There was a time when Japanese brands dominated technology and everything was "made in Japan." As a country, it has gradually become synonymous with incredible innovation: the Walkman, game consoles, the plasma TV. Then China came and everything changed.
Now it's time to go back to Tokyo. With the world's third-highest GDP and more money invested in "J-startups" than at any time in a decade, the Japanese tech scene is churning out some of the most innovative ideas of all... though some of them are pretty weird.
From artificial intelligence to robotics, to a private lunar rover, to smart art, to a staggering number of gadgets for humans and animals, here's a sampling of startups from Japan.
(Image credit: no language)
1. Mood sensor for dogs Inupathy without language
Mood sensor for dog leash which hopefully won't be embarrassing
Is your dog happy? They may be man's best friend, but man-dog communication hasn't improved for centuries. We basically don't read the body language of dogs, so we need a device to do it for us.
The Inupathy wearable device uses HRV (Heart Rate Variability), continuously tracks your dog's pulse, and uses an analysis to give you mood feedback such as flashing colors on the back of the harness. Everything goes from happy and alert to worried and stressed, although there is no color for "harness bored." Before you ask, it's too big for cats.
(Image credit: Mui)
2. Mui Pillar Memories smart art system
Measure the size of your children. In digital wood
Peaceful digital life. This is what startup Mui Lab, a Kyoto-based Internet of Things design startup, is trying to do with its "silent" devices, the latest being a multimedia reprint of the family tradition. to mark the growth of a child on a wall at home.
The 'hashira no kioku' (wooden height mark) concept model is a 'smart art system' that connects a wooden column, actually a well-disguised smart touch screen, and a Wacom digital pen via Cloud Una. Once you have marked your child's size with the pen, the system displays the exact measurement on the wooden screen and records these measurements. The same goes for brothers and sisters. Well, it's a topic of conversation...
(Image credit: ispace)
3. Space HAKUTO-R
First private lunar exploration program in the world
Can Japan become a "lunar land"? Ispace, a private robotic lunar exploration company based in Tokyo, plans to install a lunar rover on the moon. One of the five finalists for the Google Lunar XPRIZE, ispace wants to be able to provide a vehicle for private companies so that the moon can enter the economic system of the Earth.
The HAKUTO-R program currently involves a mission in orbit around the Moon in 2021 and a lunar landing in 2023 for the world's smallest and lightest planetary exploration vehicle, capable of detecting surrounding obstacles in the world. using its sophisticated camera system.
Learn more about ispace
(Image credit: Pixie Dust Technologies)
4. Holographic Whisper from Pixie Dust Technologies
An enclosure that goes directly to the goal.
If you've never had the pleasure of listening to ultrasonic speakers, let yourself be tempted. A circular speaker like any other, the Holographic Whisper from Pixie Dust Technologies is a directional audio system that can only be heard by one person in a room who is in exactly the right position.
Holographic Whisper's audible sound sources are generated in the air by high amplitude ultrasonic waves, creating a very narrow beam of sound, focused on a small area. It could have uses in public places.
(Image credit: Yukai)
5. Yukai Qooboo Throw Pillow
Why not relax by tickling a headless robot cat?
You want a pet. You can't have a pet. So, what are you doing? Designed for people who live in small apartments, apparently in Tokyo, and for people allergic to pets, Qoobo ($ 165 / € 133) is a robotic cushion with a cat-shaped tail that responds realistically to contact. . If you stroke it, the tail shakes gently and if you rub the Qooboo, its tail sways gently.
Yukai also makes the equally bizarre NecoMimi, a fake cat ear headband that syncs with the wearer's brain waves. Essential things
(Image credit: Unipos)
6. Unipos
Give your colleagues a digital touch on the back
Do you already feel that your happy and helpful disposition and your hard work go unnoticed? Representing "unified positivity", Unipos is a platform designed to create a culture of recognition in the workplace. Each person in a company gives their opinion on all the others, essentially to express gratitude for small or large tasks.
With more than 280 partners and more than 40,000 active users around the world, the Unipos system aims to go beyond "KPIs" in the workplace to encompass the daily contributions of former employees who are not come.
(Image credit: XPAND)
7. XPAND code for smart cities
A barcode for soccer scarves? QR codes, worry
The QR codes that open URLs when you point them to your phone's camera are smart, but ugly and geographically limited. Increasingly in streetlights, train platforms, bus stops and billboards, but the XPAND Code tries to adapt them to the smart city and, at the same time, transform them.
New type of virtual signage, the technology has a thin horizontal shape that tries not to disturb its surroundings. Better yet, instead of being within 10cm of a QR code, you can get information up to 200 meters away from an XPAND code.
(Image credit: Triple W)
8. Toilet time prediction device without triple W
Is it time to go there?
The world is getting old. In a rapidly aging society such as Japan, many innovative technologies are being created to meet the needs of older people, such as Dfree (€ 445 / € 355), a device designed to relieve incontinence.
A small ultrasonic sensor placed in the bladder permanently detects its size. Before the bladder is full, it sends an alert to the user's phone to inform them that it is time to go to the bathroom. Portable predictive device, DFree is already used by more than 2.000 people in Japan.
(Image credit: mui Lab)
9. Mui Lab smart home control panel
Get rid of the smartphone. Get some wood
Do you want to know the weather? Touch a tree. This new smart home control panel is a real wood board connected to the internet. Together with your phone and your smart home, you can filter messages, listen to music, inform you about the weather - everything a phone can do, but most importantly, it only displays information when you touch.
"Smartphones constantly display information and annoy us, forcing us to adapt," said Akikio Moriguchi of mui Lab. "It's the opposite of a smartphone."
(Image credit: Yukai)
10. Yukai BOCCO emo robot
A robot phone for young children
Children have a smartphone from an early age. What about toddlers and preschoolers? Give them a robot, of course. "BOCCO Emo (US € 149 / € 120) was created for parents and children too young to use a smartphone," said Clement Bastide, Marketing Manager at Yukai Engineering, Tokyo. "If your child is at home and you want to consult him, you can send him a message on a smartphone and the robot will talk to what he is typing."
The idea is that the child can press the robot's nose to send it a voice message. It also works with smart appliances. Parents can receive a message from a smart lock if a door is left open.