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One feature on the beleaguered Boeing 787 Dreamliner is its electrochromic dimming system that lets passengers make windows on the aircraft more or less opaque at the touch of a button.

Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) says that while these smart windows can take about 30 seconds to change, it has a new stick-on window film that can go from reflective to see-through in only 5 seconds.

The switchable mirror device can change states when a low voltage is applied. … Read more

We've seen robot pharmacists before. Here's a robot lab technician whose speed might make "CSI" plots a little more believable.

Developed by automation giant Yaskawa and Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), co-creator of the HRP series of humanoid robots, Mahoro is a two-armed droid that looks like a modified Yaskawa Motoman assembly robot.

Unlike most assembly robots, its arms have seven joints, allowing it to use human tools and to perform humanlike motions easily. … Read more

When "Star Wars" projected a hologram of Princess Leia in 1977, lots of viewers surely dreamed that the technology could one day become real.

Some 34 years later, Japanese display company Burton is working on something akin to George Lucas' vision with a projector that focuses laser light into moving 3D shapes capable of being displayed in air or under water.

If this technology continues to advance, we could one day have 3D experiences without the need for glasses or even a screen. To create the effect, focused laser light excites the naturally occurring oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the air, otherwise known as plasma excitation.

The current prototype can manifest up to 50,000 points of light at 10-15 frames per second, while efforts are already underway to improve that to a film-like 24-30fps. Those cringing at the Unix-esque green scheme can be rest assured this 3D display is not limited to just green: the traditional red, green, and blue color mix can be combined to create full-color 3D moving images. … Read more

TOKYO--Robots were out in force in Tokyo today as the International Robot Exhibition (iRex) kicked off with sophisticated humanoid industrial robots thrilling visitors.

With nearly 300 companies and groups taking part, iRex 2011 has the usual large-footprint booths by major robot makers like Fanuc and Yaskawa. With the power shortages that followed the March 11 earthquake and tsunamis, energy savings is a prominent theme, as it was at the Ceatec 2011 high-tech show here last month.

Particularly awesome was a demo of Nextage industrial robots by Kawada Industries, known for its work on the HRP series of humanoids as well as its mainline of bridge building.

The 20 kg (44 pound) assembly-line droid has six-jointed arms as well as cameras in its eyes and hands. It was also shown off at iRex 2009, though sales began recently. It's expected to use the same tools as humans while working in production cells; a research version called Hiro is also available. … Read more

Strawberry fields will forever be changed by robots that can automatically identify and pick ripe berries, according to Japanese researchers.

Developed by the minds at an organization aptly abbreviated IAM-BRAIN (that's the Institute of Agricultural Machinery's Bio-oriented Technology Research Advancement Institution), the machines can harvest more than 60 percent of a strawberry crop.

Even though each machine takes nine seconds to pick a strawberry, they can cut harvesting time from 500 hours to 300 hours for a 1,000-square-meter field (about a quarter-acre), BRAIN's Shigehiko Hayashi explains in the video below.

The robots can also pick strawberries at night. There's more video of the machine at work here, on BRAIN's Japanese page.

The berry bot has a stereo camera system that images the strawberries in 3D. Image-processing algorithms gauge their ripeness, and if a berry is at least 80 percent red, the machine neatly snips it at the stem and deposits it in a bin.

Japanese farmers are field-testing experimental versions of the robots and testing is expected to be complete by the end of the year. … Read more

President Obama stood his ground in an encounter with an advanced humanoid robot in Japan over the weekend, shrugging off its threatening body language and obvious desire to destroy humanity.

Obama came face to face with HRP-4C, notorious for her attempts to beguile complacent humans with a cute song and dance routine. Developed by Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), the infamous fembot was cunningly designed with a human face to fool members of our species.

Meeting the droid on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Yokohama, however, Obama merely smiled when she defiantly … Read more

Japan has added another soldier to its humanoid robot army following last year's fembot supermodel. The HRP-4 is the latest edition in the state-backed humanoid project. It's leaner, lighter, and can balance itself with yogic ease.

Developed by bridge builder Kawada Industries and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), the HRP-4 can stand on one leg, track faces and objects, and respond to voice commands.

HRP-4 sports a RoboCop look, but it's more C-3PO. Designed under the theme of a "slim athlete," it weighs a mere 86 pounds including battery. That's about 9 pounds less than its sister bot HRP-4C, which made waves last year modeling a dress at a bridal fashion show in Osaka, as well as Japan Fashion Week in Tokyo.

HRP-4 stands nearly 5 feet tall and has 34 moving joints, with seven in each arm, as well as fingers than can move more precisely than earlier HRP models. Each arm has a load capacity of about 1 pound.

All joint motors are less than 80 watts for design safety. A compact notebook computer can be installed in HRP-4's back to increase onboard data processing.

Kawada and AIST have previously shown off how HRP bots can be useful around the house, wielding power tools and pouring drinks. The HRP-2 Promet has been shown walking on uneven terrain and even helping install wall paneling.

The video below shows HRP-4 introducing itself, showing off some moves and tracking a man's face (it stands on one leg at around 4:25). … Read more

Last November, we got a peek at a pair of robotic roller skates that Japanese engineers have been working on, and recently those same researchers showed off a homegrown version of the Segway that features an obstacle sensor.

The AIST Micromobility vehicle from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology's (AIST's) Field Robotics Research Group is a platform-type ride instead of the skates we saw at the 2009 International Robot Exhibition (iRex) in Tokyo.

Like the skates, it has control poles and is designed to be a lightweight, compact alternative to walking or riding a bike. … Read more

Researchers in Japan are developing robotic roller skates as a new form of personal mobility.

Toshinobu Takei of Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) demonstrated his "Unit-type Micro-Mobility" device at the 2009 International Robot Exhibition (iRex) in Tokyo this week.

We haven't seen too many gadgets like these, but what with the plethora of prototype personal vehicles like Honda's U3-X unicycle in Japan lately, they aren't surprising.

The prototype skates are actually mechatronic versions of "takeuma," which are old-school bamboo stilts that kids used to play with in … Read more