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This smartphone-controlled robot dinosaur from TE Connectivity drew a lot of eyeballs at the Ceatec 2014 trade show outside Tokyo this week.
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This odd mashup of technologies delivers mild electric shocks to the wearer in time with the music. The controller is normally used with a massage chair and alters the intensity of the shocks. It requires some trust in the person operating the controller. It was shown by a student who won a prize for it in a hacking contest. We’re not really sure what the purpose is.
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A member of Tokyo-based Skeletonics, a startup established by graduates of Okinawa National of College of Technology, shows off an imposing robotic exoskeleton at Ceatec 2014 outside the Japanese capital. While it doesn't give users a strength boost, it can increase their cool factor.
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A tablet-wielding parody of the famous Manneken Pis statue in Brussels stands atop a mockup of a hydrogen-powered car at Honda's booth at the Ceatec 2014 tech expo outside Tokyo.
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An android developed by Toshiba to serve as a sign-language interpreter shows a woman how it's done at the Ceatec 2014 tech expo outside Tokyo.
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Booth attendants for Huawei line up at the Ceatec 2014 tech expo outside Tokyo.
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How many engineers does it take to build a dancing robot? A team from Murata make last-minute adjustments in preparation for a performance by the company’s robotic cheerleading squad. Built to show off the company’s sensors, they balance on rotating balls and dance in formation.
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A model shows off lettuce grown in a Toshiba clean room at the Ceatec 2014 expo outside Tokyo. The company aims to grow 3 million bags of leaf lettuce, baby leaf greens, spinach, mizuna and herbs per year using clean-room technology.
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A ping pong robot developed by Omron takes on a human competitor at the Ceatec 2014 tech expo outside Tokyo. The machine is designed to sustain rallies instead of beating its opponents.
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Honda staffers show off the Segway-like Uni-Cub personal mobility device at the Ceatec 2014 tech expo outside Tokyo. Unveiled in 2012, the Uni-Cub was making its Ceatec debut.
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A student from Keio University demonstrates a robotic message machine at the Ceatec 2014 tech expo outside Tokyo. The Linux PC-based contraption has 12 motors for "telehaptics" functionality. Users can manipulate the back massager with their hands or it can be controlled by remote masseuse.
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At the Ceatec 2014 tech expo outside Tokyo, inventor Michinobu Uda performs "The Entertainer" on an instrument he created which he calls the Udar. Connected to an amplifier, it produces a soft, flute-like sound when Uda pushes various points along a tube coiled around a handheld cylinder.
In Pictures: The wacky side of Ceatec
12 Photos
From androids to dinosaurs, Ceatec has its fair share of oddball sights
