Hasta La Gadget!

[CEATEC 2012] If there is one challenging thing about programming the hand of a robot, it would be the artificial intelligence required for it to figure out just the right amount of pressure to apply to say, an egg, or when it is holding a child, or the frail arm of an elderly person, as opposed to a piece of iron or an axe that it wants to swing around. Well, researchers might have broken new ground with their latest robot that is on display at CEATEC in Tokyo, Japan this year, where this new robot is touted to replicate the brush strokes of master painters and calligraphers.

Researchers have laid claim that a perfect copy of Monet or Picasso painting might not fall within the realm of possibility at this point in time since the robot will require a living model to imitate, where it basically copies the gesture of the master painter while applying a similar amount of pressure. This “copycat” technology could also come in handy not in the world of arts but rather, when one is involved in complex surgery or mechanics.

Researchers at the Keio University touted that this robot’s motion copy system is the world’s first unit which is highly accurate, capable of recreating the motions of the master artists.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Totsy MRobo dancing robot is no legend, NEC LED with built-in speaker gives you music from above,

What can one do with a robot suit? Well, it’s certainly not limited to just lifting sacks of rice, but that was exactly what we got to do at CEATEC courtesy of Koba Lab from Tokyo University of Science. First seen in 2009, the magic behind this 9kg kit are the pair of pneumatic artificial muscles (aka McKibben artificial muscles) on the back, which are made by industrial equipment manufacturer Kanda Tsushin. When pressurized with air using electrical components from KOA Corporation, the lightweight, loosely-woven PET tubes contract and consequently provide support to the user’s back, shoulders and elbows. As such, our arms were able to easily hold two more sacks of rice (making it a total of 50kg) until the demonstrator deflated the muscles. Check out our jolly hands-on video after the break.

Continue reading Tokyo University of Science shows off robotic suit powered by pneumatic artificial muscles (video)

Filed under: Robots

Tokyo University of Science shows off robotic suit powered by pneumatic artificial muscles (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Oct 2012 21:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[CEATEC 2012] We are covering CEATEC, Japan’s largest consumer electronics show, until October 6, and Hubert Nguyen, Ubergizmo’s co-founder, is a judge for the Innovation Awards there. So far, we have seen a number of exciting new technologies from the leading consumer electronics companies exhibiting at the show.

From the Docomo Shabette Robot to the Sharp 6.1-inch / 498 ppi smartphone display or the Toshiba 4K Regza HDTVs and the Toyota Smart INSECT automated vehicle, the list of the latest and greatest innovations coming from Japan is quite impressive. See below a round-up of our CEATEC articles or you can go directly to our CEATEC page.

Toshiba pushes 4K REGZA HDTVs at CEATEC 2012
Murata Electric Walking Assist Car isn’t really a car
Pioneer Augmented Reality Heads Up Display
Totsy MRobo dancing robot is no legend
Fujitsu brings pet care to the cloud
Sharp 6.1-inch IGZO display has 498ppi, WQXGA resolution
KDDI palm authentication app
Sharp 5-inch Igzo Full HD LCD panel
Docomo Shabette Robo keeps you in the know
Docomo helps commuters with one-handed smartphone/tablet use
Docomo works on video-calls for glasses-shaped phones

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Clarion full digital speakers are power savers for your vehicle, Rohm hydrogen fuel cells are perfect for emergencies,

NEC isn’t much known for its Android devices outside of Japan, but having played with the Media Tab UL N-08D at CEATEC we now think that’s something of a shame: it’s one of the best tablets we’ve seen so far. Running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on a 7-inch, 1,280 x 800 LCD display, and clad in a 7.9mm thick, 249g chassis made of metal, plastic, and carbon fiber, it’s fast and feels high-quality in the hand.

Inside, there’s a 1.5GHz dualcore Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 processor paired with 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and a microSDHC card slot to add to that. Connectivity includes LTE, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and microUSB, and there’s GPS and two cameras.

Up front is a 2-megapixel shooter for video calls and vanity shots, while there’s an 8-megapixel camera on the back with autofocus, an LED flash, and 1080p 30fps video recording. The main camera uses Sony’s Exmor R for Mobile technology, with a backside-illuminated CMOS.

It’s how NEC has managed to package together the various components into something so thin and light which really impressed us, though. The Japanese market gets a TV tuner, and there’s a special haptics system with five levels of response to suit different alerts. A 3,100 mAh battery drives the 7-incher for up to 690 minutes of 3G talktime or 900 hours of LTE standby, and the display – although not quite of the resolution of B&N’s NOOK HD – has great viewing angles and impressive brightness levels.

NEC Media Tab UL hands-on:

In short, it’s Apple-levels of polish but resolutely running Android for those who can’t be swayed to iOS, something we’ve been hoping for from Android OEMs for some time now. Unfortunately, NEC shows no sign of offering it outside of Japan, where it’s been available on NTT DoCoMo for a couple of weeks now.

NEC Medias Tab UL hands-on: The best Android tablet you probably can’t buy is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Last year at CEATEC, we saw NTT DoCoMo demo its translation app, which made life easier by translating a Japanese menu into English text. This time around the carrier is showing off the new Hanashite Hon’yaku service for Android devices, which can translate spoken Japanese to English and vice versa (it supports a total of 10 languages, including French, German and Korean). In addition to providing an on-screen translation, the system reads out your speaking partner’s words in your language.To use the service, you need an Android-enabled (2.2 and higher) device running on either the carrier’s spumode or moperaU plan. Provided you fit those requirements, you’ll simply have to dial the other party, speak into the phone and wait for it to play back your words in a foreign tongue.

Of course, you can also use the service in person, which is exactly what we did at DoCoMo’s booth. When we gave it a test run with some simple questions (“Where are you from?”, “What time is it?”), the app had no trouble spitting back those phrases in Japanese so the DoCoMo rep could respond. When he answered in Japanese, the translation to English was equally seamless, taking just a second or two to communicate that he is from Japan. Though the app is free, you’ll have to pay call and data charges (using the service for face-to-face conversation only entails a data fee). The cross-cultural barriers will break down starting November 1st, but you can get a glimpse of the service in action just after the break.

Continue reading NTT DoCoMo translation app converts languages in real time (hands-on video)

Filed under: Software

NTT DoCoMo translation app converts languages in real time (hands-on video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Oct 2012 10:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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