hikari
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A very Japanese virtual companion is being westernized
When Gatebox revealed its... shall we say, culturally specific AI assistant a few years back, it drew its fair share of attention. How could it not? It looked for all the world like a blue-haired anime girl living in a glass tube, and it could be yours for the extremely reasonable price of $3,000. Now that 2020 is upon us, though, Gatebox's girl is getting a revamp for use outside Japan.
Found Footage: An iPad-controlled robot that attacks
Thanks to the iPad and TouchOSC, robot Hikari can now be controlled by our favorite tablet device. The system for control on the iPad is powered by TouchOSC, a remote control application that sends commands to an external device using the Open Sound Control (OSC) protocol. These commands are sent to a Max patch running on a Windows-based PC. Commands are then relayed directly to the PC-connected robot. In the YouTube video after the break, owner Darkback2 uses this system to make Hikari walk and stand up from both a face-up and a face-down position. You should watch out, though, as the iPad controller can also be used to make Hikari attack, an action that fits in nicely with the video's drum-heavy theme music. For those that are wondering, ... no, robot Hikari does not dance. Thanks Bob for sending this in!
Japan just barely beats MLB to first 3D broadcast
The first 3D baseball in the US goes on the air this weekend, but Panasonic already participated in Hikari TV's 3D production of Yakult Swallows/Hanshin Tigers game on Thursday. As seen above, Panasonic's 3D camera played a key role, while some angles were filled by 2D cameras being converted to 3D, there were two 3D cameras, behind first and third base. Check out the machine translated Japanese for the rest of the info, we'll wait to see what YES and FSN can do tomorrow.
Hikari to unleash iFrame Android tablet on Japan (video)
Hikari's iFrame (as opposed to the other, Ubuntu-sportin' iFrame from a while back) is an Android-powered tablet with a skin that's heavy on the widgets and -- in case you're still intimidated by its difficulty -- is also being touted as a photoframe for people who don't mind ugly photoframes. Ideally suited for the kitchen or living room (and, as such, is being marketed towards women -- which we find pretty condescending, truth be told) this bad boy features a 7-inch touchscreen display, SD memory card slot, and WiFi. Due out in Japan sometime next year (no word yet on a stateside release date) look to pay anywhere between $220 and $330 (with the company giving credit to the OS for the low price point). Video after the break.
Oculon's Hikari Pro920 might be the world's tiniest projector
On the lookout for portable projection? Sure, us too. That's why we were pleased to see these new Oculon Hikari Pro1440 and Pro920 (pictured) projectors land in our tips box this morning. The pair can project a 15- or 20-inch display from a distance of just 2-feet. The $399 Pro1440 LCoS model throws 250 lumens across a 20-inch, 800 x 600 pixel display from Composite or D-Sub15 RGB connected sources including game consoles, laptops, and portable media players. Things drop down to 25 lumens across a 15-inch, 640 x 480 pixel display for the $299 Pro920 which measures just 86 x 44 x 85-mm. "World's tiniest," as Oculon claims? Maybe. At least until TI and Microvision get their acts together. Pro1440 pictured after the break.
