Japan Pulse

The hype surrounding augmented reality (AR) technology is often dwarfed by coverage of 3D television,  but that may change once both are put into practice on a broad scale. AR could prove to change lives more profoundly, not only by locating subway stations or inviting Robert Downey Jr. into your cubicle, but also by providing information about anything or anyone at which you point your device.

The Sekai Camera iPhone app grabbed headlines in Japan last year, and several new Japanese applications may indicate what to expect in the coming decade. The Red Cross is using face-recognition software and anime hair to attract blood donors in Akihabara, and the pin@clip application is now being tested in Shibuya, allowing iPhone users to get real-time information on shopping and entertainment options in the buildings that users pass by.

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Now this is a fantastic idea. The Japanese firm Mobile Art Lab has turned the iPhone into an interactive children’s book with what they’re calling the PhoneBook.

This is not the first iPhone-related program aimed at your toddler – you could spend hours looking through all the child-related applications available on iTunes – but this approach, with its book-like accessory framing the touchscreen, is an idea that is bound to catch on. Mobile Art Lab has stated that these kind of applications are not limited to children’s books, but could also be utilized in other types of media such as catalogs and brochures. Graphic novels and manga could easily integrate this technology as well, but the interactive potential makes this an ideal learning tool.

Next up, Dr. Seuss: Is there an app for that?

If you love art and design, then chances are you’ve spent some time perusing the listings and reviews found on Tokyo Art Beat (TAB), or if you get around, perhaps the Kansai (KAB)* and New York (NYAB) sites as well. About a year ago, the clever guys that run Art Beat released their API for all to see, which basically means that they made all of the site’s relevant data available for any programmer to use as he/she sees fit:

“In other words, this time we are setting our data free, free for people to share and broadcast to more places and in more ways than we could imagine.”

One of the fruits of such generosity is the new Tokyo Art iPhone application, which I am growing to love quite quickly. Not only can you search the TAB listings for a particular genre of art you’d like to see (photography, sculpture, etc.), you can also choose a specific area of town you’d like to explore.

The app goes a step further by using the iPhone’s maps and geolocation capability to find the closest Tokyo art and design events to wherever you’re standing. Just open the app and touch the “nearby” button after you choose a radius you want to work with (500 meters to 3,000 meters). A few seconds later, you’ll have gallery choices and directions. You can read TAB’s info on the gallery and exhibit, or go straight to a map.

Sort galleries by distance or popularity, or use the “free” filter to only see events with no entrance charge. There are hundreds of art events every month in Tokyo. TAB made them much easier to discover, and now the the Art Tokyo app practically walks you to their doorstep.

Just one more reason to get out there and see some art.

*KAB is currently on hiatus. They aren’t updating the calendar, but the site is still a great resource for art-related venue information such as maps, descriptions and directions. Just go to the Venues tab.

Yesterday, after almost of year of cruel teasing and prodding, gadget hounds finally got an up-close look at the Sekai Camera, a highly anticipated Augmented Reality application for mobile phones, named iPhone and Android-based phones.

Tech-man-about-town Nobi Hayashi was one of the lucky ones to attend the event at Loewe, a Spanish fashion ship in Tokyo’s Ginza. As his video shows, Sekai Camera users view their surroundings through the iPhone screen, which displays “Air Tags” floating in an overlay of reality. Tapping a tag brings up relevant info about the onscreen object.  At Loewe, visitors were able to learn more about high-end products (and we can imagine, some folks might need a lot of persuading.)

Wedding the iPhone’s GPS and video capabilities, the app’s creators, Tonchidot Corporation, appear to be targeting retailers in search of a new gimmick, but the camera’s uses aren’t purely commercial. For instance, you could leave a personal review of a restaurant or consult the reviews of previous patrons.  People visiting a new city could look up historical information about buildings that interest them from the local tourist office. In fact, Tonchidot is already aligning itself with a very interesting iPhone-centric tourism project in Gifu Prefecture.

But wait! There’s more! Behond Air Tagging, features include Air Filters (to weed out visual clutter); Air Shouts (to users within a 300 meter radius), Air Pocket (for saving those tags) and even Air Voice (for an audio recording).

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