Archive for Smart Tech
October 7, 2008 at 2:15 pm · Filed under Smart Tech, Vegetation, Sentient Tech, Biota, Keio University
Midori-san, the blogging houseplant, at bowls Donburi Cafe in Kamakura
If houseplants could blog, what would they say? To find out, Kamakura-based IT company KAYAC Co., Ltd. has developed a sophisticated botanical interface system that lets plants post their thoughts online. A succulent Sweetheart Hoya (Hoya kerii) named “Midori-san” is now using the system to blog daily from its home at bowls Donburi Cafe in Kamakura.
The plant interface system, which is built around technology developed by Satoshi Kuribayashi at the Keio University Hiroya Tanaka Laboratory, uses surface potential sensors to read the weak bioelectric current flowing across the surface of the leaves. This natural current fluctuates in response to changes in the immediate environment, such as temperature, humidity, vibration, electromagnetic waves and nearby human activity. A specially developed algorithm translates this data into Japanese sentences, which are used as fodder for the plant’s daily blog posts.
Diagram of plant interface system
Midori-san […]
Original post by Edo
September 30, 2008 at 7:57 pm · Filed under Smart Tech, Robot, Simulacra, electronics, Fujitsu
Robots old and new are on display at the CEATEC 2008 home electronics trade show currently underway in Chiba, Japan.
Nissan BR23C Biomimetic Robot Car
Nissan unveiled the bumblebee-inspired BR23C Biomimetic Robot Car, which is equipped with a prototype collision avoidance system developed in cooperation with the University of Tokyo. The next-generation safety technology is modeled after the way that bees avoid crashing into each other.
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Mechadroid Type C3
The Mechadroid Type C3 receptionist robot developed by Business Design Laboratory relies on face recognition technology, a touch panel display, speech, and facial expressions to interact with visitors and guide them to their destination.
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ifbot
Ifbot — also developed by Business Design Laboratory — is a speech-capable robot that can identify emotions in the speech patterns and word choice of the person speaking. The robot can also communicate its own emotions with a range of facial expressions.
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Original post by Edo
September 3, 2008 at 6:18 am · Filed under Smart Tech, NTT, Cellphone, Hitachi, Sentient Tech, Marketing, QR Code
Japan’s first field test of “smart posters” using Near Field Communication (NFC) — a short-range high-frequency wireless communication technology that lets users view digital content simply by holding their compatible cellphones near the posters — is being conducted at a Chiba-area shopping mall, it was announced on September 2.
Major phone operator SoftBank Mobile, along with NTT Data, Hitachi and Dutch smart chip maker Gemalto, are testing the technology with WALL-E and Tinker Bell movie posters embedded with NFC tags.
Throughout October, selected test participants will be able to receive and view digital content such as movie stills and trailers simply by holding their NFC-compatible phones (containing NFC-USIM cards) next to the smart posters. Along with the digital content, users also receive an access code that, when transferred to a compatible Hitachi HDTV at home, allows them to view a WALL-E trailer in high definition (via Hitachi’s content distribution service). […]
Original post by Edo
July 8, 2008 at 10:06 am · Filed under Smart Tech, Biometrics, Imaging, Sentient Tech
Do these fellows look old enough to smoke? Yes indeed, say Japan’s cigarette vending machines that use face-recognition technology to determine the age of the purchaser.
Just two weeks after a major sports paper reported that magazine photos could be used to fool vending machine age-verification cameras, an even more surprising flaw has come to light. The portraits of Hideyo Noguchi and Yukichi Fukuzawa printed on the 1,000-yen and 10,000-yen bills can be used to trick the high-tech machines, according to a new report on the Sankei Shimbun website.
On July 1 — the day that Japan’s cigarette vending machine age-verification system was rolled out nationwide — Sankei reporters in Tokyo went out in search of machines equipped with age-verification cameras. They found that these machines treated them as adults and allowed them to purchase cigarettes when they showed the portrait of Yukichi Fukuzawa (the renaissance man and Keio University […]
Original post by Edo
June 27, 2008 at 10:46 am · Filed under Smart Tech, RFID, Biometrics, Sentient Tech
With the full-scale rollout of Japan’s cigarette vending machine age-verification system just around the corner, a Sankei Sports news reporter has confirmed the existence of a minor flaw: magazine photos can be used to fool the age-verification cameras on some machines.
When the reporter went to check out the new age-verifying machines after they were introduced in the Osaka area in June, he soon discovered that the machines equipped with face-recognition cameras would let him buy cigarettes when he held up a 15-centimeter (6-in) wide magazine photo of a man who looked to be in his 50s.
The reporter also went to Kobe, where different face recognition hardware is being used. There, he bought cigarettes using an 8-centimeter (3-in) wide magazine photo of a female celebrity in her 30s. He also reportedly tried to use a 3-centimeter (1-in) wide photo, but the machines rejected it.
As part […]
Original post by Edo
June 26, 2008 at 3:27 pm · Filed under Illumination, Smart Tech, Sentient Tech, Imaging/Display, Household, Display
IT company Kayac has teamed up with researchers from Keio University to develop a high-tech brainstorming room that listens to its inhabitants and feeds them a barrage of related data and images in order to boost creativity and fuel the imagination.
The system — called “Kage Roi” — relies on a speech-recognition capable computer that monitors the brainstorming session via microphone, identifies keywords, and automatically crawls the web in search of related information and images. A ceiling-mounted projector then casts the retrieved data and imagery onto dark, human-shaped shadows on the table during the course of the meeting. The brainstormers can free-associate on the projected data, use it as a tool for discussion, or rely on it for helpful cues if ideas are running short.
Read the full post (254 words, 1 image)
Original post by Edo
June 4, 2008 at 11:53 am · Filed under Smart Tech, Robot, Sentient Tech, Transportation, Simulacra
On June 3, engineers at iXs Research Corporation unveiled a robotic teddy bear designed to work as a talking car navigation system. The prototype robot stands 30 centimeters (1 ft) tall and has 6 joints in its arms and neck, which it uses to make gestures while providing spoken directions.
The robot bear is also equipped with functions to improve auto safety, such as an alcohol detection sensor embedded in its neck. If it smells booze, the robot confronts the driver, saying, “You haven’t been drinking, have you?” Other sensors detect wreckless driving, so if the driver suddenly accelerates or slams on the brakes, the robot says, “Watch out!”
Read the full post (207 words, 1 image)
Original post by Edo
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