Japan

Allergies are probably the most obvious way nature tells you it doesn't want you around. I know this love/hate relationship very well because it's spring and I've been sneezing in fits. What I don't always know, however, is how much nature hates me and just when it'll show it.

Fortunately, there are robots to help you with just that--if you live in Japan, that is.

According to NTDT TV, Weather News, a Japanese weather information company, has produced 500 globe-shaped robots that change color depending on the amount of allergy-causing pollen in the air. … Read more

If you're looking for someone wanted for murder, you could put up a wanted poster at a few post offices. You could set up Web sites with images of the felon or mail people the pictures. These days, however, we're bombarded with information, and the bulletins could--and most likely would--get lost in the static.

Or you could cut through the sea of info by putting the identities right in the public's face with life-size, talking, cardboard cutouts of the evasive culprits.

Such a test case is currently underway in Japan as police try to track down Tatsuya Ichihashi, a man wanted in the 2007 murder of 22-year-old British English teacher Lindsay Hawker. Ichihashi barely slipped out of an arrest situation and has been at large ever since. … Read more

For some reason, every time high-tech underwear news hits the Internet, my editors think it's something I need to cover (pun intended). This time, though, it's underwear from space. And it's Japanese underwear from space that lasts up to a week before you have to change it--for better or worse.

According to Reuters, the clothing called J-ware is currently being tested aboard the International Space Station, perhaps to the dismay of Koichi Wakata's fellow astronauts.

The skivvies, developed by textile specialists at Japan Women's University in Tokyo, are meant to absorb moisture, kill bacteria, and … Read more

First, there were bone conduction earpieces. Now, microphones are going the way of the *cough cough* throat. Apparently, no part of the human body is inviolable when it comes to tech accessorizing.

Inspired by the military, Japanese company Sanwa's Throat Microphone design is fortunately styled to appear more like a slim necklace than a neck brace. Though whether this odd gadget will actually improve call clarity using neck vibrations rather than the spoken word has yet to be put to the test, since this is still vaporware now awaiting commercial takeoff.

(Source: Crave Asia via Akihabara News)

She doesn't have the grace of a Cindy Crawford or Elle MacPherson (yet), but a few struts on the catwalk may help HRP-4C loosen up and hit her stride. The walking, talking girlbot will be getting practice soon, as she's set to make her catwalk debut at a Tokyo fashion show next week.

Scientists from Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology reportedly designed the 5-foot (ish), dark-haired creation to look like an average Japanese woman between the ages of 19 and 29. Unlike the average Japanese woman, however, HRP-4C has 30 motors in her body that allow her to walk and move its arms (somewhat loudly and awkwardly, if the video below is any indication) and 8 facial motors for blinking, smiling, and expressing emotions akin to anger and surprise. … Read more

We've had a lot of CNET readers tell us they're waiting for a little color before they jump onto the e-book reader bandwagon. Well, as one might expect, a little color is going to cost you a lot of dough, as Fujitsu gets set to release its Flepia color e-book reader in Japan with a $1,000 price tag.

In the works for several years, the Flepia has a bigger display than does Amazon's Kindle 2--it has an 8-inch 1,024x768-pixel XGA touch screen that can display 260,000 colors (Fujitsu refers to its e-ink technology … Read more

The Nintendo DS series has become the fastest-selling home game console ever, Nintendo claims. Unit sales reached 100 million as of March 6, 2009, just four years and three months since its release on November 21, 2004.

Nintendo's original portable game console, the Game Boy, took 11 years and two months to achieve 100 million sales, according to the company.

I'm sure that the recent decision by the Board of Education in Osaka, Japan, to distribute Nintendo DS systems to 10 elementary and junior-high schools in the region will only help the numbers grow in Japan. Those systems … Read more

Remember the lovable four-legged alien with big teeth from the Disney movie "Lilo & Stitch"? If your little tyke is a big fan of Stitch, this is the perfect bedroom-size LCD TV for him or her.

This 20-inch panel has a full-size Stitch climbing over its back, complete with a moveable jaw that conceals the onboard controls. For a hefty 100,000 yen ($1,015), this Japanese concoction will deliver a monitorish 1,680x1,050 resolution, HDMI input, and B-CAS Japan digital TV broadcast support.

That said, you will have to hand-carry it back from Japan even if … Read more

Think it's rude to make faces at people? Well, you better start rethinking that stereotype if you intend to use the Mimi Switch.

Forget fingers. Created by Osaka University researcher Kazuhiro Taniguchi, the Mimi Switch (aka Ear Switch) is a set of unassuming earphones containing infrared sensors. This lets the earpiece sense tiny movements inside the ear caused by facial expressions and transmit the readings to an attached micro-computer that then translates them into commands for a music device.

In fact, this gadget isn't limited to just audio pleasure as it can be programmed to control other electronic … Read more