A Remote-Controlled Helicopter Made Of Smartphone Parts At Tokyo's Toy Show

A toy helicopter created from cannibalised smartphones was among the main attractions at a huge toy show in Tokyo on Friday, where producers were targeting the young and the young-at-heart.
The motor that makes a telephone vibrate provides the power for the rotor blades on the Nano-Falcon, which its makers say is the world's smallest radio-controlled helicopter.
The 6.5-centimetre (2.4-inch) machine weighs just 11 grammes (0.385 ounces), has a range of just five metres (15 feet) and can fly for five minutes, but its makers say they are feeding the fantasies of adults who never really grew up.
"Japan's ageing population made us think of developing a toy targeting adults," said Naoki Nakagawa, head of sales at maker CCP.
"Ten or twenty years ago, helicopter-toys could cost a lot of money. Those who couldn't afford it at the time can now make their childhood dream come true at a reasonable price."
The mini machine retails at around 4,700 yen ($50), a price company spokeswoman Kiyoko Hayasaki said came from its use of bits of mobile phones.

Read more...

Japan carrier unveils smartphone radiation gauge

Image via WikipediaTOKYO — Japan's top mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo is to unveil a smartphone with changeable "jackets" that measure bad breath, body fat and even radiation levels.
DoCoMo says it has developed technology that allows users to measure their own bodies or surroundings by slipping their smartphones inside sensor-embedded shells.
The company will showcase the technology at the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies, a fair featuring the latest in high-end gadgetry, starting in early October near Tokyo.
"Many customers have been nervous about radiation since the Great East Japan Earthquake," DoCoMo spokesman Daisuke Sakuma told AFP, referring to the 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami of March 11 that sparked a nuclear crisis at the Fukushima atomic plant.
"We had been thinking what services we can provide to address these customer needs as a telecom carrier."
The tsunami knocked out cooling systems at Fukushima Daiichi, sparking meltdowns that sent radioactive materials into the air, soil and sea.
Worries over the health implications of the leak, which is still not plugged, have sent demand for radiation-measuring devices soaring in Japan.
DoCoMo will show off three kinds of "jacket" for use with a model of smartphone loaded with the appropriate software.
As well as radiation, the company said it would also demonstrate a case that determines if the holder has bad breath or smells of alcohol as well as checking levels of skin-damaging ultraviolet light.
A third case, dubbed the "health management" jacket, will measure body fat and muscle bulk.

Source:Internet

Read more...