Virtual hugs, energy beams take stage at Japan expo

June 23, 2011
TOKYO, June 23 People hugged themselves and shot energy beams from their hands: just a few of the many treats on offer at the Tokyo Virtual Reality Expo this week.Cutting-edge technology was on display for both practical use and just play, with more than 450 exhibitors taking part in the three-day advanced 3D and motion sensing technologies fair at a downtown Tokyo site.Fans of the popular Japanese anime series Dragon Ball were given the chance to produce a beam of energy known as a Kamehame Ha from their hands.Motion sensors able to detect a person's hand movements noticed when they made the right move to charge the energy beam. Pushing the hands away released the beam of light in the augmented reality display.I've always dreamed about firing energy blasts, said 37-year-old Toru Hayai, an avid Dragon Ball fan. I just realised my dream.At another booth, visitors tried out a vest that replicates the hug given to a mannequin standing in front of them, allowing them to literally hug themselves.The six air-pumped muscles on the vest inflate with the injection of air to recreate the sensation of a person's embrace.Nobody can really hug themselves in the real world, so I was curious about what they would feel if they could, said 23-year-old Nobuhiro Takashi. That curiosity drove me to invent this vest.His team from the University of Electro-communications won the top prize in last year's International Collegiate Virtual Reality Contest, held in Tokyo.Tomoki Okawara, a 22-year-old university student, beamed after an extended clinch with the mannequin that had him closing his eyes at one point.It feels like I'm hugging a hot girlfriend, he said. Reuters

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jenna Lyons divorce: Lesbian lover of J Crew boss outed as Courtney Crangi

Image
Add to My Stories Share The 'other woman' thought to have been behind the split of one of America's most influential fashion executives and her husband of nine years has been revealed. J.Crew president and creative director Jenna Lyons, who is divorcing her artist husband of nine years, Vincent Mazeau, is said to be seeing top jewellery executive Courtney Crangi, 38, according to the New York Post. The pair have been photographed together repeatedly over the years, most recently this summer. Modern family: J Crew' Jenna Lyons, left, posed with her son Beckett, 5, rumored girlfriend Courtney Crangi and Crangi's daughter Coco, also 5, on a red carpet in June 2011, as her marriage was ending In June they attended the WSJ OFF DUTY Summer Solstice Celebration together, posing for photographers with Lyons' son Beckett and Crangi's daughter Coco, both five. Ms Lyons and her husband are said to be in the middle of a messy divorce after splitting in the summ
Keep reading

BAFTA TV Awards 2011: The Only Way Is Essex girls lead the glamour

Image
Add to My Stories Share It was one of the most highly-anticipated events of the year, with the biggest names from the television industry attending. But at the Philips Bafta Television Awards it wasn't a TV veteran who stole the show but a group of relative newcomers - the girls from The Only Way Is Essex. Amy Childs, Lauren Goodger, Sam Faiers and Lydia Bright led the glamour last night as they arrived for the annual ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel. Essex girls leading the way: The Only Way Is Essex stars (left to right) Amy Childs, Lauren Goodger, Lydia Bright and Sam Faiers lead the glamour at the Bafta Television Awards Stealing the show: But it was Amy Childs who stands out from the crowd in her Pia Michi gold gown And it seems that the girls had possibly co-ordinated their outfits, as they all chose sparkly metallic numbers to pose on the red carpet. More... Daisy Lowe causes a stir in a see-through dress at the BAFTA Television Awards as she cuddles up to boy
Keep reading

Small Doses of Vicodin OK for Breast-Feeding Moms, Study Says

Image
Filed under: In The News , Breast-Feeding , Research Reveals Breast-feeding pain may be eased by small doses of Vicodin, a new study shows. Credit: Getty Breast-feeding may be a healthy and economical way to feed and bond with your baby, but it also can be a real pain -- literally -- for some moms who are still cramping and sore from mega hours of labor and C-sections, not to mention the whole nipple pinching thing. But now there's good news on the lactating front: Apparently, it's safe to pop a few Vicodin while you're breast-feeding. The strong painkiller hydrocodone , better known as Vicodin, may be safe in smaller doses for women nursing newborns, U.S. researchers tell Reuters . Only traces of the drug end up in the mother's breast milk, according to findings from a study out of the University of Toronto and the University of California San Diego . Researchers say in cases where weaker painkillers such as acetaminophen ( Tylenol ) or ibuprofen ( Advil ) don't t
Keep reading