In a reference to Doraemon, Japan’s most famous animated robotic cat, a Chinese person once remarked: “Lazy is the person who relies on robots in times of need.” Though there may be some truth to the statement, it ignores Japan’s long-held notion that robots (and their animated counterparts, such as Doraemon and Astro Boy) exist […]
On January 25, Fujitsu, AEON and Dai Nippon Printing announced plans to conduct a trial run of a retail support system that uses IC tags and data display terminals. In this retail service system of the future, customers will be able access a variety of product information by electronically reading tags placed on supermarket shelves. […]
On January 23, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Tsukuba, Ibaraki unveiled its HRP-2 humanoid robot equipped with a new system that enables autonomous self-directed operation. The robot demonstrated the ability to respond to spoken human commands by retrieving a can of juice from a refrigerator and bringing it to […]
We have witnessed our cellphones incorporate an increasing number of functions, everything from from cameras to music players to electronic payment functions. Now we are about to get what we truly want for our phones — TV. One Seg, a type of TV broadcasting for cellphones, has been attracting a great deal of attention.
At present, […]
Giant jellyfish (Echizen kurage) caused 101,540 cases of damage to fisheries between September and December 2005, including reduced catches and increased labor, according to research conducted by the Fisheries Agency. The results of the research were announced January 19 at a strategy meeting attended by officials from prefectural and city governments.
The research was conducted by […]
A consortium of Kyushu-area businesses, including robot developer TMSUK (Kitakyushu), has developed a compact robot hand. In Fukuoka on January 9, a robot equipped with the hands demonstrated its dexterity by scooping candy into bags.
Each hand features three fingers, 20 cm (approx. 8 inches) long when measured from the controller located in the palm to […]
A giant jaguar relief over 2.8 meters in height was unearthed from the remains of a temple at Huaca Partida in Northern Peru. The temple dates from about 750 BC.
Yoshida and the jaguar relief
The team of archaeologists that made the discovery is led by Koichiro Toshida, 33, an Andean archaeology research fellow with the Japan […]
Toshiba has developed software that allows users to easily check online reviews of a product by reading its barcode with a camera-equipped cellphone. The software will be put to trial use in February at locations such as electronics stores and bookstores, and will become commercially available sometime in 2006.
The software is designed for products that […]
On January 5, Fujio Mitarai, President and CEO of Canon, announced that its next-generation SED (surface-conduction electron-emitter display) flat-screen TVs will not be released until early summer, several months later than originally scheduled. The 55-inch model will initially be sold in Japan, and full-scale mass production is expected to begin in 2007.
Canon will make its […]
NTT Docomo’s new FOMA N701i ECO, the world’s first cellphone to incorporate parts made from plant-based plastic, is scheduled for release this spring.
In June 2005, NTT and NEC worked together to develop prototypes, which were used at the Aichi World Expo. The plant-based plastic is formed from polyactide, which is derived from corn. Kenaf (a […]
