Again, from Japan the news of the innovative robots keeps on astonishing me. The newest one is a shopping robot- that does the shopping for you. Read here a nice story from PinkTentacle blog.

This ad was spotted in Southern Finland local bus. The ad was about running shoes: Karhu. What is the weak signal here is the text in the ad: technology inside. Even though that ad probably hinted to the complex and advanced manufacturing technique and materials of the shoe, the future trend proably is that all the items contain some kind of technology. Like spoons. Check here VTT’s Smart spoon. Here you can find some information about it.

NTT  in Japan has started to sell device that transmits data across the skin of human body and lets the user to communicate with other electronic device by just touching them. NTT considers this device called FIRMO to be useful for security purposes in companies (using it like “key”), but of course this device will have huge potential for many applications. Firmo is based on NTT’s RedTacton human area network (HAN) technology, which is designed to allow convenient human-machine data exchange through natural physical contact for example by clothing, gloves and shoes. Currently the device is very expensive (8 000 USD), but in the future the price is expected to drop when the mass customizin starts.

Source: pinktentacle

image: RBB Today

It seems that you do not have to be a genius to fly an airoplane. Actually you do not have to be at all: it is enought just to take a pieces of rat brain, turn them to neurons and plug it into the computer. After a while this system learns to fly a jet, when taught so. If you do not believe, check this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jeV77dSyMI

via paras chorpa’s blog

Image: This chair locates in the lobby of Fujitsu.

This fabulous Ball Chair was spotted for a lobby of Fujitsu, Helsinki. This chair has something extra in it: a computer installed in it. By pressing a button you can get a display in front of you whan you are sitting in the chair. The chair is designed by famous Finnish designer Eero Aarnio but the installation of computer is done afterwards.

The chair appeared to be very comfortable and gave a little silent room for surfing…

Image:Emotiv Epoc Neuroheadset. Image from http://emotiv.com

Brain computer interface (BCI) is something that will become more than reality in next 50 years. Actually the first neuroheadset will be lauched soon (late 2008) by Emotiv Systems.

In the future it might be possible that small nanorobots will scan our brains to see our dreams and feelings. Other possibility is small holes drilled to our skull for special BCI devise. This devise could for example record our dreams, and next day we could look at them in our therapy session. Freud would be so exicted about this if he was alive! (check here the whole story)

This vision about capturing dreams was provided by Michael Anissinov from a blog Accelerating Future. Check that blog- it is great!