Augmented Reality + Capsule Toys, July 30th “Kamen Rider” Release By Bandai

Bandai [J] has announced that from July 30th they will launch a series of exclusive vending machine capsules (Gashapon) of the new figure series “HYBRID GRADE Kamen Rider–01,” which fuses capsule toys with AR (Augmented Reality).  1 in each capsule, four types in all, each 500 yen. “HYBRID GRADE Kamen Rider” is a gashapon figure… Continue reading Augmented Reality + Capsule Toys, July 30th “Kamen Rider” Release By Bandai

Augmented Reality Disaster Prevention App Released

CAD Center [J] has released the iOS AR (Augmented Reality) application “AR Hazard Scope Lite,” which displays disaster prevention information over the surrounding scenery for the 23 wards of Tokyo.  Download is free. “AR Hazard Scope” is an application that displays disaster prevention information on screen, such as evacuation shelters and fire danger levels in… Continue reading Augmented Reality Disaster Prevention App Released

Disaster Prevention App “AR Tsunami Camera” Released

Nabla-Zero [J] has released “AR Tsunami Camera,” an iPhone application for disaster prevention education.  Download is free. “AR Tsunami Camera” is an application which layers a display using Augmented Reality over the actual scenery as seen through the iPhone camera, indicating “How far will it flood?” in case a tsunami hits.  At the request of… Continue reading Disaster Prevention App “AR Tsunami Camera” Released

Japanese School Textbook Inspired English Learning Book With AR

Mirai-kei New Horizon de Mou Ichido Eigo wo Yatte Miru(Challenge English again with futuristic version of New Horizon) by a Japanese publishing company Tokyo Shoseki is an English textbook, which follows the format of the company’s popular junior high-school text book New Horizon. NEW HORIZON English Course 2 It is a textbook for adults who want to study high-school… Continue reading Japanese School Textbook Inspired English Learning Book With AR

KDDI Releases New AR Brand SATCH, Comes With SDK For Free

KDDI released new AR brand SATCH yesterday, in order to expand AR (Augmented Reality) Market. SATCH is a new brand to expand AR market with KDDI’s new AR technology. SATCH sounds ‘sacchi’ in Japanese, which means ‘detect’, or cover cell phone quickly over the item and check it out. KDDI also made a partnership with Total… Continue reading KDDI Releases New AR Brand SATCH, Comes With SDK For Free

Virtual Dating Game Love Plus Is Introduced For iPhone

Konami Digital Entertainment released virtual dating simulation game Love Plus[J] for the iPhone/iPod touch on Monday.   There is a series of  three apps corresponding to three heroines starring in the game, which are Love Plus iM (Aika Takamine), Love Plus iR (Rinko Kobayakawa) and Love Plus iN (Nene Anegasaki). Left: An composite picture demo using… Continue reading Virtual Dating Game Love Plus Is Introduced For iPhone

Japanese Red Cross Promotes Blood Donation By Augmented Reality

Digital Signage Consortium[J] has set up digital signage devices at Akihabara station and on the streets around there, and is helping Japanese Red Cross to campaign blood donation by using the augmented reality technology. The device enables face recognition, and it can count how many people have seen the screen.   When you stop by in… Continue reading Japanese Red Cross Promotes Blood Donation By Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality in Shibuya: Allows Street Walkers To Tag Anything Around The Town

In association with Japan’s National Institute of Informatics, NEC and Tokyu Agency(ad agency), Tokyu Corporation, which operates major railway lines including Shibuya-Yokohama, started today the trial of an augmented reality service “Pin@clip[J]” (pronounced “Pina-Kuri”, and named after pins and clips) using iPhone for commuters and shoppers in the Shibuya area, which allows you to tag… Continue reading Augmented Reality in Shibuya: Allows Street Walkers To Tag Anything Around The Town

Microsoft Innovation Award 2009: Five Tech Start-ups Nominated As Finalists

Microsoft announced the finalists of Microsoft Innovation Award 2009 last week, and there were a judging committee for the award at the company’s annual conference for system engineers in Yokohama, Tech-ED Japan 2009[J]. Microsoft assists the finalists in marketing, engineering and international business development.   In 2007, tech start-up known as web browser developer Lunascape won… Continue reading Microsoft Innovation Award 2009: Five Tech Start-ups Nominated As Finalists

Another Sekai Camera? KDDI’s Lab Unveils AR Cellphone App

Japan’s second largest telecommunication company, KDDI introduced today an “augmented reality” cellphone app[J] allowing transillumination of the objects you shoot with a camera embedded on the phone. This new app is now available at the experimental lab menu[J] of the company’s website. With a GPS feature and a built-in 6-axis force sensor, the app will… Continue reading Another Sekai Camera? KDDI’s Lab Unveils AR Cellphone App