train on technabob...

Compared to all the other Japanese gadgets we’ve seen, the Sushi Train Restaurant and Game is only mildly Japanese – i.e. not so weird. It’s a literal take on the popular conveyor belt sushi restaurants, which are also known as – wait for it – sushi trains. The set includes a replica of the N700…

Now I haven’t played with model trains since I was a kid, but when I saw these miniature arcade cabinets for model railroaders, I had to give them a mention.

J & C Studios makes these teeny, tiny retro arcade machine models built to O-Scale proportions. Each 1.75″ tall game cabinet snaps together from laser-cut black…

This cool interactive art piece gives new life to old vinyl records. Created by designer/musician Yuri Suzuki, in collaboration with mechanical engineer Yaroslav Tenzer, the Sound Chaser uses chopped up curved slices of vinyl records and turns them into a custom musical track for a set of miniature trains to follow.

Participants connect the vinyl…

This “capsule train” concept will give each person their own little train compartment fiefdom to rule on their way to work. Their are individual capsules that fit one person, or larger 4-person capsules.

The concept was designed by Hamit Kanuni Kuralkan from Melbourne, Australia. There’s no word as to whether or not this thing will…

Too bad this Lego sushi is inedible, because it looks oddly delicious! I love the wasabi- that’s got to be a specialty color.

I must be in serious need of a snack because I actually drooled a little bit when I saw these pictures. Of course, it’s hard to tell if that’s because of my…

This is a concept for Singapore’s Metro Rail Line so that trains can pick people up without ever stopping. That sounds impossible, right?

The idea is that people who want to board the train get into a smaller car that piggybacks onto the moving train as it passes through the station. To get off, you…

Here’s another strange gadget out of Japan. This helps you keep track of when trains are coming to your nearby station.

In order to keep you on schedule, Yumekobo’s Yamanote Alarm Clock gives you a visual indication of the train schedule on its clock face. In order to maintain accuracy, the clock is automatically updated…

A team of researchers at Purdue University have devised a method to teach robots to navigate foreign environments by themselves. Using some very complex artificial intelligence, this robot can make educated “guesses” about what it might next encounter in its surroundings.

Rather than trying to just deal with differences in surfaces and obstacles as the…