You might say that the last great life-changing technological achievement was the development of portable devices like smartphones and tablets. However, it’s been a few years now and nothing truly new has come down the pike aside from making other everyday things “smart” like glasses or a watch.

Just in time, we now have a new device that may change the very fabric of society. It’s a vending machine that lifts up the skirt of a Hatsune Miku plush toy. It may not sound important right now, but that’s how these game-changers work. In a few years’ time all of our lives will revolve around this invention, so let’s take a moment to see how it works.

http://youtu.be/9-dwP43CYoI

As the video opens we can gain insight into the creator’s thought process. Vending machines accept money and give you what you want. What this person wanted was to see up the virtual pop star Hatsune Miku’s skirt, so they got to work.

First a little mechanical arm was constructed and patched into the coin slot using a RaspberryPi computer. The machine along with some speakers was housed in a Sparkfun box. We can’t stress the importance of a Sparkfun box enough here.

Once it was all constructed you simply put a 100 yen (US$1) coin into the slot. Once Also Sprach Zarathustra (A.K.A. the 2001 Space Odyssey opening theme) starts playing, you know you’re in for an epic event, and I mean epic in the “long and drawn-out” sense rather than the new “cool” meaning. To be fair, if I were a skirt-lifting robot, I guess I’d want to move slowly and delicately too.

Bit by bit, the little arm gets into position and then as the song hits its climax, the skirt is lifted! Don’t forget where you were while watching this for the first time. You’ll have to tell your grandchildren about it someday.

The best part of this video is probably the way the robotic arm cutely slips away into the box after achieving its prime directive. On their blog Stupid Toy Shop, the inventor explains that this was more of an exercise in running multiple servos and they would like to do it again with something less embarrassing.

Like many geniuses they’re clearly just being modest. This revolutionary machine is a must-have for any tech-fan. I’m currently working on making one myself. I just need to figure out what a “servo” is… or “tech” for that matter.

Source: Stupid Toy Shop via Netlab (Japanese)
Video and Images: YouTube – umizakana