Archives: ‘Sci/Tech’ Category

Robot sea bream

25 Jul 2008

Robot sea bream --

Engineers at the University of Kitakyushu have developed an underwater survey robot that looks good enough to eat. "Tai-robot-kun," a 7-kilogram (15.4 lb) robotic sea bream (red snapper) with a silicone body covered in realistically hand-painted scales, features a unique propulsion system that allows it to move its tail and drift silently through the water like a real fish. (Watch a video.)

The robotic fish can swim for an hour on a full battery charge, and it relies on a ballast system similar to those used in submarines to adjust its buoyancy and depth.

Tai-robot-kun's creator, professor Ikuo Yamamoto, says the robot can easily be mass-produced, outfitted with various cameras and sensors, and released into the sea to perform a wide range of oceanographic survey tasks. He adds that because the robot swims silently and looks like a real fish, it would be able to gather data without alarming the creatures it encounters.

Yamamoto and his team are also reportedly developing a robotic manta ray that uses some of the same technology.

[Source: Robot Watch]

Video: Actroid stars in TV commercial

25 Jul 2008

Actroid female robot actress --

Actroid DER-2, Kokoro's uncannily lifelike fembot, has made her acting debut in a TV commercial for Kincho's Preshower UV insect repellent/sunscreen spray. Titled "The Woman Who Doesn't Rust," the 15-second commercial spot shows Actroid outdoors at a campground, where she recommends using Preshower because, as a female, her skin is important. After a few squirts of the spray, she cheerily adds, "Surprisingly, I don't rust." (Watch it.)

*** Updated with higher quality video ***

Light-sensitive shape-shifting plastic drives motor

23 Jul 2008

Motor powered by light-activated plasticA research team led by professor Tomiki Ikeda at the Tokyo Institute of Technology has developed what is being called the world's first plastic motor powered solely and directly by light.

Unlike solar-powered motors that use photovoltaic cells to convert light to electric power (and which require wires and batteries to deliver and store the power), this first-of-a-kind motor converts light directly into mechanical energy, thanks to a belt made from a special elastomer whose molecular structure expands or contracts when illuminated, depending on the wavelength of light.

Ikeda began working on the light-activated motor in 2003, after discovering that a plastic compound containing azobenzene would contract when exposed to ultraviolet light and resume its original shape when exposed to visible light. Since then, in addition to working on improving the material's shape-shifting properties, Ikeda's team has been looking at ways to use the material in a motor that converts light directly into motion.

To test whether the material could be used as a mechanical power source, the researchers coated a polyethylene film with the shape-shifting plastic to create a 0.08-millimeter thick belt, which they looped around a pair of wheels measuring 10 millimeters and 3 millimeters in diameter. Then, by shining ultraviolet light on the belt near the smaller wheel and visible light near the larger wheel, the belt snapped into action and began turning the wheels. The larger wheel recorded a top speed of 1 rpm.

According to the researchers, the film demonstrated about 4 times more elastic strength than human muscle, and its strength remained unchanged even after contracting and expanding every 7 seconds for 30 hours.

"The material is still not very efficient at converting light to energy, but it can be improved," says Ikeda, who suggests the shape-shifting plastic can be used in larger-scale applications. He hopes to one day see the material used to power plastic automobiles and other fantastic plastic machines.

The results of the research were published in the July 19 edition of the German chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie.

[Source: Tokyo Shimbun]

Monster octopi with scores of extra tentacles

18 Jul 2008

96-armed octopus --

In nature, it is quite rare to encounter octopi with extra tentacles (or "arms," for the purists), but a pair of aquariums in Japan's Mie prefecture have some extraordinary specimens on hand.

The permanent display at the Shima Marineland Aquarium in the town of Shima includes a 96-tentacled Common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris) that weighed 3.3 kilograms (about 7 lbs) and measured 90 centimeters (3 ft) long when it was captured in nearby Matoya Bay in December 1998. Before dying 5 months later, the creature laid eggs, making it the first known extra-tentacled octopus to do so in captivity. All the baby octopi hatched with the normal number of tentacles, but unfortunately they only survived a month.

96-armed octopus --
96-tentacled octopus laying eggs

The preserved octopus actually has the normal number of 8 appendages attached to its body, but each one branches out to form the multitude of extra tentacles. Apparently there is no theory that fully explains the surplus tentacles, but they are believed to be the result of abnormal regeneration that occurred after the octopus suffered some sort of injury.

* * * * *

The Toba Aquarium in the nearby town of Toba also has a few extraordinary octopus specimens, although they no longer appear to be on permanent display. Every now and then, though, the aquarium pulls them out of storage for the world to see.

85-armed octopus --
85-tentacled octopus at Toba Aquarium

Their most well-known specimen is an 85-tentacled Common Octopus captured in 1957 at nearby Toshijima island. This remarkable creature -- which, like the Shima Marineland octopus, has 8 main arms that branch out to form scores of tentacles -- made quite a stir when it first went on display at Toba Aquarium a half-century ago. A few years later, the specimen was loaned to the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, where it famously caught the attention of the Showa Emperor.

The renowned creature eventually returned to Toba and went on permanent display until the aquarium moved to a new location in 1985, at which time it was placed in storage. Twenty years later, in 2005, the specimen entered the spotlight again when it was put on temporary display.

In the 50 years since the 85-tentacled octopus was captured, the Toba Aquarium has exhibited 6 other mutant octopi, most of them alive for a time, and each with between 9 and 56 tentacles.

[Related: Photo: Nine-tentacled octopus]

Emperor analyzes tanuki dung in name of science

17 Jul 2008

Tanuki --

When not carrying out his official duties as monarch of Japan, Emperor Akihito takes a deep interest in scientific research. A keen ichthyologist, the Emperor has published dozens of scientific papers on members of the goby family, and his work is so well known that the recent discoverers of a new goby species (Exyrias akihito) named their fish after him.

But while most of the Emperor's past work has focused on gobies, his latest research investigates the feeding habits of wild tanuki -- also known as raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) -- that inhabit the spacious grounds of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

The research, which was published in the Bulletin of the National Museum of Nature and Science in June, involved the analysis of tanuki dung samples collected from the Imperial Palace grounds between April 2006 and December 2007. In all, 169 samples were collected from 30 "dung accumulation sites" (apparently, tanuki have certain preferred locations they use again and again). The samples were inspected for remnants of undigested materials that revealed the tanuki's feeding habits and seasonal changes in diet. At his own request, the Emperor performed the dirty work himself.

The Emperor's findings, which were written with the assistance of four researchers from the National Museum of Nature and Science, suggest that the tanuki inhabiting the forested area around the Imperial Palace feed heavily on nuts, insects (especially ground beetles) and birds -- unlike their suburban cousins who subsist on a steady diet of human garbage.

[Source: Yomiuri, Asahi]

Video: ‘Daruma-otoshi’ skyscraper demolition

14 Jul 2008

Stop-motion video of building demolition --

Japanese construction firm Kajima Corporation is using an innovative new skyscraper demolition method to dismantle a pair of old company buildings in Tokyo. (Watch a time-lapse video.)

Unlike conventional demolition that begins at the top of the building, Kajima's new method starts on the bottom floor, where the support columns are cut and replaced with giant computer-controlled jacks. Once the floor is demolished and the debris removed, the entire building is lowered and work begins on the next floor. The process is repeated for each floor until the entire building is gone.

Kajima informally calls this the daruma-otoshi method, after the old Japanese game consisting of a daruma doll made of stacked pieces that players knock out one by one without toppling the doll. (Watch a super slo-mo video.)

According to Kajima, the daruma-otoshi demolition method -- which is now being used to dismantle a 75 meter (246 ft) tall, 20-story building and a 65 meter (213 ft) tall, 17-story building -- is safer and creates less noise and dust pollution because the work is kept close to the ground. In addition, this method cuts demolition time by 20% and makes it easier to separate and recycle the building materials.

[Link: Kajima]

Remote-control shopping robot

11 Jul 2008

tmsuk remote-control shopping robot --

Robot developer tmsuk has unveiled a remote-control robot that promises a new way to shop from the comfort of home. A prototype of the telerobotic shopper -- a modified TMSUK-4 humanoid robot that incorporates a variety of cellphone communications technology -- was demonstrated on July 10 at the Izutsuya department store in the city of Kitakyushu, Japan.

In the demonstration, an unwell grandmother unable to go shopping with her granddaughter sent the robot in her place. Using an NTT DoCoMo video-capable cellphone, the grandmother was able to control the robot and enjoy the shopping experience through the robot's camera eyes. As curious shoppers looked on, the woman maneuvered the robot to the hat section, eyed what was available on the shelf, and had her granddaughter model a few for her before deciding which one to purchase.

According to tmsuk, this innovative type of "3D communications" technology brings us a step closer to a future in which telerobotic shoppers roam the fashionable areas of cities like New York or London.

[Source: Data Max]

Floodgates

10 Jul 2008

Photographer Sato Jun Ichi explores the architecture of Japan's flood control infrastructure in a huge collection of photographs taken over a period of 10+ years.

Japanese floodgate photo by Sato Jun'ichi --
Ibaraki, 1997

Japanese floodgate photo by Sato Jun'ichi -- Japanese floodgate photo by Sato Jun'ichi --
Tochigi, 2006 // Saitama, 2007

Japanese floodgate photo by Sato Jun'ichi --
Saitama, 1999

Japanese floodgate photo by Sato Jun'ichi --
Chiba, 1997

Japanese floodgate photo by Sato Jun'ichi --
Saitama, 1999

Japanese floodgate photo by Sato Jun'ichi --
Saitama, 2006

Japanese floodgate photo by Sato Jun'ichi -- Japanese floodgate photo by Sato Jun'ichi --
Saitama, 2006 // Saitama, 2007

Japanese floodgate photo by Sato Jun'ichi --
Ibaraki, 1998

Japanese floodgate photo by Sato Jun'ichi --
Saitama, 1998

Japanese floodgate photo by Sato Jun'ichi --
Miyagi, 1998

Visit Sato's Floodgates site for about 600 more photos. (Use the links at the top left to scroll through the 37 galleries.) There is also a book.

Yen portraits fool age-verification cameras

08 Jul 2008

Hideyo Noguchi & Yukichi Fukuzawa --

Do these fellows look old enough to smoke? Yes indeed, say Japan's cigarette vending machines that use face-recognition technology to determine the age of the purchaser.

Just two weeks after a major sports paper reported that magazine photos could be used to fool vending machine age-verification cameras, an even more surprising flaw has come to light. The portraits of Hideyo Noguchi and Yukichi Fukuzawa printed on the 1,000-yen and 10,000-yen bills can be used to trick the high-tech machines, according to a new report on the Sankei Shimbun website.

On July 1 -- the day that Japan's cigarette vending machine age-verification system was rolled out nationwide -- Sankei reporters in Tokyo went out in search of machines equipped with age-verification cameras. They found that these machines treated them as adults and allowed them to purchase cigarettes when they showed the portrait of Yukichi Fukuzawa (the renaissance man and Keio University founder who appears on the 10,000-yen note) to the vending machine's camera-embedded mirror. The machines also reportedly sold cigarettes to the portrait of Hideyo Noguchi (the notable bacteriologist who discoveredcontributed to the understanding of syphilis), which appears on the 1,000-yen note.

Once the machines approved the sale, the reporters then used the same money to pay for the purchase, making this all-in-one technique even more convenient than the recently discovered magazine photo trick.

Ironically, news of this latest discovery comes just days after the Finance Ministry officially approved the use of face-recognition technology to determine the age of vending machine users.

Sankei contacted the Finance Ministry's Tobacco and Salt Industries Office about the flaw they found. A surprised official responded by saying, "This is the first we've heard of it. It's a big problem if it's true."

The official said he would immediately notify Fujitaka, the vending machine manufacturer who developed the age-verification camera system. Fujitaka is reportedly in the process of upgrading its face-recognition technology so that it can more effectively distinguish photographs from real people.

Of Japan's more than 500,000 cigarette vending machines, around 4,800 (less than 1%) are equipped with age-verification cameras. The rest are outfitted with readers that check Taspo age-verification cards, which are available to anyone of legal age who applies (though they have yet to become widespread). The vending machines that use age-verification cameras allow people to purchase cigarettes without a Taspo card, as long as they look older than 20 years of age.

[Source: Sankei Shimbun]

Related: Magazine photos fool age-verification cameras

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