Hyper Telescope: Bandai’s new “science toy” for kids
Review: iRobot Looj
How to clog your arteries the fun and flavorful way!
Microsoft Arc Keyboard vs the Apple Wireless Keyboard
DIY: Nikon IR remote in a Lego

Major toymaker Bandai yesterday announced the Hyper Telescope [JP], which is being marketed as a “science toy” for kids. It’s the ideal gadget if you want your kid to become an astronomer, as it allows users to observe the sky and view relevant information on connected displays or within the device itself. All that needs to be done is to specify one’s location on earth and the current time.

Users can then move the telescope around, pointing it to a spot on the star map they want to know more about. The LCD within the device, which features three joints and an accelerometer, will then display the corresponding information on a “virtual” star map (see below for an example). Others can view what is being displayed if the telescope is connected to a TV, for example.

Bandai has built 20 background melodies and data (stats, pictures, etc.) on about 300 stars and similar objects into the Hyper Telescope. Over a thousand of those objects can be identified.

Bandai’s Hyper Telescope weighs 600g, is battery-powered and will carry a price tag of $200 when it will arrive in Japanese stores on May 29. It’s hasn’t been announced for other markets but could find its way outside Japan soon, too.

By Andrew Liszewski

Gazing at the stars at night is pretty much impossible if you live in a crowded metropolitan area. So as an alternative to building and using a gigantic electromagnetic pinch to knock out the lighting in a big city, Bandai has created the Hyper Telescope, which provides a safer, virtual view of the night sky.

Once you specify your location on Earth, a built-in 3-axis accelerometer and magnetic orientation sensor shows you exactly what celestial objects and constellations you’d be seeing were you staring through a real telescope. And so the rest of your family doesn’t get jealous, it even has a TV-out connection for sharing. There’s also some educational crap and games mixed in too, so your $173 (￥16,182) investment at least guarantees a solid C+ on your kid’s next science report.

[ Bandai Hyper Telescope ] VIA [ ITmedia ]