Walking Bikes, Solar Power, and Dancing Singing Robots

Today was sensational.

Ben and I drove up to Ibaraki today to visit the Itohs again. We came just in time for the Tsucuba institute of science and technologies science fair, and it was unbelievable.
We saw the future, and is was awesome!
We saw practical things like photocatalyst water filters. They are intended for use in developing countries where access to clean drinking water is very limited.




















We saw amazing medical inventions, heart pumps, and blood pressure monitors that use only sound waves to test both your blood pressure, and arterial rigidity.

We saw demonstrations of how the land, and water are affected during earth quakes, and we saw excavated slabs of earth that showed how the below us is in constant motion (tectonic plates, lava, and underground water).













We saw advanced technologies for disables persons, including robotic hands that can lift beverages (even beverages in fragile or flexible containers) and assist with eating. We saw wheel chairs that had amazing maneuverability.


















We rode bikes that you peddle in a walking motion, as opposed to a circular motion. It felt much more comfortable to me. People with bad knees find this style of bicycle to be far less painful, and it does not damage the knees as much as traditional bicycles. It was really fun, and surprisingly easy.

The coolest part though was the robots!
There was a 1 foot tall robot that could play soccer.























There was a robot that you could have conversations with, and had surprisingly natural facial expressions (though jerky head motions).












And then there was the dancing singing robot!! It was so cool. In fact Obama met this robot during a visit to Japan.

Please enjoy my videos, (and the better quality videos of other people).