dentsu
Latest
Japanese robots Kirobo and Mirata set for launch, literally
Don't get excited about buying the new robots created by Japanese company Dentsu in conjunction with Toyota and the University of Tokyo -- they won't be hitting stores anytime soon. However, do get excited that one of them, namely the white-helmeted droid Kirobo (shown above, left), will actually be launched into orbit as part of a Japan Space Agency mission to the ISS on August 4th. In fact, he and his backup Mirata were endowed with voice recognition, natural language processing, speech synthesis, realistic body language and facial recognition for that very reason. They'll be participating in the "world's first conversational experiment" between people and robots in space, while also mixing it up with kids on earth with educational activities. Hopefully, the astronauts won't give Kirobo any HAL 9000-like control of the station, though the cute 'bots seem malice-free, saying they "wanted to create a future where humans and robots live together and get along." Check it out for yourself in the video after the break.
App Review: Penki light painting for iOS
Ah yes, the future! It's nice when it arrives on your front doorstep... or on your iPod. It's even nicer when you ask for something and then you get it: a few months back, we drooled over Dentsu London's light extrusion tech demo and humbly demanded its App Store release. Now, app in hand, we're busy running around our houses trying to become some sort of half-baked Jenny Holzer. It's called Penki, and it takes your text / symbol input and turns it into 3D-flavored imagery via long-exposure photography. Sounds bodacious, right? But, as we all know, the future isn't perfect -- read on for the full account of our shiny journey into the third dimension. %Gallery-108680%
iPad light painting adds geeky bling to your boring real-world space
There are lots of contenders for the killer app that'll take the iPad to the next level, and we think light extrusion is currently near the top of the heap. Dentsu London has paired accelerometer-based software with long exposure/stop-motion photographs to take 3D renderings into real space, with a result that reminds us of the Graffiti Research Lab. Sure, you could do this on an iPod touch, but it's that real-world iPad bigness that makes it awesome -- one of those moments that makes you sit back and say dang, future, you're here! We can't wait for this to make its way into the App Store -- and our nieces' Facebook albums -- ASAP. Crazy light painting video after the jump.
Light painting in stop motion with the iPad
This is about the coolest thing done with an iPad since, well, the iPad itself was created. A firm named Dentsu London has used an iPad to create a series of stop motion shots assembled from sequential long exposure light paintings. They created a set of 3D graphics and then programmed the iPad to show a set of cross sections, frame-by-frame, of those graphics. The cross sections were "painted" into the air with long exposure photographs, and then the photographs were all put together into a stop motion animation. The end effect is just amazing -- don't just watch the beginning on how they did it, make sure you stick around for the film itself. It's a beautiful piece, as well as an ingenious way of using the iPad to create something exceptional. If you're really interested in these images, the creators have also put together a book featuring some of the best stills from the video. It's quite an impressive piece of work. [via TDW]
Wii video service launches in Japan May 1, features DSi connectivity
Nintendo has launched the Japanese site for the "Wii no Ma Channel," the video service the company is launching with advertising producer Dentsu. The site offers a launch date for the free channel: May 1. A series of videos on the site helps explain all of the slightly weird features.The channel takes the form of a family room, around which up to eight Miis from one system can gather. Clicking on the room's TV accesses the video download service, which will include both free and paid content. No programming has been announced yet, though one of the videos after the break uses nature show footage as an example. Clicking on a houseplant will take users to the sponsor area, where they can find free trials of services and special offers from advertisers.The Wii no Ma Channel is also usable on the DSi, via a free app called Dokodemo Wii no Ma (Anywhere Wii no Ma). This app allows users to download video from the Wii to the DS, as well as sponsor coupons. In the video, a coupon for a fast-food restaurant is downloaded to the DSi, to be scanned from the screen![Via Andriasang]
Impending video service worries Japanese TV establishment
There must really be something to this Nintendo/Dentsu "Wii no Ma Channel," the video service announced last week. Times Online calls it a "television channel" featuring "a family- oriented blizzard of cartoons, "brain-training" quizzes, cookery, educational and other lifestyle shows." In other words, not just occasional offerings.The prospect of a Wii-based television channel apparently has traditional television channels worried. According to the Times, a Fuji TV executive called the possibility of Nintendo media dominance "the stuff of television producers' nightmares", expressing fears that Wii-based programming could cut into prime-time viewership for Japanese television.Thanks, unnamed Fuji Television executive! We're much more excited about this Channel now.[Via GoNintendo]
Original downloadable video coming to Wii in 2009
Just as two WiiWare manga services will be on the way in Japan, it seems that two video streaming services will be competing for the Wii audience's yen as well. The latest service to be announced, though, will have two distinct advantages: Original content, and Nintendo. The new video service, created in conjunction with ad agency Dentsu, will launch early next year in Japan, with cartoons and other original programming. Some downloads will require payment, while others will be free, though supported by advertising. The service will launch overseas at an unspecified later date. Wait, overseas? But that's where we live! Wow, what a delightful surprise! Looks like Colin Dixon totally nailed that prediction. [Via Joystiq]
Video distribution coming to Japan Wiis early 2009, overseas later
Starting early next year, Nintendo will be joining the ranks of its fellow console makers in offering a video distribution service through the Wii. According to Nikkei business daily, The House of Mario will team up with Dentsu, Inc. to offer cartoons and other programs created specifically for the service, and since they're using the phrase "new revenue stream," we doubt it's gonna be offered gratis. Videophiles shouldn't expect much magic, either, given the console's 512MB memory limit and 480p max resolution. The service will launch first in Japan and head overseas later. Hey Nintendo, if you really want to emulate your competition, how about an online social network that doesn't require long strings of integers?
Video service coming to Wii, says Nikkei
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Video_distribution_service_coming_to_Wii'; A video distribution service is coming to Nintendo Wii, according to Nikkei business daily (via Reuters). Working with ad agency Dentsu, Inc., the service will offer original content in the form of cartoons and "other entertainment programs" and is seen as a "new revenue stream" for the company (read: our large vault of money needs a diving board made from diamonds). Not much else is known at the moment. The service will first launch in Japan early 2009 and overseas later in the year.
