Digital World Tokyo | GPS

Sony uses Wi-Fi to pinpoint noodle shops

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 23:59:00 GMT

Sony's a strange company - on the one hand it appears every inch the industry giant striving to return to its former glory yet, on the other, it produces really bizarre products like its latest piece of software that uses Wi-Fi to locate noodle restaurants. Naturally, we're wholly behind innovation when it's as odd as X-Ramen Radar, a free PC application (no Macs on Sony) that relies on the PetaMap and PlaceEngine technologies we've looked at several times in the past. In a nutshell, they use the strength of any available Wi-Fi signals to work out a precise location, rather like sat-nav without the GPS. X-Ramen Radar takes that location information and cross-references it with a database of restaurants that specialize in ramen noodles. If it finds anything within a radius of 3km it gives directions and can send hungry hackers on their way by car, bike or on foot. Should they need more information on each shop, it's a mere mouse click away. While something as unusual as X-Ramen Radar deserves a hearty slap on the back just for trying, it does seem a bit pointless when pretty much every street in Japan is home to several ramen shops anyway. Whatever next - a Starbucks locator? (Crossposted to Tech.co.uk)

Sony uses Wi-Fi to pinpoint noodle shops

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 07:59:00 GMT

Sanyo car sat-nav first with full-fledged digital TV tuner

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 23:32:00 GMT

It would be easy to think that we get off on teasing our readers in the West by featuring Japanese products you'll never get your hands on, but that would be a mistake - we just get a kick out of sharing the latest cutting-edge gadgetry, whatever its provenance. The latest such object of desire is Sanyo's newest car GPS unit, the Gorilla NV-HD880FT, which features the world's first full-range digital terrestrial TV tuner. Like all recent sat-nav installs, the Gorilla comes with a large screen (8 inches) and the ability to play back a range of media, but the TV breakthrough is what really counts. Drivers handing over the hefty sum of ¥225,750 ($1,900) will benefit from the world's smallest digi TV decoder to handle both the mobile 1-seg broadcasts popular in Japan and the 12-seg broadcasts designed for domestic televisions there. The new circuit board measures just 5 x 5 cm, whereas the previous generation was a chunky 11 x 12 cm. While 1-seg is fine, it does offer a lower resolution than the full-fat digital broadcasts, making the Gorilla's ability to switch automatically between the different versions its strongest selling point. That aside, just remember to keep your eyes on the road.

Sanyo car sat-nav first with full-fledged digital TV tuner

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 07:32:00 GMT

Nissan cars to politely suggest that drunks not drive home please

Tue, 03 Jul 2007 20:06:00 GMT

Recidivist lawbreakers and people who need to be told what to do will probably benefit most from the latest Japanese car-navigation system from Nissan, which warns drivers of the dangers of drunk-driving whether they're Methodist ministers or hotel-chain heiresses. A recent upgrade to the space-age Carwings navigation system Nissan offers on all its cars comes with a nagging voice that is intended to help deal with Japan's notoriously high DUI problem. Let's safety up! Drivers starting their cars after 5:30pm will be warned by the sat-nav "Do not drive after drinking!" for all of five seconds, while the message changes after 5am to "Let's continue safe driving today". Reducing drunk-driving should obviously be a priority, but such passive warnings are well known for being ineffective. On top of that, the nannying style of modern life in Japan shines through clearly, as the Carwings upgrade is part of a safety drive known as the 'Hello Safety' campaign. Blow into this phone please Other technologies used so far in Japan that take a more active approach include NTT DoCoMo's Videophone Alcohol Check System that uses mobile phones to check the sobriety of commercial drivers. The system uses a central computer that needs to be fed regular readings from a 3G phone fitted with a breathalyser. Drivers need to be seen via videophone testing themselves before the data sent by the phone to HQ clears them to drive or not. (Crossposted to Tech.co.uk)

Nissan cars to politely suggest that drunks not drive home please

Tue, 03 Jul 2007 04:06:00 GMT

Recidivist lawbreakers and people who need to be told what to do will probably benefit most from the latest Japanese car-navigation system from Nissan, which warns drivers of the dangers of drunk-driving whether they're Methodist ministers or hotel-chain heiresses. A recent upgrade to the space-age Carwings navigation system Nissan offers on all its cars comes with a nagging voice that is intended to help deal with Japan's notoriously high DUI problem. Let's safety up! Drivers starting their cars after 5:30pm will be warned by the sat-nav "Do not drive after drinking!�? for all of five seconds, while the message changes after 5am to "Let's continue safe driving today�?. Reducing drunk-driving should obviously be a priority, but such passive warnings are well known for being ineffective. On top of that, the nannying style of modern life in Japan shines through clearly, as the Carwings upgrade is part of a safety drive known as the 'Hello Safety' campaign. Blow into this phone please Other technologies used so far in Japan that take a more active approach include NTT DoCoMo's Videophone Alcohol Check System that uses mobile phones to check the sobriety of commercial drivers. The system uses a central computer that needs to be fed regular readings from a 3G phone fitted with a breathalyser. Drivers need to be seen via videophone testing themselves before the data sent by the phone to HQ clears them to drive or not. (Crossposted to Tech.co.uk)

PlaceEngine Wi-Fi mapping spreads wings beyond Sony

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:41:00 GMT

Confirming the promise we saw in Sony's GPS-shunning PlaceEngine application recently, comes the news that Japanese mapping giant Edia will use it in its next round of navigation software. The company, which provides navi software for everything from cellphones to car sat-navs, will release Pro Atlas Travel Guide on UMD for the PSP in August for ¥5,040 ($41). Aside from the usual GPS features in the software, it makes heavy use of PlaceEngine's Wi-Fi collaborative mapping ability. Both the inclusion of PlaceEngine and the prominent place Sony and Edia have given to it in today's announcements speak volumes for its potential. We fully expect PlaceEngine to make its way onto more and more Wi-Fi-capable devices before long, including smartphones, cameras and PCs. (Via Sony [Japanese]; Edia [Japanese, PDF]; Translated)

PlaceEngine Wi-Fi mapping spreads wings beyond Sony

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 03:41:00 GMT

Networked drinks machines keeping the peace

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 22:51:00 GMT

The largest city in western Japan has just seen the start of an unusual security trial that uses IC tags, GPS and drinks vending machines to make the streets a little safer. Currently on test in Osaka, the 'Robot Locator' system from Network Security Japan (NSJ) is intended to showcase the company's location technology and its ability to provide a rapid response to dangerous situations faced by its customers. NSJ's squadron of bicycle-pushing security staff patrol part of Osaka known as America Village waiting for an alert from their control room in response to a customer setting off an alarm in the form of a small IC tag they have been issued with. The tag sends a signal to the nearest of 30 vending machines that dot the streets of the area, which then uses GPS to pinpoint the source of the alarm, before calling in the location. The idea is that the closest security guard pedals to the rescue with guidance from NSJ Central. This can be done even if the customer is forced to move, as the network of vending machines covers a wide area. Anyone who isn't an NSJ customer can also benefit from the service if they can find one of the networked machines in time and press the alert button mounted on the front of each one. As America Village is popular with tourists and school-trip parties, NSJ sees it as an ideal opportunity to put its services in the shop window. (Crossposted to Tech.co.uk)

Networked drinks machines keeping the peace

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 06:51:00 GMT

Softbank helps drunks find missing cellphones, moms locate kids

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 18:04:00 GMT

Here in Japan, Softbank Mobile - the brand Vodafone Japan transformed into last year - is about to launch a service that will surely appeal to the nation's legendary drunken Friday-night salarymen who seem to have a habit of leaving their phones anywhere but their pockets. The company's new 'Ichi Navi' service uses the GPS chips embedded in many Softbank phones to trace missing handsets online via a PC interface. Phones have to be registered in advance and there's a ¥210 ($1.70) monthly charge plus ¥5.25 (4c) per search, but this is bound to be a life saver many times over for the typical corporate warrior on a bender. Search results yield either a Yahoo Map location result so the phone can be retrieved, or a message saying whatever the Japanese is for "We think it's in the toilet, pal." More prosaically, Softbank is also soft selling Ichi Navi as a way for concerned parents to keep track of their kids at all times. (Crossposted to Tech.co.uk)

Softbank helps drunks find missing cellphones, moms locate kids

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 02:04:00 GMT

Here in Japan, Softbank Mobile - the brand Vodafone Japan transformed into last year - is about to launch a service that will surely appeal to the nation's legendary drunken Friday-night salarymen who seem to have a habit of leaving their phones anywhere but their pockets. The company's new 'Ichi Navi' service uses the GPS chips embedded in many Softbank phones to trace missing handsets online via a PC interface. Phones have to be registered in advance and there's a ¥210 ($1.70) monthly charge plus ¥5.25 (4c) per search, but this is bound to be a life saver many times over for the typical corporate warrior on a bender. Search results yield either a Yahoo Map location result so the phone can be retrieved, or a message saying whatever the Japanese is for "We think it's in the toilet, pal.�? More prosaically, Softbank is also soft selling Ichi Navi as a way for concerned parents to keep track of their kids at all times. (Crossposted to Tech.co.uk)

Undead Japanese gadgets provoking fear and loathing at 30,000 feet

Sun, 10 Jun 2007 23:04:00 GMT

The tense security climate that airlines worldwide currently operate in is now bringing an unexpected technical challenge for both passengers and staff, as Japanese carriers have been finding out recently. At the root of the problem is a new breed of mobile phones that can't easily be switched off which are designed specifically for children. Airlines, which all have a long-ignored safety policy of banning active phones from their cabins, have increasingly been finding that kids' phones have a tendency to spring back to life in mid-flight. Although evidence that this is actually a problem seems not to exist, we can trust the airlines to get all worked up. The reanimation feature of many handsets, such as those sold by market leader DoCoMo, is intended to protect children in an increasingly crime-aware Japan. Such phones regularly 'check in' automatically using GPS or location-based email to inform parents of the their children's whereabouts. To keep the safety net in place manufacturers have made it impossible for kids - or anyone else - to switch the phones off without inputting a passcode. Moreover, the phones also have batteries that can't be removed without a special key. As a result, Japanese airlines now display prominent warnings and advice on how to make sure such safety phones really are off. In the case of passengers who can't remember their passcodes, companies like ANA and JAL have also armed their staff with the tools for cracking the phones open and ripping out their batteries. Perhaps such a hard-line approach will jog a few memories next time round. (Crossposted to Tech.co.uk)

Undead Japanese gadgets provoking fear and loathing at 30,000 feet

Sun, 10 Jun 2007 07:04:00 GMT

Sony’s geeky backside exposed in Tokyo R&D extravaganza

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 22:12:00 GMT

We all know Sony for its games hardware, TVs, cameras and other audio-visual products, but it's not such common knowledge that the company has a bleeding-edge research laboratory dedicated to exploring the technology of tomorrow just for the heck of it. Sure, something the researchers come up with might be the next big thing and make the company a bundle, but it's a heck of a lot of fun just poking around to see what's possible, which is precisely what I did on a visit to the Sony Computer Science Laboratories (CSL) in the steaming heart of Tokyo this morning. The Sony CSL Open House is a once-a-year invitation-only event held over two pretty ordinary floors of a Shinagawa office building but showcasing enough daydreaming gadgetry to get the most hardened otaku hot and sweaty. Although much of the work on show was pretty conceptual, the display that got most visitors gawking was a circular table known as ChatScape. The device was really just a laptop connected to a top-down projector in the centre of the table that threw rotating images onto the flat surface below, but the novelty of emailing it snapshots from your cellphone and seeing them appear on and swirl around the table was worth the trip alone. Putting such frivolity to one side, the next-biggest draw was a huge display emphasizing just how significant the PlaceEngine technology we saw at work in the PSP earlier this week will be soon. PlaceEngine - to put it simply - uses Wi-Fi as an alternative to GPS for pinpointing physical locations. Most excitingly, it has a strong element of user collaboration - earnest strollers armed with a PDA, PSP or other PlaceEngined-up piece of kit can contribute to a Wi-Fi map that grows in accuracy as folk tell it what precise location corresponds to a particular Wi-Fi signal pattern. Researcher Atsushi Shionozaki demonstrated how he had used a version of the software he hacked together on his smartphone to map his travels around Tokyo last weekend and to combine it with a chronological record of his iPod-listening habits that day. With a spot of online information sharing, it would be a simple matter to see, for example, what track fellow geeks listen to under a particular overpass. In this case, it was - no surprises - a certain Red Hot Chili Peppers' classic. Other, perhaps more useful, applications Sony imagines include life-pattern analysis ('Do I really keep going to that booze shop at midnight?'), memory aids (ditto), and - more likely - auto-blogging of the 'where I went, what I did today variety'. Shionozaki enthused, "With a suitable device, users can tag anything they do - we call it real-world folksonomy." On the hardware front, Shionozaki also showed a prototype key-ring equipped with the PlaceEngine software that can track a wearer's movements throughout the day and synchronize later with photos, for example, and demonstrated a device already capable of just that. The Cyber-shot DSC-G1 digital camera already has onboard Wi-Fi, but an adapted version was on show also with PlaceEngine software for geotagging all photographs. Naturally, all this Wi-Fi mapping requires the presence of a Wi-Fi signal, so it's limited to urban areas like downtown Tokyo for now. One of the other CSL projects most likely to succeed was a nifty little piece of graphics software for cellphones by Ivan Poupyrev. It might not sound like much, but the ability to draw realistic icons and avatars directly on a standard (non-touchscreen) phone is sure to add appeal to users of mobile social-networking sites. Poupyrev's software relies on mapping the keypad's buttons to a 3x4 grid of pixels on the screen - pushing a button turns the corresponding pixel on or off, while holding a second button simultaneously allows for a spot of greyscale. Touch another key and the grid zooms in to allow work on a much finer scale. It might sound complicated in theory, but in practice it was a breeze to draw pretty sophisticated graphics with just a handful of keys. With a color version on the drawing board, watch out for this one for sure. Elsewhere, a system for creating manga-style comic-strips from cameraphone photographs and a new CAD application that virtually constructs not just the surface of objects, but also their interiors are worth keeping an eye on in future. The former will inevitably appear on Japanese phones before long, while the latter has medical and educational applications in that it allows for more realistic simulations before surgery or in lessons. Lastly, the most attractive exhibit, laboring under the name 'Music synchronized artistic expressions for Ferrofluid,' was an afternoon's entertainment in itself. The artwork, by Yasushi Miyajima and Sachiko Kodama, consisted of a dome filled with ferromagnetic nano particles suspended in a treacly black oil. Using a cunning combination of voltage-regulated electromagnets and metadata added to music beforehand, the nanites appeared to react to the music, assemble themselves in line and form a stunning tree-like display on a central metal pillar (not that you can tell from my stunning photography, eh?). Clearly, nano is the new black. Check it out for yourself in the vid below: Although there was far too much on display today to cover in depth here, there was a clear emphasis on what many predict will be the boom technology of the next few years - social networking in all its forms. Existing websites, such as Facebook and YouTube, already make plenty of hay in the collaborative/sharing sunshine and it's obvious that it won't be long before major manufacturers like Sony enable many more of their real-world products to get friendly with each other - and with every man and his dog, which is a whole other can of worms, of course. (Crossposted to Tech.co.uk)

Sony’s geeky backside exposed in Tokyo R&D extravaganza

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 06:12:00 GMT

We all know Sony for its games hardware, TVs, cameras and other audio-visual products, but it's not such common knowledge that the company has a bleeding-edge research laboratory dedicated to exploring the technology of tomorrow just for the heck of it. Sure, something the researchers come up with might be the next big thing and make the company a bundle, but it's a heck of a lot of fun just poking around to see what's possible, which is precisely what I did on a visit to the Sony Computer Science Laboratories (CSL) in the steaming heart of Tokyo this morning. The Sony CSL Open House is a once-a-year invitation-only event held over two pretty ordinary floors of a Shinagawa office building but showcasing enough daydreaming gadgetry to get the most hardened otaku hot and sweaty. Although much of the work on show was pretty conceptual, the display that got most visitors gawking was a circular table known as ChatScape. The device was really just a laptop connected to a top-down projector in the centre of the table that threw rotating images onto the flat surface below, but the novelty of emailing it snapshots from your cellphone and seeing them appear on and swirl around the table was worth the trip alone. Putting such frivolity to one side, the next-biggest draw was a huge display emphasizing just how significant the PlaceEngine technology we saw at work in the PSP earlier this week will be soon. PlaceEngine - to put it simply - uses Wi-Fi as an alternative to GPS for pinpointing physical locations. Most excitingly, it has a strong element of user collaboration - earnest strollers armed with a PDA, PSP or other PlaceEngined-up piece of kit can contribute to a Wi-Fi map that grows in accuracy as folk tell it what precise location corresponds to a particular Wi-Fi signal pattern. Researcher Atsushi Shionozaki demonstrated how he had used a version of the software he hacked together on his smartphone to map his travels around Tokyo last weekend and to combine it with a chronological record of his iPod-listening habits that day. With a spot of online information sharing, it would be a simple matter to see, for example, what track fellow geeks listen to under a particular overpass. In this case, it was - no surprises - a certain Red Hot Chili Peppers' classic. Other, perhaps more useful, applications Sony imagines include life-pattern analysis ('Do I really keep going to that booze shop at midnight?'), memory aids (ditto), and - more likely - auto-blogging of the 'where I went, what I did today variety'. Shionozaki enthused, "With a suitable device, users can tag anything they do - we call it real-world folksonomy.�? On the hardware front, Shionozaki also showed a prototype key-ring equipped with the PlaceEngine software that can track a wearer's movements throughout the day and synchronize later with photos, for example, and demonstrated a device already capable of just that. The Cyber-shot DSC-G1 digital camera already has onboard Wi-Fi, but an adapted version was on show also with PlaceEngine software for geotagging all photographs. Naturally, all this Wi-Fi mapping requires the presence of a Wi-Fi signal, so it's limited to urban areas like downtown Tokyo for now. One of the other CSL projects most likely to succeed was a nifty little piece of graphics software for cellphones by Ivan Poupyrev. It might not sound like much, but the ability to draw realistic icons and avatars directly on a standard (non-touchscreen) phone is sure to add appeal to users of mobile social-networking sites. Poupyrev's software relies on mapping the keypad's buttons to a 3x4 grid of pixels on the screen - pushing a button turns the corresponding pixel on or off, while holding a second button simultaneously allows for a spot of greyscale. Touch another key and the grid zooms in to allow work on a much finer scale. It might sound complicated in theory, but in practice it was a breeze to draw pretty sophisticated graphics with just a handful of keys. With a color version on the drawing board, watch out for this one for sure. Elsewhere, a system for creating manga-style comic-strips from cameraphone photographs and a new CAD application that virtually constructs not just the surface of objects, but also their interiors are worth keeping an eye on in future. The former will inevitably appear on Japanese phones before long, while the latter has medical and educational applications in that it allows for more realistic simulations before surgery or in lessons. Lastly, the most attractive exhibit, laboring under the name 'Music synchronized artistic expressions for Ferrofluid,' was an afternoon's entertainment in itself. The artwork, by Yasushi Miyajima and Sachiko Kodama, consisted of a dome filled with ferromagnetic nano particles suspended in a treacly black oil. Using a cunning combination of voltage-regulated electromagnets and metadata added to music beforehand, the nanites appeared to react to the music, assemble themselves in line and form a stunning tree-like display on a central metal pillar (not that you can tell from my stunning photography, eh?). Clearly, nano is the new black. Check it out for yourself in the vid below: Although there was far too much on display today to cover in depth here, there was a clear emphasis on what many predict will be the boom technology of the next few years - social networking in all its forms. Existing websites, such as Facebook and YouTube, already make plenty of hay in the collaborative/sharing sunshine and it's obvious that it won't be long before major manufacturers like Sony enable many more of their real-world products to get friendly with each other - and with every man and his dog, which is a whole other can of worms, of course. (Crossposted to Tech.co.uk)

Internet umbrella gets mapping and snapping

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 23:22:00 GMT

Among the oddest things we've seen in our tech travels round Japan is the internet umbrella built by two Tokyo students, Takashi Matsumoto and Sho Hashimoto. The device, which is currently hard to avoid in the Japanese media, combines several existing technologies to create a Blade Runner-style vision of a connected future. As you'll see from the photo, the Pileus umbrella is essentially a large screen on the inside of the brolly canopy that displays whatever is thrown onto it by a projector in the shaft. Those images come from a connected laptop PC that uses a Wi-Fi connection to get online. Other hardware in the device includes a camera, a motion sensor, a digital compass and a GPS receiver. Currently, Pileus draws its various elements together in two functions - 3D mapping and photo-sharing. The mapping is powered by Google Earth to create a view on the umbrella of the immediate surroundings, which the internet connection updates in real time. Should virtually exploring the real world prove tiresome, a flick of a switch activates the camera, which takes snaps that are uploaded to Flickr in an effort to make sharing a stroll (presumably in the rain) with the rest of the world effortless. Lastly - if all that isn't enough - the Pileus can pull slideshows and videos from the 'net for a spot of more prosaic idling under cover. Although the concepts behind the internet umbrella might sound a little trivial - not to mention pointless - at first glance, there's no denying that it's outside-the-box thinking like this that will guide how we use the myriad of technologies at our fingertips in future. (Crossposted to Tech.co.uk)

Internet umbrella gets mapping and snapping

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 07:22:00 GMT

Collaborative mapping, Wi-Fi navigation come to PSP in Japan

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 23:16:00 GMT

Not long after looking down and out for the count in its battle for handheld supremacy, Sony's PlayStation Portable continues to get better by gaining useful hardware and software. Last month we saw a GPS golf caddy for the PSP - this time it's a high-spec update to a GPS navigator application for the device. For ¥5,040 Japanese residents get to choose one of three editions on UMD media that cover the entire country down to street level. The map data and a sat-nav application from Zenrin combine with the existing PSP GPS dongle that is sold separately for a similar price. Everybody's Map 2, as the package is quaintly called, allows note-taking and wireless map-sharing through a service called PetaMap. The latter is a collaborative tool that lets users share points of interest through a central server and apply them to their own personalized maps if they wish. Users can also create guides to, for example, the best cafes in Tokyo, or download existing ones on particular themes. PetaMap also pulls in information on the fly about the immediate surroundings, such as where to score a quick massage (very useful around Shinjuku) or what shops are offering discounts right now. On top of the usual navigation (both driving and walking) guidelines, the databases also contain comprehensive information on car rental, parks, local beers, local brands of sake, local wines, pilgrimage routes, bookstores, cinemas, department stores, supermarkets and accommodation. An intriguing addition to the GPS mix is Sony's new PlaceEngine function that uses available Wi-Fi hotspots to work out a location even without GPS. It relies on previous users having told the system where they are and matching the existing Wi-Fi signatures to what the PSP currently sees. Although PlaceEngine is dependent on people contributing and effectively creating a Wi-Fi map, the potential for navigating anywhere there is a Wi-Fi signal - even underground - makes it a technology worth watching. Best of all, with Japan's rainy season around the corner, we are also quite drawn to an aspect of the route planner for pedestrians that will show the easiest way to get from A to B without getting soaked when it's raining. (Crossposted to Tech.co.uk)

Collaborative mapping, Wi-Fi navigation come to PSP in Japan

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 07:16:00 GMT