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https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Startups/New-chip-for-robots-conveys-sense-of-touch-to-human-operators?utm_campaign=GL_asia_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=NA_newsletter&utm_content=article_link&del_type=1&pub_date=20220629123000&seq_num=20&si=44594 New chip for robots conveys 'sense of touch' to human operators Japanese startup partners with Tata to bring system to industries worldwide Extensive feedback from real haptics technology allows users to remotely handle delicate items, like potato chips, without damaging them. AYA ONISHI, Nikkei staff writerJune 29, 2022 07:54 JST TOKYO -- A Japanese startup is taking a major step toward commercializing real haptics technology that can replicate the exact feel and texture of objects, opening up new remote opportunities in health care, construction, manufacturing and other fields. Motion Lib, launched out of Japan's Keio University, will enter a partnership with Tata Consultancy Services as early as this month to develop an advanced haptics feedback system that can be used in a variety of industries. They aim to launch the system globally as early as 2024. TCS will also work on cloud infrastructure to store data of different tasks and movements that the system can carry out. TCS has a market capitalization of around 12 trillion rupees ($153 billion), more than IBM, operating in 46 countries and working with over 2,000 startups. It partners with over 500 researchers worldwide, including at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and has the connections to introduce new technology to major corporations. Conventional haptics systems cannot replicate small differences in resistance, making handling delicate items a challenge. Real haptics technology, first put into practical use by Keio University project professor Kohei Onishi, can simulate minute tactile sensations, allowing users to pick up balloons and potato chips via a robotic arm without damaging them, or figure out how hard they can squeeze a cake before crushing it, for example. Onishi was also involved in the founding of Motion Lib. The startup has developed a proprietary chip which, when inserted into robots and other machines, can remotely transmit detailed tactile sensations back to the user. The technology relies on an algorithm to quantify firmness, resistance and other factors, and can track the user's movements down to a ten-thousandth of a second. It is expected to be used in a range of applications, from allowing doctors to "feel" patient organs during remote surgery, to having robots recreate techniques used by skilled craftspeople. Motion Lib is already testing the technology with companies and research institutions at home. It is working on plastering walls remotely with general contractor Obayashi. It also developed a PCR testing robot with Yokohama National University and other partners, allowing medical professionals to collect samples remotely without hurting their subjects. Real haptics could open up further remote opportunities in fields that traditionally have required a physical presence, including health care, construction, maintenance and agriculture. The proprietary chip designed by Motion Lib adds an extra layer of security, preventing the technology from being used for unintended purposes. (Photo by Aya Onishi) The technology could also be used to store specialized skills as tactile data, so they can be recreated remotely and passed on to future generations. "We are looking to commercialize the technology globally within two to three years in partnership with Tata Group," Motion Lib CEO Takahiro Mizoguchi said. For example, Japan is a leader in endoscopies and real haptics could bring that know-how to developing countries, where the expertise is not readily available. "Japan has stringent regulations for things like medical equipment, and the government currently has no framework for approving tactile devices," Onishi said. "It could take seven to eight years before we can commercialize the technology here," he added, explaining the push into overseas markets. Motion Lib and TCS aim to create the Internet of Actions, a digital databank that stores key skills from different industries as tactile data. They aim to eventually be able to download that data onto robots, so they can perform the tasks without a human operator. The global market for industrial robots is expected to double from 2021 to 2028 to over $165 billion, according to Statista. Real haptics could also augment users' strength, opening up new job opportunities for people with disabilities as well. But they could potentially be used for military applications as well. Motion Lib's system is designed so remote feedback and controls can only be activated on robots and machines with its proprietary chip. "We'll be able to protect the technology by keeping control over the chips," Onishi said.

My TnG card will be entering into an "inactive" status tomorrow on 24th June since last road trip. As we are in unprecedented times with restricted travel and there's no way I can enter MY now, I tried to resuscitate my looming "inactive" TnG card again. Digging into their 27 pages of FAQ encyclopedia, under section 2.8 Dormant Card, subsection 2.8.1, it states that "Card linked to Touch 'n Go eWallet (PayDirect function) will not become Dormant and Dormant Fee is not applicable....." I proceeded to register my card with eWallet and to play it safe, topped up a grand RM10.00 into it. Not sure if my interpretation is correct wrt to Bolehland's England, my understanding is, now my TnG card is forever active until expiry, i.e. no need to use/top up every 12 months without incurring inactive fee??? I hope that when it is safe to travel again, my TnG card will not become "inactive" thereby causing a traffic snarl at the checkpoint or their TnG prata did not flip by then. LOL

just wanted to share my bad experience with the Touch n go service office (at Jalan Lingkaran Dalam) this morning... Situation: I had a touch and go card that was purchased many many years ago.... with reduced amount of balance in card, so need to do a top up.... Process / procedure : Used to do top up at the woodlands checkpoint (malaysia customs) , but they have discontinued and told us to go to any shell station to do top up I had to drive to nearest JB shell station to do top up, but was told that the card expired... so need to go nearest Touch n Go office to renew or top up Experience when my wife reaches there (Touch n go ), the staff (claimed her name is farah) was very rude and made things difficult and insist the registered card owner must be present ... so she had to ask me to go in when I went in, the staff ask some silly questions on the card... such as how much we normally top up and where do we top up (like they are collecting data for a customer expenditure survey).... we gave the information and told her al these should be available in their system The staff was unhappy and tried to be more difficult by asking the next ridiculous question, .. asked if we had use this touch n go to pay car park... My answer is I pay almost all my carpark fees through cash ... my recollection is i use this card as per the original intent which is meant for toll fee and customs payment and I don't use this card or even associate this card for any car park payment.... she turned around and said.. okay then data mismatch... validation failed... you need to go register again Her logic seemed like... one could be using the card for a 1000 or million times for toll payment but if there is 1 car park payment (dunno where/when) and you are unable to tell me there is , then this is treated as data unable to be validated wow... I have not chanced upon a more sophisticated data processing intelligent brain or organisation that develop such a system of inflexibility or obstipation .. i was shocked.... what sort fo data is mismatched? i asked, i am the owner of the card.... with a long span of the years using the card... who can recalled every small transactions throughout the years and if 1 data is not matched, the staff conclude that it is data mismatched?.... .. and this is all happening just to be able to top up a cashcard My Aftershocked experience firstly, the staff is unprofessional......just applying her personal biasness and discriminate against individuals and decision is based on her whims and fancy... secondly, the so called validation data process is a joke..... who can remember every steps /amount the card has been top up... just a general answer aligned with what she wants to hear is considered validated... and another general answer not aligned to what she wants to hear is invalidated there is also no consistency in the validation process... if validation is needed for a top up cashcard (not sure it is needed, overkill), then please do it properly with consistency and had a good basis for the answers (establish how certain slight deviations are acceptable) for example she ask what was top up, we answer vaguely like RM 100-200.... but actually there were other higher or lower denominations as well... but she can accept those as validated.. when she asked if the card is use for paying carpark... I told her, so far, my recollection is mainly for road toll tee and the VEP customs payment as its original intend, many carparks that i go to doesn't have this touch n go payment option ... i pay cash for those... yes ..many car parks have since implemented to accept touch and go, doesn't means i have changed my way of paying carpark.. maybe a single occurrence or so With the system data in front of her, she should be able to look at the overall data .. perhaps 99.9% of times, I am paying as tolling fee and maybe 0.1% of the total is used to pay carpark such as a particular instance... if so, what is the basis of saying the data is invalid then there is another staff (presuming the office manager or the manager in charge), he warned me to stop recording the whole episode and also wanted to stop me from taking a photo of the Touch n go's Refund Notice printout where it has office contact number for me to write to complaint. He also asked the to delete the video Again ridiculous request, I asked where in that office was it stated we are not allow to take video and why is is not allow to take a photo of the contact information of that notice for me to send my complaint to ? anyway those are the proof of how bad service provider they are ... deletion would be a waste Looking back, the validation process redundant and irrelevant... might as well ask everyone to register new one and not waste time talking to bunch of crowns I don't know what else to say... the company should consider replacing those unprofessional staff or improve the process or leave it as it is (which will be probably what they will do)

Singapore travellers to Malaysia will soon have an easier time paying for road tolls and parking across the Causeway. Local travel card issuer EZ-Link and Malaysia’s Touch ’n Go announced on Tuesday (April 9) that they are planning to introduce a Combi Card in the fourth quarter of 2019 that can allow users to pay in Singapore dollars and Malaysian ringgit. This dual-currency card can be used both in Singapore and Malaysia. For a start, users can use it to pay electronic road pricing in Singapore, highway tolls in Malaysia and parking in either countries. In the future, there are plans to expand the card’s use, such as making payments for shopping and dining in Singapore and Malaysia. The card will store Singdollars and ringgit separately. This means that if the card’s Singdollar balance is zero, users cannot use the card’s ringgit stored value to make Singdollar payments and have to top up the card with Singdollars. The converse applies as well. How card top-ups can be done and other details will be announced later. The cross-border Combi Card announcement comes after it was cited in the joint statement by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad following their Leaders' Retreat in Putrajaya on Tuesday. Both leaders welcomed the good progress made by both companies to launch the Combi Card that can be used by motorists who travel in both countries. "When officially implemented, the dual-currency Combi Card would allow users to pay for road tolls and parking charges in both countries with the same card," said the statement. The Combi Card will securely host both electronic wallets from EZ-Link and Touch 'n Go, a first in South-east Asia, said a joint statement by both companies on Tuesday. The card is targeted for a fourth-quarter launch this year. EZ-Link chief executive Nicholas Lee said that the card "will be a milestone in EZ-Link's efforts to continuously innovate to transform people's lives with technology". Touch 'n Go chief executive Syahrunizam Tan Sri Samsudin said: "This synergy between Touch 'n Go and EZ-Link to create a dual-currency cross-border Combi Card will undoubtedly make daily transactions fuss-free for Malaysian and Singaporean consumers with faster, simpler and more secure payment options." This announcement follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding between EZ-Link and Touch 'n Go on July 30, 2017. To date, EZ-Link has issued about 30 million Cepas ez-link cards in Singapore and Touch 'n Go has more than 23 million active Touch 'n Go cards in circulation in Malaysia.

Hi, Anyone knows where in Singapore has the widest range of paint markers? I need to buy a paint marker or small bottle of paint to touch up a scratch. I called Autobacs to check, but their stores don’t have the color I’m looking for. (Code: 9AL, name: Deep Garnet Metalic)

Touch 'n Go App for JB regulars Keep track of your card balance in your eWallet. The TNG app is available for Android and iOS devices. Received this email from them earlier. For more information, visit touchngo.com.my

Dear all, I saw a notice pasted immgration counter at malaysia First link CIQ. i ask the counter officer what is it about as it is all written in malay. She say from 14 Aug they are closing the counter top up at immgration. Meaning to say no touch and go no entry There is two thing that will happen. the jam will be damn bad as a lot of people don't have sufficent credit. Please use second link as there is automated machine. I may be wrong as i rely on the officer rely of message, please becareful and factor more jam time. Rustyz

Hi, Anyone using the above car mount ? Does it fall off when parked under the hot sun ? TIA !

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/eat-drink-man-woman-16/%5Bgpgt-shame-thread%5D-would-you-patronise-shop-shows-kind-sign-5341872.html

Anyone knows where to repair if there is discolouration on the MFD screen ? thanks.

This one must clap for him. Very obvious he's asking MIW to wake up. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/specialreports/parliament/videos/out-of-touch-politician/1018836.html One of the rare times i agree with a MIW.

Hi guys, I looking for something like this http://www.ezytouchup.com/ (not advertising for them), is there any place in singapore sells something like this? I am not looking at touch up pens cos my scratch area too big for touch up pens... respray is not option for me since my car only left 27 months before scrapping.

Anyone already have this in your Gen2/Persona? Looks good leh ... need some 1st hand comments before committing ... 2-din dvd player

any bros know where to buy liquid paint to touch up my rims? thanks in advance!

mind give me some recommendation abt this??

Check out these hilarious photos of guys who suffer from the 'hover hand' syndrome. These guys are incredibly shy that they they let their hands hover over the shoulders of girls when they take photos with them. STOMPer Macho Man, who sent in these photos, said: "You don't know whether to laugh at them or pity them. They are so shy that they do not dare touch the hot girls they are photographed with, for fear of perhaps offending them. "In fact, some of these guys are quite creative in disguising their 'hover hand' syndrome, by putting on a cool front."

Selling the above Alpine W2023 can connect reverse camera very gd condition. Looking at $280 cash n carry. Watsapp 97886400 for pic n info

Anyone got experience with T-Touch? Where to buy for best price and any problems with the watch? Please share thanks!

When I last topped up my Touch n Go card in June, they handed me a receipt, and on it was printed the expiry date of the card: 29/09/2011. I have value of MYR140 and I wonder what's the most convenient way to transfer the value to a new T&G card. Can I get this done in Singapore?

how does one stop work for 60 secs? who would be able to tell the difference? seriously though....Qantas had so many problems recently that even if cheaper i also would not consider flying with them. ----- Qantas CEO says unions 'out of touch' Posted: 20 July 2011 1506 hrs A Qantas plane SYDNEY: Qantas chief Alan Joyce on Wednesday accused labour unions of standing in the way of change at the airline, as he signalled greater industry consolidation, with a focus on Asia, was the way forward. The Australian carrier, which is engaged in prolonged talks with pilots and engineers on contracts, will next month announce a strategic plan designed to revive its loss-making international business and expand its Asia markets. "We are now in negotiations with a number of unions," Joyce said. "But some union leaders are simply out of touch and trying to block our use of new business models." The chief executive said the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers' Association (ALAEA) needed to understand that new technologies required changed work practices. "But our maintenance and repair costs are among the least efficient and most expensive in the world," he said in a speech to the Australian Pacific Aviation Outlook Summit. "So it's time to catch up. We don't repair our cars the same way we did 40 years ago. We can't repair our planes the same way either. We can - and we will - be safer, smarter and more efficient." The ALAEA, whose members are due to stop work for 60 seconds on Friday as part of an ongoing dispute over wages and conditions, reacted furiously to Joyce's comments. "Right now I would like to direct all members to walk straight off the job and walk into Alan Joyce's office," union secretary Steve Purvinas said in an open letter on the union's website. "To tell him to stop destroying the business that was founded 90 years ago by two pilots and an engineer. To remind him that without Qantas International, he will not have any other associated businesses." But Purvinas called on engineers not to walk off the job, saying Joyce's comments were "clearly trying to incite us into doing something stupid". Qantas is also facing its first industrial action by pilots in 45 years as they demand a new clause in their contracts to stop the airline from potentially outsourcing pilots to cheaper bases in Asia. Joyce said the competitive challenges airlines faced made major change essential, including greater engagement in Asia, particularly China. Qantas' budget subsidiary Jetstar was already Asia's largest and fastest growing low-fare network and Joyce said management saw "continuing opportunities for the Jetstar model". Joyce said while Qantas was one of the world's top aviation companies, its success was "far from guaranteed". "We come from a relatively small home market, that is not a major global destination. We have no global hub ports. And we're not backed by government," Joyce said. "To secure our future, we must face up to the new global realities, seize new opportunities, and make the external and internal changes that will enable us to compete effectively." - AFP/fa

Hi all, I am driving Toyota yaris and is looking for touch screen DVD cd audio/video player that can fit into my car. It will b gd if it can be connected to iPod n iPhone n able to act as reverse parking monitor. Any bro can recommend? Thanks in advance.

http://club.autohome.com.cn/bbs/thread-c-837-6402554-1.html saw the amount of cosmetics done to his car, even engine...lol

Which planet has he been residing in? Yahoo! News PAP not out of touch: Foreign Min. George Yeo Foreign Minister George Yeo has rejected claims the ruling People's Action Party is out of touch as "completely untrue". Speaking to Yahoo! Singapore in a frank and honest one-on-one interview, the 56-year-old Minister said, "I know what I do as an MP and what my colleagues do. We spend a lot of time just working with ordinary people... We can't solve all problems but we do what we can." He added, "So I would say we are more in touch than those who criticise us for being out of touch." Even as the Singapore economy shot out of the blocks from the 2008 financial crisis to a record 15% growth in 2010, concerns about the rising cost of living, competition with foreign workers and housing issues have dominated discussions both online and in coffee shops around Singapore. The year 2010 was also dominated by headlines surrounding the escape of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror leader Mas Selamat and recurring flash floods around several areas of Singapore. Asked about what kind of report card he would give the PAP for its performance over the last few years, Minister Yeo said it was not fair for him to assess he and his own PAP colleagues. "It's hard, I mean here you are putting me in a position of a student and I cannot be writing a report card on myself. But if you take a step back, and compare Singapore to other countries... in every country, what sets their success or failure in the end is politics," he said. But the Member of Parliament for Aljunied GRC encouraged voters to look at the big picture ahead of the impending General Election. "If you are to rank countries, Singapore comes right near the top. And people marvel, you have nothing, just a little speck of land, but out of it, just harnessing the ability, the energy of individuals we are able to accomplish so much," he said. During the hour-long interview at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Tanglin, he also addressed those who were frequently critical of the PAP. "Even those who are anti-PAP, who are critical, when they travel they feel so proud of being Singaporeans... When they come home, the moment they get the SIA boarding pass, there's a flutter in their hearts...yes, I'm on my way home." For more on Minister Yeo's interview with Yahoo! Singapore, listen here. In the next part of our interview with the Minister, he talks about social media and the effect it will have on the Election.

Wife bought an i-pad look-a-like from Shanghai for a mere S$170 equivalent. Not so use to using touch screen to nagivate. Find Android OS very clumsy too. A no-frill 10" mini-computer for causal use and internet surfing, may be. 5 hours use for full-charge. So what is the trend now? Would I be better off buying a Netbook (Mini Notebook/Laptop) instead? Just for internet surfing during travel. 7~8 hours use for full-charge. Dell Mini is only selling at RM999 (S$420) here but Singapore selling at S$499. Any other good buys to recommend? Thank you very much. Regards,

Hey Guys, Anyone here has one of this? If so, have you tried getting it to work with a DLNA-compliant NAS without running their software over a PC?