HAKO-ANI (Box Sister) is a holographic display designed for use with iPad and other tablet devices. It allows users to enjoy 3D images projected from their tablet to a pyramid shaped holographic display. This means fans of virtual idols, such as Hatsune Miku can use it to enjoy tiny “live” performances from the comfort of their home. The tablet version of HAKO-ANI will be available on August 1st and will cost ¥36,750 ($467 US).

HAKOANI via Asiajin

Raincoats, plastic bottles, styrofoam, windshield wiper motors and a love for the sea; that’s what marine biologist and self-taught roboticist Masamichi Hayashi used to make these realistic aquatic robots. Among Hayashi’s creations are a porpoise, great white shark, green turtle, manta ray, killer whale and hammerhead shark. Back in 2009 they were featured on Japanese TV, Hayashi explained how they are used to teach kids about marine animal behavior and locomotion.

The 5 ft long coelacanth robot below weighs 105 lbs and cost 2 million yen ($22,000) to make.

via: Pink Tentacle

This little guy that I ran into at the Tokyo Toy Show is called “Lucky Dog UN-CHO-KEN” (luck saving dog). “Un” is also a part the word “unko” which means poop, and this is exactly what this puppy does. You place a coin in the dog’s mouth and press on his tongue, then he spins around and poops it into the bank. He sends your money down the crapper to save you from doing the same. *Da-dum-tssh*

Though these images look like a cool user interface from a sci-fi movie, they are actually screen grabs from a very serious program. This is “DAEDALUS” (Direct Alert Environment for Darknet And Livenet Unified Security) developed by Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). It’s a system designed to monitor the Darknet for any potential cyber threats such as computer viruses.

The system has been getting some attention because its GUI reminds Japanese anime fans of the series “Ghost in the Shell”. They speculate that the designer got his inspiration from the animation. A great example of life imitating art.

via: AsiaJin

There are many different types of humanoid robots out there but this is the first one created solely for swimming. SWUMANIOD (SWimming + hUMANOID) was created by researchers Motomu Nakashima and Chung Changhyun of the Tokyo Institute of Technology. The robot was made to reproduce the motion of human swimmers while measuring water resistance.

SWUMANIOD was made by first doing a 3D scan of a real person’s body, then using 3D printed parts to make a 1/2 model. Next they added 20 water-proof motors and programmed the bot to imitate human swimming techniques such as; the breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and dog paddle. Because this robot is only 1/2 the size of a human it’s movement in water is considerably slower, but the researchers have plans to make a life size model that more accurately mimics realistic swimming.

This aquatic robot athlete was created in an attempt to better understand how human-beings move through water. Researchers usually do this by analyzing videos of swimmers, but the problem is us humans are not able to repeat specific movements exactly as we did them before. With SWUMANOID the tests can be repeated while the researchers make adjustments and no one has to worry about the robot messing up or getting tired .

via: PlasticPals

Finally got some video of DoCoMo’s transparent touchscreen smartphone prototype at Wireless Japan 2012. As mentioned before it’s not suitable for bright areas, though the visibility is surprisingly not bad at close range. The touchscreen response was great and I can see how having two surfaces would make it easier give more complex commands, e.g. while playing a game. Looking forward to seeing this technology on the market. When they tackle to visibility factor and give us a bigger display, transparent touchscreen could be the next big thing.

With the last year’s disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, it’s no surprise that the world’s first  radiation detector smartphone is from Japan. Mobile service provider SoftBank has recently announced their Pantone 5 smartphone in an attempt to address the concerns of those who worry about threat of high doses of radiation.

The radiation detector is activated when it user presses a button on the front of the phone. A meter appears and a read-out is given.  But we’re not sure exactly how accurate this reading is. Smartphone blog Japan Mobile Tech has stated concern about the accuracy and reliability of a Geiger counter built-in to a smartphone. They worry that this may just be a gimmick to help sell units.

Though this is the first smartphone with a built-in radiation detector, it’s not the first we’ve seen smartphones used for spotting radiation. Last year NTT DoCoMo displayed some smartphone jackets including a radiation detector.

via: JapanProbe

Guys, it’s happened to all of us. The weird looks you get from strangers after leaving the bathroom. Maybe you’ve got something on your face? Nope, your fly is open and to your horror you realize that girl wasn’t smiling at you because you look so sexy in those jeans.

Probably frustrated by this happening over and over again, a resourceful Nico-Nico Douga user created a device to prevent forgetting to zip up. It’s pretty simple, if your zipper is open, an LED lights up making it easier for you to notice. If you fail to notice the light, then the stares will be pretty intense when you step out of the bathroom.

via: AsiaJin source: ITmedia

Japanese advertising agency Shunkosha have come on with a clever way to get more eye-balls for their ads in Tokyo subways. They’ve started embedding FeliCa NFC chips in straps on the train. Commuters are encouraged to hold their wallet cellphones up to the straps so that the phone browsers will be taken to an embedded URL. These straps can be seen on the Marunouchi and Ginza subway lines. Travel agency H.I.S was the first company to start using this medium.

Getting struck by lightning certainly won’t give you superpowers, you’ll be lucky to walk away from it. But if you happen to be holding a florescent bulb when it happens you’ll look really cool. Back in 2010 the Japanese T.V. show Tobidase! Kagaku-kun conducted an experiment to see what it would looks like. They used a 12-million-volt artificial lightning generator to hit a dummy holding a florescent bulb. You can the results above in super slow-mo.

via: Pink Tentacle