Archive for Tech Biz
September 8, 2008 at 8:45 pm · Filed under Tech Biz, Announcement, Mobile
Pink Tentacle is hitting the skies this week to participate in the 2008 Nokia Open Lab workshop in Helsinki, Finland, where dozens of selected bloggers and social media participants from across the globe will converge to discuss the future of mobile technology. Topics on the agenda include the future of content creation, location aware solutions, entertainment, and the use of emerging technologies in working life. Sounds intriguing.
Give me a shout if you’d like to stay up to date on the happenings. Or if you know Helsinki, what do you recommend for a taste of the town?
Original post by Edo
July 24, 2008 at 12:29 pm · Filed under Asia, Simulacra, Tech Biz, Sport
The Yomiuri Online has posted a photo of some new Olympic-themed statues on display in Beijing’s financial district. The statues — which appear about one year after Disney cried copyright infringement in response to a host of knock-off Disney characters at Beijing’s Shijingshan Amusement Park — depict five Mickey Mouse-like characters engaging in Olympic sports. When asked about the resemblance to Mickey, a spokesperson replied, “They have square holes in their ears. They are not copies.” The spokesperson suggested the statues are unique because they incorporate the themes of old Chinese coins (the square holes), the year of the rat, the Olympics and the financial district into the design. However, children passing by the statues were seen pointing and saying, “Look! It’s Mickey!”
Original post by Edo
January 24, 2008 at 7:45 pm · Filed under food, winter, Tech Biz, Cephalopod
It is a common sight in winter to see octopi hanging out to dry along sidewalks in the town of Toba (Mie prefecture), according to the caption for this image from the Toba Photo Gallery.
[Link to full image]
Original post by Edo
March 27, 2007 at 1:43 pm · Filed under Video, Tech Biz, Mt. Fuji
Fuji Sabo Works, an organization established by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) to fight erosion on Mt. Fuji, has released video of a powerful slush avalanche that occurred on Fuji’s western side at 8:09 AM on March 25.
Slush avalanches occur when cold, dry snow suddenly becomes saturated with water. About 90 millimeters (3.5 inches) of rain had fallen before the avalanche occurred.
The avalanche took place in an area on Mt. Fuji called the Osawa Collapse (Osawa Kuzure), a 2.1-kilometer (1.3-mile) long gully that begins near the summit and runs down the western side. The gully is up to 500 meters (1,640 feet) wide and 150 meters (490 feet) deep in some places, and according to this Fuji Sabo Works project outline (PDF), a total of 75 million cubic meters (2.6 billion cubic feet) — equivalent to 60 Tokyo Domes — of soil has been displaced. […]
Original post by Edo
February 21, 2007 at 11:46 am · Filed under Safety, Robot, Tech Biz, tmsuk
Robot manufacturer tmsuk, Kyushu University and the Kanazawa Institute of Technology have teamed up to develop a robot that can sniff out the smells that accompany fire. A public demonstration of the robot’s new abilities was held at Kyushu University on February 21.
The researchers outfitted a 60-kilogram (132-pound), 112-centimeter (44-inch) tall Ubiko — a tmsuk robot originally designed to serve as a temporary receptionist — with a first-of-a-kind set of olfactory sensors specifically tuned to detect the odors of smoke and ash.
In the test, Ubiko, which moves on wheels and has a slightly humanoid appearance (albeit with a pair of triangular feline ears atop its head), was tasked with patrolling four rooms, each with a different smell. One room smelled of perfume, one smelled of garlic, one smelled of cigarettes, and one was odorless. When the robot smelled the room with ashtrays, it identified it as likely to catch fire and sent a wireless message to security.
Kiyoshi Toko, electronic engineering professor at Kyushu University, says, “We want to increase the accuracy of the sensors and create a fire-prevention robot that can detect subtle smells that humans cannot perceive.”
For now, the robot has no fire-fighting skills except the ability to alert the authorities when it detects a funny smell. This is probably a good thing in an office environment, for example, where Ubiko might wreak havoc by spraying fire retardant on heavy smokers or on innocent employees who happen to visit smoky restaurants during their lunch breaks.
[Source: Nikkei Net]
Original post by Edo
