Crave

Gesture-recognition interfaces for cell phones are closer to reality with technology from the University of Tokyo that lets you operate your phone or mobile device without laying a finger on it.

Researchers at the Ishikawa Komuro Laboratory have created a "vision-based input interface for mobile devices" through which users can type words by pointing in the air. There's no dialing demo in the video below, though that would presumably be just as simple.

(Credit: Video screenshot by Tim Hornyak/CNET)

Unlike gestural interfaces such as MIT's SixthSense, the system does not require special colored finger markings to track gestures.

A single high-speed camera running at 154 frames per second embedded in the device follows finger positions in 3D, while a frequency filter isolates "clicking" gestures.

By clicking on a virtual keyboard displayed on the screen, users can type. This would seem a lot slower than typing on a cell phone keyboard, but faster than old-fashioned letter selection on a keypad.

Another application, seen in the video, is 3D fingertip painting. Midair finger movements are translated into lines projected on a 3D space.

The system currently can only track one finger, but five is theoretically possible, according to a report by the Nikkan Kogyo newspaper.

Japanese companies including Toshiba and Pioneer have also been developing gesture-recognition interfaces. At the Ceatec 2009 gadget show, Hitachi demonstrated a prototype Gesture Remote Control that lets users change the settings on a TV screen by waving at it.

(Via Gigazine)

(Credit: NY Daily News)

In middle school, I had to dissect an earthworm, a snail, a frog, and a fetal pig. I did not like doing this. It's not that I was some animal-rights activist, I just found it to be thoroughly disgusting. I decided then in the eighth grade that under no circumstances was I going to be a doctor.

Instead, I became an Internet blogger who writes stories about this new transparent goldfish being developed in Japan. The idea is that taking dead things apart to see how they work is gross. The solution is to mess with nature to the point that you can see how an animal works while it's still alive. That's also gross, but at least you don't feel like you have to sterilize your hands after your study so you can eat lunch.

What's great is that Mie University, the school that's developed the goldfish, fully expects to offer the breed--called ryukin--for sale to the public. It expects the fish to get up to five pounds and to live for up to 20 years. I'm imagining a pond of these could be awesome in a "gross I can see its guts" kind of way. I want one.

Researchers at Japan's Chiba University are developing a hummingbird-style flying robot that could be used to find people trapped in collapsed buildings, search for criminals, or even explore other planets.

Engineering professor Hiroshi Liu said the micro air vehicle, or MAV, is equipped with a mini motor that allows it to flap its wings up to 30 times per second--roughly in the same range as a hummingbird.

(Credit: Chiba University)

The remote-controlled ornithopter is nearly 4 inches long and weighs about 0.09 ounces. Its rechargeable battery allows for six minutes of flying time, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.

It has four polyethylene wings and apparently can be more stable in figure-eight flight than a helicopter, though Liu has yet to make it hover in mid-air.

In earthquake-prone Japan, finding victims in destroyed buildings could be one application of the ornithopter. Liu said it could also be used to track criminals or explore Mars from the air.

Other MAVs in development already have indoor navigation, outdoor navigation, and features that mimic nature. Liu's robot, though, is one of the smallest and most lightweight in its class. He plans to equip it with a tiny camera in the next few months.

It would then be in competition with the DelFly Micro, a similar-sized ornithopter from Delft University of Technology that already carries a camera. The Dutch machine is slightly heavier at 0.1 ounces and can only fly for three minutes. Check out a video of it here.

The Chiba University project cost has already topped $2 million. Liu has drawn inspiration from nature in the design and optimization of MAV wings, running biomechanical simulation models on a supercomputer to find the best wing shape.

(Via Physorg and Agence France-Presse)

(Credit: Physorg.com)

The cell could be available in Japan around fiscal 2011, according to the interview with Panasonic President Fumio Otsubo, carried on Physorg.com. Fiscal 2011 in Japan begins April 1, 2010.

The electronics giant has been developing fuel cell home cogeneration systems. But it recently took majority control of Sanyo Electric and is expected to take advantage of Sanyo's rechargeable battery and solar-power know-how.

Panasonic and Sanyo have apparently already test-manufactured the storage cell and plan to sell it with a power-monitoring system that displays consumption on home TVs.

Via Physorg.com .

(Credit: Ishikawa Komuro Laboratory at the University of Tokyo)

If you've seen the film "Avatar," you may have noticed one of the characters plucking a display panel from a desktop and continuing to use it as a standalone control screen. While we probably won't witness epic wars between human colonists and sapient humanoids in the near future, the technology depicted in the science fiction film is available in our current time, albeit in unrefined form.

At the recent computer graphics event Siggraph Asia 2009, a pair of researchers from the University of Tokyo's Ishikawa Komuro Laboratory demonstrated their Volume Slicing Display, a screen prototype developed for medical use. With it, radiologists would be able to view 3D imagery from a flat X-ray plate via a calibrated projector.

The technology essentially lets users experience 3D virtual objects in a physical environment. This could mean doctors visualizing cross sections of a brain in real time while walking around an operating theater, for example.

The setup apparently comprises only plexiglass or paper, one or more projectors, and ARTookit markers that can be made with off-the-shelf hardware. While this doesn't sound as exciting as what's shown in the film, at least we know we may get there in the future. 2148, perhaps?

(Source: Crave Asia)

(Credit: Nippon Institute of Technology)

Classrooms in Japan may soon welcome a new 4-foot-tall educational humanoid robot unveiled by Nippon Institute of Technology and other groups.

It will be used to teach software programming and hardware engineering to students, but will also be demonstrated in elementary schools and nursing homes. It will act as a "teacher" in class along with a human teacher.

As explained in Japanese in the video below, the kid-size bot doesn't have a name yet. With its boyish voice, the robot can be heard asking people to give it a "cool name." It then does some dancing and balancing on one leg.

But some details are available. It tips the scales at 33 pounds and has 21 degrees of mechanical freedom. It's equipped with sensing devices including a camera, accelerometers, and gyroscopes, and has a small projector in its head. It can be programmed with Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio.

The price tag is about $132,000, according to Robot Watch.

Its body was engineered by Tokyo robot firm ZMP, known for its small but stylish Nuvo bot. The underlying e-nuvo Humanoid platform is intended for education and research, and is priced around $77,000. The exterior was designed by Znug Design studio.

More photos at the Robot Watch page (in Japanese).

No word yet on how the robot will punish bad students.

(Credit: Crave Asia)

Most of us are familiar with haptics on touch-screen phones. The feedback technology uses vibrating pulses to replace the tactility of, for example, pressing a physical button. At the recent computer graphics event Siggraph Asia 2009, a team of researchers from Japan's University of Tsukuba demonstrated what they can do with haptics by letting users "feel" a remote object.

The prototype system comprises a laser range finder, computer, and haptics generator. By placing the device on a glass casing (we are very familiar with this as many companies like to put their prototype devices in a see-no-touch environment) and using the laser to measure the distance from the panel to the actual object, the user can "feel" the latter via the pulses that are generated.

According to the literature (PDF), the reaction force is determined by the distance between the handheld device and the actual object. Users supposedly can feel details such as texture when the magnification factor is increased. The researchers say the system can be used for educating viewers valuable exhibits and inspection of engineering products. We just want to get one of these before we attend another mega-scale event like CES.

(Source: Crave Asia)

(Credit: ATR)

A humanoid robot has been deployed to a supermarket in Japan to help senior shoppers with their grocery purchases.

The modified version of the Robovie II robot developed by Japan's Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International, or ATR, is working as a temporary shopping assistant at Apita-Seikadai supermarket in Kyoto until March. It's another experiment to test the viability of advanced personal robots in everyday situations.

Robovie can wirelessly receive a list of items selected beforehand by the customer, carry the shopping basket, and make recommendations about what to buy.

In the video below, the robot slowly follows a 67-year-old woman around the supermarket, carrying her basket, as they are followed by reporters. Robovie keeps telling the lady that the fruit she puts in the basket looks delicious, to which she agrees. It then suggests lettuce for a salad.

ATR's Robovie series has been developed into several machines. Some have been used as crowd monitors to detect people who are lost, while others have been miniaturized as hobby robots.

Via Pink Tentacle