Japanese Innovations

innovation line-up A small list of innovations originating from JAPAN and impacting the world

alcohol tester With this new product the Japanese company A-Style has put an end to cheating (or feeling you are because you are already too drunk anyway. The principle is based on the different weight of alcohol and water 1

asimo/aibo robots Officially, the name is an acronym for "Advanced Step in Innovative MObility". ASIMO is a humanoid robot created by Honda Motor Company. Standing at 130 centimeters (4 feet 3 inches) and weighing 54 kilograms (119 pounds). The robot resembles a small astronaut wearing a backpack and can walk or run on two feet at speeds up to 6 km/h (4.3 mph) AIBO (Artificial Intelligence roBOt, homonymous with "pal" in Japanese) was one of several types of robotic pets designed and manufactured by Sony; there have been several different models since their introduction in 1999. Able to walk, "see" its environment via camera, and recognize spoken commands, they are considered to be autonomous robots, since they are able to learn and mature based on external stimuli from their owner or environment, or from other AIBOs. 2

blue ray disc technology Blu-ray Disc (also known as Blu-ray or BD) is an optical disc storage media format. Its main uses are high-definition video and data storage. The disc has the same dimensions as a standard DVD or CD. A dual layer Blu-ray Disc can store 50 GB, almost six times the capacity of a double-dual layer DVD (or more than 10 times if single-layer) 3

bonsai The origins of bonsai are believed to have begun at least 2000 years ago during the Han Dynasty in China. At first, the Japanese used miniaturized trees grown in containers to decorate their homes and gardens.During the Tokugawa period, landscape gardening attained new importance. Cultivation of plants such as azalea and maples became a pastime of the wealthy. Growing dwarf plants in containers was also popular. At this time, the term for dwarf potted trees was "a tree in a pot" The oldest known living bonsai trees are in the collection at Happo-en (a private garden and exclusive restaurant) in Tokyo, Japan, where bonsai are between 400 to 800 years old. 4

chameleon shawl The faculty of Environmental Information at Tokyo`s Keio University announced that it developed a scarf that changes color to match that of the wearer’s clothing by using 100 optical fibers, light-emitting diodes and a color sensor. A built-in sensor detects the color of the garment and then “commands” the LEDs to shine the same color , eg. If the wearer has on a blue shirt, the scarf automatically starts glowing blue. The team has also developed a shirt that changes color from blue to red according to the wearer’s body temperature. 5

commercial mobile phone service The first commercial mobile phone service was launched in Japan by NTT in 1978. By November 2007, the total number of mobile phone subscriptions in the world had reached 3.3 billion, or half of the human population (although some users have multiple subscriptions, or inactive subscriptions), which also makes the mobile phone the most widely spread technology and the most common electronic device in the world 6

deodorant clothing Aoki of Japan has introduced a new line of deodorant suits, shirts, socks and even underwear that prevents body odor from doing what B.O. tends to do - smell up the place.in cooperation with researchers at Shinshu University, has utilized several different technologies In creating their new deodorant and anti-bacterial clothing. silver ions infused into the clothing fibers have a proven toxic effect against bacteria, viruses and fungi. The properties of these ions are similar to those of other heavy metals like lead and mercury, only without being poisonous. Then there's the fibers themselves, which neutralize body order by either absorbing the unsavory aromas or the actual emission of deodorant. 7

drug dispenser Unitech`s drug dispenser is a home device that automatically provides the whole family with the correct dosage of each person`s prescribed medicine or nutrition supplements. It sends a warning signal saying , “Here is your medicine. Don’t forget to take it,” until the user takes his medicine. Several trays are used for storing the various kinds of pills. These open and provide the medicine at the set time. 8

felt tipped pen The first fiber tip pen was invented by Yukio Horie of Tokyo Stationery Company in 1962 in Japan. A highlighter is a fiber tip pen filled with transparent brightly colored ink. The Avery Dennison Corporation trademarked the name Hi-Liter, they invented the name highlighter, but they did not invent the pen. 9

funeral envelope A Japanese funeral envelope used for offering condolence money. The white and black cords represent death. Similar-looking envelopes with red and silver cords are used for weddings. 10

gel pen Gel Pens were invented by the Sakura Color Products Corp. (Osaka, Japan), who make Gelly Roll pens and was the company that invented gel ink in 1984. 11

hand held fan A hand-held fan is an implement used to induce an airflow for the purpose of cooling or refreshing oneself. Any broad, flat surface waved back-and-forth will create a small airflow and therefore can be considered a rudimentary fan. The folding fan was invented in Japan in the 8th century 12

health phone apanese mobile phones come in a diversity which is as great as people's personality, bringing solutions for all the issues they might have, even if not telecom related. A new handset will be introduced in NTT DoCoMo's lineup, along with its great talent of measuring the user's body fat or just how bad his breath is. The phone is supposed to raise the interest of people in their own health and offer the needed support to those who want to lose some weight. "Our primary target groups would be fat-fighting middle-aged businessmen and young women on diets", said Kentaro Endo, a spokesman for NTT DoCoMo. 13

hizamakura lap pillow Shaped just like a beautiful woman’s lap, kneeling in Japanese-style, the Hizamakura “Lap Pillow” gives the best re-creation available, with choices of a red or black skirt to top it off. Hizamakura is soft and elastic to the touch, and perfectly suited to lying your head on. 14

iDog The iDog is a robot dog designed and manufactured by Sega Toys.The iDog reacts to music from an external source, such as an MP3 player. It features seven flashing LED lights on its face and has the ability to 'dance' to the beat of the music. It also has a number of switches on its nose, head and tail which allow it to react to user input. It has various emotions (which change based on user interaction) that provide different color patterns on its LED lights. Made famous for multicoloured lights. The iDog was probably designed to interact with the iPod 15

iFish Following the huge success of the cute "idog" as a must have accessory for the ipod gadget freaks, Sega as a next step presents the "ifish". iFish moves its body fish-like if you play music to it. Also it will create own sounds, light effects and it acts as a loudspeaker when connecting it to your ipod or any other music device. 16

instant noodles Modern instant noodles were invented in Japan by Taiwanese Momofuku Andō , the founder of Nissin Foods, one of the biggest manufacturers of instant noodles today. His noodles were boiled with flavoring, deep-fried with palm oil to remove moisture, and dried into a noodle cake. Other preservation methods have been tried, including preservation with salt and smoke, but Andō concluded that palm oil is the most efficient. In 1958, Nissin launched the world's first instant noodle product, Chikin Ramen (chicken-flavored instant ramen) in Osaka. Another milestone was reached in 1971 when Nissin introduced the Cup Noodle, instant noodles in a waterproof styrofoam container that could be used to cook the noodles. Further innovations include adding dried vegetables to the cup, creating a complete instant soup dish. 17

kaizen Kaizen Japanese for "improvement" is a Japanese philosophy that focuses on continuous improvement throughout all aspects of life. When applied to the workplace, Kaizen activities continually improve all functions of a business, from manufacturing to management and from the CEO to the assembly line workers 18

lemon tree?? Modern instant noodles were invented in Japan by Taiwanese Momofuku Andō , the founder of Nissin Foods, one of the biggest manufacturers of instant noodles today. His noodles were boiled with flavoring, deep-fried with palm oil to remove moisture, and dried into a noodle cake. Other preservation methods have been tried, including preservation with salt and smoke, but Andō concluded that palm oil is the most efficient. In 1958, Nissin launched the world's first instant noodle product, Chikin Ramen (chicken-flavored instant ramen) in Osaka. Another milestone was reached in 1971 when Nissin introduced the Cup Noodle, instant noodles in a waterproof styrofoam container that could be used to cook the noodles. Further innovations include adding dried vegetables to the cup, creating a complete instant soup dish. 19

no time gum No time to brush your teeth? No problem - if you've got No Time Gum! This multifunctional minty mélange contains tiny granules that scrub your teeth clean as a whistle while you chew. Gum that works as hard as you do while saving you time and, presumably, dentist visits. 20

karaoke Karaoke (Japanese kara, "empty," and ōkesutora, "orchestra") is a form of entertainment in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music (and/or a music video) using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song in which the voice of the original singer is removed or reduced in volume. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol or changing color and/or music video images, to guide the singer. In some countries, karaoke with video lyrics display capabilities is called KTV. The first karaoke machine was invented by Japanese musician Daisuke Inoue in Kobe, Japan, in the early 1970s.After becoming popular in Japan, karaoke spread to East and Southeast Asia during the 1980s and subsequently to other parts of the world in its modern state. 21

karaoke Mangais the Japanese word for comics and print cartoons. In their modern form, manga date from shortly after World War I but have a long, complex history in earlier Japanese art. Manga, literally translated, means "whimsical pictures". The influence of manga on international cartooning has grown considerably in the last two decades. Influence refers to effects on comics markets outside of Japan and to aesthetic effects on comics artists internationally. 22

memory stick Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, launched by Sony in October 1998 and is also used in general to describe the whole family of Memory Sticks. 23

N 700 Construction of the first segment of the Tokaido Shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka started in 1959. The line opened on 1 October 1964, just in time for the Tokyo Olympics. The line was an immediate success, reaching the 100 million passenger mark in less than three years on 13 July 1967 and one billion passengers in 1976. N700 will do for Japan's image as a world leader in environmental concerns what the original "Shinkansen " did for the country's image as a re-emerged great power in 1964. The numbers are impressive: while matching the speed of the current N300 trains, the N700 uses 19% less electricity. Namely Tōkaidō Shinkansen is the world's busiest high-speed rail line and carries 375,000 passengers a day, and has transported more passengers (4.5 billion) than all other high speed lines in the world combined. 24

organic radical battery ORB's are characterized by an extremely thin profile (0.3 mm), flexibility, and very fast charge time (about 30 seconds), in addition to a relatively high energy density (1 mWh per square cm). The technology is also being welcomed by environmentalists because ORB batteries do not contain any of the heavy metals that pose the problem of proper disposal. 25

origami Origami (from oru meaning "folding", and kami meaning "paper") is the ancient Japanese art of paper folding. The goal of this art is to create a representation of an object using geometric folds and crease patterns preferably without the use of gluing or cutting the paper,and using only one piece of paper (usually square or rectangular). Japanese scientists and origami masters propose to launch a flotilla of paper planes from space. The launch is tentatively slated for early 2009from the International Space Station. Around 30 planes will make the descent, each gliding downward over what is expected to be the course of several months. If one of the planes survives to Earth, it will have made the longest flight ever by a paper plane, transversing some 400km. 26

digital wall Panasonic thinks about the future on a daily basis and they try to come up today with tomorrow's tools. It's clear to everybody that the TV, IT and Internet have a key place in our everyday lives today.Panasonic based themselves on this statement to develop an interactive TV wall. Yes, its is a wall... with a touch sensitive screen that has the surface of two 110" TV's 27

pet oxygen cafe It remains to be seen if the oxygenating capsule for humans or dogs is going to have legs as the hottest health and fitness craze, but in Japan anything and everything is worth a try. In the vicinity of the Yoyogi Uehara station in Tokyo is OWND Cafe special! OWND stands for Oxygen, Water, Nutrition, and Dog. It was developed by Air Press, which calls itself a "medical relaxation salon" and it makes similar oxygen capsules for humans. The idea behind the OWND Cafe is that humans who are out and about with their pets can stop by one of the Cafes and enjoy the benefits of oxygen therapy together. After their 20 - 30 minute sessions, the owner and pet can share a treat. This sure beats the monotony of tossing a ball again and again 28

rain parade mini umbrellas Umbrellas don't just protect you from rain & sun, they also can be just plain fun! That's the idea behind these Rain Parade Mini Umbrellas from Japan. Japan is a rainy country - the official Rainy Season is many weeks long and natives are nearly never caught without their trusty umbrella in hand. One way to stand out from the cloud, er, crowd of raincoated, brolly-toting commuters is with one of these ultra-cute mini umbrellas! 29

robo wheelchair Shimizu Japan has developed a robot wheelchair that actually does not look very technology or design oriented but is definitely useful. It does not entertain nor wash your dishes but it brings you safely along the road in daily life. It features several sensors, wheel drive control, an emergency shutdown device etc. The sensor recognizes the environment conditions, reads information from buildings via IC tag and laser sensor. Of course you can also operate it manually and surely you have enough space for your ipod to enjoy some tunes while on automatic mode. 30

sanwa finger mouse If a mouse ceases to look like a mouse, is it still a mouse? Check out this new “finger mouse” by Sanwa. This 6cm long gadget is held in place by a band around the index finger while the click and scroll functions on the side are designed for thumb control. If a mouse ceases to look like a mouse, is it still a mouse? Check out this new “finger mouse” by Sanwa. 31

shop 'til you droop Triumph The Bag Bra- So trash those bags and take off your bra - sage advice for shoppers who want to carry home their melons the eco-friendly way! 32

shop 'til you droop "Shower Clean Suits" are designed to be cleaned using nothing more than your bathroom shower. No detergent is necessary and when you're done hosing them down, all you need do is hang them up in a shaded corner of your room to dry - no ironing is required. This is because the fabric is made from a special fibre that's punctured with miniscule holes which enable quick evaporation and prevent creasing 33

3 solar powered ionic toothbrush set Soladey-3 is an ionic toothbrush that easily removes plaque and cleans teeth by a simple electron reaction. When light is absorbed by the embedded solar panel, and you begin to brush your teeth, electrons are transmitted through the water to your teeth via the titanium oxide semiconductor. This reaction is not felt by you, but it makes the plaque unstable and easy to remove. 34

sudoku The puzzle was introduced in Japan by Nikoli in the paper Monthly Nikolist in April 1984 as Suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru which can be translated as "the digits must be single" or "the digits are limited to one occurrence." At a later date, the name was abbreviated to Sudoku by Maki Kaji , taking only the first kanji of compound words to form a shorter version. In 1986, Nikoli introduced two innovations: the number of givens was restricted to no more than 32, and puzzles became "symmetrical" (meaning the givens were distributed in rotationally symmetric cells). It is now published in mainstream Japanese periodicals, such as the Asahi Shimbun. Trivia:In June 2008 an Australian drugs-related jury trial costing over $1 000 000 was aborted when it was discovered that five of the twelve jurors had been playing Sudoku instead of listening to evidence. 35

sushi In Japanese cuisine, sushi is vinegared rice, usually topped with other ingredients, including fish, various meats, and vegetables. The word sushi itself comes from an archaic grammatical form of a word that is no longer used in other contexts; literally, sushi means "it's sour". The contemporary version, internationally known as "sushi," was invented by Hanaya Yohei (1799–1858) at the end of Edo period in Edo. 36

usb air conditioned shirt The USB shirt has two fans on the left and right sides of the back, taking in air to cleanse all the sweat off your spare tire. There's an external switch on the USB cable to adjust the fan speed, in case your sweat doesn't quite go up to eleven. The shirt is also powered by four AA batteries in case you don't have a USB slot anywhere nearby. It even plugs into the cigarette lighter in your car—because it's such a great idea hooking up your body to your car's electrical system. 37

walkman Walkman is a popular Sony brand used to market its portable audio and video players. The original Walkman introduced a change in music listening habits, allowing people to carry their own choice of music with them. The original blue-and-silver Walkman model TPS-L2 went on sale in Japan on July 1, 1979. 38

wii The Wii is the fifth home video game console released by Nintendo. The console is the direct successor to the Nintendo GameCube. A distinguishing feature of the console is its wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and detect movement in three dimensions. Another is WiiConnect24, which enables it to receive messages and updates over the Internet while in standby mode. Nintendo first spoke of the console at the 2004 E3 press conference and later unveiled the system at the 2005 E3 39

the winglet personal transporter Called the Winglet because of its fleet nature, it is the first gadget to duplicate the celebrated, and often mocked, navigation system of Dean Kamen's Segway Transporter: self-balancing through gyroscopic sensors detecting the gentle directional tilts of a rider. 40

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Japanese Innovations

by Benoy Wilson

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