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Augmented reality concept uses Google Glass to make reading the newspaper more like... reading a website
As part of the Wearable Tech Expo 2014 in Tokyo, the Asahi Shimbun is looking to offer richer content to users still reading its dead tree editions. The 'AIR' concept uses wearable du jour Google Glass to both detect physical markers and display any digital companion content. According to Asahi's Media Lab, the concept's aim is to better broadcast and convey "emotional" content: a picture of Winter Olympics skater Asada Mao gets picked up and Google Glass barrels into a slideshow, alongside a stirring soundtrack. (She had announced her retirement, and apparently her many fans were very upset.)
Japanese vending machine doubles as WiFi hotspot -- no purchase required
It looks as if facial scans for snack-dispensing purposes isn't the only mind-blowing feature on the whiz-bang generation of vending machines. Japanese company Asahi has just unveiled an advanced dispenser that's capable of doubling as a WiFi hotspot, so good luck getting through the mobs of leechers just to buy a soda. The machine sends out the internet waves free of charge and covers about 164 feet around it; of note, there's a 30-minute limit on each session -- but it's nothing that a fresh login can't solve. Asahi is planning on rolling out 1,000 of these in the upcoming year, but if you don't call the Land of the Rising Sun your home, you won't be able to experience the smart vendors anytime soon. Now, if only this same magic would slide over to park benches, blades of grass and molecules of oxygen, we'd be content.
Asahi's new slim glass substrate for touchscreen displays gives smartphones svelte silhouettes
We all want our handhelds to have copious computing power and bountiful battery life, but thin is in, and most users are looking for a device that's less Marilyn Monroe and more Kate Moss. To keep new phones and tablets runway-ready, Asahi developed a thinner glass substrate for use in touchscreen displays. This new 0.28mm soda-lime glass is 15% thinner than the company's existing offerings, and Asahi will begin mass producing it by the end of April. The skinny new substrate will strut its stuff at SID next month -- paired with some durable Dragontrail, no doubt -- so we're looking forward to getting handsy with the company's new slim and trim displays. Mostly, we're just thrilled that our future phones won't look as fat in our jeans. PR's after the break.
Asahi Glass introduces Dragontrail for consumer electronics, puts the Gorilla on notice (video)
Corning, your scratch-free monopoly is coming to an end. No longer will you hold us hostage with your insanely durable and cunningly marketed Gorilla Glass. Asahi Glass is getting in on the game, introducing Dragontrail -- a name that doesn't quite give us the same connotations of incredible strength but, if you watch the video, you'll see it manages many of the same tricks as Corning's offering. Poking and prodding? Pass. Huge flexes? Bring it. Whacked with a hammer? Easy. The company indicates it's been working on the product for years now and expects sales next year to surpass 30 billion yen -- that's $365 million. For glass.
Report: Amidst protest, Konami abandons 'Six Days in Fallujah'
In response to a fairly public outcry, Konami has decided not to publish Atomic Games' take on the Iraq War, Six Days in Fallujah, just 21 days after announcing it, according to Asahi.Wow, we just don't know where to start. Well, OK, first, we need to congratulate Konami. Really bold, guys, way to weather the storm. Second, to the protesting soldiers: Could you guys be more short-sighted? Think of the royalties, the merchandising, the breakfast cereal ("Stays crunchy in milk for six days!"), all of it! Wake up and smell the moolah. And lastly, to the players who might be disheartened: If you want to shoot vaguely Middle Eastern people, would you rather do it in defense of American ideals? Or in pursuit of a diamond-encrusted skull? Yeah, we thought so.[Thanks, Will]
Mr. Asahi robot bartender makes its public debut
Asahi Beer has experimented with robot bartenders in the past, but it looks to have really outdone itself with its new Mr. Asahi bot, which just made its public debut at Selfridges in the UK. Apparently, the robot was built in about 200 hours and spent a full six months fine-tuning its bartending skills, which includes being able to serve customers in less than two minutes. That's done with the aid of a discreetly-hidden PC that controls the compressed air and the robot's various switching mechanisms, not to mention its pleasant demeanor. Be sure to head on past the break for a video of the bot in action courtesy of Channel Flip.[Via Tech Digest, image courtesy of Asahi Beer]
