Hello Kitty 1-Seg portable TV Japan Today: 23rd July 2008—Sanrio Corp has a new portable TV in the shape of its Hello Kitty character…[the] “Hello Kitty Face-Shape 1-Seg TV” features a 2.4-inch display that can show subtitles, sound multiplex services as well as stereo speaker and earphone…more…
A bit quick explanation about Japan-only 1Seg tech….
Japanese TV programs on 1Seg (Wiki) are fundamentally the same as those broadcast on the equivalent HDTV channel but are meant to be broadcast to cell phones. Since 2006 Japan has had 1Seg that allows mobile devices to pick up TV shows without a large antenna and it is considered by most cell phone users here as an important (but not critical) feature.
The Hello Kitty Face-Shape 1-Seg TV by Sanrio Corp costs 21,000 yen and is available on yahoo.co.jp. It has a Lithium-ion battery that will run the TV about 4.5 hours (as well as an AC charger/power adapter (100V-240V AC, 50/60Hz).
Security robot on patrol Electricpig.co.jp / 04 July 2008 —Reborg-Q has been patrolling the shopping centres of Japan for a couple of months now…[Sogho Security Services] had deployed one in an office complex to keep a track on employees overtime working hours, gathering information on staff working too much and reporting them to the HR department...more...
Sohgo Security Services (ALSOK) has a real winner here with Startrek references to the BORG and Q in the same product name. Also notice the photo on the right that the Reborg-Q’s services are for lease at a mere 380,000 yen ($3,543USD) per day!
Watch the video of the Reborg-Q in action at the 2008 Security Show in Tokyo here on DigInfo. (Click to watch.)
New robot poses like a fashion model - Kyodo - ABC News - 22 July ….The Robot Research Institute at the New Industry Research Organisation hopes the robot will be used for fashion and other promotional events…
….slim to give it a feminine touch while its body frame is made of aluminum to make it lighter and cut costs. The robot’s movements can be controlled by mobile phone.
“Controlled by mobile phone” makes this fashion robot sound 110% like the average Japanese female in her teens and twenties, ha, ha. And, with the robot being, “slim to give it a feminine touch,” as it shows off the latest fashions, the robot sounds more Japanese than most Japanese women.
Back in 2006, the 3Yen had a report on the “Palette” robot mannequins. The Palette fashion robot could detect human movements and react as it strikes poses that have been computer-captured from best of human fashion models. You can see this fem-bot in action at a Tokyo department store window in the short, 20-second video below.
The 3Yen is on vacation—Monday is Marine Day Umi no hi, which makes a 3-day holiday weekend here in Japan. Marine Day is claimed to be, “a day of gratitude for the blessings of the oceans and to hope for the economic prosperity of maritime Japan.” It is just made up holiday for fun of it. That is, it’s just a “secular holiday” without any traditional ceremonies associated with the day except traditional pachinko as shown below.
AFP - Mon Jul 14, 12:23 PM ET - Yahoo! News Photos— A prototype of the gCubik, a 10-centimetre (3.9-inch) cube which can show 3D images with no special glasses… Researchers in Japan are developing a gadget that could enable people to hold a three-dimensional image of someone in the palm of their hand.
Japan’s NICT (National Institute of Information and Communications Technology) is showing off their prototype of the “gCubik” at this year’s SIGGRAPH2008 in Los Angeles, August 11 to 15. The NICT.go.jp’s website posted this cheerful-looking visualization of how the gCubik could be used (to discuss Rubber Duckie). (NICT.go.jp photo)
However, the reality of the prototype is not so exciting as you can see (or not see) in the actual photograph of the real 3-D Rubber Duckie in action. You can see the rubber ducky in the middle of the photo below, can’t you? (NICT.go.jp photo)
Register Hardware today is reporting that Hitachi is planning to release a small, 3.5-inch, hard disk that can handle five tetra-bytes (5TB). Hitachi says that two of these 5TB hard disk will together, “provide the same storage capacity as the human brain.”
Hitachi plans to release these new super-capacity hard disks by the year 2010—just in time to replace my tired and befuddled brain.
The photo below is from the presentation at CEATEC JAPAN 2007 explaining Hitachi’s technology for achieving a 5TB capacity in a 3.5-inch hard disk using Current-Perpendicular-to-Plane Giant Magnetoresistance (CPP-GMR) magnetic read heads. Read more details on the Register.
Check out this super lightweight, single-seater electric vehicle that was made lighter than many motorcyles!
June 27, 2008 - nikkeibp.co.jp - Tech-On! —Topia Corp a company engaged in designing and prototyping automobiles prototyped a single-seater electric vehicle “HUVO” which weighs only about 150kg [330 lb]… The HUVO was developed by using Topia’s proprietary design and production technologies… If a vehicle of the same size as HUVO is made with existing technologies it would weigh about 300kg...more…
I just read over on crunchgear.com that:
“Now Japanese cell phone owners are able to get ringtones that are only audible to dogs. The service is dubbed Inu ni shika kikoenai chakushinon (ringtones only dogs can hear)…more…”
I had to check out the details in Japanese at the DAM Mello since this didn’t make much sense in the translation by Crunchgear in English. Various Japanese news sites mention that this is just an “experiment to test public’s reaction,” which is a polite/vague Japanese way to say it was a PR stunt. However, some bloggers take to mean this “experiment” a fun way to prank your dog.
At the Tokyo Toy Show booth of SEGA, the A.M.P. Automated Music Personality, “shows off some of his best dance moves with five different modes and over 62 sound effects, numerous electrifying dance moves and 49 expressive LED light animations…In Track mode, A.M.P. Automated Music Personality will always keep the music facing you so you’ll never miss a beat. A.M.P. will orient himself towards you as you hold the remote control, keeping the music pointed in your direction.” (hasbro.com/tiger/amp-robot)
Look more closely at that ‘Music Personality’….hmmm…
It looks like a small Terminator at Death Metal bot, doesn’t it?
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