Smart Speaker teach you how to take out the garbage

Take out garbage is a very troublesome daily routine. Especially in Japan, waste separation is very complicated. So, Shaxware and Kobe City in Hyogo Prefecture released the Gomi-Maru, a garbage guide application link with Amazon Alexa.

This is an application that tells you about the types of garbage and how to take out each. For example, when you're busy doing housework or childcare, talking to an Alexa-equipped device, then it will tell you the classification of garbage in Kobe City and Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture, and the date of garbage collection by region.

If it's a smart speaker, users can control it with their voice, which is useful for older people with blindness, blind people and disabled people. With devices that have screens like Amazon Echo Spot and Amazon Echo Show, users can see what they've checked on the screen.
Shaxware launched its service for their hometown, Toyohashi, Aichi in August 2018, and in September 2018, they won the Life Category for the Alexa Skills Award 2018. They are recruiting other local governments that want to use this. The application is offered free at the Alexa Skills Store.

Card with special content

Usually, cards linked to smartphones and Web services contain points or e-money. However, this has special content instead of them.
Touchcard and BIGLOBE have released BIGLOBE TOUCHCARD, a cloud-type PR tool that enables users to view special content by touching the card to the screen of their smartphone. They are selling this to companies.

This is a card using a special print technology with a patented conductive ink that Touchcard has, and when the users touch on the card-touch website displayed on the screen of the smartphone by card, It will be recognized as like touch by a human finger, and the screen will transition to the special page. Customers can also print their original designs on top of the conductive ink. Also, customers can place different content on the front and back of the card. For example, it is possible to provide digital contents such as videos, audios, and images on the front, and provide discount coupons for limited goods on the back.
They say that it is very friendly to the community where there are a lot of specific fans such as the sports team's player cards or the huge game events. Furthermore, in international competitions, it is proposed to use as a tool for guidance in multilingual commentary and surrounding facilities. If customers distribute 10,000 cards to fans, the initial cost is 1.8 million yen for creating cards, and 150,000 yen / three months for system usage fee. The time required to create cards is one month, and the system construction can be one day.
As the first case, Shimizu S-Pulse, a J-League football club will distribute a bonus card that allows to see the original video for purchasers of 2019 season's official uniforms from this month.

Printer that can print only the necessary part

Although RICOH is one of the major printer maker, the situation in which people use printers is gradually decreasing. So they added an idea to the printer. It is to make them smaller.

RICOH Handy Printer is a handy-size monochrome inkjet printer that lets you print texts, images, QR codes, and barcodes anywhere by sliding it on paper. Even if the information you want to print does not fit on a regular printer, such as irregular-size paper or cardboard, you can easily print them using this.
Its weight only about 300grams and has a battery that can run for 2 hours in a row, and the size is 46 x 121 x 81mm and you can take it anywhere.

If you want to digitize information, you can do it by using a mobile app, Bluetooth or USB connection. They will release application fir Android and Windows in May. They will also release an SDK for this to support users own development.

Hello, I'm a smart hello kitty

Smart home appliances remote control has already been released by many manufacturers, there is no novelty. However, if you like something cute and it have a hello kitty face? Softbank's gadget shop SB C&S has released a limited model of smart home appliance remote control in collaboration with Hello Kitty, as the 45th anniversary item of Sanrio.

It is a small smart home appliance remote controller developed by gadget maker Ratoc Systems in Osaka, you can connect it to Wi-Fi at home and operate various smart appliances with infrared light. It supports not only mobile apps, but also Google assistants, Amazon Alexa-powered speakers, and voice operations using Siri shortcuts.
The distance of infrared rays is up to 30m, and remote control data of general household appliances such as TV, air conditioner, ceiling light, fan and recorder are also preset more than 350 kinds. In addition, learning of infrared remote control by manual is also possible and it has cloud function and sensors of temperature, humidity and brightness, so you can check home conditions with the mobile app and then operate your home appliances. The surface of this is printed with a Hello Kitty face, and it can be stored against the wall so you can always look at the Hello Kitty face in the room.

The size is 45 x 45 x 15mm, the weight is about 16grams, the power is 5V at 1A, and consumes 150mA in standby and 900mA in infrared transmission. You can buy this for 8,640yen(including tax) on Amazon.co.jp.

Gadgets needed for the new season

April is the beginning of a new season, especially for small children going to primary school, and in Japan, it is common for children to attend school alone. So, SOURCENEXT will release gadget FamilyDot that can check where the family members on May 29 by 16,070yen(including tax).

It is already possible if you have a smartphone. However, elementary school students do not have a smartphone yet. It's a small GPS device that can be used in 71 countries so you can always check where your family members are on your smartphone. You do not need a contract and monthly communication fee, and there is no limit on the number of position measurements. And you can use it for two years after you start using it without the need for extra cost. There are no restrictions on carriers, so you can use any Android / iOS mobile.
Usage is simple. You just charge it, set it up, and then attach it to the children's bag. There is no need for children to learn how to operate this. Not only GPS signal, but it can also pinpoint locations based on surrounding Wi-Fi access points, so you can also find underground and indoor locations.

It detects the movement speed of children when they leave school, arrive at home or go to other areas and automatically sends push notifications to your mobile. You can specify areas in advance. For example, it may be useful if your children are learning at a certain date and time. You can add users who can check location information without extra cost. It is also possible for the whole family to watch over the children. If the battery's remaining capacity drops below 20%, a notification will be sent to the mobile app.
The size is 45x 45x 18.5mm, the weight is about 38g, and works with a 800mAh lithium-ion rechargeable battery.