Label printer optimized for smartphones

TEPRA is King Jim's popular label printer. On August 20, they released a new small model TEPRA Lite LR30 that can be operated from a smartphone application.

This is a model specialized for smartphones of TEPRA. You can easily create various labels by connecting your smartphone and this with Bluetooth, and using its free mobile application TEPRA Lite. In the application, you can change the size of characters and images, consider their placement, design labels freely, and use emoji, frames and template designs. In addition, you can even create your own caricatures and add photos stored on your smartphones.
This is a palm size of 76mm x 71mm x 46mm, weigh is about 132g, and work by four AAA alkaline batteries. The printing method is thermal, and the maximum printable width is about 9.0mm. Color variations are blue and white and the price is 7,344 yen (tax included).

Just use a Wi-Fi access point

There are several small projectors already, especially those that can be used in combination with smartphones. Howevwr, what if you want to use the projector and smartphone separately? Therefore, Canon Marketing Japan will release a mini projector C-13W in early October as a new lineup of compact and lightweight mini projector series that can be used without PCs or smartphones.

This is available anywhere Wi-Fi is available, and you can browse web pages and project them onto the screen without having to connect them to your PCs or smartphones. Of course, like other projectors, it also supports HDMI connections, and you can project data stored in 4GB of internal memory or data in USB memory and MicroSD. The size of this is 120mm x 120mm x 33mm and the weigh is 410g. Its battery can be driven for up to 2 hours without connecting to a power adapter, and also functions as a mobile battery when the smart devices are not fully charged. It has a maximum brightness of 130lm and has an LED light source for about 20,000 hours. They envision not only traditional business scenes, but also usage scenes such as construction sites and outdoors.
This is an open-price, but it is pre-sold at a Canon online store for 53,784 yen (including tax).

Bizarre hotel with hologram characters will open in Tokyo in September

They operate bizarre hotels where the robots serve customers, but next is holograms.

Travel agency H.I.S. Hotel Holdings will open Henna Hotel Tokyo(変なホテル東京: Bizarre hotel Yokyo) in September which uses holograms for front and lobby space production.
This hotel will focus on original entertainment productions that fuse visual technology such as holograms with Japanese art. First of all, hologram dinosaurs, ninjas and butlers are in charge of guest reception. They speak not only Japanese but also English, Chinese, and Korean so foreign travelers can stay here.

When guests chooses a dinosaur, ninja, or butler, various projection mappings lead the guest to the front of the elevator. For example, if you select a hologram ninja at check-in, shurikens(手裏剣: One of the old cutlery weapons to throw) will appear at your feet, and huge footprints will appear when you select a dinosaur.
Hologram and projection mapping works change according to the season. When it opens in September, you will be able to enjoy works with autumn leaves as a motif.

Name: Henn na Hotel Tokyo Asakusa Tawaramachi(変なホテル東京 浅草田原町)
Address: Kotobuki 3-chome 19-8, Taito-ku, Tokyo
Access: 9 minutes on foot from Asakusa Station, 2 minutes on foot from Taharacho Station
Check in: 15:00
Check out: 11:00
Number of rooms: 217rooms
Website: https://www.hennnahotel.com/asakusa-tawaramachi/

avorite films will be converted into room lights

PYRAMID FILM QUADRA is a company that produces advertising contents usually, but their prototype development team developed a slightly unusual room lamp.

This is a lighting device “Film Lamp” that feels films. It takes colors, lights, and sounds from video signals of film, music video, or games and converts them into room lights and BGM.

To use it, you need real DVDs, and they explain that by setting the DVDs in the player, the videos of the DVDs are converted into room lights.


In developing this, they collaborated with art director Neji Sato, brainstorming based on his ideas, and actually turning it into a physical prototype. Unfortunately, this is a prototype and is not planned for commercial sale. However, they call on you to feel free to contact them if you are interested.

Bandai Namco opens VR arcade in Beijing, China

Bandai Namco Amusement, an amusement branch of major Japanese game company Bandai Namco, has signed a VR content franchise agreement with Chinese entertainment company XINGBAO INTERNATIONAL CULTURE MEDIA, and They will open VR arcade VR ZONE BEIJING in Chaoyang Park in Beijing this fall.

XINGBAO INTERNATIONAL CULTURE MEDIA is a company that focuses on cultivating a good IP entertainment industry environment by linking IP inside and outside China and entertainment content. They are already producing and promoting Chinese movies and TV shows, movie theater management, and esports business.
On the other hand, Bandai Namco Amusement has already deployed 21 huge VR arcades facilities in Japan and 6 in overseas, and will soon open it in Macau, too. Beijing is the 8th overseas VR arcade overseas, with 13 types of VR attractions. Among them are Gundam, Evangelion, Godzilla, Dragon Ball and Mario Kart.

[Facility name] VR ZONE BEIJING
[Residential] NO 1, SOUTH ROAD, CHAOYANG PARK, CHAOYANG DISTRICT, BEIJING, CHINA
[Facilities area] Approximately 1,700㎡
[Opening date] Fall 2019

Keep track of your heart rate with your watch

At present, many people measure various data while running. People who are particularly concerned about own health care not only about their running route but also their heart rate. Casio has released WSD-F21HR, the smart watch for outdoor use as a new item of their outdoor brand PRO TREK Smart.

This is a new model that adds a heart rate measurement function based on the WSD-F20 they released in 2017. It has a watch-face that is linked to the heart rate measurement function. When the built-in accelerometer detects the user's movement (walking, running, biking), the heart rate measurement starts automatically. You can check your heart rate zone history for the past 24 hours, daily maximum / minimum heart rate, and daily energy consumption on a regular watch-face. The watch-face on the heart rate measurement screen allows you to check your current heart rate zone, current heart rate, daily maximum / minimum heart rate, and daily energy consumption. When you cross a pre-set heart rate zone, it will be notified with a display and vibration to prevent you becoming over-paced. It can also measure the maximum oxygen intake (per kg body weight) that can be taken into the body per minute, so you can use it as a measure of endurance such as running. In addition, using a mobile application linked to this, you can record and manage daily exercises.
It runs on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and runs for about 20 hours with a charging time of about 2.5 hours(When heart rate is measured by running / trail running using GPS). The size is about 61.7 x 57.7 x 16.8mm and weighs about 81g. Accessories are an AC adapter and a dedicated charging cable. The price is 61,600 yen (including 10% tax)

VR horror attraction combining room escape, shooting and zombies

The other day, I wrote about a VR horror show in Sendai, Miyagi Pref.

See Also:
VR horror show that you can enjoy lying down

However, another type of VR horror attraction is being held at department store Forus in Sendai. It combines VR horror attraction with room escape and shooting game. The play fee is 500 yen once.

The title is "Mystery solving horror school "Escape from 360 degrees / 1 minute". The motif is a Japanese school classroom. You are trapped in an unattended classroom and you aim to escape. But there are so many zombies outside the classroom that you have to shoot at their heads. In other words, it combines two types of games. Can you escape the classroom within the time limit? How many zombies can you shoot within the time limit?

The VR HMD used was Oculus GO. Many VR beginners play these VR attractions. So the all-in-one and lightweight Oculus GO is perfect for them.

When you wear Oculus GO, you will first see an eerie classroom. The door is locked, so you explore different places to find hints and find the key. When you get out of the classroom, the zombies approach from three directions. If you shoot their torso, arms and legs, they won't stop. You must shoot their heads exactly.

This does not scare people by visual. Give people a sense of tension. At the venue, the highest score of zombie shooting was posted. That was 73. My score at this time was 69!

This is held until September 1. Even elementary school students can play. Information is here (Japanese).

Potato chips with Japanese virtual Youtuber collection cards will be released in October

Now, virtual Youtubers(VTubers) are very popular in Japan, which is equivalent to real celebrities and artists. Real or virtual? 3D or 2D? That is not important issues. Are they cute? cool? good at singing? talks interesting? These are the important issues. Reflecting its popularity, in the middle of October, potato chips with popular VTuber collection cards "VTuber Chips" will be released. The price is 242 yen and it will be sold at convenience store FamilyMart, general store Village Vanguard, anime merchandise store Animate, and eCommerce site eStream Store.

The ranks of the cards are N cards, R(rare) cards, and SR(super rare) cards, and there are 16 each. There are 48 kinds of cards, and one card is randomly attached to each bag.

A list of VTubers participating in this.

• HIMEHINA
• Tokino Sora
• Baacharu
• Hakari Kanna
• Mirai Akari
• Yomemi&Moemi
• Ruki&Loki
• Shizuka Rin
• Shirakami Fubuki
• Tsukino Mito
• Shiro
• Nekomiya Hinata
• Higuchi Kaede
• Fuji Aoi
• Honma Himawari
• Yuzuki Roa

A mysterious exhibition to appreciate the clear sound of the full-digital speaker OVO

From August 11 - 18, a mysterious exhibition was held at the Sendai-Forus, department store in Sendai. It is an exhibition to appreciate the "sound".

This event was held by JDSound, who develops audio equipment such as full-digital speaker OVO. They were established after the Great East Japan Earthquake, with the intention of helping boost the economy of Tohoku by making electronic products in the area. OVO is their main product, and it play clear sound via USB instead of Bluetooth. Advantages include better sound quality, no delayed output, no setting up procedure and no need for battery charging. You simply plug it into whatever device you want to amp up the audio on. Its full-digital logic system can handle audio signals and output digital ones using less power than an analog system. It left and right sound channels for a stereo effect and boosts sudden or loud sounds by drawing extra energy to the speaker when needed.

At this exhibition, we were able to enjoy various ASMR(Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) sounds played by OVO.

This is how the venue is. It was an exhibition to appreciate the sound, so of course there were no paintings or photos, just black canvases on an inorganic concrete wall.

The title of this work is "not in time and the madness". As I listened to the canvas to appreciate the sound, I heard a quick touch typing sound in it, so I understood the meaning of the title. What impressed me was that, despite the noisy venue, I was able to hear a clear and realistic sound by bringing my ears closer to the canvas. Why was there an event to enjoy sound at a department store with a lot of noise? This was their challenge.

When I looked at the back of the canvas, OVO was directly taped there! A very simple setting :)
However, it is a good technique to get people who are not familiar with sound and gadgets to understand the performance of OVO. Moreover, it is easy to remain in people's memories because it involves an active action of listening to the sound by bringing the ear close to the canvas.

Sounds that seemed to have a relaxing effect such as bonfire sounds, water sounds, people whispering, and sound of cutting vegetables were on display.
It attracted many people's attention and about 3000 people visited here. This is a staggering figure at a local event.

Currently, they are actively working to release OVO in collaboration with local professional baseball teams and virtual Youtuber, and to release a version of OVO that can customize the exterior. Initially, they raised development funds through crowd funding, but raised more than 90 million yen in only in Japan. Now, OVO is also sold on Amazon.

Co-working space with hundreds of years of history

I usually go around various co-working spaces in Sendai, Miyagi Pref. Sendai is a huge city with about 1 million inhabitants, so multiple coworking spaces can coexist. However, the other Tohoku cities, towns and villages are very rural, small in population, and mostly do not have coworking spaces. My birthplace Masuda, Yokote, Akita Pref. is also one of them. Yokote has a population of about 90,000 and is very lonely.

However, the cafe and restaurant Kurawo in Masuda town has a new coworking space in the store.

Kurawo is a cafe and restaurant run by a long-established fermented food production company founded in 1918. They renovated a huge mansion of the Sake factory built in 1745 and used it as a store. Originally, Masuda is a tourist destination characterized by a historic street lined with old merchants houses and shops, among which the Kurauwo store is one of the oldest buildings.

This is what the coworking space looks like. Capacity is about 10-14 people.

Viewed from the store entrance side. Go through the checkout counter and it is on the right side.

This area was originally used as a mini gallery, but they made it a co-working space to use it outside the exhibition period. How much is the usage fee?

Only one cup of amazake(300 yen)! This is a drink using Kouji, a good bacteria unique to Japan. When Kouji live in grains or beans, they start fermenting activities. Their activities have various positive effects on human health. In addition, we can make various fermented foods such as sake and pickles thanks to them. Amazake is one of them. It has a very high nutritional value and is particularly effective as a preventive agent for heat stroke.

There are several outlets on the wall, and of course WiFi, too. For example, if you're sightseeing in Masuda and want to write the report immediately, it's possible if you come here.

Look at this side table. This is the old chest. These are just historical witnesses.

And tatami is used for the chair.

This place is very popular, and depending on the date and time, it may not be available for events or private reservations by group customers, so please check the store schedule on the official website or Facebook page in advance.

You can visit historical buildings, eat and drink, work and buy souvenirs here. Isn't such a place very valuable?

Information of Kurawo
Web Site:
https://kurawo.net/contents/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/kurawo3710
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/kurawo/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/kurawo3710/

Take a VR look inside the heads of popular Manga ONE PIECE creators

Currently, "Hello, ONE PIECE", an exhibition of the popular Manga ONE PIECE is being held at Sendai mediatheque, a cultural facility in Sendai, Miyagi Pref.

Hello, ONE PIECE was originally held in Malaysia to commemorate the 20th anniversary of serialization in ONE PIECE in magazine. Currently, it is traveling around Japan and overseas, and is scheduled to be held in Wuhan, China after Sendai.

The main exhibition contents include handwritten manuscripts by ONE PIECE creator Eiichiro Oda, full-color illustrations, and a reproduction of his desk. His full-color illustrations are especially wonderful. They are just a flood of colors! Everyone will be amazed by his color sense.

In addition, like a modern exhibition, photography is possible in the venue. If you are a fan of ONE PIECE, you can shoot photos as if you were in Manga.

By the way, you can experience special VR content by paying an additional 300 yen in venue.

 The VR HMD used is Dell Visor VR118.

“Look inside the heads of Eiichiro Oda” was the concept of VR content. Specifically, we can relive Eiichiro Oda from his perspective through a series of steps to draw ONE PIECE characters using Google's Tilt Brush. He hasn't done any digital drawing yet, and has done all the work in analog, but surprisingly he was completely familiar with Tilt Brush.

This is a making video. In a way, this shows how intuitive the VR drawing tool is.

His VR work was available on iPad.

This exhibition is held until August 27th. If you live in Sendai and like ONE PIECE, this will be worth seeing.

Cool trap as an interior

In summer, mosquitoes bother people. Fortunately, in Japan they does not carry any serious illness, but when bitten by them, makes the skin very itchy and uncomfortable. Mimimoto No Boon Zero EX10 is a trap for insects that can be enjoyed as an interior with a cool appearance.

It has an LED UV lamp, and it collects insects that have the habit of gathering in the light, such as mosquitoes, small flies, and moths. The frequency of LED UV lamp is 365mm which insects like, and its cover range is 50-100m2. Because it does not use harmful insecticidal ingredients or fire, it does not generate smoke and odors and can be used safely by families with young children and pets. The fan's inlet is covered with a safety guard so that if children or pets touch it, their fingers will not get caught in the fan. Small insects usually become dehydrated and die within 1-2 days, so you only throw them out of the trapping box below every 2-3 days. Of course, you don't have to touch the insects directly.

This is a USB rechargeable type, so if you use it with a mobile battery, it will work even outdoors such as camping. This was funded in the crowd funding platform Green Funding, and has already raised more than three times the target amount. You can buy it from 6500 yen, and if you settle in August, it will be shipped in this month.