Tag: ‘Household’

Robot beauty goes skin-deep

19 Sep 2006

Honey Doll --

In a move that could provide a crucial boost to our robotic friends struggling up the near side of the Uncanny Valley, major cosmetics manufacturer Kao Corporation and a Keio University research team led by robotics professor Takashi Maeno have developed an artificial skin that feels just like human skin.

Skin, the largest organ of the human body, consists of a soft layer of tissue (dermis) covered by a tougher protective layer (epidermis). The artificial skin developed by Kao and Keio mimics the feel of human skin with a 1-cm thick "dermis" of elastic silicone covered by a 0.2-mm thick "epidermis" of firm urethane. Countless tiny hexagonal indentations etched into the urethane epidermis provide it with a very realistic texture.

In a series of unscientific tests, 10 out of 12 people who touched the skin thought it felt like human skin, while equipment designed to measure the mechanical properties of skin confirmed the artificial skin had characteristics resembling human skin.

The skin was unveiled earlier this month at the 24th Annual Conference of the Robotics Society of Japan (RSJ) at Okayama University. While Kao plans to use the artificial skin in the development of new cosmetics, Professor Maeno sees potential applications in the field of household robotics, where there are many opportunities for human-robot interaction.

[Source: Yomiuri Shimbun]

Robot pony: Sega’s new dream pet

14 Sep 2006

Dream Pony from Sega Toys Dreaming of owning a pony, but anxious about taking on the necessary responsibilities? Fret no more, there's an alternative. By the end of the year, Sega Toys will begin selling a life-sized robotic pony.

The 1.2-meter tall, battery-operated Dream Pony (Yume-Kouma) is outfitted with sensors that enable it to react to its environment. Pet the pony's neck and back and it shakes it head and moves its ears and tail in appreciation, just like the real deal. Dream Pony also responds to audio and visual stimuli with a whole repetoire of reactions -- including an anxious-sounding whinny when the room becomes dark and a jerk of the head in response to a sudden loud noise. Dream Pony also comes with a plastic carrot that it attempts to eat when held in front of its face.

Unfortunately, though, Dream Pony lacks the appeal of a real pony primarily because its legs do not move. (Come on, what do you expect for 68,000 yen/$US600?) No moving legs means no joyrides through the hood, so you can cross it off your list of alternative modes of transportation. But as long as you weigh less than 36 kg (80 lb), the pony should be strong enough to support your weight.

Dream Pony, whose sales are expected to reach 10,000 units per year, is the latest beast in Sega's Dream Pet (Yume-Petto) series of virtual pets, 800,000 of which have been sold to date. Another of Sega's recent mechanical pets is the popular Dream Cat Smile (Yume-Neko Sumairu), previously known as Near Me (Nyaa Mii is a Japanese play on words mimicking the sound a cat makes). There is a fantastic video (.wmv) on the Near Me homepage (near the bottom) that is worth a look. Another video of Dream Cat Smile can be found on YouTube here. The fluffy white feline is priced at just over 8,000 yen (US$70).

Sega Toys has made significant progress in carving out a market for alternative pets for families unable to keep real animals, and the company is now developing virtual dogs and birds to capitalize on the rising demand for "healing" pet robots. Blade Runner, here we come.

[Source: Fuji Sankei]

Rooftop lawn-planting made simple

25 Aug 2006

TM9 turf mat

On August 25, Toyota Roof Garden (a subsidiary of the Toyota Motor Corporation) began taking orders for its TM9 turf mats, modular grass tiles developed specifically for converting rooftops into fields of green. In addition to providing an extra layer of thermal insulation to a building, a grassy rooftop can also be used as a putting green, says the company.

The mats act as a foundation upon which to grow Toyota's TM9 brand of Korean velvet grass (korai shiba), which only needs to be cut once a year (as opposed to 3 to 4 times for other varieties) due to its slow growth. Each 50 x 50 cm (20 x 20 in.) mat is 6 cm (2 in.) thick. Setting up a field is fast and easy -- just arrange the mats where you want them and voila, your grass is ready to be enjoyed.

The mats also include space for water tubes that can be used as an automated irrigation system. Water flows through the tubes into a series of channels beneath the grass, providing an even supply of moisture to the roots. Each square meter (10 sq.ft.) needs 17 liters (4.5 gallons) of water every 3 days.

For the time being, TM9 turf mats are made to order. At 5,000 yen (US$43) per square meter (10 sq.ft.), the company aims to sell 3,000 square meters (30,000 sq.ft.) in 2006.

Green rooftops provide thermal insulation for buildings and can help combat the urban heat island effect. The annual Japanese market for rooftop and wall gardening products is expected to grow to between 10 and 15 billion yen (US$90 to 130 million) in the near future.

[Source: Fuji Sankei]

Cantomoko, a well-traveled sex doll

19 Jul 2006

Cantomoko in SaipanCantomoko is a well-traveled sex doll. She travels mostly by car in Japan, though she is known to ride a bicycle at times. She enjoys the cherry blossoms in spring, lounges on the beach in summer, frolics in fields of cosmos in autumn, and goes snowboarding in winter. She sometimes attends parties with friends. She has been to the top of Mt. Fuji. She has traveled abroad, to Saipan. She has 38 galleries of travel photos to prove it.

There is no nudity (silicone or otherwise) on these pages, just your typical vacation photos -- of a sex doll. (Click the thumbnails to display larger images, and click the links on the left side of the page to display the different galleries.)

[Link: Cantomoko?s Room via Zaeega]

A map of the genome for every home

19 Apr 2006

Japan?s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has published a map of the human genome for the general population that it aims to distribute to households across the country. A total of 40,000 maps are being provided to primary, middle and high schools nationwide, and about 50,000 copies are being supplied to science museums around the country, where they will be distributed to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.

Human genome map

The map includes the names and locations of about 1% of the 26,800 genes that make up the human genome. Details and illustrations help explain genes that hit close to home, such as the one that determines your ability to metabolize alcohol and the one that produces collagen. PDF versions of the map are available for download (large or small), and an interactive Flash version is here.

[Source: Asahi Shimbun]

ITR robot seeks place in the home

04 Apr 2006

ITRRobot developer Speecys Corporation has unveiled its ITR ("Internet Renaissance") robot, a compact droid capable of downloading Internet content via wireless LAN. The company announced plans to begin selling developer evaluation kits (limited to 300 sets) to content developers at the end of May. The consumer version of ITR is scheduled to hit shelves at the beginning of September with a price tag of 190,000 yen (US$1,600).

ITR, which Speecys is billing as the world's first humanoid robot to be integrated into the family, connects to a dedicated server via the Internet to download "robot content" that it presents to the user with its voice and movements. ITR uses Speecys' own Robot Transaction Markup Language (RTML) as a protocol, and the company appears to be moving forward with plans to establish RTML as the standard protocol for robot communication. With an adaptor, the IEEE 802.11g compatible bot will be able to download content from a mobile phone web browser.

Initial plans call for 12 channels of content ranging from news and weather to children's programming, variety and music programs. Features such as a "motion browser" and a library function for storing emotional expression motion data enable ITR to use sound and motion to communicate the content to the user.

ITR's hardware includes an RPU-50 CPU manufactured by Futaba Corporation, Speecys' own NetBSD-based OS (Speecys OS Rev. 2.0), and Futaba's RS301CR servo motors. ITR is outfitted with a pair of speakers and a total of 168 LEDs in its chest and hands. The robot is powered by a built-in rechargeable lithium polymer battery, and is equipped with USB and serial ports, a Mini SD slot and audio connection port. ITR is 30 cm (12 inches) tall and weighs 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs).

With dreams of seeing ITR enjoy widespread adoption in the general household, Speecys hopes ITR will follow in the footsteps of radio, TV, PC, and mobile phone to become the fifth major form of household media.

[Source: Impress Watch]

Panasonic develops bamboo speakers

30 Mar 2006

Bamboo speakerPanasonic Electronic Devices (subsidary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.) announced on March 29 that it has teamed up with Doshisha University to develop speaker diaphragms using paper made from bamboo. Compared to speakers with conventional diaphragms that use paper made from softwood, bamboo speakers have a wider sound range and crisper treble.

Bamboo is lighter and harder than softwood, making it a suitable material for speaker diaphragms. To maintain the ideal properties of bamboo, high-speed grindstones are used instead of chemicals (which can cause some properties to be lost) to break the bamboo down into fiber.

Panasonic hopes to put the speakers on the market at the end of 2007. The speakers are expected to cost double that of conventional speakers, but the company claims that using bamboo can play a role in resource conservation because it grows faster than softwood. The company hopes to establish bamboo as a mainstream material for speakers.

[Source: Asahi Shimbun]

Competition heats up between Tokyo power giants

13 Mar 2006

LIFUELTokyo Gas is beefing up efforts to popularize its "My Home Hatsuden" products, which use natural gas to generate household electricity. Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. (TEPCO), despite intensifying its push for all-electric housing, has expressed alarm and opposition to Tokyo Gas.

Last year, Tokyo Gas released the LIFUEL household fuel cell cogeneration system, which extracts hydrogen from natural gas along with oxygen from the air to generate electricity through a reverse chemical reaction. This year, Tokyo Gas expanded its lineup with the ECOWILL system, which uses a natural gas-powered engine to generate electricity. Both of these "My Home Hatsuden" products aim to capitalize on household energy demand at the expense of electric power companies.

LIFUEL and ECOWILL use the heat exhausted during electricity generation to heat household water. While able to supply 40 to 50% of the electricity for an average family of four, they can provide sufficient quantities of hot water. High power-generation efficiency and heat efficiency mean both systems are able to cut the amount of electricity required for heating water by 20%, contributing to reduced carbon dioxide emissions.

Use of LIFUEL can save about 60,000 yen (US$520) per year in heating and lighting costs, while ECOWILL can save about 27,000 yen (US$235) per year. The higher-priced LIFUEL system rents for 100,000 yen (US$870) per year. Government subsidies are available for purchasing ECOWILL, so the cost to the consumer is 6 to 7 million yen (around $5,000 to $6,000).

Tokyo Gas was initially focused on developing household fuel cells. However, after TEPCO stepped up efforts in its push for all-electric housing, Tokyo Gas decided to counter by focusing on ECOWILL until fuel cells achieve full-scale popularization -- which they believe will occur around 2008. Tokyo Gas plans to increase the installation of ECOWILL and LIFUEL in general households from 200 units in 2005 to a cumulative total of 43,000 units in 2010. Norio Ichino, President of Tokyo Gas, expects "My Home Hatsuden" to play a key role in their business in 4 to 5 years.

[Source: Mainichi Shimbun]

Combi’s new maglev baby rocker

01 Feb 2006

Combi's maglev baby rockerCombi?s maglev ?Roanju Auto Swing? baby rocker will hit stores on February 3, the company announced today. The rocker, which uses electromagnets to gently swing its passenger, will be available in two models -- the standard model RU-650 (68,250 yen) and the luxury model RU-700 (73,500 yen). The company is aiming for sales of 40,000 units in the first year.

A light push of the hand activates the electromagnet-powered swinging, which continues for about 15 minutes. The rocker is silent compared to motor-driven models -- better for the little passenger to enjoy the audio system pre-loaded with 7 songs, including lullabies by Mozart and Brahms, and Grandfather's Clock.

The sides of the rocker fold down to simplify the process of changing diapers, and the luxury model features an ergonomic inner sheet that supports the child?s head and back in a comfortable position. Designed for ages 0 to 4, the rocker is available in soft white or clear yellow (standard model), or in ivory (luxury model).

[Source: Nikkei BP]

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