Game maker Atlus has come up with a UFO catcher specifically designed to dish out ice cream, the Triple Catcher Ice -25. All the important selling points are in the name: the crane game uses a three prong claw designed to resemble a scoop and maintains a temperature of -25C to ensure that the frozen treats are solid enough to avoid harm from play. In addition, the Triple Catcher can be played by up to 4 people at once, but requires only the amount of electricity needed to power one machine.
Smart Car vending machine in Shibuya
Holding a full-size Smart Car, the faux vending machine has two choices (coupe and cabrio), and a convenient slot to insert the amount you need (about $20k). Of course, this is a concept only, but is a nice extension of their already creative vending machine idea that fits right into the Japanese love for instant gratification on-the-go. Besides, could you do this with any other car without it seeming like a big joke?
Pushing the button on the vendor won’t exactly pop out a car, but it does dispense a branded tube containing pamphlets on the new models, dealer information, and a sheet of Smart Car stickers featuring the available colors.
Pecha Kucha Ku-Cha from Daiwa Toys isn’t quite what we pictured our robot sidekick to look like.
Actually he (she?) is a whole lot cuter. Despite the decidedly non-tech appearance, this little cartoon colored bear has a built in voice recognition function that can respond to simple questions and statements.
Ask Ku—Cha for the time or your daily horoscope and the wide-eyed bear will cheerfully reply from the speakers built into his armchair. He can also make simple conversation: tell Ku—Cha good morning and he’ll reply, tell him you are back and he’ll say “welcome home.”
from Trends in Japan Blog
