Though this may look like a pair of colorful oversized hipster glasses, it is actually a 2 mega-pixel spy camera called MEGANE-CAMERA. This stylish camera allows you to discretely take beautiful retro-looking daytime pictures and videos without arousing any suspicion.

Taking a picture is as simple as clicking the small shutter button on the top right of the glasses’ frame. The pictures (2048 × 1536 px) and videos (720p, 30fps with audio) are stored on a micro SD card. Data can be transferred from the camera via USB, which is also …

Nobuhiro Takahashi is a researcher known for making high-tech devices for lonely people. He previous inventions include; Sense-Roid, a vest that allows you to know how it feels to hug yourself and robotic tongue that for kissing over the internet (videos below). Now he’s at it again, he’s created the world’s most realistic robot buttocks. Ladies and gentlemen I present to you, “Shiri”. (Japanese for butt)

So according to Takahashi and The University of Electrocommunication, this humanoid robot butt was made to explore innovative ways to use robotics in communication. They …

Researchers at the Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences are working on a device that allows you to take pictures using your hands. The small camera is attached to your thumb and let’s you frame shots using your fingers in the shape of a rectangle.

According to one of the researchers:
“When you draw a picture or take a photo, you sometimes form a rectangle with your hands to decide the composition. With this camera, you can take a photo using the exact same motion. You attach this device to your …

Last month Samsung announced the release of the eyeCAN; an eye motion controlled virtual mouse. This device consists of a motion tracker mounted to the frame of a pair of lens-less glasses. The user’s eye movements are used to control cursor motion and clicks (I assume blinks count as clicks). eyeCAN was developed specially for paralyzed individuals who have no other means by which to use a computer.

When I saw the eyeCan, I was immediately reminded of the EyeWriter; the $50 eye tracker that we talked about back in 2010. …

At Make Tokyo Meeting 07, I came across a group of students from the University of Tsukuba, who believe the best way to release bottled up emotions is to actually shout them into a bottle. Their invention is called the “Wat Bottle”, from the Japanese word watto which means to cry out suddenly in a loud voice.
It’s pretty simple; open the lid, scream the source of your frustration into the jar where your voice is recorded, close the lid and shake the jar to amplify the sound, then open the …

Last month marked ASIMO’s 11 year anniversary, and boy has he grown up. Unlike his birthday celebration last year where he displayed no significant improvements, this time Honda rolled out a model they call “All-new ASIMO”. This make-over is the robot-boy’s first major redesign since 2007.

With this upgrade ASIMO can perform amazing feats of acrobatics (by biped robot standards). He able to jump a few inches off the ground and even jump while balancing on one leg. He can not only run faster, with a top-speed increase from 6 kph …

We can all a agree that 3D printers are awesome, the fact that the technology is now available for the average person to “print” actual real world objects is mind blowing. Advances in the field and a decrease in the cost of production has resulted in more wide spread use of these machines. The Kobe University Hospital has displayed some groundbreaking medical applications.
Models of 3D printed human organs are being used to in the preparation for surgery. These replicated organs are printed using two materials, the substance on the outer …

When this dental training robot needed an upgrade, love doll makers were called in to do what they do best, give it more of a human touch. Meet Hanako Showa 2, the second generation of a this training robot used by students of dentistry to hone their skills before taking on patients that have the power to sue.

The above pictures show just how much more improved Hanako 2 is compared to her predecessor. Her PVC skin has been replaced with softer silicone by love doll company Oriental, giving her a …

The two pictures above are not of the same model robot. To the left UNISROBO, a new robot by the Chinese company UNIS that debuted this year, and to the right is PaPeRo, a robot by NEC Corp which started development in 1997. I think I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that UNISROBO looks much too similar to PaPeRo for it to be a coincidence.

At first glance the major difference between the two is that UNISROBO has a LED screen in it’s chest, but …

TDK has started mass production of transparent organic electroluminescent (EL) displays; the UEL476. These are see-through screens that can display colored images. The UEL476 screen is 2.4-inches (320 x 240) and is was made specially for mobile devices such as cellphones. Though see-through, your privacy is protected, as the on the opposite side of the screen, displayed images cannot be seen.
We saw a mono-color prototype of these screens at CEATEC last year (video below). Good to see them out this year as TDK promised. Looking forward to what manufacturers will do …