“Guangzhou Supports You!” is a new crowdsourced, hyper-local online photography activity in Guangzhou, China.

Advancements in robotics are being made at a rapid pace. From machines that carry out tedious domestic tasks to highly specialized devices, we’ve gathered a selection of innovative robots from Japan.

Old cameras are becoming a stylish accessory, and in Japan the youth eagerly show off their retro cameras to the Tokyo Camera Style blog.

Walking through the Shanghai subway recently, we noticed a rack of “Coqui” (小青蛙) shoes which looked incredibly similar to Crocs, which have been popular in Shanghai for the past few years.

Bijin-tokei is a Japanese website that photographs girls on the street in real-time and with non-stop updates. Every minute of the hour, cute girls are featured holding up a blackboard with the time written in a white marker.

The Daily Mail reports that an 18 year old Nepalese student has developed a new kind of solar panel which uses human hair instead of silicon as a conductor.

As part of a series of sophisticated concept shops in Japan, the Kamakura Starbucks is designed to resemble a wooden Japanese-style home.

We’ve been following the shared workspace trend globally for a few years now and have been noticing a uptick in the number of co-working spaces in China lately. We’ve been particularly impressed by the efforts of the newly-opened Xindanwei (新单位) in downtown Shanghai, who joins a few other shared workspaces sprinkled throughout the city.

Anybody who visits IKEA on a weekend in China will be sure to find the familiar scene of customers napping on the couches and beds. And if you stop by the popular IKEA cafeteria, you almost certainly will have to wait around before a table opens up. Following up on our previous coverage, we now take a deeper look at Chinese consumers reaction to IKEA.
Opening their first store ten years ago, IKEA has become a popular place for the rising middle class to spend their freetime, but they are not necessarily buying the furniture. In our experience, Chinese customers are [...]

A Japanese cafe concept that’s quite popular is the pet cafe, where stressed locals can gather to enjoy a meal, a beverage, and some relaxing companionship with a rabbit, cat, or dog.

In the latest report to track China’s wealthiest people, we learn that Beijing has the most multimillionaires in China. The Hurun Report’s newest publication titled “China’s New Aristocrat Consumption Threshold Report” lays out the details on Beijing’s estimated 143,000 multimillionaires and 8,800 billionaires. In comparison, Shanghai has 116,000 multimillionaires and 7,000 billionaires.
The typical rich Beijing family profile is that of a couple in their 40s with a teenager. Annual spending for Beijing’s rich is roughly USD 850,000, including an estimated one-fifth of that going to charity. Tokyo and Osaka are top travel destinations, while BMW and Mercedes Benz are the [...]

At the 2008 Nike exhibition in Beijing, the sports retail giant utilized a unique packaging design, hoping to reflect their goals of sustainability and lightness.  The recycled cardboard packaging was designed by Zack Klauck and Emile Molie from 2×4, Inc.  The multidisciplinary design studio produced an exhibit that chronicled the four decades of Nike’s pursuit of new materials and technology.
The bags themselves are a mesh wrap of cardboard that are designed to hold a shirt and a windbreaker or a pair of shoes.  The sizes are written by hand and special attention is paid to the amount of materials involved [...]

We’ve covered previous marketing efforts from China’s leading sportswear and shoe company Li Ning, who seems to be willing to push the envelope in terms of innovative ways to reach the local youth market. The company recently released an eco-friendly shoe called the “Green 001″ for the Spring 2009 line. The  shoe is constructed from eco-friendly materials, including ample use of hemp. In their marketing campaign (see above poster), Li Ning is promoting a simple theme: “Environmental Protection = Trendy.”
Interestingly, the tongue of the shoe is embroidered with the image of Wangari Muta Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement [...]

Disposing cigarette ashes in a tray filled with coffee grinds is a common habit in Japanese culture because the coffee absorbs the smell of cigarette ash. Japanese designer Ryohei Yoshiyuki embraced this idea and designed a simple ashtray made out of used coffee grounds.
[via Dezeen]

The casualties of catastrophic events not only affect the victims but can extend to rescue workers and inhabitants of the surrounding areas. However, risking the lives of rescue workers may now be limited with the aid of artificial intelligence. Pink Tentacle points us to a version of the Tokyo Fire Department’s Robo-Q. The machine–manned from a different location, is able to transmit video and images of victims to the machine’s pilot; the pilot, in turn, navigates the machine to handle the victim and protect he or she within its shell.
Below is a demonstration.

[via Pink Tentacle]