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Nikko's 3D meat measurement system is enough to make James Cameron's butcher jealous (video)
Not getting the most out of your meat? Then you're clearly not using Nikko's multi-camera 3D meat measuring system. In an attempt to deal with the rising cost of seafood, the Japanese company enlisted the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, which offered up a method for taking images of the backside of meat through gaps in a conveyor belt. The system uses fours pairs of stereo cameras to create a 3D image of meat as it travels down the line, helping to determine the best way to make the most out of the foodstuff. The company is attempting to drop the price of the system, in order to bring it to market within two years. You know you want to check out a bevy of 3D seafood images after the break.
Condiment transporting SWITL robot arm gets a gig moving meat, packing boxes (video)
Way back in March, we spotted video of the SWITL, a robotic hand with a penchant for picking up globs of condiments without changing their shape. Neat, yes, but what sort of applications might such a device have in real life, beyond rather inefficient cleanups of Burger King floors? Manufacturer Furukawa Kikou has put the electronic appendage to work, folding meat and packing boxes with bags full of sol-gel substances, without losing the shape of either material. The size of the company is prohibiting sales of SWITL machines overseas at present, but Furukawa Kikou is happy to discuss partnerships, should someone approach it for its raw meat and ketchup moving needs. Exceedingly unappetizing video after the break.
SWITL scoops oozy goop with amazing robotic precision (video)
Look, sometimes, not often, but sometimes we'll miss a truly spectacular and mind bending story that requires a double-back. The SWITL robotic hand is just such a case. The patent-pending technology looks to have been revealed on video back in late October showing the Furukawa Kikou robot deftly lifting a ketchup and mayonnaise mess from a table and then replacing it unchanged from its original shape. The tech was developed for bakeries with the intention of automating the handling of soft substances that were either too malleable or too icky for human hands. Unfortunately, Furukawa Kikou isn't providing any details about the science behind SWITL so we'll just assume that it's Satan's work until otherwise informed. See what we mean in the video after the break.
Visualized: Google's perpetual conveyor belt of Android
You know those sushi places that have the pre-packaged rolls hypnotically scrolling by your face endlessly on a little conveyor belt? Well, picture exactly that... but with virtually every major Android device ever made instead of sushi. That was just one of the many visual treats we experienced at Google's Android booth at Mobile World Congress this year -- along with a dozen or so brightly-painted giant Android statues and a fully-functional slide from the second floor down to the first. We'd estimate there were perhaps 200 phones and tablets on the belt, ranging all the way from the original T-Mobile G1 up to prototype versions of the HTC Desire S and Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo. We'll admit, it was nigh impossible to resist grabbing at the clear acrylic capsules as they slid silently by, but fortunately, you won't have that problem when you check it out on video -- a safe distance from Barcelona -- after the break. %Gallery-116889%
Levytator claims to be the world's first bendy escalator, has the patents to prove it (video)
You've seen conveyor belts before, most probably at your local airport ferrying beaten-up luggage in circles, but for some reason the same tech doesn't seem to have been applied to people yet. Leave it to City University London prof Jack Levy to correct that oversight with his eponymous Levytator -- an escalator that follows freeform curves (but not convention!) and offers a better "cost per usable step" than your typical moving stairs. Patented in Europe, the USA, and even China, all this thing needs is the gentle push of a kindly investor -- see the video after the break to determine if it's worth your cash. [Thanks, Conrad]
