This is Yotaro, the Japanese baby simulator. It looks like a big stuffed animal bear with a baby's face projected on to it. It's actually got a lot of complex stuff going on inside it, for better or worse. I just wonder why they didn't make it look more like a real baby if they were going for simulation. [Yotaro via DesignBoom]

That someone being designer Pouyan Mokhtarani, whose baby buggy contains a LED screen so you can gurgle and babble away at your baby from a distance, lest you pick up diseases from it, and the air purification unit ensures your baby breathes nothing but the cleanest oxygen.

Auto-rock it to sleep, and even flush away the baby poop with the Auto Diaper function. Actually, the more we look at this concept, the more we wish we could have an adult-sized one. [Yanko Design]

You simply push a button on the bottle and wait 60 seconds. The milk will be heated to the perfect, baby-friendly temperature.

But unlike, say, those self-heating mocha lattes you can buy at the store, the heating element can be "recharged" by tossing it in boiling water. The liquid inside becomes solid, and the chemical reaction renews for next time. (This works about 100 times before you need another heating pack.)

The Yoomi is on sale in the UK now for $35, though I expect we'll see it reach more retailers over time. And before I get any strange looks from relatives who are reading this post, no, Liz isn't pregnant. I just think the bottle is neat. [MailOnline]

While not entirely scientific, the pattern supposedly grabs a baby's attention and holds it long enough to get a decent photo. ShutterBuddy's PR team managed to cook up this gem: "The ShutterBuddy™ is a revolutionary new product that uses the science of infant vision development and pattern recognition to capture and hold a baby's attention so that you can get a great picture." Making your kid smile on command is another story, but I've heard things that squeak or jingle sometimes do the trick.

At $20, the ShutterBuddy is cheapish. Could be worth a look if you've got a bunch of holiday greeting cards to send out this year. Oh, and a baby. [Shutter Buddy via CrunchGear]

The makers of the app claim that it is "accurate 96% of the time" in interpreting "the five baby cries universal to all babies, regardless of culture or language; hungry, sleepy, stressed, annoyed and bored." I don't have a baby nearby, nor did I manage to make anyone cry long enough to test the app, but I sincerely doubt the statistic.

Definitely hoping that no one makes any serious child raising decisions based on this $30 iPhone app. Then again, with some people it might actually improve their parenting. [Cry Translator via Wired]

Physical therapists and mechanical engineers joined forces to create robots that allow babies with disabilities to move around. The robots controlled by a joystick that's simple enough for a one year old to use.

The chair is unlike a regular adult motorized chair, since it has sensors and a remote control feature that's usable by parents to help kids ride around. All in all, pretty awesome. [Vodpod via ABClocal]

According to Dorel Juvenile Group, makers of Air Protect (which is a system technically comprised of those discs you see surrounding the sea's head area), one in three child crash deaths is from a side impact collision. So the company developed what is essentially a constantly deployed airbag, or a super soft pillow capable of absorbing the a large impact and effectively extending the amount of time a child's head has to stop in an impact situation.

We know it might not sound impressive, but when set on a table you can punch the hell out of one of these discs and not hurt your hand. (You can check out the clip at about 1:50 in here.)

The technology will be available in at least one Safety 1st product at Babies R Us later this year. And while it's tough to know how well the technology will work until it's tested publicly available, our own Wilson Rothman, expert in everything babies (because he has one) points out that Safety 1st isn't generally considered a top tier baby seat company. The rest of us, haters of all small animals that are neither feline, canine or python in nature, would honestly not know. [Safety 1st]

We don't know much about this Superbaby, and in fact I'm not totally sure he's even Russian (or human. Get it?). The video doesn't provide much beyond some Tetris-style music and impressive feats of baby acumen, but that's enough for us. It's very clearly a baby operating a giant backhoe, and those are all the facts we need. [TechEBlog]

It'll follow you around with the kid in tow, avoiding obstacles as it goes. It can also be set to rock the baby to sleep. But the real brilliance is in manual mode, which lets the kid control his or her own destiny by driving using the pedals and steering wheel. It claims to still avoid obstacles in this mode, but I don't know if it senses the top of the stairs as an obstacle.

In any case, this thing is available direct from Korea for $780, if you feel like trusting your infant in the hands of a soulless robot. [Red Ferret via The Daily What]

There's a lot to think about here. What are the mechanics of a baby race? Are people betting on this? Or, most directly: What the hell, Lithuania? But I'll leave those thoughts to someone else, because I see something beautiful here: This is the story of a tiny little human who has, at least for now, become the Usain Bolt of babies, all because he loves technology, even—or perhaps, especially—in the form of his dad's janky Dell laptop. It's almost enough to bring a tear to my eye. [Lrtas—Thanks, Linus]

Metal bars surrounding all sides of the cart work to protect the babies as one adult maneuvers them down stairs, over rough terrain and out of harm's way. Or if you're Kate Gosselin, you can use this cart to strap your kids in and maneuver them into the spotlight—unfortunately there's no way for her to strap in her, uh, reluctant husband, too. [BabyScatt via CraziestGadgets]

You are looking at the future of the Internet, people—because, at one point, we all will be surfing the web in our diapers. [Geeks Are Sexy]

This brilliant twenty-year-old was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child. The man who was being shielded by the baby was charged with resisting arrest. The baby, thankfully, was not charged. [SFGate]

The guides walk you through the process of converting your battery-sucking gadgets to use AC power. Both guides require rolling up your sleeves, ripping the gadget apart, and doing some soldering—if using a soldering iron is new to you, we've got a beginner's guide to help you out.

The first guide covers in detail how to use a switch, some wire, and an old cell phone charger to convert a baby swing to use AC power, and the second guide is a more broad, general overview of how to modify devices—but isn't quite as detailed. If you've got any personal experience in modifying gadgets to use AC power instead of batteries, let us know about it in the comments.

For more clever modifications, check out how to turn an old web cam into a spy camera, or use tinfoil to boost your remote control's range.

Reports the BBC:

Marc Stephens watched the videos as a precaution when his wife Jo started to feel some discomfort.

Four hours later, his wife went into labour and started giving birth before an ambulance could arrive at their home in Redruth. "I Googled how to deliver a baby, watched a few videos and basically swotted up," Mr Stephens told the BBC.

That said, don't let Stephens fool you. He's a natural. "This is our fourth child now and while for our first I spent most of the time at my wife's head, now I'm not afraid to go down to the business end."

Truly, a heart-warming story in an age that sees despicable baby-related smartphone apps being approved for the general populace without missing a beat. [BBC News via Google Blogoscoped]

Buy your child the Pirates vs. Ninjas Mobile and give them the advantage that you didn't have. A leg up on life...so to speak. Actually, it appears that the mobiles are sold out at the moment, so I suggest you start exposing your child to Pirates of the Caribbean and Kung Fu films at an early age. Some experts go so far as to say it is a good idea to let them listen to the dialogue in the womb. You can never start too early. [Etsy via Neatorama via Crunchgear]

Even though we now know that the Snuggie is a lousy waste of $15, the concept is still sound. This Peekaru, which is a kangaroo-like pouch for moms and dads to carry baby around in.

An actual mom says that shoving the kid's head, symbiote style, inside the pouch isn't enough—a sun shade would be even better. We just hope there's some kind of ventilation so that stinky baby farts have somewhere to escape to.

It's $80.

p.s. That 4th baby in the montage looks deceased. [Mom4Life via Babble via Momlogic via Nerdlike

What? No mention to Total Recall? -JD

Called Giant Torayan, this seven meter tall fire-breathing baby monstrosity is the work of artist Kenji Yanobe, who was obviously abused by a baby or a bad man dressed in an Astro Boy costume at some point in his life.

Giant Torayan will join a host of of other robots and sculptures around the neighborhood as part of an art night that will see the place turned into a "robot-themed wonderland."

Trends in Japan has video of the robobaby in action. [Tokyomango and Pink Tentacle]