Although it doesn’t cost the proverbial “an arm and a leg,” from the look of this new vein identification system from Hitachi does look like it is going to cost this lady an arm and a hand.
via Boston.com July 21, 2009 …. vending machine that uses Hitachi's finger vein authentication system to charge users … The vending machine reads venous patterns of the user's finger instead of a password to confirm the users identity…more...
Read more about this technology at the official website of Hitachi VeinID.
Japan Inc’s passion for silly anthropomorphic robots has finally hit the wall of cold hard business reality:
Creating two-legged robots that cannot perform
any useful function is a waste of money.
In Japan, machines for work and play are idle New York Times, July 13, 2009
They may be the most efficient workers in the world. But in the global downturn, they are having a tough time finding jobs. Japan’s legions of robots, the world’s largest fleet of mechanized workers, are being idled as the country suffers its deepest recession in more than a generation …Tetsuaki Ueda, an analyst at the research firm Fuji Keizai, expects the market to shrink by as much as 40 percent this year.....more...
As I have mentioned many times before, decades of creating fantasy robots like ASIMO, Aibo, Roborior, et al has bankrupted the research and development departments of Japan while not resulting in any viable products.
Also note, that the specious Japanese claim repeated in the NY Times that ‘Japan has the greatest number of factory robots’ is intentionally misleading (if not nationalistic bragging). Japan counts almost any kind of semi-autonomous factory machinery as a “robot,” whereas in the rest of the world, NC milling machines and potato pealing machines are just factory automation.
NEW AND IMPROVED!
SCUMBALL SODA NOW WITHOUT BALLS!
This year’s new pink guarana soda on the left features the ball-free character “Mokorin” which is said to be cuter than the tradional “Marimokkori,” the lake scumball character that is based on marimo lake algae balls of Hokkaido Japan.
Ok, I admit it— I hate Japanese ramen since I was forced to subsist on it all during my university days. Now, with this creepy ramen-bot I have a real reason to hate it.
Two-minute ramen via robot July 3, 2009 – Mainichi Shimbun (machine translation)
In Japan’s Minami Alps of Yamanashi comes the “Momozono Ramen Robot” started operation last November causes a topic… The robot was handicrafted by the ramen restaurant owner Tadashi Uchida who spent about a total of 20 million yen creating the device..more…
And if that doesn’t make you smile, check out the Smile-Bot that enforces happy employees on the rails…
Japanese railway to make workers take ‘Smile Scan’ test Mainichi News, July 4, 2009—Keihin Electric Express Railway Co. has introduced a “Smile Scan” system to evaluate the grins of its station staff…more...
Living in Japan sometimes is like living in a campy science fiction program–In this case “Thrall Collars” for Japanese factory slaves….
Wearable Sensors Help Analyze Behaviors of Factory Workers July 3, 2009 – Nikkei Tech-On! – DSS Co Ltd, a Japanese firm that edits and processes digital maps based on survey data, started a service of recording the actions of factory workers for long hours and visualize them.
The tools used for collecting the data are (1) the “ankle sensor” to be attached to the leg of a worker for recording his or her movement, (2) the “milestone,” which will be installed in various places in the plant to know how long workers stay there and (3) the “small video camera” to be put in the chest pocket of the worker to record his or her action. …more…
daylife.com – July 3, 2009… hyper rescue robot “T-53 Enryu”, developed by Japanese robot venture Tmsuk… Kitakyushu Fire Department deployed the 2.8-meter tall, three-ton robot which can be operated manually by a person aboard it as well as by remote control to lift heavy objects with its two arms.
The 3Yen has covered the previously-named iSwing, which has been now renamed the “i-REAL” and repurposed for security patrols and visitor assistance at at Nagoya’s airport starting June 27. Read more about the i-Real electric vehicles here (machine translation).
The iSwing was named by Time magazine as one of the ”coolest inventions” of 2005 as part of the magazine’s ”The Most Amazing Inventions” issue. However until now the invention was not sold because it cannot pass any safety regulations. Tokyo reworked from a 4-wheel into a 3-wheel vehicle so it could pass as a “wheelchair” but as it is now it is only legal as a golf cart for use on private property (such as an airport).
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