8.04.2019

Cosmic summer noodle menu

Nagashi somen(流しそうめん:flow noodle) is the one of menu of Japanese summer. It through a Straight waterway made with bamboo, we catch it with chopsticks, and dip it in mentsuyu(麺つゆ:noodle source) to eat. It's very cool, but it's difficult to do at home because it requires a lot of settings, and it's usually done at some event. However, toy maker Takara-Tomy Arts has released a set to enjoy Nagashi somen at home. Moreover, it is designed like a more complex race course, and somehow uses the universe as a motif.


This Big Stream Somen Slider Galaxy is one of their cooking toys. Originally they released a set of Nagashi somen every year, and gimmicks have become more complex year by year, and this year's feature is "weightlessness". Usually, Nagashi somen flows from top to bottom according to the slope of the waterway, but Big Stream Somen Slider Galaxy jets the water stored in the "Mars-tank" with the power of the motor, puts the noodles on top of it, and flows it from the bottom to the top. The noodles run up through a transparent tube called the "hyperdrive-tube", so you can see the noodles rising and flowing. It ’s just like "weightlessness".


In addition, it also has a docking feature, if you buy the optional waterways in this series, you can combine them to create a more dynamic waterway.


The body size of this is 792mm × 217mm × 460mm, and works with three D size alkaline batteries. The price is 10,778 yen (including tax), but you can buy it cheaper at stores and mail orders.

8.02.2019

QUEEN is not Disney characters but appears in the mobile game Disney: Tsum-Tsum. Only in Japanese region

Disney: Tsum-Tsum is a mobile puzzle game what characters from the Disney group appear as cute stuffed toys. There are various characters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm. However, new stuffed toys that are not Disney characters added for the first time. They are QUEEN.


They are rare characters, and appearing randomly from a premium BOX that requires 30,000 game coins.



They got permission to use the songs as well as the portraits of the members.

Freddie Mercury, if you use his skills in the game, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS will be played as BGM.

Brian May, if you use his skills in the game, WE WILL ROCK YOU will be played as BGM.

Roger Taylor, if you use his skills in the game, RADIO GA GA is played as BGM.

John Deacon, he is the rarest character. He only appears when you use the skills of other members. In other words, you can't get him no matter how much you use game coins.

This is a limited-time collaboration until August 31, and unfortunately only in the Japanese region. Why do Disney Japan and LINE collaborate with QUEEN only in Japan? I think this collaboration is acceptable to other regions.

8.01.2019

Consider the best positions for fireworks Festival

In summer, fireworks festivals are held throughout Japan. However, there are many people gathering there, so it is an important issue where to see fireworks. This iOS application Fireworks Festival Simulator will help you consider your viewing location with location information and AR.


With this application, you can search information on fireworks festivals around Japan that will be held in 2019. And it measures the distance and direction from the current location based on the location information, displays the AR fireworks on your smartphone screen. You can use them as a reference to find and consider the best places to see fireworks.


If you unfortunately can't go to the fireworks festival, you can use the AR fireworks to take a fake commemorative photos and share them on Facebook and Twitter.
This is an old application that was released in 2014, but it is updated every year to add a schedule for the year's fireworks festivals. Download is free.

7.04.2019

Your toothbrush plays music

Children dislike teeth brushing . Even adults may find it troublesome. So Kyocera, Lion and Sony have developed children's toothbrushe "Possi" where the musics are played when brushing teeth.


 The concept is to change the teeth brushing that children dislike to a pleasant time. It has a Kyocera's small-sized piezoelectric ceramic element that converts an electrical signal into vibration sound in the head. And the main body has a digital drive amplifier, so that when the brush touches the teeth, vibration is transmitted from the head of the toothbrush to the teeth and the music is reproduced. The music plays only while the head touches the teeth, so children can only enjoy it while brushing their teeth. If your children have own favorite music, you can also connect smartphones with this via an audio cable and brush their teeth with favorite music. The brush parts are replaceable, and the set includes three replacement brushes.
There are three types of color variations: pop(Blue and Red), aqua(Blue and White), and pure(White), the size is 40mm x 46mm x 153mm, the weight is about 60g, and it works with two AAA alkaline batteries. They are currently funding development funds at Sony's crowd-funding platform First Flight. You can buy it there for 17,500 yen (tax included).



via https://first-flight.sony.com/pj/possi

7.02.2019

AI looks for your clothes

Instagram has become a place to meet new fashions and styles beyond the simple social networking services. But what if your favorite Instagramers show their nice clothes but don't write where they bought them? If you want to adopt their style, it is hard to find the same clothes on your own. Therefore, Metaps-One has released an application miel that AI searches for similar items from various EC sites and suggest them based on the images of Instaglammers and photos taken by you.



If you like the suggested items, you can buy them right from within the application. Usage is simple. When you find nice coordinates or fashion items in social networking services or magazines, upload these images to the application. Then, AI searches images across various EC sites to find items similar to your favorites.
Machine learning is used for this image search. The core technologies are Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and Vector Representations, and the application uses CNN to determine the types of items and delete backgrounds. Also, the application uses Vector Representations to mathematically show the relationship between items that are difficult to explain in language, referring to the axes that are suitable for fashion, such as item colors, patterns, sleeve lengths, and collar types. It is used for machine learning while expressing in space.
Metaps-One says that the strength of this application is an EC function that allows users to search for images and immediately purchase items. Currently, they are recruiting partners from EC sites that provide data feeds of items to applications.
The application download is free(iOS/Android).

via https://metaps-one.com/news/miel-release