Archive for Osaka
April 25, 2008 at 4:57 am · Filed under Robot, Relic, Video, Attraction, Osaka
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 Gakutensoku’s original system of inflatable rubber tubes. (Watch video.)
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Original post by Edo
January 25, 2008 at 1:24 pm · Filed under Smart Tech, Robot, Osaka
The Osaka-based Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute (ATR) has developed a crowd-monitoring humanoid robot that recognizes when people are lost and helps them find their way.
In a series of demonstrations conducted from January 22 to 24, a souped-up version of ATR’s Robovie humanoid robot monitored people as they passed through a 100 square meter (1,076 sq ft) section of the Universal Citywalk Osaka shopping center. Relying on data from 16 cameras, 6 laser range finders and 9 RFID tag readers installed in and around the area, the robot was able to watch up to 20 people at a time, pinpoint their locations to within a few centimeters, and classify each individual’s behavior into one of 10 categories (waiting, wandering, walking fast, running, etc.).
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Original post by Edo
October 15, 2007 at 5:04 pm · Filed under Attraction, Osaka
Japan’s first building-mounted free-fall amusement ride, called Yabafo, will be integrated into an exterior wall of Osaka’s 12-story namBa H!PS entertainment complex scheduled to open in December. From 74 meters (240 feet) up, the 6-person ride will provide passengers a panoramic view of the city before dropping them 60 meters (200 feet) down the side of the building at a top speed of 22 meters per second (50 miles per hour).
Designed by architect Shin Takamatsu (whose famed Kirin Plaza Osaka building located in the heart of Shinsaibashi will be closed and demolished after the end of October), the 18 billion yen ($157 million) namba H!PS complex is poised to become Osaka’s newest landmark. At 86 meters (280 feet) tall and 12,000+ square meters (130,000 square feet) in area, the building will house a variety of entertainment facilities, along with separate floors for golf, beauty salons and restaurants. Yabafo, which […]
Original post by Edo
October 5, 2007 at 5:32 am · Filed under Art, Simulacra, Attraction, Osaka
Employees at the Takashimaya department store in Osaka have created four reproductions of world-famous paintings using 320,000 old train tickets obtained from the nearby Nankai Namba station. The works, which include renditions of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (2.3 x 1.6 meters) and the Birth of Venus, as well as Renoir’s Dance at the Moulin de la Galette, consist of “pixels” formed by overlapping the black and white tickets in intricate patterns. About 300 employees sacrificed their breaks and free time for 3 months to complete the masterpieces, which will be on display at Takashimaya until October 16.
[Source: Asahi]
Original post by Edo
September 11, 2007 at 2:25 pm · Filed under Anomaly, Animal, Biota, Osaka
When Osaka resident Kana Yamaguchi’s neighbors cut the grass in a nearby field, a number of fleeing insects sought refuge in her flower bed. Among them was an odd pair of grasshopper-like bugs — one pink, one white. Osaka Museum of Natural History entomologist Itaru Kanazawa identifies them as the larvae of Euconocephalus thunbergi (”kubikirigisu” in Japanese), a close relative of the katydid. While he says it is normal for these insects to change between green and brown to match their surroundings, pink and white are considered abnormal. Speculation is that the pink is an extreme variation of the brown coloration, and the white specimen is believed to be an albino, though nobody will know for sure until it becomes an adult. Regardless, says Kanazawa, “It is quite rare to find three different colors at the same time.”
[Source: Asahi]
Original post by Edo
May 18, 2007 at 4:57 pm · Filed under Robot, Attraction, Osaka
On May 18, buildup Co., Ltd. unveiled the Tamanoi Vinegar Robot, the world’s first robot designed to make presentations about vinegar. The robot is scheduled to go to work at the Tamanoi Vinegar Corporation’s Osaka office in July.
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Original post by Edo
April 16, 2007 at 1:52 pm · Filed under Robot, Osaka, Law
Robots can get away with things that humans cannot. In the Minami area of Osaka, for example, a humanoid robot dressed in a “sailor suit” high school uniform now works the street as a tout for an adult information center that navigates potential customers to local sex clubs. Humans in Osaka are prohibited by law from engaging in such nefarious activity.
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Original post by Edo
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