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Japan's latest humanoid robot makes its own moves
Japan's National Science Museum is no stranger to eerily human androids: It employs two in its exhibition hall already. But for a week, they're getting a new colleague. Called "Alter," it has a very human face like Professor Ishiguro's Geminoids, but goes one step further with an embedded neural network that allows it to move itself. The technology powering this involves 42 pneumatic actuators and, most importantly, a "central pattern generator." That CPG has a neutral network that replicates neurons, allowing the robot to create movement patterns of its own, influenced by sensors that detect proximity, temperature and, for some reason, humidity. The setup doesn't make for human-like movement, but it gives the viewer the very strange sensation that this particular robot is somehow alive. And that's precisely the point.
Bjork's VR album is a work in progress, just like the medium itself
Bjork Digital is almost Bjork: The Theme Park. The installation, which opened in Tokyo earlier this week, includes a movie theater featuring a two-hour-long showcase of the artist's videography. Around the corner from there, you'll find several tracks from the album Vulnicura have been transformed into VR experiences. Farther down the hall, you can play around with the album-turned-music app from Bjork's Biophilia album. The 18-day installation opened to the public this week, with Tokyo's Miraikan being the second stop on a world tour that also includes Europe and the US. I went for a visit and came away thinking that no other musical artist is pushing (or perhaps dragging) virtual reality forward more than Bjork. She's working on more VR tracks too -- this is really just the start.
A visual tour of the Pokémon Research Lab
There's no better way to inspire children into a career in animal taxonomy and species classification than Pokémon. Possibly. A temporary Pokémon Lab in Japan is opening its doors to wannabe researchers (and their parents), offering them a Poké ball and 12 different stations to test and identify the critter inside. Once you've derived the specific pocket monster (fortunately, at this junior research center, it's limited to a pool of around 30), there's also a healthy spoonful of real science and biology at the end -- oh yes, it's edu-tainment. This part of the exhibit tries to convey how important discoveries have occurred through observation and categorization of animals and creatures (the game's creator was famously fascinated by categorizing insects as a child). There was also a giant Pikachu in a lab coat to assist where needed -- although he didn't really help all that much.
Enter the tech-powered playground of the future
There are playmats where you build the roads in seconds, a ballpit where the balls are as big as you, and a drawing-board where your doodles come to life. This is Team Lab's "Theme Park of the Future" .. but it isn't really a theme park. It's an attempt to bring projection mapping, motion gestures into contact with fundamental playtime activities -- and even expand on kids' creativity. You just need a handful of projectors, some giant walls, and a scanner or two.
Meet the multilingual robot newscaster with a very human face
Pepper the robot looks like a robot, thanks to an almost-anime design. What then, of Kodomoroid (above, center) and Otonaroid (right)? Both androids have found employment at Japan's National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, as part of its new "Android: What is human?" exhibit. Kodomoroid ("child android") can recite news (and weather) reports from around the world in a variety of voices and languages. Meanwhile, Otonaroid ("adult android") is steered by a human nearby and will work as a guide for the exhibition. Museum visitors will be able to talk with the adult robot (as well as take control themselves), but will they be able to look either android in the eye?
