The Miraikan is a science museum in Tokyo, which shows emerging technologies and current science frontiers.
The access
Miraikan’s exhibitions are on two floors of this building. The third floor displays technologies and the fifth floor shows the frontiers of science. On ground floor, there’s a souvenir shop.
Miraikan third floor
The robots
This is Keparan, a companion robot, which evolves when interacting with humans. Has 30 motors, inclination sensors and force sensors on feet.
Paro is a therapeutic robot, made for relaxing and stress reduction in areas where animals aren’t allowed. Also helps with mental health of people who suffered from disasters and wars.
The Lovots robots have more than 50 sensors. In addition to a hemispherical camera, a microphone, heat and light sensors above the head. They are also companion robots.
These robotic legs move similarly to humans.
This robotic claw has a force control, which allows it to grab many hard, soft and fragile materials.
The robotic claw is fireproof.
This is the Pupiloid, which produces answers by moving pupils according to human speech.
Interactive exhibitions
This mechanical model shows the visitors how the internet works.
‘0’ and ‘1’ bits are represented by black and white balls. Plates with 4 bits represent transmitter and receiver addresses. The visitor chooses a ball set to form the message after addresses. Then, he chooses which terminal (A, B, C, D or E) to send the message and then, press the button on left side.
These towers are routers. Whose finality is to make connections between networks, verify addresses and direct messages to destinations.
Each terminal has a transmitter and a receiver. Here’s the receiver, which receives information in balls and indicates the origin.
This is a game where you imagine an ideal future 50 years from now in an area (culture, energy, access to water, etc.), then you have to trace a trajectory for the planet to arrive at “GOAL”, avoiding objects with “-1”. If you touch these objects 3 times, you lose. The game is hard.
Other exhibitions on third floor
An image resolution adjuster.
In 1926, Dr. Kenjiro Takayanagi projected and transmitted the イ letter (i in katakana), displaying it in a cathode tube ray, becoming the first to realize a television transmission in the world. The image shows part of イ letter projection mechanism.
The イ letter.
Capacitors inside an hourglass.
Virtual image projection through mirrors.
Neuron network model.
A dolphin’s skull. The object in blue is the organ that allows communication and navigation through ultrasounds.
Some technologies in park of aging
On the same floor, there’s the park of aging. Where it’s shown through games, what happens with the body when you reach old age. Also, show some technologies to mitigate aging problems.
This is the HAL exoskeleton, which supports the body emitting electric signals.
Mobile chair UNI-ONE is controlled by changing your body’s gravity center, keeping your hands free.
FUKU-suke robot gives medicines and reminds the person to take them.
Hanamoflor verifies body temperature, sing and do recreational activities on nursing homes.
At the walkway that connects both floors, there’s this globe, which makes Earth’s animation, clouds movements, rotation, etc.
On determined hours, the globe shows an animation about Earth’s formation billions of years ago, the emergence and evolution of life, the appearance of human civilizations, technological advances and environmental impact. The video below shows the animation.
Miraikan fifth floor
On walkway between floors, screens show some satellites’ current positions around Earth.
A space station habitation module.
Autographs as astronauts who visited Miraikan.
An aquatic habitat model in 1:2 scale. These habitats were created to raise fishes on space, to study the effects of microgravity and space radiation.
A liquid propulsion engine LE-9, for JAXA’s H3 rocket series.
A sample extracted by Chikyu, the Japanese driller ship to study Earth’s mantle. It was extracted at 820 meters below seafloor, close to Japan Trench, which is part of Pacific’s fire circle.
A core bit used by Chikyu, it could reach 6,889.5 meters depth in the ocean and until 844.5 meters below seafloor.
Receivers for space telescopes, each one operates in a different frequency band, all of them in Gigahertz.
A reentry capsule has a heat shield, parachutes to reduce impact on landing and sensors which measure temperature, pressure and landing speed.
This is a photomultiplier of Super-Kamiokande, a Japanese neutrino detector. Amplifies the light millions of times to detect neutrinos in a tank of ultrapure water.
Photomultiplier arrangement on Super-Kamiokande.
This is a mechanical simulator of planet Earth. The red spheres represent dangers from Earth and human society. This simulator shows the damage and challenges brought by natural and human-made disasters.
Mobile mechanism to protect the building against earthquakes.
Other exhibitions on Miraikan’s fifth floor
What is shown in this post isn’t everything the museum has. Other exhibitions are about biological sciences, the environment and climate change.
