Archive for Giant
January 10, 2008 at 5:24 pm · Filed under Giant, Robot
Ever wondered how much it would cost to build a working, life-sized Gundam robot? At least $725 million for the parts and materials, according to an estimate published on the SciencePortal website run by the Japan Science and Technology Agency. The price tag for this giant humanoid, which would stand 18 meters (60 feet) tall and weigh 43.4 metric tons (nearly 100,000 lbs), does not include the cost of labor (this is where an extensive pool of robot slave labor comes in handy), nor does it include the cost of the infrastructure needed to support the machine once you are ready to climb aboard and take it for a walk.
Estimated cost of Gundam parts:
ITEM
UNIT COST
QTY
COST
Aluminum alloy (honeycomb)
$1,800
43,875
$79,000,000
(+ Metal manufacturing/processing)
$240,000,000
Main computer (IBM)
$1,550,000
1
$1,550,000
Gas turbine engines (GE)
$52,000,000
7
$364,000,000
Superconductive motors (IHI)
$260,000
30
$7,800,000
Motor drivers
$260,000
30
$7,800,000
Reducers
$760,000
30
$22,800,000
Sensors
$910,000
Cockpit
$450,000
TOTAL:
$724,310,000
Note that unlike in the anime, the Gundam described here would merely be able to walk — it would not have the ability […]
Original post by Edo
November 12, 2007 at 6:21 pm · Filed under Giant, Jellyfish, Anomaly, Animal, Biota
To the delight of divers, and to the chagrin of fishermen, the swarms of giant Echizen kurage jellyfish (Nomura’s jellyfish) that invade the coast of the Sea of Japan each autumn are back.
These photos were taken 5 meters underwater just offshore from the coastal town of Echizen in Fukui prefecture, where the jellyfish mobs began to arrive about a month later than normal.
Manabu Nakamata, a 38-year-old diver from Nagoya and an admirer of the monster jellyfish, says, “They are surprisingly hard to the touch. They are big, and extremely impressive.” Big indeed — Echizen kurage can grow up to 2 meters (6 ft. 7 in.) in diameter and weigh up to 200 kilograms (440 lb.) each.
The local fishermen, however, are not impressed. Each year, the giant jellyfish wreak havoc on the fishing industry by destroying nets and crushing, poisoning and sliming other fish in the catches. In the latest […]
Original post by Edo
November 1, 2007 at 8:35 am · Filed under Giant, Imaging/Display, electronics, Display, Mitsubishi
On October 31, Mitsubishi Electric unveiled a 2-meter tall, 7.5-meter diameter panoramic display system consisting of synchronized rear-projection displays arranged in a wall that encircles the viewer. The 150 million yen ($1.3 million) system, which was built-to-order at the company’s Kyoto factory where it was unveiled, consists of 17 pairs of 67-inch panels arranged in a 340-degree near-circle — the 20-degree gap presumably allows the viewer to enter and exit the walk-in display. The system uses Texas Instruments Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology and has a total resolution of 27 million (1024 x 768 x 34) pixels.
At the unveiling, Mitsubishi said it will deliver the panoramic display system to the customer early next year, but the company was unwilling to say who the customer was or how they intend to use the display. However, Mitsubishi did say it hopes to begin selling the system as a virtual reality display […]
Original post by Edo
October 1, 2007 at 12:43 pm · Filed under food, Giant, Vegetation, Art, Simulacra, Attraction, Aomori
On September 30, about 900 volunteers participating in a hands-on rice farming tour began the annual harvest of the Inakadate village (Aomori prefecture) rice paddy art, which this year depicted a pair of famous Hokusai woodblock prints created with four different varieties of rice.
View more photos of rice paddy art HERE.
Read the full post (61 words, 4 images)
Original post by Edo
August 10, 2007 at 10:29 am · Filed under Giant, Relic, Simulacra, Video, Attraction
Each August in the city of Yokkaichi in Mie prefecture, a giant mechanical effigy of O-nyudo, a legendary Japanese monster, is paraded through the streets during the Grand Yokkaichi Festival. The mechanized puppet, said to be the largest karakuri ningyo in Japan, stands between 6.3 and 9 meters (20 to 30 feet) tall depending on how far its neck is extended. The giant O-nyudo wows spectators by swinging its arms, bobbing its head around on its long neck, moving its eyes and mouth, and sticking out its tongue as it is wheeled through the streets to the accompaniment of taiko drums.
Here’s a short video.
O-nyudo, whose name literally means “large monk,” appears in a number of folk tales across Japan. While his physical appearance and characteristics vary from story to story, he is always large, ranging anywhere from 2 meters (6 ft. 6 in.) tall to as large as […]
Original post by Edo
July 19, 2007 at 5:00 pm · Filed under food, Giant, Vegetation, Art, Sustenance, Simulacra
Each year, farmers in the town of Inakadate in Aomori prefecture create works of crop art by growing a little purple and yellow-leafed kodaimai rice along with their local green-leafed tsugaru-roman variety. This year’s creation — a pair of grassy reproductions of famous woodblock prints from Hokusai’s 36 Views of Mount Fuji — has begun to appear (above). It will be visible until the rice is harvested in September.
The residents of Inakadate have been drawing pictures with rice since 1993. Here are a few crops from the recent past, found at this site.
2006
2005
2003
While Inakadate is Japan’s most famous rice paddy decorating town, a couple of other places in Japan have joined in the fun.
Yonezawa, Yamagata prefecture, 2007
Yonezawa, Yamagata prefecture, 2006
Nishio, Aichi prefecture (2005, 2006)
Original post by Edo
July 15, 2007 at 10:05 pm · Filed under Giant, Art, Animal, Relic, Video
In early ’90s Japan, mobs of hungry primeval men hunted gigantic prehistoric creatures in a series of fanciful “Cup Noodle” commercials featuring stop-motion animation by Kim Blanchette.
Sea creatures
Uintatherium
Moa
Saiga antelope
Check here for other beasts in the series, including the mammoth, pterodactyl and giant warthog.
(50 words, 1 image)
Original post by Edo
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