seiko

TOKYO--Walking into Mikami Seiko's installation "Desire of Codes" feels like taking a trip into the mind of a robot.

In a large, dark room, cameras on articulated robotic arms swing from the ceiling and track your face, only inches away.

On a nearby wall, 90 small robotic arms, some equipped with sensors and cameras, whirr and click like so many metallic caterpillars as they track your movements.

They're watching you and recording you, then mixing the footage in a giant projection at the rear of the space. Like an enormous insect eye, it shows a multifaceted pastiche of quick clips taken in the room as well as from surveillance cameras around the world. Check out this video of a previous version.

The effect is disorienting. Welcome to the machine. … Read more

Remember the adorable little Murata Girl, aka Seiko-chan? The unicycle-riding robot out of Japan has gotten an upgrade. Now, in addition to riding forward and backward at 2 inches per second and idling in place, she can ride a curved balance beam less than an inch wide--without falling off.

Robot circus, here she comes.

In all fairness, Seiko-chan was previously able to navigate a straight balance beam, but being able to ride an S-shaped beam clearly ups her value as a performer.

Seiko-chan stands about 19 inches tall, weighs about 13 pounds, and can be controlled via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. … Read more

We have an especially fun episode for y'all today, with a comparison between Transformers 2 and GI Joe, a brief rundown of old video game movies, the decade's biggest tech flops, and OF COURSE: The 404 Semi-Weekly Audio Draft Sponsored by Beck's Beer in conjunction with Last.FM, a subsidiary of CBS Interactive and CNET News and Reviews 5000!

Man, the preshow this morning got HEATED! In a joking way, of course. You really have to be there for Friday morning preshows in the live chatroom. The buzz this morning was about Jeff seeing "Bruno," and actually LIKING IT! This is, of course, in contrast to Wilson totally despising the flick, blaming the overuse of phallic objects used only to make the audience feel uncomfortable. If you saw that movie and have an opinion, leave a comment on here and help us settle this argument!

That conversation in the preshow leads us to talk about the latest from AintitCool News, who claim that "GI Joe" is a better movie than "Transformers 2"! This is actually pretty surprising to us because we saw the trailer for "GI Joe," and it seriously looked awful, although it'd be hard to make a worse movie than "Transformers 2." I guess it's a "lesser of two evils" sort of thing. Early reviews coming in claim that the "GI Joe" movie should be taken with a large grain of salt, since the tone is similar to that of the original "Street Fighter" movie.

After talking about video game movies for awhile, we finally get to our favorite segment, the OFFICIAL 404 Semi-Weekly Audio Draft Sponsored by Beck's Beer in conjunction with Last.FM, a subsidiary of CBS Interactive and CNET News and Reviews 5000! Today's pick is Mayer Hawthorne, a 29-year-old music junkie from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who makes retro-sounding soul music in the vein of such artists as Isaac Hayes, Leroy Hudson, and Barry White. His music tips its hat to the old Motown days between 1966 and 1974, when scratchy instruments and smooth falsettos dominated the waves. Hawthorne definitely draws inspiration from those artists, but also layers his own style into the mix with breakbeat production and a gallery of horn instruments that every generation can get into. He's currently on the popular hip-hop label Stones Throw and has a few singles out, but his new album, "A Strange Arrangement," is due out in the fall. For now, check out his page and today's track, "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out," and let us know what you think!

If there's one thing that's never in short supply on Crave, it's odd trends. But here's one that we never saw coming: labels.

Not only can we make labels using only a mouse, as we learned a few days ago, but now we can include photos grabbed from Webcams as well. Seiko has released a software update for its "Smart Label Printer" that works with many Webcam models on the market today, according to Electronista.

One day soon we suspect we'll be printing labels without the label maker.

Seiko was once known for its coveted high-end watches, often sporting the latest timepiece technologies. For several years on the U.S. market, however, it's been associated more with department store displays that cram watches into their cases like passengers on Tokyo subways.

But the watchmaker is showing that it hasn't lost its techno-mojo by trotting out its "Spectrum" model, which features a display that uses high-contrast electronic ink from the aptly named partner E Ink. On display at Switzerland's BaselWorld show this week, the watch has a "360-degree continuous sapphire crystal" and … Read more