Aqua Dance from Bandai nanotech coating for fun

Written by: Michael Keferl on February 24, 2009 at 3:44 pm | In PRODUCT INNOVATIONS | No Comments

Using nanotech coating, Bandai has created Aqua Dance, a self-perpetuating interior product that generates endless balls (yes, balls) of water endlessly cascading down its surface.

With the Adesso WR coating developed by Nikka Kagaku Co. Ltd., water beads up and behaves more like mercury than H2O. Aqua Dance uses this technology to put a new spin on the old “home mini-fountain” idea by constantly feeding new water in through the top to watch it slide, bounce off of obstacles, drop into holes, and break into tiny little pieces as it makes its way down the tray.

Aqua Dance uses the same coating as the Aqua Drop (shop link) handheld maze that came out last year (videos below).

While the case design could stand to be sleeker and more stylish, it’s a great way to show off otherwise boring technology in consumer-friendly and fun ways. As a lifestyle product, the focus is to promote relaxation by controlling the drops and watching the water move. When released in March, the Aqua Dance will be available in “Moon Night” and “Rainy Day” colors.

Tags: Bandai, gadgets, Home Decor, Toys
Category: PRODUCT INNOVATIONS
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, DIGITAL LIFE, LIFESTYLE / FASHION

Mental Anguish calculator, Infinite Janken for rock, paper, scissors solitaire

Written by: Rebecca Milner on December 23, 2008 at 12:00 pm | In DIGITAL LIFE | 1 Comment

The piggy bank has certainly gotten a makeover recently and now Wiz Inc. offers a new take on the traditional calculator, the Consolation Money Calculator. What looks like a standard desktop calculator (except with an unusually large screen) actually has two modes, one for normal functions and one for “consolation calculation,” to determine the net worth of any emotional anguish incurred on account of another.

It works like this: first enter your profile information, choose the perpetrator of your anguish (from a list of option such as “boss,” or “boyfriend/girlfriend”) and the origin, fill in a few more details particular to your previous selections and hit the “mental damage” button to calculate your results. Since it really is just for fun, the “mental damage” equates to responses such as “beer” or “dinner” displayed in cute images on the liquid crystal screen.

The Consolation Money Calculator debuts on January 24th for ¥2,415. Also in stores on that day from Wiz Co.’s Koyoi Ani line (for ¥1,029) is the “Successive Janken” key chain game. The popularity of janken, or rock, paper, scissors, knows no boundaries in Japan and this game allows for unlimited practice against a digital opponent. Play involves choosing one of three buttons (rock, paper, or scissors) on the bottom of the “scissor hand” shaped game.

The appeal is based on the theory that if the entire world’s population of 6,600,000,000 were to engage in a giant tournament of janken, a player need only win 33 times consecutively to claim the world title (according to the press release). As players rack up consecutive wins, the standby screen updates their world rank, leading to the ultimate goal of global supremacy. Consider it “mugen” (endless) janken, but with a target (however unrealistic) in sight.

Although, keeping in mind how long some school kids spend on the trains in their morning commute, Successive Janken might just turn out a few top ranked players.

Tags: gadgets, Toys
Category: DIGITAL LIFE
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, LIFESTYLE / FASHION, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Issey Miyake Pleats Please Licca-chan, and other fashion collaborations

Written by: Rebecca Milner on November 18, 2008 at 5:07 pm | In LIFESTYLE / FASHION | No Comments

Move over Be@rbrick, it’s Licca-chan’s turn for the spotlight, along with a bit of fashion brand collaboration. First up is the Pleats Please Licca, a limited edition of the iconic Japanese doll that sees her draped in the accordion folds of Issey Miyake’s no less iconic line, Pleats Please.

Like the real deal, the Licca ensemble is versatile and convertible.

Only 1,000 dolls are up for grabs and the ¥26,500 price tag includes a ¥1,250 donation to Unicef. The Pleats Please Licca is part of the Power of Toy Project, which pairs up beloved toys with leading contemporary creators.

Next we spotted Licca on parade at the Girlish Style fair at Seibu department store. The week-long event showcased popular fast fashion brands from the Kobe Collection and asked the designers to create their own signature Licca-chan.

Clothed in miniature versions of real outfits for sale, these designer Licca dolls struck us as tangible versions of the avatar “dolls” on the popular Girls Walker shopping site.

The fair also included an exhibit on Licca past and present, like the famous “Street Licca” (left) and her psychedelic incarnations (right).

Plus fashion spreads inspired by Licca

And everything from Licca interactive signage to art.

In case you had any doubt of Licca’s power over the imagination, there was also some interactive signage to play around with, mixing characters and fans with digital cuteness. As for the doll itself, JapanTrendShop is currently holding on to two or three of these limited edition Issey Miyake pieces while they’re still available.

Tags: Collaborations, Fashion, Licca-chan, Limited Edition, Toys
Category: LIFESTYLE / FASHION
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, DIGITAL LIFE, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Fake robot among this year’s Good Design Award winners

Written by: Rebecca Milner on October 25, 2008 at 2:21 am | In DIGITAL LIFE, LIFESTYLE / FASHION | No Comments

Last week the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization announced the winners of this year’s Good Design Award. The 51-year-old award actually consistently gives due props to some really cool stuff, some of which are already hit items and some of which will be now. The judging committee, made up of a couple dozen designers, journalists, architects, and marketers, also showed a sense of humor by awarding Zarigani Works’ Korejanai Robo a prize this year.

Korejanai Robo translates literally to “not this robot” and is created as an ode to all those kids who once really wanted something, like say a toy robot, and got something decidedly less high-tech, like another He-Man action figure. As the name suggests, the Korejanai Robo is not really a robot, but rather a hand-made looking wooden robot doll. The cult item, which has received many devoted odes of its own on the web, became a USB drive (naturally) last year.

In an excellent nod to irony, Takara Tomy’s i-Sobot, which also landed a 2007 Guinness World Record for being the smallest two-legged walking robot, received a grand prize.

Other top prize winners included the Muji Window House, a prefabricated house that allows the owners to choose freely where windows will be placed, and a do-it-yourself Japanese room Sakamoto Urushi Manufacturing, that fits nicely in your existing dwelling.

Meanwhile the ThermoRender-3 Pro, an architect design tool from A and A Co. that simulates outdoor thermal environments and includes functions for calculating a structure’s potential energy consumption, and the FCX Clarity zero-emissions car from Honda earned top marks for environmental impact.

The Lessev Mobile Station and Tokyo Traffic Control Center we covered on these pages also got a mention. To browse the complete list of GDA winners, see the archive search page here.

Tags: Architecture, Automobiles, design, Environment, Good Design Award, Home, Honda, Muji, robots, Takara Tomy, Toys
Category: DIGITAL LIFE, LIFESTYLE / FASHION
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Jewel Pet SNS for school girls mixes real world items

Written by: Rebecca Milner on October 16, 2008 at 4:32 am | In DIGITAL LIFE | 2 Comments

Tamagotchi aren’t the only toys to link to SNS specifically created for character loving school kids. Jewel Pet, a collaboration between Sanrio and Sega Toys, now has its own web community called Web Gurumi, launched on October 2nd.

Each Jewel Pet, a stuffed animal designed for young girls, comes with a unique serial number that serves as a login code to the site. Here pet owners have access to their own virtual room where they appear as young witches and can play with animated versions of their pets.

Of course the more real toys you buy, the cuter your virtual room becomes.

Web Gurumi also has SNS functions such as chat and email and is set in a larger “magical world” where users can go shopping and play games.

While anything pink and cuddly for school girls hardly seems an obvious topic for a blog with a tech trend bent, we can’t help but notice the number of these things that are becoming more and more tech-oriented—paving the way for a generation of girls who can move seamlessly between cuddly and digital worlds.

Tags: Children, Sanrio, Sega, SNS, Toys, Web 2.0
Category: DIGITAL LIFE
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, LIFESTYLE / FASHION, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS