what tests they would like to see performed in space. The 16 experiments are listed here as questions posed to Wakata.
1. Calisthenics: Is it possible to follow an audio-guided workout program in zero gravity?
2. Backflips: On Earth, backflips take a lot of practice and leg strength. How about in zero gravity?
3. Volleying (soccer): Crumple a piece of paper into a ball and try kicking it around. How does the ball behave in zero gravity? Can you volley it?
4. Push-ups: In space, can you do push-ups while facing the ceiling or walls?
5. Cartwheels: In zero gravity, can you rotate yourself continuously like a windmill?
6. Swimming: Try to swim through the air as if you were in water. Can you move forward by swimming? If not, why not?
7. Spin like an ice skater: On Earth, ice skaters can increase their rotation speed by pulling their arms closer in to the body while they spin. Does the same thing happen in zero gravity? If so, what is the reason?
8. Folding clothes: In space, can you fold clothes and put them away as you do on Earth? It seems that the shirt sleeves would be difficult to keep in place. What is the best way to fold clothes in space?
9. Magic carpet: Try to sit on a floating carpet. Magic carpets are a fantasy on Earth, but are they possible in space?
10. Water gun: On Earth, if you squeeze a drink bag, a single stream of liquid shoots out through the straw hole and falls to the ground. How does the liquid behave in zero gravity?
11. Eye drops: On Earth, you have to face upward to put eye drops into your eyes. Is there a better way to do this in zero gravity?
12. Propulsion through space: When floating in zero gravity, how much power do you need in order to propel yourself around? Can you move simply by blowing air from your mouth or by flapping a hand-fan?
The next four activities are to be performed by two people:
13. Arm wrestling
14. Shaking hands
15. Sumo
16. Tug-of-war
JAXA plans to release videos of Wakata's experiments in July.
[Source: JAXA]
In his latest video, experimental media artist Daito Manabe choreographs a synchronized face dance for four friends by hooking them up to the Face Visualizer, a device which converts music into electrical impulses that stimulate the facial muscles.
+ Video
[Via: Daito Manabe - YouTube]
The HRP-4C, a walking, talking humanoid fashion model fembot developed by Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), is ready for the runway. (Watch her strut her stuff.)
With 30 motors in her body, the 158-centimeter (62-in) tall, 43-kilogram (95-lb) HRP-4C can walk around and strike a range of poses.
The black-haired robot also has 8 motors in her face, allowing her to wow the crowds with expressions of simple emotions like anger and surprise.
Anger // Surprise
HRP-4C is scheduled to make her official runway debut in a special fashion show in Tokyo next week, though she will not be wearing any clothes.
But really, who needs clothes with a body like that?
[Sources: AIST, IHT, Daily Mail]
"I am in danger. You are in danger. Japan is in danger. Protect yourself with yellow."
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So reads the text on a billboard advertisement at the west exit of Shinjuku station, the latest in a series of Norton Symantec security software ads starring multi-talented otaku idol Shokotan.
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Yellow suits her well.
(Thanks, randomcommenter, for the translation tip!)
Major automotive supplier Denso Corporation has developed an electronic cat-faced ring that turns the human hand into a remote control and lets the wearer operate devices simply by pressing fingers together.
In a recent prototype demonstration of the ring, called "Yubi-nya" -- which is a play on the Japanese words for "ring" (yubiwa) and "meow" (nya) -- users were able to remotely open and close the doors of a model car by pressing their index finger and thumb together.
Yubi-nya, whose components are packed into the 2-centimeter thick likeness of a calico cat head, produces a weak electric current that is conducted through the wearer's index finger. When the tips of the finger and thumb are pressed together, the current travels through the flesh of the hand and loops back around to the ring. A sensor inside the ring then detects the returning current, and the corresponding remote control radio signal is sent to the appropriate device.
The developers suggest Yubi-nya's technology can be put to use in a variety of devices, including portable music players. A commuter on a crowded train, for example, could operate a music player while maintaining a firm grip on the subway strap.
Denso has not announced when a commercial version of Yubi-nya will become available, but researcher Saori Noda says, "We are working to make it smaller and less noticeable."
[Source: Yomiuri]
Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a computerized, sensor-based "magic mirror" that analyzes muscular activity and shows real-time computer-generated images of how hard the user's muscles are being worked while exercising.
The magic mirror, developed under the leadership of professor Yoshihiko Nakamura of the Information and Robot Technology Research Initiative (IRT), was unveiled at the University of Tokyo last Friday. In a demonstration for the media, the system's display monitor showed a real-time computer-generated image of a male model's musculo-skeletal system while he performed a series of physical exercises.
The system, which is currently capable of monitoring the activity of 30% of the body's roughly 300 skeletal muscle pairs, consists of 16 electromyographs (instruments that record the electrical waves associated with muscle activity) attached to the user's body, 10 motion-capture cameras, and a pair of floor sensors to measure the force exerted on the legs.
On the monitor, each muscle is shown in a different color depending on how much it is being used at a particular moment. Active muscles are shown in red, while inactive muscles are shown in yellow.
(Muscle images can also be overlaid on the video image of the user's body.)
The magic mirror system uses newly developed software that is reportedly 10 times faster than previous technology, allowing the system to operate in real-time, even when the user is moving rapidly.
The researchers, who are already working on a more compact version that incorporates the cameras directly into the display, envision the system being used in homes, gyms and hospitals. In addition to helping people get into shape, the system might also help doctors more effectively treat conditions that affect the muscles.
[Sources: Robot Watch, Yomiuri, Nikkei]
As part of an online marketing campaign for the Walkman media player over the past few years, Sony has produced over a dozen short videos featuring a stellar assortment of underground Japanese musicians cutting loose in the studio.
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- Tucker
DJ/keyboardist Tucker shows off his mad cooking skills by whipping up a spicy blend of rhythmic kitchen noise topped with crunchy guitar. >>> Video
+ More Tucker: Clocks, toys & turntable // Oil drum, thumb piano, bass & keyboards // Guitar, bass & keyboards // Misc. items in aquarium
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- Fuyuki Yamakawa
- Video
Armed with a bone conduction microphone and electric artificial larynx, performance artist/body musician Fuyuki Yamakawa drops a flurry of skull-thumping, mouth-tweaking beats.
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- Tomo Yamaguchi
- Video
Wearing an assortment of tin containers, junk percussionist Tomo Yamaguchi crashes and bangs his way through quiet residential backstreets.
+ More: Studio solo // Collaboration with Tucker
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- Goma da Didgeridoo
- Video
Goma da Didgeridoo plays the aboriginal wind instrument with a twist of techno.
+ More: Collaboration with chef Tucker
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- Atsuhiro Ito
- Video
Atsuhiro Ito gets down with the Optron, a miked-up fluorescent light tube run through an array of effects pedals.
+ More: Collaboration with drummer Yoichiro Shin
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- Taeji Sawai
- Video
Interactive media designer Taeji Sawai shows off his scintillating light-controlled sound generator.
+ More: Ito's Optron vs. Sawai's light-controlled sound generator
