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Scientists let a moth drive a robot, study its tracking behavior (video)
Insect-inspired robots are nothing new, but an insect driving a robot is decidedly novel. Graduate student Garnet Hertz managed to get a cockroach to control a mobile robot back in 2006, but scientists over at the University of Tokyo changed it up a bit by having a silk moth drive a small two-wheeled bot in pursuit of a female sex pheromone. As with the cockroach, the male moth steered the bot by walking around on a rotating ball, no training required. This isn't just for fun and games of course; the eventual goal of the study is to apply the moth's tracking behavior to autonomous robots, which will be helpful for situations like hunting down environmental spills and leaks. Until then, we're crossing our fingers for a moth-driven Monster Truck rally. Check out both cockroach and moth-driving videos after the break. Update: The university has just released their journal article about the study, which we've linked to in the source.
Kenshiro robot has muscle and bones, is ready to stretch its way into your nightmares
Add this to the list of terrifying robots we hope to never be chased by. Thankfully, Kenshiro here looks to be fairly slow from the video below. Still, this skeleton-and-muscle headless humanoid robot has secured a place in our nightmares for the foreseeable future, thanks in part to its lifelike movements. The 'bot, which is a followup to 2010's Kojiro model, stands about 5'1 and weighs around 110 pounds. It was developed by Yuto Nakanishi and a team of researchers at University of Tokyo, making its public debut at the recent Humanoids conference in Osaka. You can watch Kenshiro in action after the break.
3D book scanner blows through tomes at 250 pages per minute
Dai Nippon Printing probably isn't a company you're terribly familiar with, but you might feel inclined to keep closer tabs on the Japanese outfit. With help from the University of Tokyo, Dai Nippon has created a book scanner that can plow through texts at up to 250 pages each minute. A mechanism flips through pages at lightning speeds while a pair of cameras overhead snap detailed images of each sheet as it flies by. Special software then flattens out the photos and turns the picture into a machine readable, 400 pixel-per-inch scan that can easily be converted to PDF, EPUB or other format. Unlike many other high-speed scanners, this doesn't require a book be damaged by removing the pages. In fact, it's quite similar to Google's creation that powers Books. Dai Nippon is actually planning to bring this beast to market sometime in 2013, but it has yet to announce a price.
University of Tokyo turns real paper and ink into a display, could share doodles from a distance (video)
Forget e-paper: if the University of Tokyo's Naemura Lab has its way, we'll interact with the real thing. The division's new research has budding artists draw on photochromic paper with Frixion's heat-sensitive ink, turning the results into something a computer can manipulate. A laser 'erases' the ink to fix mistakes or add effects, and an ultraviolet projector overhead can copy any handiwork, fill in the gaps or print a new creation. The prototype is neither high resolution nor quick -- you won't be living out fantasies of a real-world A-Ha music video -- but the laser's accuracy (down to 0.0001 inches) has already led researchers to dream of paper-based, Google Docs-style collaboration where edits in one place affect a tangible document somewhere else. It's hard to see truly widespread adoption in an era where we're often trying to save trees instead of print to them, but there's an undeniable appeal to having a hard copy that isn't fixed in time.
University of Tokyo builds a soap bubble 3D screen, guarantees your display stays squeaky clean (video)
There are waterfall screens, but what if you'd like your display to be a little more... pristine? Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a display that hits soap bubbles with ultrasonic sound to change the surface. At a minimum, it can change how light glances off the soap film to produce the image. It gets truly creative when taking advantage of the soap's properties: a single screen is enough to alter the texture of a 2D image, and multiple screens in tandem can create what amounts to a slightly sticky hologram. As the soap is made out of sturdy colloids rather than the easily-burst mixture we all knew as kids, users won't have to worry about an overly touch-happy colleague popping a business presentation. There's a video preview of the technology after the jump; we're promised a closer look at the technology during the SIGGRAPH expo in August, but we don't yet know how many years it will take to find sudsy screens in the wild.
Japanese robot trolls humans at rock-paper-scissors, sadly wasn't named the UMADBRO 9000 (video)
Japan got itself in the good graces of many a Futurama fan after creating Bender's ancestor. Then again, another Japanese robotic creation -- one that specializes in rock, paper, scissors -- may actually have more in common with the morally questionable, beer-guzzling bot. That's because this sneaky little future overlord wins 100 percent of its matches by using an oh-so human trait known as cheating. See, the researchers at the University of Tokyo's 4chan, er, Ishikawa Oku Laboratory programmed the "Janken" robot to recognize its human opponent's hand shape and counter it within a millisecond. Adding to the troll factor is the fact that it was unwittingly named the "Human-Machine Cooperation System" because, well, it needs the cooperation of some poor human sap to work its magic. The achievement joins other man-versus-machine milestones, including losses by humans in chess and shogi. Of course, the question now is, what happens if you pit two "Janken" machines against each other?
Researchers create incredibly thin solar cells flexible enough to wrap around a human hair
You've probably heard that the sun is strong enough to power our planet many times over, but without a practical method of harnessing that energy, there's no way to take full advantage. An incredibly thin and light solar cell could go a long way to accomplishing that on a smaller scale, however, making the latest device from researchers from the University of Austria and the University of Tokyo a fairly significant discovery. Scientists were able to create an ultra-thin solar cell that measures just 1.9 micrometers thick -- roughly one-tenth the size of the next device. Not only is the sample slim -- composed of electrodes mounted on plastic foil, rather than glass -- it's also incredibly flexible, able to be wrapped around a single strand of human hair (which, believe it or not, is nearly 20 times thicker). The scalable cell could replace batteries in lighting, display and medical applications, and may be ready to be put to use in as few as five years. There's a bounty of physical measurement and efficiency data at the source link below, so grab those reading glasses and click on past the break.
Robot uses semantic search to get a Subway sandwich, do Jared's evil bidding (video)
Old PR2 can already fold towels, play pool and grab an ice cold beer -- really, the Willow Garage robot is just one task of short of mastering the day-to-day activities of your average college student. What's that? It can get a sandwich, too? Never mind. And this isn't just any "get me a sandwich" command -- the stout white 'bot uses semantic search to infer possible locations for sandwich, using knowledge of similar objects and environmental models. In the below video, you'll see PR2 make its way to a refrigerator, in search of sustenance, only to come up empty-clawed. Undaunted, it hops on an elevator and makes its way to a Subway sandwich shop. The joint project from the University of Tokyo and University of Munich was recently shown off at recent robotics conference. No word on when PR2 will be programmed to hold the onions.
Canon's 8-inch CMOS sensor can record SPACE at 60fps
For whatever reason, Canon seemed more concerned with showing off its engineering prowess than finding a use for the giant 8-inch CMOS sensor it created last year. Fortunately, the super-powerful snapper has found its way into the 105-centimeter Schmidt Telescope at the University of Tokyo's Kiso Observatory. The sensor's size makes it a perfect fit to record in low-light; capturing the wonders of the universe in 0.3 lux at 60 fps. The University will premiere footage from the experiment, possibly with nibbles, after September 19th -- presumably in a theater with a blanket ban on people muttering the introduction to Star Trek as it plays.
PIGORASS quadruped robot baby steps past AIBO's grave (video)
Does the Uncanny Valley extend to re-creations of our four-legged friends? We'll find out soon enough if Yasunori Yamada and his University of Tokyo engineering team manage to get their PIGORASS quadruped bot beyond its first unsteady hops, and into a full-on gallop. Developed as a means of analyzing animals' musculoskeletal system for use in biologically-inspired robots, the team's cyborg critter gets its locomotion on via a combo of CPU-controlled pressure sensors and potentiometers. It may move like a bunny (for now), but each limb's been designed to function independently in an attempt to simulate a simplified neural system. Given a bit more time and tweaking (not to mention a fine, faux fur coating), we're pretty sure this wee bitty beastie'll scamper its way into the homes of tomorrow. Check out the lil' fella in the video after the break.
New developments in atomic clock technology beat accuracy records, may inspire Ke$ha's next hit
According to a recent Penn State study that uses a new way to calculate time-telling precision, the CsF2 cesium-based atomic clock at the UK's National Physical Laboratory is almost twice as accurate as originally thought -- meaning it will only gain or lose one single second over the course of 138 million years. This atomic clock isn't the only competitor for best-in-show, as researchers at the University of Tokyo have also announced a new record, claiming their optical lattice atomic clock observes atoms a million times faster than a traditional atomic clock -- achieving accuracy up to 18 digits in a one second measurement. Although researchers say the technology would gain or lose a second significantly faster than the cesium-based variety (31.7 million years), it could change the way scientists perceive time and space, giving us new insights into fundamental constants of physics. "Until now, clocks have been thought of as tools for sharing common time. But with clocks like this, conversely, we can understand that time passes at different speeds, depending on the time and place a clock is at," said Hidetoshi Katori of the University of Tokyo. Of course, both atomic clocks can help us stay timely, but they also have practical applications for everything from deep-space networking, to predicting earthquakes and GPS navigation. With this type of accuracy, looks like none of us will be getting away with showing up late to work anymore. Check out a video about the optical lattice clock after the break.
Wrist sensor turns the back of your hand into a meaty haptic interface (video)
We're all intimately familiar with the backs of our hands, so why not use them as a haptic interface to control our gadgets? That's the idea behind the device pictured above -- a nifty little wrist sensor that turns your paw into a flesh-toned trackpad. Designed by Kei Nakatsuma, a PhD student at the University of Tokyo, this contraption employs infrared sensors to track a user's finger as it moves across the back of a hand. These movements are mirrored on a wristwatch-like display, thanks to seven IR detectors and a set of piezoelectric sensors, effectively turning any digit into an organic stylus or mouse. Nakatsuma, who unveiled his work at this week's SIGGRAPH, says his creation can't handle the more complicated, pinching or rotating gestures you could manipulate on most smartphone touchscreens and acknowledges that the screen can be difficult to read in direct sunlight. But the underlying technology could pave the way for similarly handy designs, while allowing users to interact with their gadgets without having to constantly glance at their screens, or go fishing in their pockets. Feel your way past the break to see a video of the device in action.
Tokyo researchers hijack your hand, help you play the koto (video)
Researchers over in the land of the robot-obsessed have found a new, non-invasive way to control your hand while your brain recoils in horror. Reassuringly named the PossessedHand, this belt of electro-stimulation wraps its pad of twenty-eight electrodes around your forearm triggering a range of sixteen bewitched joint actions. Project leader Emi Tamaki claims it feels more like a light massage than say, a full-on Freejack. However, one test subject confessed, "[It was] like my body was hacked" -- so that's comforting. This joint production between the University of Tokyo's Rekimoto Lab and Sony Computer Science Laboratories was first tested as a musical training aide, but could someday help stroke victims regain mobility. For now, the stimulation isn't strong enough to turn you into an automated Steve Vai (or secret assassin), but it definitely lends new meaning to 'hands-off.' Check the video after the break for a demonstration and some unsettling narration.
First light wave quantum teleportation achieved, opens door to ultra fast data transmission
Mark this day, folks, because the brainiacs have finally made a breakthrough in quantum teleportation: a team of scientists from Australia and Japan have successfully transferred a complex set of quantum data in light form. You see, previously researchers had struggled with slow performance or loss of information, but with full transmission integrity achieved -- as in blocks of qubits being destroyed in one place but instantaneously resurrected in another, without affecting their superpositions -- we're now one huge step closer to secure, high-speed quantum communication. Needless to say, this will also be a big boost for the development of powerful quantum computing, and combine that with a more bedroom friendly version of the above teleporter, we'll eventually have ourselves the best LAN party ever.
World Bank report finds selling virtual goods in games more profitable than 'real' economy
A report commissioned by the World Bank's infoDev unit has cast fresh light on one of the more fascinating aspects of our brave new interconnected world: the virtual economy. The "third-party gaming services industry" -- where wealthy but impatient players have someone else grind away at online games for them in exchange for monetary reward -- is one of the focal points of the study, chiefly owing to it having generated revenues in the region of $3 billion in 2009 and now serving as the primary source of income for an estimated 100,000 young folks, primarily in countries like China and Vietnam. What's encouraging about these findings is that most of the revenue from such transactions ends up in the country where the virtual value is produced, which contrasts starkly with some of the more traditional international markets, such as that for coffee beans, where the study estimates only $5.5 billion of the $70 billion annual market value ever makes it back to the producing country. The research also takes an intriguing look at the emerging phenomenon of microwork, which consists of having unskilled workers doing the web's version of menial work -- checking images, transcribing bits of text, bumping up Facebook Likes (naughty!), etc. -- and could also lead to more employment opportunities for people in poorer nations. To get better acquainted with the details, check the links below or click past the break.
Elpida and Sharp team up for ReRAM in 2013: 10,000x the speed of current NAND flash chips
Want to know where the next breakthrough in mobile technology will come from? Well, if Elpida and Sharp have their way, the answer will be the usual suspect of Japan, where they're working away on new memory chips said to be capable of four orders of magnitude faster performance than the ordinary NAND flash storage of today. Dubbed ReRAM, or Resistive Random Access Memory, this project targets a 2013 date for commercialization and counts the University of Tokyo and Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology among its development team. Details on how such blinding speeds will be reached aren't readily available, but the Nikkei reports power consumption will be down to "virtually zero" when the memory's not in use. So with ReRAM and HP's memristors both set for three years from now, can we schedule NAND's funeral for 2014 or what?
Rat controls vehicle with its brain, Pinky and The Brain apply for 'one last run'
So, let's paint the picture, shall we? There's a rat, a bundle of electrodes, more wiring than an electrician would know what to do with and some sort of wheeled apparatus. In the background stands a team of crazed Japanese scientists, intent on never sleeping again until said rat controls said vehicle entirely with his mind. Nah, it's not a re-run of a WB classic -- it's real life, and it's happening now in a dark, shadowy corner at the University of Tokyo. The RatCar is a newly developed rat-vehicle experiment that researchers hope will open new doors for those with mobility issues; we've seen brain-machine interfaces change the lives of the disabled before, but giving them the ability to control their wheelchair with their mind (for instance) would be taking things to an entirely new level. As of now, the team still has to figure out how to accurately determine how much movement is coming from the rat's feet and how much is coming from its mind, but there's no question that the research shows promise -- just don't let the humanoids learn of our findings, okay folks?
Implantable blood sugar sensor could eliminate daily finger pricks
Science has been figuring out ways to sidestep those dreaded finger pricks for years now, but it's not often that we hear of such a permanent solution as this. A crew of researchers from The University of Tokyo and BEANS Research Institute are in the process of developing a newfangled blood sugar sensor that "reacts to glucose and lights up inside the body." 'Course, injecting dyes into humans in order to receive interpretable signals ain't exactly new, but hydrogel is what makes this approach unique. As the story goes, this jelly-esque material can be implanted within the body, enabling blood sugar levels to be monitored and measured externally with no pain or irritation whatsoever. In theory, a monitoring system could trigger an alert as soon as the internal levels dipped or rose beyond a predetermined extreme, giving those with diabetes a maximum amount of time to get things back in balance. There's nary a mention of when this goo will be green-lit by the FDA, but there's definitely a video explaining everything just past the break.
Cat@Log, the tiny Twitter box for tweety bird hunters
Your cat's Twitter account just got real, yo. With an embedded accelerometer, GPS and camera in a lightweight neck-mounted package, this "Cat@Log" can figure out what your feline friend is doing at any given moment, and automatically send status updates accordingly. Should Sony Computer Science Laboratories and the University of Tokyo ever commercialize the thing, we're sure they'll sell plenty -- but please don't try to friend us with one. Why? Um... we're allergic... to anthropomorphic social networking. Yes, that's it. Your cat? Cute as a button, we swear.
5nm crystals could lead to vastly larger optical discs, mighty fine time machines
Blu-ray was already looking mighty fine at 25GB of storage per layer -- and if Sony manages to make the indigo foil sheets hold 33.4GB each, we certainly won't complain -- but Japanese researchers have discovered a compound that could leapfrog Blu-ray entirely. Scientists at the University of Tokyo discovered that by hitting 5-nanometer titanium pentoxide crystals with a laser, they could get the metal to change color and conduct less electricity, leading to what they believe is an effective new medium for optical data storage. At 5nm, the small black crystals could reportedly hold 1,000 times the data of Blu-ray at the same density, and cost less to boot -- the scholars reportedly synthesized the formula simply by adding hydrogen to the common, comparatively cheap titanium dioxide, while heating the compound over a fire. Ahh, nanotechnology -- making our lives easier, one microscopic crystal or tube at a time.
