Hasta La Gadget!

Aside from the huggable Totoro, the Catbus is one of the most memorable characters in the 1988 classic My Neighbor Totoro. After all, what’s not to like about a huge multilegged cat that can take you wherever you want to go? And what’s not to like about a LEGO version of said cat?

The LEGO Catbus was made by Tomoyuki Wakata. He wanted to make a version of the Catbus that kids could interact with, so he ended up adding two things that the cartoon Catbus didn’t have: wheels and a handle. The idea is for kids to hold Catbus by Its handle then move him back and forth. Upon doing so, they get a reward: its head, legs and chubby tail move!

Man, people will always find awesome ways to put LEGO together. I wonder where those whiskers and eyes are originally from.

[Tomoyuki Wakata via Daily of the Day]

To celebrate its 33rd anniversary, a Japanese electronics company called IO Data is going to give away a special Valentine’s Day treat to three lucky online shoppers. It’s a chocolate bar that looks like a RAM module!

As you can see they’re quite detailed; you can even make out the word ‘Samsung’ as well as other characters etched on it. Here’s a shot of the chocolate bar along with an actual RAM stick:

A confectionery shop called Maple House made the awesome chocolate bars, which IO Data are calling “Memory of Love Chocolate.”

Customers who bought or will buy from IO Data’s their online store between February 6 to February 15, 2013 will have a chance of winning a Memory of Love Chocolate. I guess you could say that the winners… will be picked randomly.

[via IO Data & CNET Japan via Kotaku]

We’ve featured a number of stories of robots here at Ubergizmo, with a number of them spelling out the upcoming demise of the human race as they’ve learned to wield chainsaws and have beaten humans in Rock’ Em Sock ‘Em robots. Now, it looks like a robot is expected to infiltrate our schools to learn more about us.

A robot model called Robovie began attending Higashihikari elementary school in Japan this week, and is expected to attend classes for over 14 months in order to learn about human interactions among multiple people.

The Robovie can hold conversations equal to a five-year-old child, although it has been equipped with knowledge from a fifth-grade science textbook as well as facial photos and voiceprints of teachers and students it will come across in the school.

Robovie has already interacted with the students and teachers this week as it answered questions from the teachers during class, and spent time after class to shake hands of the sixth graders and answered any questions they had for it. We’re hoping there’s one student at that school that can keep an eye on Robovie, in case he decides to start doing anything that may spark the robot revolution.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Robot Jumps In An Explosive Manner, Robot Inspired By Moth Tracks Down Smells,

Japan is no stranger to earthquakes. Despite this, the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami devastated the country. So you can never be prepared enough. That’s why Force Media, a Tokyo-based initiative, has now come up with a new flashlight that can alert people in the event of an earthquake.

This flashlight is called Gurapika (model JF-ERL1W) and comes with a built in radio that is tuned to the Earthquake Warning Alarm system that is sounded in Japan in the event of an earthquake. It will alert users with a visual and audio alarm in the event of a seismic emergency. Many people have living spaces that do not allow them to hear public address systems and public alarms when inside, so this is a handy device. Plus, it’s a flashlight.

The flashlight can also be charged in a regular wall socket and will give up to 14 hours of light or six hours of radio on a full charge, and can also be used to juice up your gadgets. In a pinch, it can also be powered for short periods of time via a hand cranking mechanism, eliminating the need for batteries. You don’t want to worry about batteries during an earthquake.

The Gurapika flashlight is available now from Amazon Japan for ¥4,609 (~$50 USD).

[via Gizmowatch]

Check out this cool little gizmo from Japanese toy company Takara Tomy, who has recently introduced a cute little cleaning robot that they call the “Auto Mee S”. Well, what the heck do you need a mini Roomba clone for, you ask? How about this – when was the last time you took a nice, close look at your smartphone or tablet’s screen? See all of that nasty dust and smudges that have accumulated over weeks of use without any cleaning done? Yes sir, this is the purpose the Auto Mee S was designed for, to clean up the grime and dirt on smartphone and tablet LCD displays.

The Takara Tomy Auto Mee S will come with a pair of rotating cleaning papers and three tires located on its bottom, where it will help it wipe off fingerprints and dust when it travels over your smartphone or tablet display. Heck, it is even capable of knowing where the end of the screen is thanks to its built-in sensors, allowing it to prevent from cleaning beyond the designated boundaries. So far, it is said that the Auto Mee S is able to clean a smartphone’s display thoroughly in just 4 minutes, taking double the amount of time to clean tablets. Out later this March 28th, you can pick up the Auto Mee S in orange, blue, pink and white colors.
[ Takara Tomy delivers Auto Mee S mini screen cleaner copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]