3d illusion arts: Walyou

Walyou

Smarten Up Any Regular Timepiece with Glance Smartwatch Transformer
Pepper, the Incredibly Communicative Japanese Humanoid Robot
Vine, Twitter, HBO Go Make Xbox One an Even More Impressive Console

Smarten Up Any Regular Timepiece with Glance Smartwatch Transformer

Posted: 07 Jun 2014 05:30 AM PDT

Why buy an expensive smartwatch, when you can simply upgrade your regular watch with smart functionality? Glance is a type of watch add-on that can help you achieve that in a matter of seconds.

There is a tendency of trying to add functionality to existing devices beyond the features that they exited the factory doors with. There are add-on modules for air conditioners, for blinds, and as of now, for regular watches. Glance is a watch accessory that intends to add smartwatch functionality to your timepieces you have grown to love.

The Canadian team who developed this watch add-on module pointed out that “Glance is designed to let you focus on the conversations that matter most, and live in the moment. Glance is precision crafted into a remarkably thin, light design with machined aluminum, fits on the wristband on your watch, and works well with your personal style. Glance works well with your existing watch, and can also be worn with a premium leather strap.”

Even though in the above picture only the iPhone companion app is depicted, you should know that an Android app is also available, should you be more fond of Google’s mobile OS. The developers are also working on Windows Phone and Blackberry versions of the app, and a wider compatibility should definitely make Glance more popular.

In tandem with the app, Glance acts as a fitness tracker, air mouse, smart tv remote control, and alarm clock, among many other things. There will be some differences between a regular watch that’s equipped with Glance and a proper smartwatch, but for the price, could you really ask for more?

Below is a video detailing how Glance looks and works in real life:

Glance is currently featured on Kickstarter, where the team that developed it are trying to raise the $150,000 CAD necessary for the mass production of this smartwatch transformer. At press time, there were 26 days to go and about 80% left to raise, so I won’t make any assumptions regarding the success of this crowdfunding campaign. There are still 250+ early bird spots left, so you can have a Glance watch accessory for as low as $70 CAD, provided that the project gets funded. If those are gone, you can back the project with $80 CAD to secure yours.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Kairos smart mechanical watch and the LazeeEye 3D camera accessory for smartphones.

Pepper, the Incredibly Communicative Japanese Humanoid Robot

Posted: 06 Jun 2014 01:30 PM PDT

Pepper Communicative Japanese Humanoid Robot

On his first day at work, Pepper couldn’t keep his robotic mouth shop and entertained a great number of people that happened to be shopping in that location.

The result of a collaboration between Japan’s mobile carrier SoftBank and French humanoid robot maker Alderbaran, Pepper is said to be the world’s first emo robot.

At a press conference held in Tokyo, Softbank’s CEO Masayoshi Son pointed out that Pepper is “the first robot to read human emotions.” The most notable thing about this is that once Pepper identifies someone’s emotions, he won’t stop bragging about them.

Son continued by saying that “Robots like Pepper are adding a new dimension in our daily lives. They would change it with the same magnitude as the PC, Internet and mobile phones did. Our vision is to create an affectionate robot that can understand people’s feelings. Then autonomously, it will take action. Ours is not aiming for productivity, but rather at the home or store, where we provide fun and entertainment.”

With that in mind, it shouldn’t surprise anyone the way Pepper approached one shopper in Tokyo: “So you came to meet me today? I am so happy to see you. What are you doing this weekend?”

Most people who saw him were pleasantly impressed. Shintaro Hamada, 23, pointed out that Pepper is indeed capable of interaction: “I thought he would just talk regardless of what I say, but he really interacted with me. That was great.”

Terry Gou, CEO of Taiwan’s Foxconn, the manufacturer of Pepper, considered that this particular robot is an example of clear evolution in the field of robotics: “We use a lot of robots in factories…, but this is for consumers and also for communication. This can really become a revolution.”

The most interesting fact about Pepper is that it features cloud-based AI, which means that whatever the predecessors learned, he will know. Son explained this: “Several thousand Peppers are going to learn at the store. Everything they learned and gained, is going to be accumulated into the cloud-based service. So that can be accelerating the evolution of the collective wisdom.”

The two companies that worked together to make Pepper a reality are planning to launch in February 2015 in Japan a commercial version that will retail for $2,000. There is no doubt that this will be sold in other countries, as well, since Pepper speaks no less than 17 languages.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about Honda ASIMO humanoid robot’s evolution and Oxford University’s humanoid robot.

Vine, Twitter, HBO Go Make Xbox One an Even More Impressive Console

Posted: 06 Jun 2014 12:15 PM PDT

Microsoft is looking to bring 45 new apps to Xbox One and Xbox 360, in a move that will get the total number to more than 225. Along with the price cut from a few weeks ago, this initiative makes Xbox One an even tougher competitor for Sony’s Playstation 4.

Besides the ones mentioned in the title, other big names such as Showtime Anytime, Comedy Central and Major League Gaming will be coming to an Xbox One near you in the very near future. Such additions really turn the Xbox One into an entertainment system that has features that go way beyond gaming. The move will definitely be appreciated by Xbox One owners, and especially by the ones who don’t own a smart TV, as Microsoft’s console is good enough with the functions that make such a telly smart.

There has been an obvious trend in the recent years to combine multiple features into a single device, and the results are seen in products that range from wiring multi-tools to such entertainment systems as the Xbox One. Sometimes, such an approach brings together components with a questionable quality, but in other rare cases, the product scores well in all areas. Microsoft’s video gaming console seems to be in the latter category, and it becomes better and better with each software update. For example, the latest update also brought external storage support, something that gamers have wished ever since this product was launched.

Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President, Devices and Studios at Microsoft, noticed that “Xbox fans are spending more time than ever on the console, spending more than five hours a day on Xbox One. Today as we announce new commitments from dozens of our partners, including deep integration with experiences like Twitter and Vine, we hit an important milestone in our journey to deliver unique experiences on Xbox. We’re thrilled to break new ground in social TV experiences like we’re doing with Twitter on Xbox One.”

Below is a video that details the introduction of Twitter to Xbox One:

If you’re interested in seeing the full list of apps that have been added to the Xbox One in the latest software update, you can check it out here. Needless to say, the list is quite impressive, but the availability of the apps depends from one country to another.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about Xbox One’s external storage support and the announcement for the Xbox One launch from one year ago.