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Japanese AI venture develops autonomous tidying-up robot

Oct 18, 2018 (Kyodo) - Preferred Networks Inc., a Japanese venture specializing in artificial intelligence, unveiled on Tuesday a fully autonomous tidying-up robot for home use.

The Tokyo-based startup created software for the cylindrical robot, around 100 to 135 centimeters tall and weighing some 37 kilograms, which was developed by Toyota Motor Corp. for assisting the elderly and disabled.

The support robot features a camera on the top of it that enables it to recognize objects scattered in a room such as socks, toys and stationery. Moving at a maximum speed of 800 meters per hour, it uses a folding arm to pick up and place such materials in designated locations.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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Typhoon No. 26 (Surigae) remained a strong typhoon south of Japan early on September 29, moving east-northeast at 15 kilometers per hour as it gradually weakened ahead of an expected approach to the southern Izu Islands from September 30 through October 1, where heavy thunderstorms, sudden gusts and high waves are forecast.

Ryuji Miura led a Japanese one-two finish in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase on September 28, winning gold in a Games record of 8 minutes, 17.36 seconds as Ryoma Aoki surged late to take silver in 8:17.60 at Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Nagoya.

Beaujolais Nouveau, France's newly produced wine traditionally associated with autumn, arrived in Japan on September 28 about a month earlier than usual after a record-breaking heatwave accelerated this year's grape harvest.

Yokozuna Onosato captured his sixth career championship at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on September 27, defeating Ukrainian ozeki Aonishiki in a winner-takes-all showdown at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan to finish the 15-day competition with 12 wins and three losses, ending a year-long title drought after a dramatic final weekend.

A fire broke out at the observation deck of Chubu Electric Power MIRAI TOWER in central Nagoya on Saturday, prompting 30 visitors to evacuate, although no injuries were reported.

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A deputy priest at Myoenji temple in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, caught a man red-handed shortly after midnight on September 27 after surveillance footage showed the same person repeatedly appearing at the temple at around the same time each day.

A woman believed to be in her 20s has been found dead at an apartment building struck by a landslide in Miura City, Kanagawa Prefecture, following heavy rain brought by Typhoon No. 25, raising the death toll across the Kanto region to 13.

A 25-year-old father has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly throwing his two young daughters from the sixth-floor balcony of an apartment building in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, in the early hours of September 26, with police investigating whether a dispute between the suspect and his wife was behind the incident.

A fire broke out at the observation deck of Chubu Electric Power MIRAI TOWER in central Nagoya on Saturday, prompting 30 visitors to evacuate, although no injuries were reported.

A 76-year-old man was arrested on September 27 on suspicion of arson after a fire destroyed approximately 560 square meters of a wooden apartment building in Osaka's Higashiyodogawa Ward, prompting the dispatch of 52 fire engines and taking around nine hours to extinguish.

Princess Aiko, the only daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, attended the opening ceremony of the World Congress of Medical Laboratory Science in Chiba, where she expressed condolences to victims of recent natural disasters and called for a swift recovery in affected areas.

A major traffic accident involving 10 vehicles, including trucks and passenger cars, left one man seriously injured and nine others with minor injuries on the Daini Shinmei Road in Kobe on September 24, forcing the closure of part of the expressway.

Police in Tokyo's Shibuya district are dealing with a steady stream of thefts, drunken altercations and late-night accidents, including a 17-year-old boy who stole a sleeping man's bag on a whim, a dispute outside a karaoke bar and an injured man who lost his memory after a night of drinking.