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June 29, 2009 12:23 PM PDT

Doraemon TV anime turns 30, birthday bot to follow

by Juniper Foo
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Doraemon robot

Look, no ears for Doraemon. These were apparently eaten off by rats! No wonder this blue cat despises rodents.

(Credit: Bandai Japan)

Claws unsheathed. If you remember the Hello Kitty ROBO back when the pink feline celebrated her 30th anniversary, it looks like there may be a cat fight in the works. Doraemon, the cat-like robot from the 24th century, is about to get its own birthday bot for 30 years of TV anime. Bandai Japan's will unleash a 6.3-inch-tall robot called, drumroll... "My Doraemon."

Here's where the one-upmanship comes in. While ROBO sports a rather fixed stare and is mostly stationary, Doraemon employs e-paper eyes capable of expressing up to 10 different emotions. It also has a light and motion sensor to react to where it is, as well as a clock and temperature sensor that lets it respond with "good morning," "good night," and other preset sentences.

Doraemon is a Japanese manga series that later became an anime series and an Asian franchise. The birthday bot, slated for a September 6 launch in Japan, is a bit pricey at 31,500 yen ($350) for such a tiny thing. Then again, anime fans of Doraemon probably know this anniversary collectible will likely have a short run. Blink, and it's gone.

Doraemon robot

Smaller in real life than in anime, Doraemon's bot stands about 6.3 inches short.

(Credit: Bandai Japan)

(Source: Crave Asia via New Launches)

January 10, 2008 3:58 AM PST

Let Doraemon control all your remotes

by Mike Yamamoto
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(Credit: Epoch)

Those uninitiated in the world of anime might not be familiar with Doraemon, a robotic manga cat from the future that's known for its infinite Inspector Gadget-like supply of gizmos. One of the Japanese character's many tools, Tokyomango says, is an air gun that could fire a fake bullet simply by the voice command of "Bang!"

Epoch has taken that concept and turned it into a real-life device, a voice-activated control that can take over the functions of regular remotes with built-in IR signals already programmed into it. The result, if all works correctly, is a Doraemon "pistol" that can be worn on your finger and can control the functions of up to four devices with just a "bang" or two.

It even comes with its very own Doraemon, which will take care of it when you're done. All of which sounds infinitely more fun than those tired old Phasers and Lightsabers.

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