Featured Stories
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WeatherBug Debuts HTML5 Mobile Lightning Widget for Developers at SXSW
08 March 2013 9:00 PM | No Commentsvar AdBrite_Title_Color = '0000FF'; var AdBrite_Text_Color = '000000'; var AdBrite_Background_Color = 'FFFFFF'; var AdBrite_Border_Color = 'CCCCCC'; var AdBrite_URL_Color = '008000'; try{var AdBrite_Iframe=window.top!=window.self?2:1;var AdBrite_Referrer=document.referrer==''?document.location:document.referrer;AdBrite_Referrer=encodeURIComponent(AdBrite_Referrer);}catch(e){var AdBrite_Iframe='';var AdBrite_Referrer='';} document.write(String.fromCharCode(60,83,67,82,73,80,84));document.write(' src="http://ads.adbrite.com/mb/text_group.php?sid=2053203&zs=3436385f3630&ifr='+AdBrite_Iframe+'&ref='+AdBrite_Referrer+'" type="text/javascript">');document.write(String.fromCharCode(60,47,83,67,82,73,80,84,62)); AUSTIN, Texas & GERMANTOWN, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Just in time for severe weather season, WeatherBug is unveiling its new...
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First NSTIC Pilot Goes Live with Secure Online Identity Verification via Smartphone
08 March 2013 4:54 PM | No CommentsRESTON, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Daon®, a leading provider of identity management and authentication solutions worldwide, and the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), today announced that AAAE is the initial pilot participant to...
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Faith Wonderworks Establishes Infant and Child Educational App Specialty Label “Kids App Planet”
08 March 2013 9:56 AM | No CommentsTOKYO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Faith Wonderworks, Inc. (FWW) that is known for its mobile entertainment site in Japan established “Kids App Planet”- a new label specializing in educational for smartphones and tablets geared for...
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Rokform Announces the Updated RokShield v3 iPhone 5 Case
07 March 2013 5:00 PM | No CommentsSANTA ANA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Rokform®, a leading manufacturer of functional and creative cases and accessories, announces the updated RokShield v3 case now being solely made...
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Incredimail Recreates the Email Experience
07 March 2013 3:00 PM | No CommentsTEL AVIV, Israel & SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Perion Network Ltd. (NASDAQ: PERI), developer of the leading email client Incredimail, today debuted its latest version of Incredimail, forever changing the email experience for iPad...
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Osaka Archive
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M3-Kindy and Noby: Japan gets two scary kid robots (video)
Posted on June 11, 2010 | No Comments
Remember M3-neony and M3-synchy, two humanoid robots from Japan we've shown you back in March? Well, it seems Japan still doesn't have enough of creepy kid-like robots, as the so-called JST Erato Asada Project in Osaka today unveiled [JP] another two: M3-Kindy and Noby.
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Meguru: Japan’s bamboo-powered electric car (videos)
Posted on May 21, 2010 | No CommentsIt looks much like a rickshaw, but the so-called Meguru [JP] is more of an electric car than a human-powered cart. Jointly developed by Osaka-based Yodogawa and Kinki Knives Industries, the Meguru is powered by a lithium-ion battery that, once fully charged, offers a travel distance of 25 miles. The vehicle, which is actually registered as a car, reaches a top speed of 25mph.
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Daily Crunch: Pakt Like Sardines Edition
Posted on May 20, 2010 | No CommentsGood idea: spot for briefcase on a bike. Bad idea: bike costs $1300 Woah, these laptop bags made from recycled fire hose look awesome Mitsubishi installs five 80-person capacity elevators at office building in Osaka Squishy batteries that fit A through D – probably not going to happen Contest: 10 free copies of Armored Core: Last Raven for PSP -
Mitsubishi installs five 80-person capacity elevators at office building in Osaka
Posted on May 19, 2010 | No Comments
Mitsubishi Electric today announced [PDF] it has installed five 80 person-capacity elevators at an office building in Osaka, which opened two weeks ago. The elevators, Japan's largest, can carry 5,250 kilograms in load and offer a floor space of 9.52 square meters. That means that theoretically, up to 400 people could go up the 41 floors of said office building at once.
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Maido-kun: Japan plans to send humanoid to the moon by 2015
Posted on April 28, 2010 | No Comments
Japan loves robots, we know that much. Last year, the Japanese government announced it plans to to send a robot to the moon by 2020 (that was to be joined by a human astronaut 10 years later). Today, the Osaka-based "Space Oriented Higashiosaka Leading Association" (SOHLA) announced [JP, PDF] a quite similar undertaking: putting a robot on the moon by 2015.
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Videos: Tower robot Tsutenkaku conquers Akihabara, meets Asimo
Posted on April 22, 2010 | No Comments
Remember Tsutenkaku, "the world's biggest" robot? Tsutenkaku, basically a 170cm tall robot that looks like a city tower, recently made the journey from Osaka (where he was made and is supposed to attract tourists) from Tokyo. Needless to say, he first went to Akihabara, Tokyo's robot geek paradise, and while he was there, Tsutenkaku met Honda's famous humanoid Asimo, too.
Tsutenkaku looks weird on pictures, but he's actually much, much weirder on video.
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Watch the world’s tallest robot Tsutenkaku in action (weird video)
Posted on March 23, 2010 | No Comments
We've covered Tsutenkaku, a Japanese robot that looks like a tower to promote tourism in the city of Osaka, just last week. Standing 170cm tall, his makers claim Tsutenkaku [JP] is the tallest robot in the world. And now he finally showed himself in the public, during a street festival that took place over the weekend in Osaka's shopping district of Nipponbashi.
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Meet Tsutenkaku, a robot that looks like a tower (video)
Posted on March 16, 2010 | No Comments
Japan has a lot of different robots so why not develop one that looks like a tower - even if it may make no sense whatsoever? That's what a total of seven Japanese companies thought and built the Tsutenkaku Robotto [JP] (Tsutenkaku roughly translates to "tower that extends to the sky"). And as the name suggests, the robot is pretty tall: 170cm.
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ENON: Fujitsu robot talks shoppers into buying stuff (videos)
Posted on January 11, 2010 | No Comments
We saw Fujitsu's "service robot" ENON back in October 2008 during the CEATEC exhibition in Chiba/Japan (see video below), and it seems the friendly guy has been selling well in the meantime. The robot can be used as an information terminal, for entertainment purposes, patrolling, assistance etc. And last weekend, ENON could be seen in the wild, namely in a shopping mall in Osaka.
That specific ENON spent the entire Saturday interacting with customers. Equipped with a camera and face recognition software, the robot is capable of detecting a human's gender and age. Combine this with ENON's ability to "speak" and move around, and you get a store clerk of a very different kind.
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Recyclable mannequin robots
Posted on January 7, 2010 | No CommentsWe have seen mannequin robots already, machines that may sometime replace real models in fashion shows and similar events. Needless to say that the company behind those robots is based in Japan. And it was clear that the first robot maker marketing a new line of robots as "recyclable" would come out of the same country, too. And Osaka-based Eager [JP] is combining both ideas by offering recyclable mannequin robots.
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CrunchGear visits top robot store Vstone in Akihabara (photo report)
Posted on December 30, 2009 | No Comments
We've covered robots from Japan-based robot developer and retail store Vstone a few times in the past. Reason enough for me (I live in Japan) to go and have a good look at Vstone's flagship store in Akihabara, Tokyo's electronic district, and make a few pics (the company itself is headquartered in Osaka).
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Report: Sharp and Philips agree on LCD TV deal
Posted on December 17, 2009 | No Comments
The consolidation process in the TV business continues and now even becomes international. Just last month, Sharp inked a "historical" joint venture deal with former rival Sony, agreeing to supply LED backlights to Sony for their LCD TVs (which happened this month).
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Report: Sony and Sharp shake hands in another LCD TV deal
Posted on November 17, 2009 | No Comments
Globally speaking, there is one clear leader in the LCD TV business: Samsung. The company commands a 23.2% share in this segment, with Sony (13.7%) and Sharp (7%) almost hopelessly behind (according to DisplaySearch). So in June this year already, Sony and Sharp inked a joint venture deal to produce LCD TVs together. And today, the Nikkei (Japan's biggest business publication), reports that the two former arch rivals decided to further expand their alliance.
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New device for home-use analyzes sleep disorder patterns
Posted on November 13, 2009 | No Comments
Measuring and monitoring brain waves to analyze why people have problems with sleeping isn't an easy task. Normally, patients need to be examined in special laboratories and wear head sets with up to eight electrodes over a certain period of time. But now Osaka-based Siix Corporation and the Osaka Bioscience Institute Foundation have developed a simple device that makes it possible to measure and monitor sleep-related brain waves in the comfort of your own home.
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Japanese company demos hydrogen-powered electric bike