Robots, rings, and rides: the best of Japan’s gadgets in 2014

From wearables to robots, Tech in Asia rounded up some of the most interesting and innovative pieces of Japanese hardware that we covered in 2014. While the established tech giants continue to design the vast majority of the country’s gadgets, this year saw several strong entries from domestic startups. Without further ado, here are seven of our favorites (in no particular order):

Ring

World-renowned tech firms like Apple and Samsung are still trying to perfect the smartwatch and capture the interest of mainstream consumers. The wearable movement is still in its infancy, surely in large part due to the miniaturization required to cram the necessary components into a small form factor. Tokyo-based startup Logbar – led by a CEO who was tending bar a year ago – managed to design and ship a smart ring.

It was a rocky road from Kickstarter to launch, and reviews haven’t exactly been kind. Ring is bigger than people wanted it to be, faced lengthy delays, and the gesture controls take some practice – but the fact that a tiny startup with zero previous hardware releases managed to pull it off, without millions of dollars in R&D, is impressive.

Docotch

Japan’s leading telco, NTT Docomo, also unveiled a unique wearable this year. The Docotch, a smart watch for kids, features 3G connectivity, GPS, Bluetooth, and sensors that monitor air temperature and humidity. Despite being one of the safest developed countries on earth, the Docotch goes a long way in helping parents feel at ease when their children fly the nest.

Qrio Smartlock

Sony teamed up with Japanese-led, Silicon Valley-based VC World Innovation Lab (WiL) to create a new hardware company that produces a smartphone-controlled smart lock. I know that now may not be the time to trust Sony with keeping your home’s door locks from getting hacked, but the joint venture is throwing US$3 million at the idea. It also represents the first time that Sony has partnered with another entity to jointly produce a new gadget.

Despite the device’s corporate backing, Qrio Smartlock is currently crowdfunding in Japan (and has far exceeded its target with plenty of time remaining).

PlugAir

Tokyo-based startup Beatrobo made a huge pivot earlier this year from music discovery software to hardware. Its PlugAir dongle connects to a mobile device’s headphone jack and pulls music and other content from the cloud instantaneously. It has already been embraced by some big artists in Japan, as well as US rock band Linkin Park. Time will tell if Beatrobo achieves its goal of reinventing the mixtape for a digital age.

ZZ EV

Aroma Shooter

Pepper