Tokyo Times

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Technology Stuff

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Synthetic sakura

Cherry blossom season is an important part of the Japanese calendar, and for those who wish they could see the beautiful blossoms all year round, lighting company Ryoukou has kindly stepped in with a man-made version.

fake cherry blossom

A spokesperson said, “This is the flower that has been loved and admired by the Japanese since ancient times. We have reproduced this cherry blossom to perfection so we can show the rest of the world.”

To achieve this, each tree is fitted with 7,680 light-emitting diodes that are spread over 40 branches. Creating an effect that Ryoukou claims will be “relaxing and comforting for others”.

There are however a few drawbacks. As you can imagine, 40 branches will require a lot of space, and the whole thing weighs in at a rather hefty 500 kg. Although these potential pitfalls are nothing compared to the price tag. The white blossom version will set you back a whopping 3.5 million yen (17,500 pound). But thankfully it’s not all doom and gloom, as for those willing to make do with a mixture of white and red lights, one can be picked up for the bargain bin price of 2.65 million yen (13,250 pound).

And if that isn’t enough to tempt you, the tree consumes no more than 410 watts of power. Making it both comforting and cost-effective.

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Moving mannequin

Electronics company Flower Robotics Inc. has developed Palette, a mechanized female mannequin that can copy the movements of models and pose for passing customers.

palette moving mannequin

Designer Tatsuya Matsui said that, “Mannequins have been static, but this will pose for the nearest person by sensing his or her position. It makes the product the mannequin wears look more attractive, increasing consumers’ appetite to buy.”

But selling clothes isn’t the mannequin’s only job. The use of motion-capture technology to mimic the movements of supermodels will inevitably draw people to Palette, as will the ability to pose for individual customers. But she (perhaps inevitably) also has more covert capabilities.

It is planned to program the mannequin to judge the age and sex of passing shoppers, and also identify the bags they are carrying. This information will then be passed on to the store for marketing purposes.

When it goes on sale later this year, two models will be available. One with a whole body except legs, and another with just an upper torso to display jewelry. Matsui however hopes to eventually produce a mannequin with legs, plus male and child models. All of them presumably equipped with marketing technology.

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Yawning Yumel

As Japan’s birthrate continues to fall, and its elderly get ever older, toy manufacturers have been quick to latch on to the new mature market. Last year’s Ifbot is a prime example, but despite its maker claiming the robot has the conversational ability of a 5-year-old, a price tag of 576,000 yen (2,880 pound) is enough to stretch even the most prosperous of pensioners.

Thankfully for the less affluent aged, Tomy has stepped in with its new Yumel doll. And at a cost of only 8,500 yen (42 pound), it means that potential buyers still have plenty of money left to stuff in tin boxes or squander at the local bingo hall.

yumel

Tomy’s new toy is being billed as a ‘healing’ doll, and whereas similar products are aimed at daytime use, Yumel is being touted as a nighttime companion. Project leader Osamu Kiriseko claims that, “You need to enjoy the night together if you really hope to live with a doll.”

With this in mind, the name Yumel comes from the word ‘yume’ (dream), and it’s designed to look like a sleepy baby boy – albeit one with big and black manga-esque eyes. And to further enhance the sleepiness factor, the toy is equipped with six sensors and an IC chip, allowing the doll to accurately keep track of its owners sleeping patterns. Thus Yumel starts the day with a breezy “Good morning,” and ends it with drooping eyelids and a drowsy “Good night” after a quick pat on the chest makes it ‘fall asleep’.

sleeping yumel

This programmable sleeping schedule allows Yumel to detect how regular its owner’s sleep pattern is, and if it judges that things aren’t quite how they should be, the doll will pipe up with, “Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?” But rather more sinister is Kiriseko’s claim that, “If you lead an orderly life, Yumel will be in a good mood, singing songs or pleading with you to do something like buying him toys.”

Like more Tomy products perchance?

yumel line up

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The sound of sole

Forget spending your money on expensive surround sound speakers, and instead take the opportunity of investing in a cuddly little toy that plays muffled music through its feet.

doraemon speakers

Toy maker SK Japan is presumably banking on the Japanese love affair with all things cute, hoping that it will counter the desire for quality sound. And as they’ll also produce a Hello Kitty model, who’d be brave enough to bet against them succeeding?

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DoCoMo delight

Being a Vodafone subscriber, I can only gaze enviously at the cool and compact models offered by the likes of DoCoMo and AU. And a quick look at the fairly recent Talby will give you a pretty good idea of what I’m talking about.

But the arrival of DoCoMo’s Premini II has increased the jealousy factor even further, leaving me cell phone salivating. Due to its (relatively) small size, it may lack a few functions compared to its bigger and bulkier cousins, but in the design department it’s second to none.

premini

And look, it even has fancy blue lights.

premini II

Resistance may be futile.