Omodaka, a creative project adopting a self-described “trial and error process of mutational fusion of music and motion graphics,” has a new video for chiptune disco track “Kyoteizinc,” which features the captivating computer-tweaked dance of Masako Yasumoto. (Watch it.)
The video is directed by Hiroshi Kizu. Omodaka is on Tokyo-based independent label Far East Recording.
JAXA has finally gotten around to releasing video of astronaut Takao Doi’s successful space boomerang toss conducted inside the International Space Station’s Harmony Module in March. (Watch it.)
New life has been breathed into Asia’s oldest “modern” robot, an 80-year-old golden-skinned humanoid from Osaka. Gakutensoku, a 3.2 meter (10 ft 6 in) tall automaton powered by compressed air, can tilt its head, move its eyes, smile, and puff up its cheeks and chest as instructed — just as it did 80 years ago — thanks to a 20-million-yen ($200,000) computer-controlled pneumatic servo system that replaces its original system of inflatable rubber tubes. (Watch video.)
Built in 1928 by biologist Makoto Nishimura, Gakutensoku was first exhibited in Kyoto as part of the formal celebration of the Showa Emperor’s ascension to the throne. The robot traveled to a number of expos and wowed onlookers with its mad calligraphy skills before going missing in Germany. After a long disappearance, Gakutensoku was located and later repatriated to Osaka.
The reanimated Gakutensoku will star as the main attraction at the newly renovated Osaka Science Museum beginning July 18.
[Source: Asahi]
WABOT-2, an intelligent humanoid keyboard player developed by Waseda University in the 1980s, was considered the most advanced robot of its time. In addition to camera eyes that could read musical notation and deft hands that could tap out tunes of average difficulty, WABOT-2 could listen to accompanying singers and adjust its tempo, as well as carry on basic conversation. The android demonstrated its musical skills at Expo ‘85 in Tsukuba, Japan with a performance of Kitaro’s new age classic “Silk Road.” (Watch a clip.)
Built in order to develop the basic technology, strength and skills for robots of the 21st century, WABOT-2 was equipped with a hierarchical system of 80 microprocessors modeled after the human nervous system, and its arms and legs had 50 degrees of freedom — more than any other robot in existence at the time. Waseda University regards WABOT-2 as a landmark achievement in the evolution of personal robots.
[Video: The Computer Chronicles (1985 broadcast) - Parts 1, 2, 3]
At first glance it looks like a trash can, but Push-kun (a.k.a. Mr. Push) is a robot that moves around on crab-like legs, tells jokes, plays drum rolls on itself, tosses oversized dice and performs other screwball antics. Created by Osaka-based Robot Force, Push-kun’s pointless and impractical (and entertaining) nature earned it a spot in the Baka RoboCup 2007 competition, which aims to recognize the year’s stupidest (and most entertaining) robots. Push-kun fared well in the contest, but the prize went to a more worthy opponent. Check out Push-kun’s moves in this video shot at a recent robot conference in Tokyo.
A little red robot named OniRoppo, also created by Robot Force, appears toward the end of the video.
In this video, a camera crew follows a city official to a trapdoor hidden in a Tokyo sidewalk, which opens to a narrow stairway leading to a giant underground warehouse stocked with emergency supplies. (Watch it.)
Located 20 meters (65 ft) underground, the 1,480 square meter (16,000 sq ft) space contains emergency supplies to be distributed to the public in the event of a major earthquake. Items include 5,000 blankets, 8,000 rugs, 4,000 candles, 300 cooking pots, 200 t-shirts, and emergency medical supplies. A conveyor belt system is installed to help transport the supplies up to street level.
The underground warehouse is connected to an unnamed station on the Oedo line, Tokyo’s deepest subway. Apparently, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government maintains more than one of these warehouses, but the locations are kept secret.
Denki Groove’s video for “Mononoke Dance” is yet another masterpiece by manga artist Masakazu Amahisa. Using stick-puppet animation, the video tells the story of a couple who crash their car on a dark forest road and encounter a Konaki-jiji (monster baby with the face of an old man) that leads them deep into the woods to a wild party for yokai, or traditional Japanese monsters. (Watch it.)
Guests at the party include Hitodama (fireballs), Kyonshi (Chinese vampire), Onyudo (shapeshifting monk), Jizo (guardian deity of children), Noppera-bo (faceless ghost), Rokurokubi (long-necked monster), Kappa (water imp), Hoichi the Earless, someone who dances like Yoshio Kojima, and many others.
Incidentally, the song “Mononoke Dance” is used as the opening theme for the “Hakaba Kitaro” anime series now airing on Fuji TV (the video here is completely unrelated to the TV show).
Osamu Tezuka’s “Galaxy Boy Troop,” a 92-episode children’s space opera that aired on NHK from 1963 to 1965, featured a unique blend of animation (Mushi Production) and puppetry (Takeda Puppet Troupe). The series also aired in France, where it was known as “Le Commando De La Voie Lactee” (lit. “Commando Of The Milky Way”). The original Japanese masters and films are believed to have been lost or destroyed, and the few known surviving fragments are from French sources. (Watch a clip.)
In this story, aliens on the dark side of the moon have begun bombing Earth, and the crew of heroes — led by Commander Rop & Mister 6 (his intelligent computerized transport vehicle) — go to the moon to find and destroy their lunar base. The musical score is by renowned electronic music composer Isao Tomita.
In 1973, Japanese psychedelic prog rock pioneers Flower Travellin’ Band played their last show at Maruyama Park in Kyoto. The show came shortly after the release of their final album “MAKE UP,” and after the cancellation of their scheduled Japan tour with the Rolling Stones (immigration officials refused Mick Jagger a visa). Pieces of the wild final performance were captured on 8mm film. The music here is “Satori - Part II” from the legendary Satori album (1971).
A 1969 Chunichi News piece entitled “Rock and Youth” profiled eccentric frontman Joe Yamanaka, who was 22 years old at the time. In the report, Joe — a former professional boxer and fashion model who says his African-American/Japanese blood flows with the essence of rock ‘n’ roll — professes a deeper love for explosive rock than for sentimental enka. The music here is a supercharged version of Muddy Waters’ “Louisiana Blues,” from Flower Travellin’ Band’s “Anywhere” album (1970).
Flower Travellin’ Band reunited this year — 35 years after their last show in Kyoto — and are putting together a new album. They are scheduled to play at Fuji Rock Festival this summer.
[Photo: Joe Yamanaka]
Simroid, the silicone-skinned, pneumatically-powered female patient robot designed to help train dental students, recently appeared on the Fuji TV show Idainaru Miraizukan. (Watch video.)
In addition to highlighting Simroid’s ability to interact with dentists and react to mouth pain, the show features an interview with Dr. Naotake Shibui of the Nippon Dental University in Tokyo, who helped develop the robot with engineers from Kokoro Co., Ltd. According to the interview, Simroid is modeled after a 28-year-old woman, and her fear of dentists and sensitivity to pain have earned her the nickname “Pain Girl” (Ita-gaaru). Asked why Simroid is female, Shibui explains that female patients must be treated with more sensitivity than male patients. With sensors embedded in her chest, Simroid can teach dentists-in-training to pay close attention to where they place their elbows.
Simroid’s primary purpose is to help dental students improve their patient communication skills.
