From robotic hand-clapping arms to a device that could show tsunami alerts

From robotic hand-clapping arms to a device that could show tsunami alerts in the sky, Japanese technology researchers showcased their latest inventions in Tokyo today.

Two pairs of artificial arms welcomed visitors as the Digital Content Expo opened for a three-day run, producing a realistic clapping sound due to the soft palms of the hands.

The arms, named Ondz, are made of white skin-like urethane “flesh” and aluminium “bone”. They create what the developer calls the “organic” sound of human hand clapping by the patting of soft palms.

Ondz could be used in musical performances, to enhance the sound of real clapping. Or viewers watching a programme online could click a button to make hands at the broadcast site clap, said Takahashi.

Japan’s Burton Inc. showcased its aerial 3D technology, which uses laser beams to create three dimensional images in the air out of tiny bright dots and could be used for advertising — or for a tsunami alert.

Burton chief executive and 3D project director Hideki Kimura said the technology could also be used to show tsunami alerts and other messages in the sky after major disasters.

Such images would be more stable than colored smoke from airplanes, which gets swept away in the wind, and easier to spot than electrical boards hanging from helicopters, he said.

The technology can now show images six meters above the ground and in space the size of a cube measuring three metres squared. But the company is working to realise bigger displays at higher altitude, Kimura said.

Another fun gadget displayed at the fair was a set of dominoes where the pieces can be made to fall without touching each other using radio waves.

Source AFP