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TeamLab Studio lets you be a video star in 3D virtual spaces

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The creative folks over at Tokyo-based TeamLab have developed an interesting video solution that lets you transform any given location into your own three-dimensional graphical space over a green screen. What’s remarkable about it is that when the camera moves, the virtual space will adjust to the viewing angle in real time. Dubbed TeamLab Studio, the technology is currently in the beta phase, but has been put into use at Cure Studio in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. The studio can be used by anyone to create cosplay videos in virtual worlds, and you can even add things like magic effects to accentuate your movement. One such video sample can be viewed below. Cure Studio can be used for free, although visitors will have to pay admission for Haco Stadium Ikebukuro where the studio is located. While a TeamLab rep couldn’t disclose too much details about the technology behind the real-time synchronized camera movement and visualized space, I understand that the software to interface with the camera was developed in-house at TeamLab. This is just the latest digital work from the very prolific TeamLab, which is also responsible for ingenious projects like the interactive TV game that was played by a million people…

curestudio_en

The creative folks over at Tokyo-based TeamLab have developed an interesting video solution that lets you transform any given location into your own three-dimensional graphical space over a green screen. What’s remarkable about it is that when the camera moves, the virtual space will adjust to the viewing angle in real time.

Dubbed TeamLab Studio, the technology is currently in the beta phase, but has been put into use at Cure Studio in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. The studio can be used by anyone to create cosplay videos in virtual worlds, and you can even add things like magic effects to accentuate your movement. One such video sample can be viewed below. Cure Studio can be used for free, although visitors will have to pay admission for Haco Stadium Ikebukuro where the studio is located.

While a TeamLab rep couldn’t disclose too much details about the technology behind the real-time synchronized camera movement and visualized space, I understand that the software to interface with the camera was developed in-house at TeamLab.

This is just the latest digital work from the very prolific TeamLab, which is also responsible for ingenious projects like the interactive TV game that was played by a million people in real time last year, or the two-ton, 4D animated tree that was displayed in Fukuoka last Christmas.

Office toilet woes solved: Japanese company’s amazing system checks if stall is free

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Our readers may remember reading about TeamLab and its creative initiatives many times here on The Bridge, and even more of their past work can be found on their website. TeamLab does interior office designs as well, and recently we came across some interesting work they’ve completed. The project is called the Heaven’s Door, a witty name given to a system that lets office workers see the availability of office bathrooms. Who needs such a system? Well apparently TeamLab did, with its over 100 employees and only two toilets available at that time. Trips to the bathroom often resulted in long waits or even several visits, so some engineers decided to do something about it. Heaven’s Door requires that a device be installed for a view of the entire bathroom, and then a smaller device added for each stall. These smaller devices have sensors enabled, detecting whether a stall is occupied or vacant. Office workers can then install a dedicated Chrome extension, which gives you a real time update of the bathroom availability with a single click. Heaven’s Door was first shown to public at O’Reilly Japan’s Make: Japan Summit back in 2011. If anyone is interested in making their…

toilet

Our readers may remember reading about TeamLab and its creative initiatives many times here on The Bridge, and even more of their past work can be found on their website. TeamLab does interior office designs as well, and recently we came across some interesting work they’ve completed.

The project is called the Heaven’s Door, a witty name given to a system that lets office workers see the availability of office bathrooms. Who needs such a system? Well apparently TeamLab did, with its over 100 employees and only two toilets available at that time.

Trips to the bathroom often resulted in long waits or even several visits, so some engineers decided to do something about it.

Heaven’s Door requires that a device be installed for a view of the entire bathroom, and then a smaller device added for each stall. These smaller devices have sensors enabled, detecting whether a stall is occupied or vacant. Office workers can then install a dedicated Chrome extension, which gives you a real time update of the bathroom availability with a single click.

Heaven’s Door was first shown to public at O’Reilly Japan’s Make: Japan Summit back in 2011. If anyone is interested in making their employee’s bathroom life a little less worrisome, prototypes of Heaven’s Door devices are available for 2,000 yen and 3,000 yen (about $20 and $30) on this website.

TeamLab_HeavensDoor

Photo Credit: Anne Worner via Compfight cc

The storefront of the future? Tokyo department store digitizes its window display

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Many national convenient store chains in Japan have installed digital signage at their storefronts to lure customers inside. The retail industry is typically aggressive, using enormous bright screens to showcase different products, to both encourage more purchases and to communicate their message. Japanese department store Parco has long been the center of the nation’s trendy fashions. And recently it has installed digital signage at its Shibuya storefront. There are six vertical screens that make up its ‘P-Wall’, showcasing the different products available on the Parco website, including 1,000 products by various brands. People can touch different products to see more details, or even check if that product is available in different colors. This P-Wall initiative was completed in collaboration with Tokyo-based TeamLab, and you can get a better idea of how the screens work in the video below. The six adjacent screens replace the traditional shop display windows, letting customers check out a variety of products in one place instead of browsing store after store. Many stores are trying to establish a better connection between their real stores and their online malls, and we’ll have to wait to see if P-Wall proves an effective solution for this problem.

Many national convenient store chains in Japan have installed digital signage at their storefronts to lure customers inside. The retail industry is typically aggressive, using enormous bright screens to showcase different products, to both encourage more purchases and to communicate their message.

Japanese department store Parco has long been the center of the nation’s trendy fashions. And recently it has installed digital signage at its Shibuya storefront. There are six vertical screens that make up its ‘P-Wall’, showcasing the different products available on the Parco website, including 1,000 products by various brands.

People can touch different products to see more details, or even check if that product is available in different colors. This P-Wall initiative was completed in collaboration with Tokyo-based TeamLab, and you can get a better idea of how the screens work in the video below.

The six adjacent screens replace the traditional shop display windows, letting customers check out a variety of products in one place instead of browsing store after store. Many stores are trying to establish a better connection between their real stores and their online malls, and we’ll have to wait to see if P-Wall proves an effective solution for this problem.

teamlab-p-wall

Japanese television network claims over 1M participants in interactive TV game

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Last week we told you a little about TeamLab’s social instrument technology being implemented during Nippon Television Network’s 60th anniversary special. That event took place this past weekend, and the idea was to turn the scheduled musical performance from boy-band Arashi into a nation-wide interactive rhythm game where fans could use their mobile phones, computers, or even their TV remote controls to keep up with the beat visualized on screen. It appears that in terms of participation the game was a success. The network claims that 1.3 million viewers took part in the game – which is more than 1% of the entire Japanese population. (Of course, given how fabricated Japanese pop is these days, I don’t think it’s beyond belief that this number might be fabricated too!) Admittedly, the game play was ridiculously simple, but it was certainly a fun step in making live TV broadcasts more interactive. I wonder if we might see something like this appear in a Superbowl halftime show in the future? TeamLab has been responsible for some amazing digital feats in the past, and we encourage you to check out their website to learn more about past exhibitions and projects. Update July 10: We…

Last week we told you a little about TeamLab’s social instrument technology being implemented during Nippon Television Network’s 60th anniversary special. That event took place this past weekend, and the idea was to turn the scheduled musical performance from boy-band Arashi into a nation-wide interactive rhythm game where fans could use their mobile phones, computers, or even their TV remote controls to keep up with the beat visualized on screen.

It appears that in terms of participation the game was a success. The network claims that 1.3 million viewers took part in the game – which is more than 1% of the entire Japanese population. (Of course, given how fabricated Japanese pop is these days, I don’t think it’s beyond belief that this number might be fabricated too!)

Admittedly, the game play was ridiculously simple, but it was certainly a fun step in making live TV broadcasts more interactive. I wonder if we might see something like this appear in a Superbowl halftime show in the future?

TeamLab has been responsible for some amazing digital feats in the past, and we encourage you to check out their website to learn more about past exhibitions and projects.

Update July 10: We followed up with the folks at TeamLab to find out their reactions to the performance. While I was a little skeptical about the numbers Nippon Television Network was claiming, TeamLab says they’re accurate, and points us to further stats from the live event over at ntv.co.jp/musicday/result. We’ve translated it below.

So what’s the next step for this interactive TV technology? A TeamLab rep says they’d love to further evolve it, and they’ve gotten lots of new ideas as a result of this particular experience. As for future events, TeamLab tells me their door is always open to new clients and interesting new projects!

teamlab_game
Annotated translations by SD

TeamLab technology to make televised events more social in Japan

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Japan’s Nippon Television Network is making the first ever attempt to make the experience of watching a music performance on TV into an extremely social experience. The creative team responsible for making this happen is TeamLab, with its ‘TeamLab Social Instrument’ technology. On July 6th, Nippon Television Network will mark its 60th anniversary. A TV program called The Music Day, Power of Music will be aired on that day for 12 hours. Japanese pop group Arashi will give performance that can be enjoyed as a real time sound game. Viewers in front of the TV can access a special web page on their mobile phones, computers, or even using their TV remote control. On the web page, they can choose an instrument and tap on the button whenever the instrument’s icon appears on TV during the performance. TeamLab’s social instrument technology has been used for real live performances before (check out the video below), but it has been enhanced to compensate for possible network delays. Each performance is given a score for rhythm accuracy after performance, and I assume that there will be some sort of social element to share the score on the internet. For those eager to join…

teamlab-socialinstrument

Japan’s Nippon Television Network is making the first ever attempt to make the experience of watching a music performance on TV into an extremely social experience. The creative team responsible for making this happen is TeamLab, with its ‘TeamLab Social Instrument’ technology.

On July 6th, Nippon Television Network will mark its 60th anniversary. A TV program called The Music Day, Power of Music will be aired on that day for 12 hours. Japanese pop group Arashi will give performance that can be enjoyed as a real time sound game. Viewers in front of the TV can access a special web page on their mobile phones, computers, or even using their TV remote control. On the web page, they can choose an instrument and tap on the button whenever the instrument’s icon appears on TV during the performance.

TeamLab’s social instrument technology has been used for real live performances before (check out the video below), but it has been enhanced to compensate for possible network delays.

Each performance is given a score for rhythm accuracy after performance, and I assume that there will be some sort of social element to share the score on the internet. For those eager to join the nation wide interactive event, you can access the special website here.

Japan’s TeamLab wins award for ingenious interactive reception area

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We previously wrote about Team Lab’s 3D iPad app, ‘TeamLabBody‘ back in March. Their creative team recently won the Digital Signage Award 2013 for its project FaceTouch, a next generation reception system that makes appointments at the office much more fun. FaceTouch is very simple. A screen in the company’s reception area displays the many employees by name, accompanied by their photos. All it takes is a simple touch of their photo to page whoever you want. The person on the other end can even reply by sending a message to the display, like “I’ll be right over” for example. TeamLab explains that in our age of information overload, it can be difficult to accurately remember names or departments. Choosing from visual profiles can completely eliminate that hassle and confusion. The registeration of photos and bios for employees can all be done through a dedicated website, so by adding more information about certain employees, it can also reduce some of the awkwardness of meeting someone for the first time. For a demonstration of how it works, check out the fun video below.

FaceTouch-TeamLab

We previously wrote about Team Lab’s 3D iPad app, ‘TeamLabBody‘ back in March. Their creative team recently won the Digital Signage Award 2013 for its project FaceTouch, a next generation reception system that makes appointments at the office much more fun.

FaceTouch is very simple. A screen in the company’s reception area displays the many employees by name, accompanied by their photos. All it takes is a simple touch of their photo to page whoever you want. The person on the other end can even reply by sending a message to the display, like “I’ll be right over” for example.

TeamLab explains that in our age of information overload, it can be difficult to accurately remember names or departments. Choosing from visual profiles can completely eliminate that hassle and confusion.

The registeration of photos and bios for employees can all be done through a dedicated website, so by adding more information about certain employees, it can also reduce some of the awkwardness of meeting someone for the first time.

For a demonstration of how it works, check out the fun video below.

TeamLabBody 3D iPad app is a medical student’s dream

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I recently had a chance to visit Team Lab, the folks behind a number of incredible digital projects, such as the fun TeamLab hangers which we recently featured. And this month recently the company has released an amazing app for iPad called TeamLab Body. The app presents a 3D representation of the entire human body, including the skeletal, muscle, nervous, circulatory systems and even ligaments. You can toggle the visibility of each system on the side panel, depending on which area you would like to explore. So for example, if you select only the skeletal system, you have a complete 3D human skeleton at your fingertips. Using the search function, you can also find parts of the body according to their medical name, as well as view a detailed text description if their function. If you’d like to make your own notes you can do that too. Amazingly the app accurately reproduces motion as well, and does so in three dimensions. In the video below you can get a general idea for how it works. This, they claim, is the world’s first analysis and 3D reproduction of living human joints. Using the iPad, they can be viewed from any angle….

team-lab-body

I recently had a chance to visit Team Lab, the folks behind a number of incredible digital projects, such as the fun TeamLab hangers which we recently featured. And this month recently the company has released an amazing app for iPad called TeamLab Body.

The app presents a 3D representation of the entire human body, including the skeletal, muscle, nervous, circulatory systems and even ligaments. You can toggle the visibility of each system on the side panel, depending on which area you would like to explore. So for example, if you select only the skeletal system, you have a complete 3D human skeleton at your fingertips. Using the search function, you can also find parts of the body according to their medical name, as well as view a detailed text description if their function. If you’d like to make your own notes you can do that too.

Amazingly the app accurately reproduces motion as well, and does so in three dimensions. In the video below you can get a general idea for how it works. This, they claim, is the world’s first analysis and 3D reproduction of living human joints. Using the iPad, they can be viewed from any angle.

TeamLab body was created using data from professor and orthopedic surgeon Kazuomi Sugamoto and his laboratory at Osaka University, who had collected all this interesting anatomical data from living humans over 10 years through magnetic resonance imaging an CT scans, resulting in the potential for such amazing 3D motion graphics.

For anyone in the field of medicine, this would surely be an invaluable tool. It’s a little bit pricey as far as apps go, at a cost of $29.99, but I’m sure that’s a small price to pay for such a robust and handy reference. There is a lite version of the app available for $0.99, restricted to the head only of you’d like to test it out.

You can learn more about the project over at TeamLabBody.com.

See how one Japanese fashion company has mastered digital marketing

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As far as digital efforts in the fashion industry goes, there is an unfortunate lack of innovation in Japan. Even the more enthusiastic brands have only gone as far as releasing dedicated mobile apps for customer loyalty. But I recently stumbled upon a Tokyo-based company called Ceno which might be an exception to the digitally challenged status quo in the fashion industry. Ceno operates seven different lines of clothing, with one of the most famous brand being Vanquish. Its main customers are men in their early twenties, but the brand has managed to even attract teenagers and men in their forties. Vanquish received a lot of attention recently for an in-store collaborative project called Vanquish Venus, created in cooperation with Team Lab, a local organization famous for their digital creativity. Vanquish installed something called ‘TeamLabHanger’ at their stores, and when an item on a hanger is removed from the rack, it triggers video and audio on a screen overhead. The idea here was to bring in customers who would normally just walk past the Vanquish store, and for those already inside it would show them different ways to coordinating clothes. The project recruited famous female artists and celebrities to model…

Vanquish: in-store manga camera
Vanquish: in-store manga camera

As far as digital efforts in the fashion industry goes, there is an unfortunate lack of innovation in Japan. Even the more enthusiastic brands have only gone as far as releasing dedicated mobile apps for customer loyalty. But I recently stumbled upon a Tokyo-based company called Ceno which might be an exception to the digitally challenged status quo in the fashion industry.

Ceno operates seven different lines of clothing, with one of the most famous brand being Vanquish. Its main customers are men in their early twenties, but the brand has managed to even attract teenagers and men in their forties. Vanquish received a lot of attention recently for an in-store collaborative project called Vanquish Venus, created in cooperation with Team Lab, a local organization famous for their digital creativity. Vanquish installed something called ‘TeamLabHanger’ at their stores, and when an item on a hanger is removed from the rack, it triggers video and audio on a screen overhead.

The idea here was to bring in customers who would normally just walk past the Vanquish store, and for those already inside it would show them different ways to coordinating clothes. The project recruited famous female artists and celebrities to model in the videos, and it currently features Chiaki Ito from the popular pop group AAA. To keep things fresh, videos are renewed every two months with different models.

But perhaps the most notable model of all was virtual star Hatsune Miku (see video below), who attracted not-so-fashion-savvy netizens to the Vanquish brand, thus expanding its fan base a little beyond who the audience they normally sell to. Ceno even ended up creating an orginal Vanquish song by Hatsune Miku under the supervision of music label Karent.

There are also manga camera machines installed at three Vanquish stores (pictured above), including the Shibuya and Ikebukuro locations. These original purikura machines convert photos into unique manga-like images, which are then uploaded to the Vanquish Facebook page. The customers are then brought to the Facebook page where the company hopes they will click the ‘Like’ button [1].
vanquish-facebookpage-manga

Ceno has already expanded to Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, China, and even Australia. Its next project is the launch of a Vanquish ecommerce site for BangKok, scheduled for this April. The brand is pretty well received by consumers around Asia, as the pricing is not too expensive. After going through different vendors to reach overseas markets, many Japanese brands end up being high-priced luxury brands (whether they want to or not). Ceno has partnered directly with different vendors in locals market to ensure this doesn’t happen.

The company has also started another brand called Gonoturn which sells unique hats and facial masks that mimic cute animals. It looks like a fun company too, as you can see below. Here the employees are pulling off another Harlem Shake video while wearing their own products.


  1. In case you were wondering, Ceno began this manga camera project before the popular Manga Camera app appeared on the app store.  ↩