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We just recently visited Japanese robot maker Vstone’s flagship store in Akihabara for a detailed photo report. The company has now announced three mini humanoids, which are all part of their famous “Robovie” series of two-legged robots. Buyers can choose between a new Robovie-X model and two versions of Robovie-nano. Vstone is offering the three robots not as kits but as finished products.
The original version of Robovie-X was released back in February 2008, and Vstone sold a number of variations of X since. This version (”Robovie-X Complete Set”) stands 18cm tall, weighs 1.3kg and features a total of 17 joints in its body. Buyers can control the little guy (pictured on top) with a wireless remote control.
As the name suggests, Robovie-nano (pictured above) is X’s little brother. Nano is just 12cm tall and 575g heavy. Vstone started selling him in September last year. The company now offers a “controller version” (buyers get a wireless remote control) and a “special version” (Robovie-nano also comes with a gyroscope/accelerometer that’s also built into Robovie-X).
Robovie-X costs $1,450, while the Robovie-nano is priced at $800 (controller version) and $915 (special version). All three robots go on sale in mid-January. Upgrading Robovie-nano with a “grip set” so that he can old small objects (like the red ball seen above) will cost another $70.
Email Vstone directly if you’re interested in getting one of the robots but live outside Japan.
I don’t know what it is about Japan and USB, but Nippon just keeps on churning out USB-powered crap gadgets. Thanko is one of the Tokyo-based companies responsible for this phenomenon, the other is Greenhouse. And Greenhouse announced not one but two silly USB gadgets, memory sticks to be more exact in the last 48 hours: One is shaped like a cork [JP], the other like a mini light bulb [JP].
The cork version holds 2GB and weighs 13g.
The mini light bulb USB stick holds 2GB, too, and weighs 25g.
Greenhouse is selling the sticks for $35 each. As they’re Japan only, I suggest you contact the usual suspects, import/export specialists Japan Trend Shop, Geek Stuff 4 U or Rinkya, if you’re interested.
We 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.
Eager says their models are ideal for recycling as they are partly made of cardboard. The robots detect the presence of humans through sensors and start posing. Small motors placed in the elbows and shoulders enable the robots to bend their necks and arms. They can pose in a total of 12 variations.
Each robot weighs just 6kg. At the moment Eager is only offering female models, but the company is thinking about building male and child models, too. Future versions may even be able to “speak” in one way or the other.
Eager is selling the robotic mannequins to department stores and museums. One machine costs around $5,000.
Via The Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]
The special Michael Jackson PS3 bundle (PS3 plus “This Is It”, a documentary–concert film, on Blu-ray ) unveiled today by Sony Japan wasn’t the only relevant product announcement for Japanese Jacko fans today. Nagoya-based Hagiwara-Sys Com is to release the film on two very unique media [JP], namely on a USB flash memory and an SD card.
The USB memory stick version (2GB) is dubbed “PC Edition”. Buyers will get “This Is It” in WMV format with 720×406 resolution and 1.5Mbps bit rate (the music bit rate is 128kbps). The PC Edition requires Windows XP/Vista/7 and Windows Media Player 9. Users will need to be online the first time they want to watch This Is It in order for Hagiwara to certify it’s an original file.
The so-called “Mobile Edition” of the movie is stored on a 1GB SD card. Hagiwara is selling this version for people who want to watch This Is It on their cell phones. It’s not the first time a Japanese company distributes digital content on SD cards.
Both versions will be sold in an LP jacket (315×315mm) starting January 27. Hagiwara throws in a 24-page booklet in vinyl record design and four Michael Jackson post cards. Prices: $50 for the SD version and $70 for the USB stick version.
Hagiwara is a global company, but I doubt these media will ever be available anywhere outside Japan. I’d suggest you contact Japanese movie specialist CDJapan in case you’re interested.
It makes a lot of sense, but it seems to be hard to realize: Using the cell phone for instant voice translation of basic sentences whenever you're in a foreign country. But Toshiba is one of the companies working on this, and apparently they're almost ready to offer a decent solution.
Their translation software, in its current iteration, enables cell phones to interpret between English, Chinese and Japanese. Toshiba says that the database, used on their TG01 "smartphone" (pictured on the left), for example, boasts a database of 30,000 words spoken in each of these languages. Toshiba optimized existing PC software for use in cell phones, which obviously have less processing power.
Gamers who’ve always wanted to own a PSP in pink, here’s your chance: Sony Computer Entertainment Japan today announced [JP] exactly that, a limited edition of their handheld system in so-called blossom pink. Needless to say that technically, this pink PSP 3000 isn’t different from a standard model.
The new PSP will hit Japanese stores on March 4 as part of Sony’s spring product line-up (price: $180).
Sony also made an announcement regarding the PS3 today: Michael Jackson is huge in Japan, and he used to have strong ties with the company. The Michael Jackson documentary This Is It, for example, has been distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures Entertainment. And Japan’s Jacko fans can soon lay their hands on a special PS3 bundle [JP] that includes a Blu-ray of said documentary.
Priced at $350, the “Michael Jackson – This Is It Special Pack” will be available in Japan starting January 27.
Sony Music Japan has announced a pretty unusual product today, the so-called bdporter [JP]. It’s essentially a roll-front cabinet with a set of devices that’s geared toward home theater fans who look for a unique piece of furniture. Buyers will get a Sony Blu-ray player, a WXGA projector, surround headphones, active speakers and a 60-inch projector screen.
Sony Music says the bdporter is ideal for presentations in companies (which can move the cabinet from conference room to conference room). But the company is also marketing the cabinet for private use, as you can see in the picture above. Buyers can choose between four design patterns to make sure the cabinet fits nicely with their existing furniture. The cabinet is sized at 500mm×840mm×750mm.
Sony Music is offering the bdporter for a whopping $7,700. It’s Japan-only at this point.
USB 3.0 is just around the corner, with us having reported about more and more compatible devices in the last few months. And now Taiwan-based PC accessory maker VIA has readied the so-called VIA VL810 SuperSpeed Hub Controller, the world’s first USB 3.0 hub controller. It supports data transfer speeds of up to 5Gb/s and features one upstream and four downstream ports.
The controller is backwards compatible with USB 2.0, but data transfer rates are up to ten times slower in that case. The five ports support Hi-Speed (480Mbps), Full-Speed (12Mbps) and Low-Speed (1.5Mbps) data traffic. VIA says the controller is ideal for those users who, for example, need to backup HDDs or quickly move HD video files from one device to the other.
The company plans to demo the controller at the CES later this week.
TVs with Internet connectivity are nothing new, but this is pretty cool: As the world’s first TV makers, Panasonic and LG are cooperating with Skype to incorporate the software, which will make it possible to video chat in 720p HD quality, into TVs.
According to a Japanese media report [registration required, paid subscription], Americans will be able to buy the Pansasonic TVs first (as early as this spring), followed by Japanese and Europeans in the summer. Skype itself, however, speaks of a release in mid-2010 for both the LG and Panasonic TVs.
The Skype function, for which the report mentioned above says buyers have to pay “hundreds of dollars” more than for identical TVs without it, will be available in special VIERA models (the picture shows one Panasonic is currently selling in the US) and LG’s 26 LCD and plasma HDTVs with NetCast Entertainment Access.
Skype says the features include:
* Free Skype-to-Skype voice and video calls
* Calls to landline or mobile phones at Skype’s low rates
* The option to receive inbound calls via a user’s online Skype number
* Skype voicemail, if it is set up
* Being invited to participate in voice conference calls with up to 24 other parties
* Support for up to 720p HD video calls, depending on the availability of high-speed broadband and a HD webcam
The TVs will feature a microphone and a built-in video camera, which – according to Skype – can pick up sound and video from a couch-distance. Skype has set up a dedicated website for those TVs for more information (but the link is currently dead).
We all knew this would come one day, especially since the basic technology has been around for some time, and now we have it: A brain activity-powered remote control that can be used without you having to lift a finger. The Hitachi device is unfortunately just a prototype, but at least they’re planning to commercialize it within three to four years.
The technology is being developed not for lazy couch potatoes but for something that actually makes a lot of sense: Hitachi says they would like to see physically handicapped people using the remote control in the future (think about how many times a day you push buttons on your remote when watching TV).
All that users need to do is to think about changing channels or control the volume on a TV to make that happen (the technology can naturally be used for other appliances as well). A headset scans the user’s brain with near-infrared rays, measuring changes in blood flow (which indicate activity) in the brain. It then sends the brain signals to the remote control through optical fiber, making the remote beam infrared signals to the appliance in question.
Hitachi’s brain-machine interface system weighs just 1kg. The company says similar systems are as large as a fridge.
(My apologies for the small picture, which is the only one available at this point.)
Via Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]
If you ever wanted to watch movies stored on your computer (you know, the ones you legally downloaded from the web earlier) in style, Buffalo might have the right device for you. Their HD-AV2.0TU2 [JP], an external HDD, is currently Japan-only, but the company sells a good number of external storage solutions in other countries, for example the US, too (which means this new HDD might become available there in the future).
The main selling point of the HDD is the nice design. Technically, the device is just another USB 2.0 hard drive that holds 2 TB. In case you wonder: The blue dots indicate how much space is left on the drive (100% on the picture above).
The HD-AV2.0TU2 is already available in Japan where it costs $485 (available in piano black only). Buffalo also offers versions with 1.5TB ($250), 1TB ($190) and 500GB ($150) capacity. The devices are sized at 174×45×158mm.
About a year ago, I blogged about Yamaha’s portable room that you could set up in bigger rooms to have your well-deserved quiet time. And now another Japanese company called Tamada brings us something similar: The Depot Angel [JP] (what a name), a pre-fabricated basement that can be, again, used to enjoy some alone time, as a storage room or as anything you’d like it to be.
The main idea is to create additional space for Japanese households at relatively affordable prices. Seeing that real estate in Japan is (generally speaking) pretty expensive, it might make sense for some families in this country to get one Depot Angel and bury it under their house.
The female buyer you can see in the (Japanese) video below says her “artificial” basement is ideal for storing rice and vegetables as the room is relatively warm in winter and cool in summer. Tamada got the inspiration for the basements from those underground tanks gas stations use.
A Depot Angel that offers between 4.6 and 6.1sqm of space costs $21,000, whereas the top model (23sqm) has a price tag of $107,000. Buyers can choose between four different models, which range from 770 kg to over a ton in weight.
About a year ago, I blogged about Yamaha’s portable room that you could set up in bigger rooms to have your well-deserved quiet time. And now another Japanese company called Tamada brings us something similar: The Depot Angel [JP] (what a name), a pre-fabricated basement that can be, again, used to enjoy some alone time, as a storage room or as anything you’d like it to be.
The main idea is to create additional space for Japanese households at relatively affordable prices. Seeing that real estate in Japan is (generally speaking) pretty expensive, it might make sense for some families in this country to get one Depot Angel and bury it under their house.
The female buyer you can see in the (Japanese) video below says her “artificial” basement is ideal for storing rice and vegetables as the room is relatively warm in winter and cool in summer. Tamada got the inspiration for the basements from those underground tanks gas stations use.
A Depot Angel that offers between 4.6 and 6.1sqm of space costs $21,000, whereas the top model (23sqm) has a price tag of $107,000. Buyers can choose between four different models, which range from 770 kg to over a ton in weight.
Nani Kore (”What’s This?”) is the name of a Japanese TV show that digs up bizarre things and phenomena observed around the world and explains how they work. In the latest show, they presented a house in central Tokyo that proves solar power can be used in a residential setting without those expensive solar panels and cells.
Just take a set of orbs that look like giant light bulbs, install them on your roof and watch them reflecting the light of the sun into your house. This obviously just works during the day, but if you have buildings around your house that block the sunlight, the orbs might help to light up dark rooms and save electricity costs. And they look kind of cool, too.
Watch this video (clip in Japanese) to see how the roof orbs work:
Tube or valve amplifiers are electronic amplifiers that make use of vacuum tubes to boost the power of a signal. They’ve been around for decades, and some audio freaks still love the sound they help to produce. And they look kind of pretty, too. Reason enough for Hanwha Japan to come up with the US-0498 [JP], a PC speaker that looks like a tube amplifier (but isn’t one).
Connect the simple 38mm speaker to your Windows PC (Windows XP/Vista/7) via USB 2.0 and you’ll get 0.35W×2ch sound with 45db max. It needs two USB ports. The four tubes will start lighting up in blue when the music goes on.
Sized at 125x 98x 80mm (weight: 220g), the speaker is available in black or silver and costs $25. It’s Japan-only, so you might want to contact import/export specialists Japan Trend Shop, Geek Stuff 4 U or Rinkya if you’re interested in getting one.
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).
The so-called VStone Robot Center is a mild disappointment though. It’s located in the heart of Akihabara, but it’s very small (probably somewhere between 80-100sqm).
There are quite a few robots, but not really as many as you’d expect from a “robot center”. And some of those robots aren’t even for sale. What you can see on the picture above is the Cam Baby, a really ugly mini robot.
What should be a dream for robot fans out there is the number of robot-related accessories. I didn’t even understand what most of the hundreds and hundreds of robot-related parts and components were good for.
Vstone also offered their very own Tetsujin 28 and Black OX robots (see picture below).
It’s not a robot paradise, but if you’re are a robot fanatic, you should check this place out. Vstone has a decent English page with a map.
A big problem almost any robot nowadays has is limited agility. While this isn’t an issue for industrial and other “practical” robots, humanoids can only move in a slow, mechanical and chopping motion. Honda’s Asimo, for example, is considered super-advanced, but doesn’t move too elegantly either.
But Japan-based Himeji Softworks raises the bar in that area. Their JO-ZERO robot kit shows we haven’t reached that Nureyev level of elegance yet either, but it’s pretty impressive, especially since it’s the brainchild of a small venture. It can break-dance (sort of) and pull off a number of cool stunts.
One of the key points is that JO-ZERO’s back is bendable, which is not only quite unique but obviously boosts agility quite a bit. He has a total of 20 joints (four in each arm, five in each leg and two in the back) and weighs just 800g.
JO-ZERO stands 30cm tall. You can program him by yourself (Nakamura-san, his inventor, says it’s pretty easy) and remote-control him via infrared. His price: $1,300.
This video show how JO-ZERO moves (it gets better later). This is one amazing robot.
Groping women in trains (or anywhere, really) isn’t only happening in Japan, but this country with its big cities with trains that are full of people (=easy bait for gropers) everyday has a particularly big problem with molesters. It’s a crime, and it’s reported around 2,000 times yearly to police stations in Tokyo alone, prompting a big Japanese railway operator to think about installing security cameras within trains in order to catch gropers just recently.
And now a Japanese company called Mindbank [JP] has developed a solution for those people who fear to get wrongly accused of touching women in trains with their hands: Anti-groping gloves.
I’m not sure if this is a half joke/half serious product (like many of those silly Thanko USB gadgets), but Mindbank is actually selling the things (patent pending!). And accusing the wrong passengers on a train does happen, too.
The way it works is that you get plastic plates that you have to stick into the gloves before you can wear them, making it harder for men to pull off groping attacks. One glove and one plastic plate will set you back $18, meaning you’ll have to pay $36 for both hands to be absolutely sure. Inventor Shimoyama expects brisk demand especially from “fainthearted” train passengers.
A Japanese researcher called Hiroshi Liu has developed a robotic hummingbird, which, just a real one, can flutter freely in mid-air by rapidly moving its wings (up to n impressive 30 times per second). Liu, who works for Chiba University just outside Tokyo, says his hummingbird is powered by a small motor and has four wings. It can be remote-controlled through infrared.
The robo hummingbird can not only fly up and down but also in a figure of eight. Liu claims the little guy, who just weighs 2.6g, is more stable than a helicopter. It’s 10cm long, meaning it comes close to real hummingbirds in size and weight. According to his inventor, building micro robots is much harder than building large robots and requires specific knowledge not all robot makers have.
R&D costs stand at about $2 million so far, but those costs are likely to rise. By 2011, Liu plans to equip the robot with a micro camera. The main purpose of the hummingbird is to one day use it to rescue people in emergency situations (when a building has collapsed, for example) or to hunt down criminals.
Back in August, I blogged about Thanko’s Catgirl Earphones, which were shaped like cat ears. And today, the notorious Tokyo-based USB gadget maker started selling the so-called Hot Cat Gloves [JP]. A big day for the Cosplay crowd, especially those with a penchant for dressing up as a catgirl.
These things may appear totally silly, but Thanko says that the Catgirl Earphones from the summer are still their No. 1 selling item. And the company has to make money to keep their three (!) brick-and-mortar stores in Tokyo going somehow.
The Hot Cat Gloves can keep your fingers warm if you connect them to your computer’s USB port (they have a built-in heater). They weigh 145g.
Thanko sells the gloves for $35. Since the English store closed down earlier this year, you might want to contact import/export specialists Japan Trend Shop, Geek Stuff 4 U or Rinkya if you feel like buying something silly today.
Do you remember the so-called Crazy Earphones Tokyo-based gadget maker Solid Alliance released back in October? Apparently the silly things sold well, otherwise the company probably wouldn’t have updated [JP] the series, which consisted of sushi, bananas, cat paws and bolts.
The new Crazy Earphones are shaped like strawberries, Japanese swords, apples and ears. Yes, ears. They come with a cell phone connector and silicone caps sized S and M.
Solid Alliance plans to start selling the Crazy Earphones next month (for $22 per pair), and naturally, these are Japan-only. So if you live outside this country, I’d suggest you contact import/export specialists Japan Trend Shop, Geek Stuff 4 U or Rinkya.
Even though it’s now a Panasonic subsidiary, Sanyo lives on as its own brand. And one of the major reasons Panasonic bought the company is its “green” image, mainly achieved through selling products under the “eneloop” sub-brand. The latest of these products, the so-called eneloop music booster, was announced today. It’s a rechargeable DC 9V battery unit specifically designed for music devices.
Sanyo is marketing the product as a long-lasting 9V power source for effects units, amps, graphic equalizers, and multi-track recorders. These devices are usually powered by an AC adapter or a 9V dry-cell battery, both of which might not be available or run out at, say, a concert. Sanyo claims their lithium-ion eneloop battery (3.7 V, 7.35 Ah) can be used in locations without electricity to power those devices for hours. The maximum output is 2,000mA.
The standard usage times depend on what device is being used with the eneloop booster. They can be as high as 50 hours for analog effects units or as low as for electronic drums. But in any case, the booster can save musicians in “emergency” situations in which AC adapters won’t work or if there aren’t enough 9V dry batteries around. It takes 3.5 hours to fully charge the Sanyo battery.
The eneloop music booster will go on sale (in Japan first) on March 4, 2010. It will cost $110.
I’m not really sure if that’s something a lot of gadget freaks were waiting for, but here we go: TDK has found a cost-effective way to tint touchscreens. The company claims it can add color to transparent electrode sheets that serve as the basis of those screens. In the future, electrode sheets will be available in 13 colors, including red, green, blue, aquamarine, purple and black hues.
The main selling point here is to match the body of a given device with its touch screen.
Electrode sheets used in touch screens are made of a thin film of indium tin oxide. TDK says they produce these sheets by adding an adhesive layer to a resin film substrate, resulting in a film that can be placed down evenly. Organic pigments mixed in with the adhesive are used to color the sheets in a second step. TDK says they tested 50 kinds of pigments before getting a compound that’s color-stable and durable.
The company plans to start delivering samples and to begin mass production by April next year. Their sheets are not only suitable for cell phones or other portable gadgets but also for large screens, for example those of notebooks.
Via Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]
I’m not an RC gadget expert, but modding static model kits of space ships so that they’re water-proof and can be RC-controlled to make them then “fly underwater” seems like a very, very geeky thing to do to me. Take this 1/350 scale replica of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A space ship from Star Trek, for example.
Some person [JP] in Yokosuka, Japan, bought the static kit and transformed it into a space ship that can move and be RC-controlled underwater. The people belonging to the “underground” circle of these self-made gadgets call themselves “Aqua Modelers” and meet up on a regular basis [IT] to exchange ideas and show off their works each year. The last one apparently just took place a couple of days ago.
See the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A in action in the video below:
About a year ago, JVC started selling headphones with wooden housing in Japan, claiming the superior sound quality they bring justify the high price ($730). And today the company announced the HA-FX700 [JP], earphones partly made of wood. And we have the same things coming with it again: JVC promising high sound quality and a relatively high price.
The earphones operate in a 6Hz to 26kHz frequency at 16Ω, feature an overpressure value of 104dB/mW and support a maximum input of 200mW (IEC). They weigh 9.6g and come with ear pieces sized at S/M/L. Technically, the HA-FX700 is based on the HP-FX500 JVC introduced back in 2007.
The updated version will hit Japanese stores in February next year, costing a whopping $330. Ask Geek Stuff 4 U or the Japan Trend Shop in case you live outside Japan and are interested in these earphones.
Some of the older CrunchGear readers will surely remember the PyramidTalk, a clock that verbally announced the time and other information. Seiko started selling the clock in 1984, and it turned out to be a big worldwide hit, with sales ballooning to 200,000 units per year at its peak. And now, just in time for Christmas, consumers (in Japan, at least) can lay their hands on an updated version [JP].
The device is about 8cm tall, 10cm square and weighs 260g. Press the apex of the PyramidTalk once to hear what time it is and to see a blue LED lighting up (see picture below). Press it twice and the radio wave clock will verbally tell you the date, current temperature and humidity (in either Japanese or English). Needless to say, the PyramidTalk also serves as an alarm clock.
The clock is already available in Japan (in gold or white) where it costs $120.
If you’re interested in getting one, I’d suggest you contact import/export specialists Japan Trend Shop, Geek Stuff 4 U or Rinkya (Seiko itself hasn’t made an announcement yet concerning markets outside Japan).
He’ll be back: The awesome 1/1 scale Gundam statue that was erected on Tokyo’s artificial island Odaiba in June and that was deconstructed in September this year, will be seen again in its full glory. We reportedseveraltimes about the statue, which stands 60 feet tall and shows some cool special effects (see video below).
The only problem is that this time, Bandai, the company behind the PR stunt, decided to relocate the big guy to Shizuoka, a city 125 miles west of Tokyo. A Bandai spokesperson said Gundam will come to life again in June next year, at the East exit of Shizuoka Main Station.
Shizuoka isn’t really that famous a place for tourists, but I guess the statue’s awesomeness might even be enough for visitors from other countries to make the trip from Tokyo (where Bandai says a total of four million people came to see it in the summer). And Gundam is much cooler than the Gigantor statue standing in Kobe anyway.
Here’s a Gundam video showing the Gundam statue in Tokyo in action:
Earlier this year, we reportedtwice about Japan’s serious plans to go to outer space to generate solar energy and then beam it back to Mother Earth. And today, Sharp has shown the first solar cell that’s not only bendable (we’ve seen thatbefore) but that also withstands conditions in space. In addition, the company says those cells boast a record-high solar efficiency of 36%.
The compound solar cells can not only be bent if needed but even folded. They are less than 20 microns thick and are made by stacking up single crystals of indium gallium, gallium arsenide and indium gallium arsenide. These single-crystal layers are grown on solid substrates before transferring them onto a flexible film base. As a result, the solar cells feature extreme flexibility material-wise.
There’s only a prototype available at this point (sorry for the small picture), but Sharp is working on getting a practical version ready in 2012. The solar cells can then be used for equipping satellites and other space applications.
Via Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]
Good news for Panasonic in the last 48 hours. The company announced yesterday that it now officially turned Sanyo into a subsidiary after acquiring a 50.27% stake in its smaller rival. The merger was in the makingforseveralmonths, and Panasonic paid a whopping $4.4 billion to make it happen. So we now have Japan’s second largest electronics maker in terms of sales (Hitachi is still the biggest).
And one day later, Tuesday morning Japanese time, Panasonic announced another accomplishment: The company has completed the world’s largest plant for plasma panels. It’s located in Amagasaki in Southern Japan and is ready to produce the largest PDPs in the industry (Panasonic says panels sized at 330 centimeters by 190 cm can now be mass-produced).
The company seems to believe there’s still a lot of room for flat TV sales and has big plans for the near future. Its new plasma panel plant will begin full-scale operation next month, producing 120,000 42-inch plasma panels per month.
Panasonic aims at offering a total of 30 million plasma and LCD TVs in fiscal 2012, double the amount for fiscal 2009. Another new plant is scheduled to begin producing LCD TVs in July 2010.
It’s another humanoid from Japan, it doesn’t have an official name yet, but it’s pretty cool: This new robot [JP] is the result of a collaboration between various Japanese companies and institutions, namely the Nippon Institute of Technology, Harada Vehicle Design [JP], ZMP and ZNUG Design. Based technically on ZMP’s Nuvo robot, it stands 1.26m tall and weighs 15kg.
He’s powered by a lithium ion battery and has 21 joints (three in his head, six in each leg and three in each arm). There’s also a camera, a gyro sensor, an accelerometer, a distance sensor, an infrared sensor and a pyroelectric sensor in his body. Pretty unusual even for such an advanced robot: He also has a fully functional video projector in his body. Needless to say, the Megaman-lookalike can “hear” and “speak”, too.
The main purpose of the humanoid is to send it to schools so that children can learn about robotics through a real, finished product. But the little guy isn’t a prototype that’s limited to educational institutions: You can actually buy him for $77,000.
It makes a lot of sense, but it seems to be hard to realize: Using the cell phone for instant voice translation of basic sentences whenever you're in a foreign country. But Toshiba is one of the companies working on this, and apparently they're almost ready to offer a decent solution.
Their translation software, in its current iteration, enables cell phones to interpret between English, Chinese and Japanese. Toshiba says that the database, used on their 
Good news for Panasonic in the last 48 hours. The company 
