Fake robot among this year’s Good Design Award winners

Last week the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization announced the winners of this year’s Good Design Award. The 51-year-old award actually consistently gives due props to some really cool stuff, some of which are already hit items and some of which will be now. The judging committee, made up of a couple dozen designers, journalists, architects, and marketers, also showed a sense of humor by awarding Zarigani Works’ Korejanai Robo a prize this year.

Korejanai Robo translates literally to “not this robot” and is created as an ode to all those kids who once really wanted something, like say a toy robot, and got something decidedly less high-tech, like another He-Man action figure. As the name suggests, the Korejanai Robo is not really a robot, but rather a hand-made looking wooden robot doll. The cult item, which has received many devoted odes of its own on the web, became a USB drive (naturally) last year.

In an excellent nod to irony, Takara Tomy’s i-Sobot, which also landed a 2007 Guinness World Record for being the smallest two-legged walking robot, received a grand prize.

Other top prize winners included the Muji Window House, a prefabricated house that allows the owners to choose freely where windows will be placed, and a do-it-yourself Japanese room Sakamoto Urushi Manufacturing, that fits nicely in your existing dwelling.

Meanwhile the ThermoRender-3 Pro, an architect design tool from A and A Co. that simulates outdoor thermal environments and includes functions for calculating a structure’s potential energy consumption, and the FCX Clarity zero-emissions car from Honda earned top marks for environmental impact.

The Lessev Mobile Station and Tokyo Traffic Control Center we covered on these pages also got a mention. To browse the complete list of GDA winners, see the archive search page here.

Tags: Architecture, Automobiles, design, Environment, Good Design Award, Home, Honda, Muji, robots, Takara Tomy, Toys
Category: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends, Technology & Gadget Trends
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B.S. Alert: Japan’s “robot for lonely men” is quite the opposite

Like many (most?) foreign press accounts on Japan, today’s coverage of the Tokyo Toy Show is no exception. The headlines below from the New Zealand Herald via Reuters and linked to from the Drudge Report fit right in to the perception of Japanese men as lonely nerds that would rather date miniature robots than flesh-n-blood women.

“Japan’s robot for lonely men“?

Sure, but only if you forget to note that the robot in question isn’t even Japanese and is only licensed by Sega Toys from WowWee with a different exterior.

For the record, WowWee is a Hong Kong-based company founded by Canadians.

This is just one more example of the foreign press seeing something on its surface, speculating like hell, and making Japan into something it isn’t. After all, would Reuters have ever called it “America’s robot for lonely men”? Of course not…American men aren’t THAT pathetic, right?

While these types of events are typically reserved for out-of-touch newspapers like the New York Times and their QR Code discoveries, it seems that the whole world is determined to turn Japan’s love of technology into some kind of delusional behavior (from the future, of course).

Speaking of the NYT, they’re STILL getting quoted in other media on this piece about “Media Immersion Pods”, a term that the author made up herself to describe what are, in fact, manga/internet cafes that have been around a long time already. Not quite the “new trend” she described, but who needs facts?

Sorry for the unusual post of bitterness, but if the foreign press wants to stop speculating and get some real information, we can only give them one suggestion.

Tags: MSM, robots, Tokyo Toy Show
Category: Technology & Gadget Trends
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Pecha Kucha Ku-Cha conversational toy from Daiwa

Pecha Kucha Ku—Cha from Daiwa Toys isn’t quite what we pictured our robot sidekick to look like. Actually he (she?) is a whole lot cuter. Despite the decidedly non-tech appearance, this little cartoon colored bear has a built in voice recognition function that can respond to simple questions and statements.

Ask Ku—Cha for the time or your daily horoscope and the wide-eyed bear will cheerfully reply from the speakers built into his armchair. He can also make simple conversation: tell Ku—Cha good morning and he’ll reply, tell him you are back and he’ll say “welcome home.”

This desktop companion is certainly not the most high-tech toy on the market, but for only ¥3,990 it is infinitely affordable and just one more example of how interactive toys and tools are no longer a vision of the future in Japan but totally acceptable (and coveted) consumer goods.

And more importantly Ku—Cha serves a real function, after all how much nicer is to have someone (or something) to say good morning to, and actually get a reply?

Tags: Daiwa, robots, Toys
Category: Technology & Gadget Trends
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Limited Edition red and green i-SOBOT campaign

It’s not for Christmas, but instant noodle maker Maruchan has been running a campaign for its kitsune (red) and taneki (green) noodles, and integrating the i-SOBOT from Takara Tomy in a limited red and green edition. Noodle lovers who save eleven seals and mail them in will be eligible to win one of the three hundred robots.

Starring in the campaign along with i-SOBOT (and the noodles) are J-pop boy band Tu-Yu with Tetsuya Takeda of Kinpachi Sensei fame playing their aging 5th member.

I had a chance to get a few pictures of the limited i-SOBOT at the Robot Exposition a few weeks ago…

Tags: Limited Edition, robots, Takara Tomy
Category: Marketing & Ad Trends, Technology & Gadget Trends
Other categories: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends

Tokyo International Robot Exhibition 2007 - Pics and Video

We headed out to the Tokyo Big Sight to check out the 2007 International Robot Exhibition this weekend, and made sure to take a bunch of photos and some video as well.

The exhibition is typically a mix of industry, lifestyle, and toy gadgetry and allows the public to see up close what they typically only see on the news. After all, robots are a source of national pride in Japan for a number of reasons we won’t go into here.

Highlights included police robots, a (kind of creepy) dental training robot, a two-wheeled gyroscope balanced table, and the Robo-One Grand Championship. Consumer offerings were light, but those typically come out at the Tokyo Toy Show anyway.

For now, check out the video and photos below, and be sure to click the jump to see more…

Click here for more

Tags: Expos, International Robot Exhibition, robots
Category: Technology & Gadget Trends
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Sony Rolly available to buy as pre-order

We’ve all been inundated with news, video, and speculation about the upcoming Sony Rolly robotic music player. If you haven’t heard…where have you been? We’ll spare you the gritty details, but we can’t forget the Bluetooth streaming, programmable movement, amazing sound, and a heck of a design.

Now you can buy your very own Sony Rolly as a pre-order in the online shop. We’ve had incredible demand for it thus far, so it’s now available for all.

Of course, before you do anything, watch the video:

Click HERE to buy the Rolly online

Tags: A/V, robots, Sony
Category: Technology & Gadget Trends
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Robocco BeerBot featured in Austria’s Kurier newspaper

It’s official: The world is in love with Robocco. Our YouTube video of the beer-pouring wonder in action has thus far tallied a solid 280,000 views, was featured in the “gadgets” section, and even managed to charm its way onto G4 Attack of the Show. Opinions are mixed, with the majority of video comments lamenting the “slowness” and “impracticality” of Robocco, thus missing the point entirely. Was YOUR beer poured by a robot? That’s what we thought.

This last weekend, Robocco was featured in all its glory in the pages of Austria’s Kurier newspaper. Many thanks to to Kurier for the nice press, and for realizing that a beer-pouring robot is cool simply because it’s a beer-pouring robot. Cheers!

Tags: beer, beverages, FMCG, Press, Press coverage, robots
Category: Uncategorized
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Paro Robot Seal - Healing and companionship pet

Back in April when we blogged about robotic “healing pets” in Japan, we knew right away that we had to get our very own Paro, the robotic seal developed by Intelligent System Co., Ltd. in Toyama prefecture. Well, we finally did, and its pretty impressive.

Paro is an amazing piece of modern technology, designed as an interactive companion that can learn from you. Immediately out of the box we were blown away by the instant attachment it brought out of us, and had no choice but to treat it as a real, living creature. Aside from being incredibly soft (and dare we say…huggable?), Paro is incredibly interactive. It’s not meant to be a “fun” toy, but actually a form of therapy. If you check out the videos on Paro’s homepage, you can see the way interaction with it really brightens the lives of those who use it.

Under the fur, Paro has five kinds of sensors that give it information. It detects light (and gets sleepy when it’s night), can feel being petted and stroked all over the body, can detect when it’s being held, and has extremely sensitive whiskers. Temperature is also detected, and the audio sensor can perceive the direction of sound.

Paro expresses its emotions by moving its flippers and tail, but the head is the most remarkable. Aside from being able to make big head movements, the facial expressions Paro makes when interacted with have a true emotional quality to them. It’s something you really have to experience first hand to understand, and the video below demonstrates only a fraction of this. Don’t watch it if hearing two grown men fuss over a robot seal makes you uncomfortable.

Over time, Paro develops its own personality and can learn based on your interactions with it. If Paro makes a loud noise and you discipline it, it’s less likely to do so in the future. You can also change its name over time simply by calling it by the new name! There are too many features to list here, so we advise going to the links below to get the technical specs yourself.

See Paro’s Homepage
Buy your own Paro in the Online Shop

Tags: Aging Society, health, Paro, robots, Wellness
Category: Technology & Gadget Trends
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Mio - Sega Toys robotic dog - Tokyo Toy Show 2007

Mio is the latest robotic pet from Sega Toys in the tradition of iDog, iFish, iPenguin, Yume Neko…there’s a lot of em’, that’s for sure. However, Mio is the the only one that truly develops a personality and shows it. Unveiled at the Tokyo Toy Show last week, we got a chance to check out Mio up close, snap some pics, get some video, and cop a feel or two.

While most blogs are reporting that Mio is music-sensitive, we find that it’s more touch-sensitive than anything, conveying over a hundred emotions via eye animations, sounds, and shaking it’s tail and ears. The lighting is quite cool as well, especially the top lights that react to touch much in the way Sony’s Aibo did back in the day. Mio is no Aibo, but it has multiple sensors around it’s body, can walk, and is generally a fun toy to play with. Be sure to check out the video for more:

Buy Sega Toys’ Mio as a pre-order

Tags: robots, Sega Toys, Tokyo Toy Show
Category: Technology & Gadget Trends
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Asahi Robocco BeerBot (Beer pouring robot) available to Buy!

Since putting up our original video of the Asahi Robocco BeerBot, we’ve had tons of requests to make it available. Well, now it is! You can now get one of the original beer-pouring robots for yourself, most likely becoming the only person on your continent who has one. Complete with refrigeration, they’re perfect for bars, rec-rooms, and just about anywhere a beer-pouring robot would be awesome (everywhere).

Features:
• Stores and refrigerates 6 cans
• Opens cans and pours a perfect glass
• Ensures perfect temperature with internal sensor
• Programmable voice (male, female, or custom)
• Cleaning mode
• Child lock

Included in Delivery:
• 2 custom glass mugs
• 6 Foam cup bases
• Plastic floor protector
• Full documentation
• Instructions in English and Japanese

Robocco is designed for Japanese size (350ml) cans, but we tested it with American-sized (355ml) cans and it worked just fine. Of course, we have no guarantee as to whether it will work with every foreign can, so keep this in mind before you buy. Having the proper can height is the most important factor in opening the can.

Also, please keep in mind that these robots are used, but in near-perfect condition. Returns are not accepted, but we do test every Robocco before they are sent out to ensure proper working order.

Simply click on any picture or HERE to access Robocco in our catalog.

Tags: beer, beverages, Campaigns, FMCG, Giveaways, Marketing, robots
Category: Technology & Gadget Trends
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