More Wacky Japanese Stuff

[ZenGum]

I hadn't thought of that application ... but if I knew how to google it in Japanese, I'm sure rule 34 would apply.
Although it looks like the camera would point downwards a bit, might not work too well.

[Urruke]

Mac mini case.... O.o

[ZenGum]

Now here's something we all need.

Toymaker Bandai will release in November a new gadget that recreates the sensation of ripping open the serrated top of a candy box, the company has announced.

Peel back the top of Bandai's new "Mugen Peri Peri" (endless ripper) toy to get the sensation of opening the serrated lid of a cardboard box of candies. The device, made of materials like ABS plastic and synthetic rubber, also produces the sounds of the box being opened, including the sound of the cardboard tearing.

Mugen Peri Peri is the third product in Bandai's popular "mugen" (infinite) series, preceded by the "Mugen Puchi Puchi," a virtual bubble wrap device that reproduces the sensation of popping the bubbles, and the "Mugen Edamame," a bean-shaped toy that recreates the sensation of pushing peas out of a pod. Bandai has sold 2.5 million units of the Mugen Puchi Puchi and 1.3 million units of the Mugen Edamame.

Priced at 998 yen [appx $10], the Mugen Peri Peri will go on sale Nov. 22 in a range of four colors. Considering the success of the first two models in the series, Bandai expects to sell 500,000 units of the new product by the end of the current fiscal year.

Is this as good as the remote controlled shark?

[wolf]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

Now here's something we all need.

Attachment 19691

Your article didn't mention banana and beer can!

http://www.jlist.com/SEARCH/mugen

[Sundae]

The only thing I buy that opens with a cardboard strip is pouches of catfood.
And being able to recreate that would just mean infinite guilt... I only buy them for Hely because she won't eat chicken like Diz, and I worry about the amount of additives.

[ZenGum]

The FuA-Men (Fully Automated raMen) restaurant in Nagoya, Japan features a chef and assistant — both fully autonomous robots. The robots perform all of the cooking tasks needed to make eighty bowls per day, serving the customers who come to their small shop.

When asked, customers seem to feel that there is little difference between noodle dishes prepared by real, human chefs, and meals prepared by autonomous robots. For those who appreciate precision in food preparation, you can't beat robot chefs.

"The benefits of using robots as ramen chefs include the accuracy of timing in boiling noodles, precise movements in adding toppings and consistency in the taste and temperature of the soup," said Kenji Nagaya, president of local robot manufacturer Aisei.

The two chefs also work very well together; their movements are perfectly choreographed.

SNIP

The FuA-men robotic chefs also work hard to entertain customers. They engage in manzai play, a stand-up comedy style popular in Japan. One robot pretends to threaten with a knife - the other picks up a pot lid to defend itself.

Here they are in action. Watch near the end for some impressive plate spinning and the knife bit.

[Crimson Ghost]

Cornhole Board.

Ned Beatty once had his cornhole bored...

[Shawnee123]

Oh wow...that's from a long time ago!

I have cornhole boards but no bags. Talk about vaguely pornographic!

[wolf]

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

I have cornhole boards but no bags. Talk about vaguely pornographic!

Completely pornographic. Those are not game boards. They are portable glory holes.

[Shawnee123]

That explains that woman who keeps hanging out underneath one of them.

[ZenGum]

I shouldn't laugh, but I did.

Student drowns while testing concrete canoe

OSAKA -- A university student here died after a test on a concrete canoe in the Yodogawa River went disastrously awry on Sunday afternoon.

The body of Ken Kitamura, 19, was found by firefighters at the bottom of the river, about an hour after the canoe capsized. He was taken to hospital, but died shortly afterwards. Another student in the canoe managed to swim safely back to the bank.

Kitamura, a student at the Osaka Institute of Technology, built the canoe along with other members of the university's civil engineering culture research club.

Kitamura was not wearing a life jacket. Police are continuing to investigate.

[ZenGum]

Cute? Or creepy? Certainly fills a growing niche.

Japanese researchers have created a robot nurse that can lift elderly patients from wheelchairs and beds. Naturally, it looks like a giant teddy bear. Riba, short for Robot for Interactive Body Assistance, was developed by the state-run Riken research center. Promoters are calling it the world's first robot to lift people in its arms.

Riba can move patients weighing up to 134 pounds in its foam-padded paws and transfer them from beds to wheelchairs. Its cute face is designed to make the 400-pound robot less imposing. Very kawaii.

Riba can also recognize faces and voices and respond to voice commands. There are no plans for immediate commercialization, according to Riken, but it will be deployed to hospitals over the next five years.

[Clodfobble]

Riba can move patients weighing up to 134 pounds

It'll never work outside Japan, with those numbers.

[dar512]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

It'll never work outside Japan, with those numbers.

Nor inside Japan among the Sumo wrestlers.

[wolf]

Robonurse looks much friendlier than, but not more useful than a Hoyer lift.

Very reminiscent of the Cyberdyne video that leads in to Terminator 3-D at Universal ... the part where the mom tucks her kid in?