HAKO-ANI (Box Sister) is a holographic display designed for use with iPad and other tablet devices. It allows users to enjoy 3D images projected from their tablet to a pyramid shaped holographic display. This means fans of virtual idols, such as Hatsune Miku can use it to enjoy tiny “live” performances from the comfort of their home. The tablet version of HAKO-ANI will be available on August 1st and will cost ¥36,750 ($467 US).

HAKOANI via Asiajin

Raincoats, plastic bottles, styrofoam, windshield wiper motors and a love for the sea; that’s what marine biologist and self-taught roboticist Masamichi Hayashi used to make these realistic aquatic robots. Among Hayashi’s creations are a porpoise, great white shark, green turtle, manta ray, killer whale and hammerhead shark. Back in 2009 they were featured on Japanese TV, Hayashi explained how they are used to teach kids about marine animal behavior and locomotion.

The 5 ft long coelacanth robot below weighs 105 lbs and cost 2 million yen ($22,000) to make.

via: Pink Tentacle

This little guy that I ran into at the Tokyo Toy Show is called “Lucky Dog UN-CHO-KEN” (luck saving dog). “Un” is also a part the word “unko” which means poop, and this is exactly what this puppy does. You place a coin in the dog’s mouth and press on his tongue, then he spins around and poops it into the bank. He sends your money down the crapper to save you from doing the same. *Da-dum-tssh*

Though these images look like a cool user interface from a sci-fi movie, they are actually screen grabs from a very serious program. This is “DAEDALUS” (Direct Alert Environment for Darknet And Livenet Unified Security) developed by Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). It’s a system designed to monitor the Darknet for any potential cyber threats such as computer viruses.
The system has been getting some attention because its GUI reminds Japanese anime fans of the series “Ghost in the Shell”. They speculate that the designer got his …