Robot Dental Patient / Love Doll
Researchers at Showa University have modified a love doll to create a realistic robot patient that will help train dentists:
The main features of the new robot are a silicone skin and mouth lining by Orient Industry, a maker of love dolls. The tongue and arms each have two degrees of freedom, and the robot overall has ten, enabling it to make natural movements, like shaking its head and choking.
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Categories: Odd / Strange, Technology
T-Hawk UAV Fails at Fukushima
An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle crash-landed on top of one of the reactor buildings at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant:
The vehicle, known as a T-Hawk, is about 7.9 inches (20 centimeters) in diameter and looks like a small jet pack. It is used primarily by the military for reconnaissance work in dangerous areas. It has been used at Fukushima since mid-April to assist in damage assessment.
The company said that there did not appear to be any damage from the impact of the vehicle, with no fire or smoke observed following the accident. It was not known if the vehicle was damaged.
TEPCO spokesman Junichi Matsumoto said that due to its small size and weight, the drone was “unlikely to crash through the rooftop and damage the reactor.”
The drone had made several successful trips of the reactor in the past. Some images it filmed back in April can be found on YouTube.
Extended footage of the crash can be found here.
And here is a video that explains how the drone works:
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Categories: Technology
The AC Robo Meme: Cute Characters Become Badass Battle Robots
A few days ago a couple Japanese netizens posted transforming robot parodies of AC Japan’s happy greeting PSAs. Since then, the “AC Robo” meme has taken off, spawning awesome fighting robot versions of almost every mascot character that appears in the commercial.
Here are a few that I’ve found on YouTube.
Great Arigato-usagi:
Great Konban-wani:
Konban-wani alternative version:
The boy and girl combine their powers to form a super robot:
A combination of several robos, plus an epic animated showdown between Arigato-usagi and Itadaki-mouse:
Konnichi-wan Dynamic version:
Super Sayona-lion:
Alternative versions of Sayona-lion:
Eternal Sayona-lion:
Ultimate Oyasumina-sai
Hyper Ohayo-unagi:
Sonic Tadai-manbou:
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Categories: Japanese TV, Odd / Strange, Otaku & Anime
Build Your Own Robot
DeAgostini Japan’s latest hobby project is Robo Xero, a cool build-it-yourself robot kit:
Like previous projects such as the samurai armor and aircraft carrier kits, it is sold as weekly packages that provide parts and instructions for each stage of construction. This robot is apparently sold as 70 kits, each with a retail price of 1,990 yen. Robots are not cheap.
Apparently it will also include software that helps you program customized movements of the robot. In the commercial, they even show the robot writing with a brush!
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Categories: General Japan, Technology
Urine-aspiration Robot
Diginfo introduces Unicharm’s Humany, a robot that sucks urine out of wet diapers:
“Some people need a diaper change 6-7 times a day, but with the Humany, one change a day is enough. We’ve received positive feedback from users, like: “I feel very comfortable in the morning,” and “It’s great not having to change diapers at night. To use the Humany, you connect it to this sensor. Next, you insert the urine tube into this inlet. Then, this part is attached to the person’s body, facing the abdomen. If urination occurs, it’s detected by this sensor, and the pump starts up, transferring the urine to this tank. “
The device is aimed at the nursing care market, but YouTube comments have pointed out that computer gamers may also see the benefits of not having to use a toilet or change diapers.
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Categories: Technology
Obama Amused by Japanese Robots
American President Barack Obama encounters some Japanese robots in Yokohama:
“Jimmy Kimmel Live” made a joke out of the encounter:
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Categories: Celebrity News, Foreigners in Japan