Japanese+Technology+Since+WWII

  Japanese Technology and Pop Culture By: Sana       Nihon: Land of the Rising Sun     Gasping, you step into the railways, relieved you made it before it left the station, as Japans railways are famous for being always on time. But, you don’t get a breath of air as a brutal arm shoves into your back, jostling you into the way of other people. You turn around, ticked, but you soon see the conductor of the train pushing even more people into the already jam packed train. You can hardly breathe without hitting someone in the face or shoving. All the same, you know you’ll make it on time to work, even if these railways serve over 2 million people per day. These cramped trains are just one example of how compact Japan is; and having a population of 128 million people, the worlds tenth largest population, doesn’t help. But, then again, Japan is known for making everything modern and efficient. Japan is a huge manufacturer of technology and machinery. For example, Japan is home to six out of the ten top vehicle manufacturer. Chances are that your TV, camera, computer, or cell phone were made somewhere in Japan. Geek or not, we all appreciate products which manage to combine functionality and style, and I personally always have had a lot of respect for the craftsmen from all around the world for their work and dedication to create unique objects... especially since I know I could hardly do the same! Tech in Japan has always ad functionality in mind, and their designs are also aesthetically pleasing, which makes them up on the charts for exporting.

Take ** HANA (flowers in Japanese) **** for example. ** HANA is a lamp in which there is a place for a SONY digital audio player (removable) with speakers. The aim was to show a different approach on how to integrate music to an object that we use everyday without really paying attention to it…from there, we can imagine this system available on all kind of lamps and then, having access to our music everywhere at home. Of course, they’ve created a cell phone for those e-mail and text addicts. Its called        DoCoMo Raku Raku Phone Premium, for “Lazy SMS Style”. DoCoMo released a new Raku Ralu phone (2G and 3G) featuring a speech to text function for writing email or SMS, the Fujitsu F884i. Simply press a button on your handset, talk clearly into your mouthpiece, and the Raku Raku Phone Premium will accurately write down what you say! Like we need more ways to distract ourselves.

   __Totally Useless... Which Means YOU NEED IT!!__   That's a good old Geek saying right? It's useless so you NEED to have it. <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> A lot of the time in Japan the technology isn't necessarily functional to the point where it is productive. In fact, they can be quite the opposite, like with the The Pop Up Pirate USB Hub! Just click play and watch the video. media type="custom" key="678845" width="211" height="108"

No, do //not// make fun of the man with the weird accent.

They have also found a way to put games on small things like alarm clocks: __**The invasion starts in the morning! Space Invaders Alarm Clock**__ When the alarm clock rings in the morning, it goes like this:

1-the sound is terrific 2-I want to destroy it 3-I want to keep on sleeping

Not the best way to start a day is it? Well this time, it might be different, with the Space Invaders Alarm Clock. It was a game from a little while ago and was very hard to find. media type="custom" key="678867" width="431" height="112" (Did anyone else notice the bouncing plant in the background? It was made out of plastic and its leaves were going up and down. It was really weird. I want one.~)

<span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Joking aside, Japans' technology industry has matured drastically over the years, showing superior advances in almost every aspect. Pople working in this industry are improving on everything and beginning to create things we have only dreamt of. An example is of what they found they can do with an umbrella. Take a look: Gray, rainy days may be about to get more colorful thanks to a new umbrella invented by Japanese researchers. The Internet Umbrella, conceived by a team at Keio University, acts as a photo browser by displaying images from the Internet as the user walks along. The handle of the umbrella contains a projector that displays images on the underside of the umbrella. The handle of their creation contains a camera, a motion sensor, GPS, and a digital compass. The device is controlled by rotating the grip. The Internet Umbrella has two main functions. One is browsing the online photo-sharing site Flickr. Not only can the umbrella display photos from the site; using the camera in the handle it can also take pictures and upload them to the Internet via a wireless connection. Pileus users can thus view each other’s photo streams. The umbrella can also display movies from the video-sharing site YouTube. <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">  The other key function of the device is to help users find their way around by displaying 3D maps using Google Earth. The umbrella “knows” the user’s location (thanks to GPS) and direction (thanks to the digital compass), so it can show a bird’s-eye map of the surrounding area, enabling the user to navigate streets with ease. Both functions are easily controlled by rotating the grip of the umbrella. The team is currently working on enabling photos taken with the umbrella to be displayed on the map, along with their location. The point of creating these sorts of wondrous things is to improve the lives of many different people. There is technology being tested for actual benefits in life, unlike the ones I’ve shown. For example, there is the PC controlled by your eyes: <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> PC users can input text simply by looking at an on-screen keyboard. When the user gazes at a character for one second, the system, which uses a miniature camera, detects their line of sight and inputs the appropriate character. The system is called Mitsumeru Dake in Japanese, which means "Just Look." Professor Arai expects that the system will be useful to people with disabilities and for a range of medical and social-welfare applications. At present many people with disabilities are unable to use personal computers unless they have expensive special equipment. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Professor Arai was prompted to develop this system by the arrival five years ago of a student at the university who had cerebral palsy. The university revamped the toilet facilities and installed ramps throughout the campus, but the student's mother had to operate the computer. "I thought then that I've got to do something about this," says Professor Arai. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Until that time similar input systems for disabled people involved attaching electrodes to the face in order to detect eyeball movement or wearing special goggles with infrared cameras in order to analyze the image on the retina. This meant the systems were expensive and cumbersome. Professor Arai makes the software available free of charge, so the only cost for his system is the ¥3,000 ($25 at ¥120 to the dollar) price of the camera. Bedridden people or those with impaired use of the hands can easily use the system to communicate their needs - to ask for a nurse, for example, or to indicate that they are thirsty. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> This system is another example of how Japanese researchers and companies are putting technology to use in their quest to improve the lives of elderly and disabled people. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">  <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Traditional Dress of Japan <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Go to Modern Fashion <span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Japanese Education Bibliography 5 Point Quiz <span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">