Tokyo Times

Photographs from a small group of islands

Technology Stuff

2 Comments

A sweeping success?

If you thought the Segway was a little bit silly (or those of you from Britain and of a certain age, the Sinclair C5), take a look at the Sweeper.

sweeper japan

This preposterous contraption was developed by Hokkaido University associate professor Takayuki Tanaka, and is supposedly inspired by a witch’s broom. A piece of information which presumably tells us all we need to know about the Sweeper. And indeed Mr. Tanaka.

The device is equipped with a 300-watt electric motor, and can manage a measly half-hour 10 kph cruise after its battery is recharged for 2 hours. Which unfortunately is probably not long (or fast) enough to escape the taunts and ridicule of fellow pedestrians.

To see the machine in all its sweeping glory, click here for an exciting bit of video footage. And for all you thrill seekers out there, this clip was filmed at night. Which considering the Sweeper’s lack of lights and blistering top speed, makes for a gripping spectacle.

5 Comments

Balladeering bowl

Whilst the Japanese style toilet remains a rather primitive contraption, the new Western style thrones are packed with more gadgets than you can shake a stick at.

A washing and drying service is now almost standard, and some of the flashier designs come with movement masking sound effects. And the heated seat option is a much sought after luxury in the cold winter months.

But Toto Limited has raised the bar even higher with their “New Neorest” series. The company claims that it’s the first toilet in the world to release an aroma and play soothing music. Plus of course the usual washing and drying facilities.

high-tech musical toilet

So for those having a bit of a tough time on the toilet, they can now happily mask their efforts with both music and smell. Then finish proceedings off with a nice wash and dry. Leaving the bathroom fumigated, fresh, and free from embarrassment.

231 Comments

Pod-like pooch

From students to salary men, the iPod is the current gadget of choice. Those distinctive white ear buds are everywhere, and the queues in Ginza’s Apple Store are reminiscent of those once seen in Russian supermarkets. So with this in mind, who can blame Sega for trying to cadge a lift on the iPod express with its new robotic pet?

Ok, so the idog isn’t a music player (as such), and as the name suggests it’s a dog. But take a look at the picture. It’s white and it starts with a little i.

idog

Like its far more advanced (and expensive) robotic cousin Aibo, the idog responds emotionally when touched. Well, different coloured lights come on dependent upon which sensors you stroke. But the main selling point is its musical ability. The idog contains 720 internal musical phrases, and has the ability to improvise tunes when you wave your hand over the phototransistor on its head. However what kind of tunes and how much ability we are talking here I don’t know. It can dance as well though, so that should make up for any musical deficiencies for at least 5 minutes I would have thought.

And whilst all this is not very iPod-like, little robotic rover has an audio jack for an external player. And I don’t need to tell you which is the player of choice…

ipod and idog

7 Comments

Nasal needs

Whilst I was aware that eyelid alteration (from a single to a double) is the most common plastic surgery procedure for Asians, thanks to Popgadget I now also know that nasal bridge raising is second in the surgery stakes.

I must say though that it came as something of a surprise, as I always thought that the numerous comments I’ve had about my tall nose (yes, a nose isn’t big, it’s tall) were derogatory. Or at the very least my, ahem, noble nose was an unlimited source of mirth and merriment. And the fact that kids in kindergarten often refer to me as Pinocchio has only helped cement such feelings. Cheeky little bastards!

But enough of my nose related angst. Asians do want bigger noses, and if they didn’t, why would a Japanese professor have come up with a nasal bridge raiser? A gadget that supposedly produces a tall nose without the need for surgery.

nose enlarger

The device has a polythene nose piece that vibrates at 7,000 Hz per minute, supposedly creating a gravitational force that excites the growth of the nasal bridge. And its promoters claim that wearing it everyday for 3 minutes or so will produce noticeable differences in just 2 or 3 weeks.

If you find this hard to believe, these thoroughly unconvincing before and after pictures probably won’t change your mind.

enlarged nose

For those of you also sporting prominent noses, I’m sorry to say that despite extensive and overly optimistic research, I’ve yet to find out if the device has a reverse switch.

1 Comment

Furtive fire fighter

As upskirt photography appears to be relatively common in Japan, a report of every incident or arrest would probably require a site dedicated solely to such material. Although in all honesty it has to be said that Tokyo Times hasn’t exactly shied away from mentioning such shady shenanigans. But last week a senior fire fighter was caught in the act, and his inventive approach makes his case stand out from the rest somewhat.

Rather than hanging around escalators, or taking clandestine pictures on the train, 31-year-old Michinori Okabe took a patient to the hospital along with a camera equipped mobile phone hidden in his shoe.

With incredible dedication to his own unique brand of photography, Okabe made a 5 mm hole in the instep of one of his shoes in order to line-up the camera on his phone. And using the mobile’s movie mode he attempted to film up the skirt of two women.

Despite the ingenious nature of his camera-equipped shoe, Okabe’s technique appears to have let him down, as a patient saw him engaged in a spot of foot filming. Resulting in the fire fighter’s ignominious arrest.

During questioning Okabe admitted to the charges, saying, “I wanted to film women’s underwear. I did the same thing at the hospital on January 4th.” And presumably with the body part pun very much unintended, he added, “I was trying to take secret footage.”

2 Comments

Mobile monitoring

“The handset industry is trying to find the next killer application. Japanese vendors believe audiovisual could be the way to go.”

Nahoko Mitsuyama, an analyst at Gartner Research (IT ) in Tokyo.

As much as I love gadgetry, do we really need to see (and be seen by) everyone we talk to on our mobile phones?

I remain unconvinced.