Hasta La Gadget!

The peole of Japan are about to have their very own astro-first in the international community. They may not have been the first to get a man into the void, Russia holds that honor, but they are getting a pretty cool record. They are putting the first robot into space. Kirobo will be visiting the International Space Station this summer.

Last month we saw a drone that can both drive around and fly. It’s a shame it can’t run on water as well, because as the Ziphius shows, having a drone on water seems like a lot of fun. The Ziphius is an aquatic drone designed to be controlled via an Android or iOS device. It’s a lot like Parrot’s AR.Drone, except it swims. And it looks like a computer mouse. Or a badly designed bike seat.

The Ziphius has two brushless DC motors that let it zip up to 6mph, and can be controlled wirelessly up to about 300ft. away. It can send live video from its 720p front camera to the mobile device that you’re using as the remote control. Because it’s controlled by a mobile device, the drone’s functionality can be increased with a variety of apps. The video below shows an augmented reality racing game, while the basic Ziphius app will have quick sharing functions to YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Sadly its battery can’t keep up with the rest of the device, and can only last up to an hour per charge.

Pledge at least $245 (USD) on Kickstarter to get a Ziphius drone as a reward. I think the Ziphius is a lot of fun, but I hope all these fancy drones won’t mislead kids into letting their toys experience the world for them.

[via Gadget Review]

For a robot gettinga round without tripping over everything in the way can be hard. The folks over at Segway Inc are looking to help robots get around more easily. The new platform they are developing, dubbed the  5D
Behavior Engine, is designed to help in path planning on the go. 

We’ve seen clothing that doubles as something else a few times before, such as the drone-evading stealth hoodie revealed back in January, and the GPS-trackable line of wearables announced way back in 2006. The latest to surface comes from a team composed of students, a creative agency, and a fashion designer, all of whom worked

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In order to ensure that human beings stay relevant in the context of a rapidly digitised and automated society, our creativity should be used and stimulated by enhancing interactions and experiences with new technology. Across Asia many corporations, start ups, R&D institutes, and universities are finding ways to apply human-centric designs in the production of technological tools that can be useful for our everyday lives. This is part one of a series focussing innovation incubators in Asia, showcasing the Real Projects in development by students at Keio Media Design.

Food Media creates new ways of cooking and eating, by applying media design techniques to non-traditional mediums, such as molecular gastronomy, food styling and photography, fusion food and collaborative cooking. Both the cooking and eating process becomes like playing a game whilst at the same time consuming information about what is being prepared and eaten. This could serve as a great tool for educating children and adults about nutrition, and possibly contribute to healthier lifestyles.

Fashion Media seeks to simultate our senses by experimenting with clothing and accessories that emit light, sound, smell and reponsive touch in order to enhance our human communication experiences. Imagine if your boss wore glasses that emitted red glows when they were angry, or you had a way to emit perfume suddenly on a date, or if you trousers spoke to you when they are getting too tight. This project offers great potential to designers and researchers to incorporate such technology into the future fashion collections.

Reality Media aims to generate a more comfortable and enjoyable ‘reality’ through the stimulation of sensory organs and perception. Augmented reality in the case of being able to see the view from outside of your projected inside your car when backing up could potentially be much safer and more reliable than mirrors and small camera views. Avatar robots that can be used to perform repairs or even medical surgery in far off or inaccessible locations offer huge potential for both healthcare and energy industries. Imagine a specialised doctor living in Tokyo who is able to perform a unique surgery on a patient in Hawaii, or an engineer that can perform repairs on a nuclear plant whilst sitting several miles away.

Keio Media Design (KMD) is a Graduate School of Keio University (Tokyo, Japan) that offers students the chance to combine research in the four areas of creativity; design, technology, management and policy whilst engaging in these intensive ‘Real Projects‘ with their peers. KMD works closely with industry professionals, partner institutions worldwide, and has two satellite campuses in Osaka and Singapore. Keio Media Design is already becoming the launching pad for new technology and products that can generate enterprising start ups or contribute to large corporations across Asia and the globe. Driving innovation and creative approaches to technology is the key to ensuring future economic growth in Japan and across the globe.