Gizmodo

If your foremost dream is to jack into a dystopian cyberpunk reality where hackers play with human brains (and you also happen to love Japanese anime), you’d best book your flight to Tokyo right now — a Shibuya department store has set up a basic cyberspace simulator straight out of Ghost in the Shell. That’s the film Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society, to be precise, which just got a stereoscopic 3D re-release in Japan this week, and in its honor creative services company Kayac set about constructing a high-quality Kinect hack. Microsoft’s depth camera tracks the lean of your body, while the honeyed virtual reality is projected onto a pair of nearby walls, and it’s your objective to slap the Tachikoma tank silly without falling over yourself. Get a peek at what it’s like to play with in the video above.

Kinect dives into anime cyberspace, dares you to catch cute robot tanks (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 20:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget

Sometimes, after a hard day of gadget blogging, you just want to sit down at your terminal and watch a funny, heart-warming video of a hamster running furiously (as they will) in a plastic ball attached to a Strandbeest traveling across a table to the delight of watching children. Right? Video is after the break.

Continue reading Hamster-powered miniature Strandbeest proves that sometimes, cute is a gadget

Hamster-powered miniature Strandbeest proves that sometimes, cute is a gadget originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 23:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget

If you’ve become hostage to a clutch of remote controls in your living room, never quite sure what all the buttons do and confusing different controllers for different gadgets, then Toshiba might have the answer. It’s developed a prototype robot that can act as a voice gateway to just about anything in the room that has a remote control.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Wildlife expert Steve Leonard travels to the desert to try out some of the ground breaking technologies employed by conservationists in their effort to monitor animal behaviour on the sand dunes. Learn more about the importance of sound on the sand and see a cute golden mole. Brilliant wildlife short from BBC show Animal Camera.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Sony Japan today announced [JP] a new digital camera that’s specifically geared towards women. Technically speaking, the DSC-W530D isn’t really a new device (it was unveiled earlier this year in Japan and is available for $200 in the US, too). But Sony changed the design to (possibly) make the Cyber-shot more appealing to female customers.

Just to quickly cover the basic specs, what Sony is selling here is a 14.1MP digital camera with 4xoptical zoom, a 2.7-inch LCD, Smile Shutter function, face detection, 720p HD movie recording function, a USB 2.0 port and an SD/SDHC slot.

This special version will be available in two colors, “Jewel Pink” and “Precious White”, with some crystals adding to the cute factor. Buyers will also get an extra pouch (see below).

Sony plans to start selling the DSC-W350D (in Japan only) on April 23 (price: $290). If you live outside Japan and insist on looking cute while shooting photos, I suggest you contact import/export specialists such as Japan Trend Shop or Geek Stuff 4 U. And while you’re at it, you might want to think about getting this cute video camera, too.

Japan gave us one creepy robot over the weekend, but the country of kawaii hasn’t forgotten about its roots. Case in point: A new robo bear, designed by Fujitsu and especially geared towards the elderly. The yet-to-be-named robot, which follows a line of other advanced robot bears from Japan, can even snore. Isn’t that adorable?

The robo teddy boasts a total of 300 different patterns of behavior, from waving its paws, sleeping to giggling (yes, it’s a giggling bear). It reacts to human presence through motion sensors in its head and limbs and a mini camera in its nose.

Fujitsu aims at marketing the robo bear to nursing homes and schools. The robot competes with a number of other cuddly animals made by Japanese companies, for example robo seal Paro.

Via AFP BB NEWS [JP] / Picture Credit: AFP/Yoshikazu TSUNO

First a Casio Exilim, now an ultra-mobile PC (or UMPC, as the Japanese say): Cult teddy bear Rilakkuma is on his way to dethrone Hello Kitty as the character of choice for Japanese electronics companies when it comes to giving gadgets that extra-cute touch. The bear is now to be seen on a special version of a Kohjinsha tablet PC [JP, PDF] that’s part of the company’s XS series.

The Rilakkuma device features a 8.9-inch touchscreen with 1,280×768 resolution, an Atom Z520 processor (1.33GHz), 1GB RAM, a 60GB HDD, a digital TV tuner, a DVD drive, Ethernet, two USB ports, IEEE 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, a web camera, an SD card slot, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and Windows 7 Home Premium.

But what’s more important for the target group is that the device comes with a number of pre-installed Rilakkuma wallpapers, cute icons and screensavers. And if the users turn on the web camera, they can choose to see their faces in one of five different virtual Rilakkuma picture frames.

Offered by Bandai Namco (the owners of the Rilakkuma brand), the tablet PC will go on sale in Japan at the end of June for $990. As I don’t see the device ever being sold outside this country, I’d suggest people who are interested should ask import/export specialists such as the Japan Trend Shop or Geek Stuff 4 U for help.

In September last year, Sony rolled out the S Series Walkman, portable audio and video players, which are supposed to compete with the iPod Nano. And today, Sony in Japan announced [JP] a branded version of those Walkmans, namely the “Disney Character S Series Walkman”. To be more exact, Sony introduced nine Disney-themed Walkmans, a special case and a Mickey Mouse stand.

When purchasing one of the Walkmans (NW-S740/S740K/S640/S640K), buyers will be able to decide if they want to see Mickey or Minnie Mouse on their devices (or both). It’s also possible to add a personal message. Engraving is “free” and can be done on the spot (in the store) or through the Japanese Sony Style website. Depending on the model, prices range from $150 to $220.

Sony is also offering a special case for their Walkmans ($19, see above) and a Mickey Mouse stand ($30, pictured below).

Sales in Japan started today, but I’m doubting these Walkmans will ever be available outside Japan. Die-hard Disney fans can try and ask specialized import/export stores such as Geek Stuff 4 U or the Japan Trend Shop for help.

[via Technabob]