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EXCLUSIVE!
A pop-up manga cartoon titled Maruichi's Tea Time designed specially
for TIME by popular artist Nozomi Yanahara
COVER: Gizmo Nation
For the past 50 years Japanese have embraced the notion that salvation
is to be found through technical innovation--and the world has benefited
from their ingenuity
Timeline:
A look at the rise of technology in Japan (photo essay)
My Robot,
My Friend:
Japanese love not only to give their machines names, but also to make
them pals
Viewpoint:
Let no one say these citizens are automatons
Birth of
a Robot: TIME takes an exclusive inside look at the design,
construction and assembly of "Pino" (photo essay)
Land of
the Rising Gadget: At times, this can seem like an almost
fully automated society (photo essay)
The 10 Smartest
Machines: These whiz-bang doo-dads are just around the corner;
plus, the 5 dumbest head-scratching devices (photo essay)
Lonely Inventors:
Surprisingly, the country doesn't always reward its most creative
scientific minds
The
Old Ways: Some tasks are still done better by humans
Local
Talent: Ota ward remakes itself
Cellul-Oids:
Japanese cinema is full of mechanical monsters, mayhem and monkey
business
On the
Boards: An interactive Shakespeare
Essay:
Ryu Murakami bemoans the alienation of youth
Essay:
Pico Iyer on why the new is old in Japan
ALSO IN TIME:
CINEMA: Hong Kong's
It Girl
Nervy, gifted and terribly precocious, actress Cecilia Cheung may
be the local film industry's next great hope
Web-only
Interview: Cecelia shuns fame, rarely goes out, and has already
moved house five times this year to escape press attention
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Tom
Wagner/Saba for TIME
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Miracle
Of Life
A Japanese research team gives TIME an exclusive inside look at the birth
of "Pino,"a robot child
By
TIM LARIMER Tokyo
For six months, the researchers on scientist Hiroaki Kitano's robotics team
in Tokyo had been trying to create a baby robot. On April 18 they finally
succeeded, and they gave TIME exclusive access to both the gestation and
the "birth."After putting 35 exterior polyurethane panels-painted snow white
and apple green-around the approximately 150 mechanical pieces that make
the robot run, they stood back and admired their handiwork: a 75 cm tall,
8 kg bundle of joy that could already walk-gingerly-and kick a soccer ball.
Kitano's baby has 29 motors that power one body movement each - a bending
elbow, for example, or a flexing knee. Later the robot will be able to respond
to voice commands, recognize faces and, the ultimate goal, play soccer.
Its name? "Pino" - short for Pinocchio, the wooden doll who wanted to be
a boy.
Click here for photo essay
Features
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