Cutting Noodles With A Robot

We all know that the Japs are awesome when it comes to inventing new things - i mean look at their electronic streets in Tokyo.. !  and if you have seen their paper thin phone - you know they are the leaders when it comes to any kind of invention.  Impressive is not the word.. becasue if you visit the ramen shoops in Minami - Alps, Yamanshi, you will probably be in awe to seethey have their own robot chef that takes care of the assembly of the noodle bowl while the real chef does the cooking and preparing the noodles but the putting them togehter to create the bowl of your steaming hot ramen is done by the robot.

Customers merely have to input their orders on a computer, and the robot takes care of everything. If you think that this might affect the flavor of the soup somehow, then you are right – but only in the best possible way! The robot can customize the flavors depending on the preferences of the customer. It can measure the different spices and flavorings – up to 40 million different permutations! From the amount of salt, soy sauce, and down to the richness of the soup, you can be sure to have a perfect bowl to match your tastes!

The shop owner, Yoshihara Uchida, is quite proud of his achievement. He worked on this robot for quite a while, meeting a lot of hurdles along the way. Finally, after five years of working on the robot, Uchida was able to launch his creation in December of 2008. He dreams of mass producing this robot and making a name for himself.

The Japanese And Their Auto Obsessions

Yes… Toyota is still the very much “In” car for the Japanese but not just any Toyota are popular but the Hybrids I heard are another popular and fast becoming an obsession for trendy Japanese nationals.  If you look at the Honda Insight and other models being powered by electricity and gasoline.

The enthusiasm for hybrids is also a result of new models arriving in showrooms. Toyota introduced the third-generation Prius in May; in June, it was the best-selling car in Japan, elbowing aside the Insight, which in March became the first hybrid to hold the top sales spot.

At 10, 000 insights sales a month.. it must be pretty good to be Honda right now.  In fact, sales is so good, i hear that there is a 5 months waiting period for one in Japan.  Now that’s just crazy you would say .. but nope.. with gas being so high..   i donch blame them for wanting a smaller car.

“Ordinarily, small cars don’t have much status, but people don’t care about changing from a bigger vehicle to a smaller vehicle if it’s a Prius these days,” said Toshiyuki Yokoyama, the general manager at Kanagawa Toyota Motor Sales, which runs about 50 dealerships in and around Yokohama. “Suddenly, everyone wants the car as soon as possible.”