Tag: ‘Wearable’

Mickey the Knight

13 Jul 2007

Mickey the Knight ---

Mickey the Knight, a sculptural work by visionary neo-pop artist Yanobe Kenji, is a mouse-eared, gas-masked, fully-armored warrior who looks like a mutant samurai member of the Mickey Mouse Club.

According to Yanobe's notes, which were on display along with Mickey the Knight at a recent Yokosuka Museum of Art exhibit, he was invited to submit a Disney-themed piece for Disneyland's giant 50th anniversary celebration held in 2005. Known for work that explores issues like how to survive and have fun in post-apocalyptic settings, Yanobe drew inspiration from the legendary Mickey Mouse Gas Mask, an intriguing historical artifact whose background story reflects some of the themes found in Yanobe's work.

Mickey Mouse Gas Mask --- The Mickey Mouse Gas Mask was manufactured in 1942, at a time when segments of the American population, particularly those in Hawaii, feared a potential gas attack by the Japanese. With the permission of Walt Disney himself, 1,000 of the masks were produced for the US Army, who distributed them to civilians in the hope that the friendly, toy-like design would encourage children to carry them around and wear them for longer periods of time should an actual attack ever occur, thus improving their chances for survival. Apparently, this concept inspired Yanobe to create Mickey the Knight.

Unfortunately, however, Disney was not impressed with Yanobe's creation, and the big anniversary celebration passed without an invitation. Now, Mickey the Knight can be seen on occasion hanging out at museums and galleries. (The top photo shows Mickey the Knight at an installation in an old factory in Ibaraki prefecture, which was part of the Toride Art Project 2006.)

Power Pedal robot suit

15 Jun 2007

Power Pedal robot exoskeleton -- On June 15, electronics giant Matsushita Electric (Panasonic's parent company) unveiled a wearable robot suit called Power Pedal, which attaches to the lower body and provides users with up to seven times more leg strength.

Once strapped in, the user applies pressure to a pair of sensor-equipped pedals to control the suit, which is capable of moving in one of six directions with each step. Power Pedal is also designed to handle strolls over rough terrain, according to Matsushita.

Researchers from Active Link, a Matsushita venture company, worked with Ritsumeikan University to develop a prototype of the powered suit, which is set to go on sale in August at a price of 20 million yen ($167,000) each. The company plans to cut the cost to around 3.5 million yen ($30,000) by the year 2015, as they aim to create a commercial product that can help the elderly and disabled to walk.

Matsushita also believes the robot suit could play a useful role in disaster relief operations, especially if combined with the company's previous upper body robot suit technology developed in 2005, which is designed to provide users with an extra 50 kilograms (110 lbs) of arm strength.

[Source: Yomiuri]

Video: Robo-panda revenge

04 Jun 2007

High-tech panda suit in action --

Here are a few videos demonstrating some of the more diabolical uses of buildup's animatronic panda suit. Be nice to pandas, or be prepared to suffer the consequences.


Sniper panda


Panda gang violence


Kung fu panda

Walkman-style brain scanner

23 May 2007

Portable brain scanner ---

Hitachi has successfully trial manufactured a lightweight, portable brain scanner that enables users to keep tabs on their mental activity during the course of their daily lives. The system, which consists of a 400 gram (14 oz) headset and a 630 gram (1 lb 6 oz) controller worn on the waist, is the result of Hitachi's efforts to transform the brain scanner into a familiar everyday item that anyone can use.

The rechargeable battery-operated mind reader relies on Hitachi's so-called "optical topography" technology, which interprets mental activity based on subtle changes in the brain's blood flow. Because blood flow increases to areas of the brain where neurons are firing (to supply glucose and oxygen to the tissue), changes in hemoglobin concentrations are an important index by which to measure brain activity. To measure these hemoglobin concentrations in real time, eight small surface-emitting lasers embedded in the headset fire harmless near-infrared rays into the brain and the headset's photodiode sensors convert the reflected light into electrical signals, which are relayed to the controller.

The real-time brain data can either be stored in Flash memory or sent via wifi to a computer for instant analysis and display. A single computer can support up to 24 mind readers at a time, allowing multiple users to monitor brain activity while communicating or engaging in group activities.

In addition to health and medical applications, Hitachi foresees uses for the personal mind reader in fields such as psychology, education and marketing. Although it is unclear what neuromarketing applications the company has in mind, it is pretty clear that access to real-time customer brain data would provide marketers with a better understanding of how and why shoppers make their purchasing decisions. One can also imagine interactive campaigns that, for example, ask customers to think positive thoughts about a certain product in exchange for discount coupons or the chance to win a prize.

The technology could also be used in new forms of entertainment such as "mind gaming," where the player's physical brain activity becomes a part of game play. It is also feasible to integrate the brain scanner with a remote control brain-machine interface that would allow users to operate electronic devices with their minds.

Hitachi has yet to determine when the personal mind reader will be made commercially available.

[Source: Tech-On!]

Bra to boost voter turnout

09 May 2007

Voter Turnout Lift-UP! Bra, by Triumph ---

In the hope of inspiring more voters to head to the polls, lingerie maker Triumph International Japan has unveiled a new concept bra called the "Voter Turnout Lift-UP! Bra."

The silver, bustier-type bra is modeled after an aluminum ballot box, complete with lots of rivets and a pocket for holding ballots that have been cast. The kanji characters for "ballot box" are printed beneath the cups, which are heavily padded so that the wearer can also increase her bust size while doing her part to increase voter turnout.

The bottom consists of a wrap-around mini-skirt fashioned from paper ballots, which are made of a special type of plastic-coated paper resistant to the elements. A small pencil case also attaches to the waist.

According to Triumph's press release, voter turnout in Japan, which averaged 70% to 90% about 30 years ago, has fallen to between 10% and 30% in recent years. With voter apathy and a general aversion to politics worsening each year, the government has taken a variety of measures to encourage participation in the election process. Taking matters into their own hands, Triumph decided to focus attention on the problem by unveiling the Voter Turnout Lift-UP! Bra along with their fall/winter collection on May 9.

The bra comes too late for the elections held in Japan last month, but there is still plenty of time for the lingerie to work its magic on the Upper House elections coming in July. While Triumph does not plan to make the Voter Turnout Lift-UP! Bra commercially available, maybe they can work out some sort of deal with the election commission to provide the bras to their armies of nubile young poll workers. That'll surely boost turnout -- it works every time.

[Source: Nikkei Net]

Certification test for underwear fans and fetishists

13 Feb 2007

Gunze Pants Kentei (Underwear Aptitude Test) --- Japanese clothing manufacturer Gunze has announced the establishment of an underwear knowledge certification test called the Gunze Pantsu Kentei, which they will begin offering on March 1.

Open to anyone interested (who can read Japanese), the test consists of 100 multiple-choice questions designed to measure one's general and historical knowledge of underwear. The questions vary in difficulty and range from the obvious to the arcane.

Test takers are assigned a certification level (1 to 4) based on their results, and they are given a nationwide rank to see how they stack up against the competition. Top performers will be awarded special prizes, the company says.

The Gunze Pantsu Kentei website, which is still under construction, has posted a few sample questions, including:

- How do you say "underwear" in Thai?
- When is Underwear Day?
- What were the world's first commercially available underwear briefs called?
- How do you say "T-back" in English?
- Who gave Kitaro [from the manga/anime Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro] the "demon underpants" (oni no pantsu) he wears?

(Any aspiring Level 1 experts know the answers to these questions?)

Although the Gunze Pantsu Kentei may be a marketing gimmick to promote the company's undergarment sales, it could very well become the much-needed defacto standard by which underwear insiders measure their knowledge of things unmentionable.

[Link: Gunze Pantsu Kentei]

Eco-friendly bra doubles as shopping bag

08 Nov 2006

No shopping bag bra --

Lingerie manufacturer Triumph International Japan has unveiled a new type of brassiere that can be converted into a shopping bag. Called the "No! Shopping Bag Bra" (NO! reji-bukuro bra), the environmentally-friendly lingerie is designed to promote the reduction of plastic bag consumption, a key objective of the revised Containers and Packaging Recycling Law hammered out by Japanese lawmakers in June.

Each year, Japanese shoppers receive an estimated 30 billion plastic shopping bags, which, in terms of the oil resources needed to produce them, amounts to two giant tankers full of oil (millions of barrels). About 30% of these bags are thrown away without being reused, and since the consumption of plastic shopping bags contributes to environmental problems such as increased energy usage, trash buildup, and global warming due to CO2 released in the garbage incineration process, there are urgent calls to reduce their usage.

When the bra is being worn, the "shopping bag" portions are folded away inside the bra cups, where they serve as extra padding. The bra quickly converts to a shopping bag by removing the bag portions from the cups and connecting the hooks on the bra's underwire. The lace cups serve as decoration along with the shoulder straps, which are disconnected and tied to the top of the bag as ribbons.

The bra -- available in red, blue, green, yellow and pink -- is made from the Teijin Group's ECOPET brand of polyester fiber, which has been recycled from plastic bottles through the company's patented EcoCircle recycling system.

Triumph International Japan has a long history of developing eco-themed bras, with such creations as the Recycle PET Bra (1997), Eco-globe Bra (2004) and Warm Biz Bra (2005).

[Source: Triumph International Japan via Slashdot Japan]

Spacewear fashion show: looking fly in zero-g

02 Nov 2006

Spacewear -- A spacewear fashion show featuring clothing designed for travel in weightless conditions was held at the University of Tokyo's Hongo campus on November 2.

The show was held by Rocketplane Kistler -- a US company that plans to begin offering space tours in two years -- and a group of Japanese fashion designers, as part of the Hyper Space Couture Design Contest. Winners of the contest, which is organized by Tokyo-based fashion designer Eri Matsui with the support of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and many others, will help design the clothes for use on Rocketplane's space tourism flights set to begin in 2008.

The 11 garments appearing in the show were selected from over 880 designs submitted by college students. The clothes incorporate a variety of features designed for zero gravity, such as ruffles that expand under weightless conditions or small air-jet propulsion systems in the sleeves to help you change direction while floating.

[Source: Yomiuri Shimbun]

Animatronic panda suit for rent

01 Jun 2006

Here's some welcome news for anyone not jiving with the whole 2006 "cool biz" fashion campaign that was officially launched today...

Multimedia production company Buildup Co., Ltd. has announced plans to begin renting high-quality animatronic suits in June. First up for rent will be the company?s panda suit.

Animatronic panda suit
(The panda suit appeared on NHK's "Tensai Terebi-kun MAX")

The realistic-looking panda suit consists of two layers -- an inner layer of padding to reproduce the panda?s muscles and an outer layer featuring a coat of high-quality fur. The eyes, ears and mouth are equipped with a total of 14 remote control servo motors, allowing the panda to make facial expressions ranging from pleasant smiles to angry grimaces. To add to the realism, the designers eliminated the peepholes for the person inside. Instead, the performer sees by means of video goggles connected to a CCD camera system.

Although Buildup generally loans its suits to production companies, the panda suit is available for rent to individuals as well. With the rental service scheduled to begin today (June 1), the company has yet to announce the rental price. Only one panda suit is available at the moment, but Buildup is looking into expanding its lineup with suits modeled after other animals.

You can see a short video of the panda frolicking on the side of a road on Buildup's panda suit webpage.

[Source: IT Media]

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