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

KDDI Buys 15% Stake In French AR Company Total Immersion

Japan’s second biggest telecommunications firm KDDI announced [JP] it has acquired an equity stake in French based Total Immersion S.A., an augmented reality (AR) software maker. Business daily The Nikkei says it has learned KDDI paid 100 million yen (US$1.3 million) for a 15% interest in the company. Total Immersion has offices in North America,… Continue reading KDDI Buys 15% Stake In French AR Company Total Immersion

Salisbury Steak, A Voice Actress And AR

A restaurant chain-store Denny’s Japan [J] is running a campaign for Salisbury steak (“Hanba-gu” in Japanese, which came from Hamburger steak) using AR and a popular voice actress Aya Hirano [J]. Aya Hirano is a very popular voice actress(“seiyū”) and J-Pop singer. She is known for her role as Haruhi Suzumiya in “The Melancholy of… Continue reading Salisbury Steak, A Voice Actress And AR

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

Hakuhodo And Koozyt Introduce iPhone App Adding Video Extension To Paper Ads

Japan’s second largest ad agency Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, Sony CSL‘s spin-out specializing in developing location detection technology with WiFi signals Koozyt and the country’s second-ranked newspaper in its circulation the Asahi Shimbun jointly started a new ad service using the iPhone today. The new service is named A-Clip, by installing the iPhone app and… Continue reading Hakuhodo And Koozyt Introduce iPhone App Adding Video Extension To Paper Ads

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

Digital Content Expo 2009: AR & VR Applications Come Together (2/2)

Continued from the previous blog post on Digital Content Expo 2009. Pull-Navi (The head mount device to navigate a holder by pulling his ears) (Developed by Kajimoto Laboratory, the University of Electro-Communications) That motion reminds us of a rider controlling a horse by pulling a lead rope on his back. When a controller moves a… Continue reading Digital Content Expo 2009: AR & VR Applications Come Together (2/2)

Digital Content Expo 2009: AR & VR Applications Come Together (1/2)

Last week, there was an annual event called Digital Content Expo 2009 at Miraikan, Japan’s national museum of emerging science and innovation located in the Tokyo waterfront area, which introduced approximately 50 artistic elements and R&D results of newly developed digital content technologies. Let’s see some of items which were exhibited at the event with… Continue reading Digital Content Expo 2009: AR & VR Applications Come Together (1/2)

Two AR iPhone Apps Come To Our Hands This Week

Tokyo-based tech start-up led by Takahito Iguchi(@iguchi), a self-styled Willy Wonka who made an unique presentation at last year’s edition of TechCrunch 50, Tonchidot finally released an augmented reality (AR) iPhone app Sekai Camera on Thursday, it’s now available at AppStore for free of charge. In time with the release of the app, Mr. Iguchi… Continue reading Two AR iPhone Apps Come To Our Hands This Week