Category: Japan

WL-16RII Walking Chair

WL-16RII

Now if the Segway guy had come up with this as the next big thing he would have been right.

Waseda University and tmsuk, Japan, are showing off the “WL-16RII” , a new 2 foot robot to assist people in climbing up and down stairways. The robot presented in Fukuoka will go on sale in 2010. In the demonstration “WL-16RII” succeeded in the stairway ascent and descent of height 20 centimeters. Sensors (not on board) inspect the height and width , etc., of the stairway and programs movement beforehand allowing for safe ascent and descent. In the future using RFID chips on stairways, information can be passed to the WL-16RII allowing it to walk freely in town.

Ployer – WL-16RII
Original story here,
Translated via Excite (The images won’t show up, its due to some weird stuff on their server. It loads fater any way…)

Japan, robot, walking, cool

Ruins in Japan

Abandoned

I didn’t manage to post this last night, this site has some beautiful pictorials of abandoned buildings and ruins in Japan. I don’t know why, but these places have such a strange quality to them that just makes me want to go there and find some of my own.
BTW, I’d swear that there is a school in Yokohama near Isogo station that looks like the Kawasaki city barracks residences. I guess the school is still used but it looks like a run down slum. Are all elementary schools in Japan like this?

Ruins Deflation Spiral
Translated site

Japan, buildings, photography, ruins