Japanese pop culture has an obsession with both maids and robots, so why not combine them? A pop-up maid café in Akihabara tried exactly that by using maid robots. It’s called the “Maid Apprentice Substantializing Ideal Robot” Project or MaSiRo Project. It was created by …Read more »
People are trying different ways to get through the COVID pandemic. In Japan, robots are increasingly being used. The Japan Times explained different ways robots are being utilized. There are now robot waiters: “Multi-sensor fusion technology, based on infrared, 3D mapping and machine vision, also …Read more »
The Japanese convenience store of the near future may be staffed by telepresence robots. On August 26, Family Mart teamed up with robotics firm Telexistence to test out whether convenience store employees might be able to work from home, manning robots from afar. The idea …Read more »
After the way 2020’s gone, we’re about ready for our convenience store robot overlords. Japanese store chains Lawson and FamilyMart have announced that they will be introducing simple robots to some locations. At present, the robots will simply be available for demonstration, but there are …Read more »
What’s Akira creator and director Katsuhiro Otomo up to these days? One rumor has it he’s at work on a live-action film version of his own classic manga from the 80s, Domu ; in another, he’s working on a shonen manga set in the Meiji …Read more »
Our favorite and most hardworking anime pollsters Charapedia are at it again, and this week they’ve asked their readers: who are your favorite robots? Now, this comes with one major caveat: we’re not talking rideable robots like mobile suits, Valkyries or the like. Nope, we’re …Read more »
© HUISTEN BOSCH We usually try to avoid “weird Japan” stories around here: most of those stories are either presented out of context, are simply false, or don’t represent Japan as a country at large. But as for this hotel that actually has the word …Read more »
Not going to lie: living in Tokyo has its perks. One of those perks is the seemingly never-ending parade of limited-time exhibitions centered around anime and manga releases. Though realistically, these events are marketing pure and simple, they’re often either very cheap or free and …Read more »
We’ve already invented time-travel, but it only works in the forward direction. And that’s what The Humanoid is: the proof of the process, a time-traveling, coffee-flavored bullet that has crossed nearly a quarter century of space and time to lodge itself irrevocably in the center …Read more »
Is there a better way to start one's weekend than with a double whammy of Gundam trailers? I think not, and recommend doing just that with the embedded videos below. The first of the two is a promotional video for the Gundam Unicorn OVA, and …Read more »
Danica Davidson
Matt Schley
Kara Dennison
Paul Thomas Chapman
Joseph Luster