Android experiment OBJECT took over 200 submissions for ideas and produced these four futuristic products.
Like it or not, most of our lives are entangled in the tricky web that is created by technology and the devices that we carry. While Apple has continuously been pushing their wireless agenda with iPhone after iPhone, Android-based phones have taken a lion’s share of the available mobile phone market. It might seem like everywhere you look you will see an iPhone, but actually there are seven times more phones that run an Android operating system than Apple’s. With such a stranglehold on market share, you would think there would be more innovative things coming out of the Android camp, especially with tech giant Google backing the little green robot. It turns out that there are, you just have to know where to look for them.
The Japanese division of Android recently released a video documenting four incredibly interesting ideas that might soon arrive for the millions of Android users out there.
From over 200 designs, almost 20,000 votes were cast to decide which objects would move forward past the paper design phase. Perhaps the coolest is the ELI, or English Language Intelligence. Based on Google’s Machine Learning API, this little device records and analyzes a Japanese-speakers’ everyday speech and then creates a list of English vocabulary so that they can learn English words that they would be using in their everyday life.
Also previewed was an on-the-wall “paper” calendar that would sync with your calendar app and keep itself updated, and a pretty neat “telescope” that could use location data in order to show you pictures of your surrounding at different times of the day and year.
The final OBJECT seems like it should be automatically addressed by the politeness of Japanese people, but the Maternity Mark allows someone to alert other users to their pregnant state through a notification on other people’s phone so they can get up and offer their seat to someone in need.
Overall, the OBJECTs just scrape the surface of the kind of interactivity that Android-based phones can offer. Hopefully, there are more of these products coming down soon, and the original four will reach the market with their functionality intact. Until we can turn over our lives to the technological marvels we carry in our pockets, we will continue to use them to document our cat–filled lives.
Source: Android, YouTube/Google Japan

Japan has a new cute and clever sunblock for cat lovers
Kanji ice cream becomes a sell-out hit in Japan
Japan’s izakaya pubs closing at record pace, failing to attract foreign tourists
Tokyo’s life-size Gundam anime mecha statue will be removed this summer
The story of our reporter P.K. Sanjun’s heart attack
Japan has a new cute and clever sunblock for cat lovers
Kanji ice cream becomes a sell-out hit in Japan
Japan’s izakaya pubs closing at record pace, failing to attract foreign tourists
Tokyo’s life-size Gundam anime mecha statue will be removed this summer
The story of our reporter P.K. Sanjun’s heart attack
Suspected yakuza member arrested for having frequent flyer mile account
Do Bare Feet of a Gorilla slides really make your legs slimmer?
Starbucks Japan has a secret breakfast set…and a hack for when it sells out
Ichiraku Ramen-inspired ramen sets from Naruto anime pay homage to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura
You’ll never win cash or prizes or cash at this Tokyo pachinko parlor, and that’s why it’s so cool
Hundreds of rose bushes in bloom at Tokyo’s off-the-beaten-path, next-to-the-tracks flower street
This Tokyo Station sweets sensation sells out daily, but we finally got our hands on it
161-year-old Kyoto confectionary maker releases new edible Pokémon lineup
Studio Ghibli’s president is leaving the company. Will it change how they make anime?
7-Eleven Japan is releasing Greedy chocolate chip and whipped cream sandwiches
7-Eleven Japan now has ramen machines…but only at 41 stores
Let’s hike a Japanese mountain (that isn’t Mt. Fuji) – Mt. Tsukuba[Photos]
Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
The average age of Japan’s hikikomori shut-ins is getting older, survey shows
Japan enters Golden Week vacation period, survey shows one in three plan to ride it out at home
New Kyoto Converse sneakers celebrate Japan with traditional kimono fabrics for your feet
Japan’s new Pokémon jackets give you the look and powers of the Kanto starter trio
Japan now has gyoza doughnuts, and they taste like no other doughnut we’ve tried before
Studio Ghibli launches huge new anime movie T-shirt collection with special design details
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Suspected yakuza member arrested for having frequent flyer mile account
Do Bare Feet of a Gorilla slides really make your legs slimmer?
Starbucks Japan has a secret breakfast set…and a hack for when it sells out
Ichiraku Ramen-inspired ramen sets from Naruto anime pay homage to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura
You’ll never win cash or prizes or cash at this Tokyo pachinko parlor, and that’s why it’s so cool
This Tokyo Station sweets sensation sells out daily, but we finally got our hands on it
7-Eleven Japan adds macaroni cheese sandwiches to its convenience store food range
Studio Ghibli adds mini pillows and massive mats to its anime merchandise store in Japan
2021 Salaryman Poetry Battle showcases some dark but hilarious poems
The Mandalorian and Grogu film inspires a new set of Ginza Cozy Corner mini cakes and more
The Pokémon anime studio’s next project is a Scooby-Doo anime, Yokoso Scooby-Doo
McDonald’s Japan’s new Chiikawa Happy Meal figures are here![Photos]
Mister Donut’s beyond super soft and chewy beyond mochi mochi donuts have returned
12-year-old manga artist wins prize from Weekly Shonen Jump, talent might run in the family