Interesting Tidbits: The App That Took Japan By Storm

Chances are you've never heard of Line if you've never traveled to Japan. Personally, I don't even have own a smart phone, so all of this is pretty much irrelevant to me - but you can expect a little bit of dismay from the locals if you tell them you don't have Line.

A Line sticker pack.

 Simply put, Line's an instant messaging application for the most part, though it also allows users to exchange photos, video, and conduct voice conversations and conference messaging too. In a nutshell, it's very similar to Skype. But what Line brought to the messaging applications scene was "stickers" - allowing users to express their emotions through original or existing character sticker sets that are easily downloadable for free or at a cost. You could, for example, download a Sponge Bob set or whatnot. And though emoticons have existed since the dawn of freaking time, stickers, which function in the exact same way, allowed for more personalized messages.

From the Line Shop. I kind of stand out from these guys.

As a matter of fact, on the grand scheme of things, Line's popularity sort of exploded over night and its growth became exponential. And though that's sort of where things are on the smartphone app development side, Line's kind of reached a whole other level. Not only do Line's original characters now have their own iOS game, but Line now has its own store in Harajuku. I dropped by to have a look, and it seems to be doing well on top of that! Just think about that for a second. How the hell did a communications application get to the point where it now manages to sell physical good? If you were to open a Skype shop, what would you even sell in it? Well, given the nature of Line and its mass appeal, it kind of figures that it would manage to market its characters using only the power of its brand. And I still can't quite wrap my head around an app turning into a brand. But it's happening.
 Does Line have a chance in the world outside of Japan? There are probably people who have a better idea of that than I do, but apparently, people are hearing of it in Korea and China, so who knows. But I do wonder if I'll ever encounter it in North America, be in this Summer when I return, or in the years to come.

Beep Boop

While at the Miraikan, I did take the opportunity to meet its other denizens (rather than just the toilet guys.) Though the museum has a very compelling section dedicated to the exploration of space, I found myself more compelled by their robotics section. And seeing as Japan has invested heavily in robotics, there are quite some interesting encounters to be made within the museum. Allow me to introduce you to do the two forerunners!

Asimo struttin' his stuff.

The first of the two is Asimo. Everyone loves Asimo. He's just a few inches over four feet tall and speaks in a high, child-like voice.  Once a day at the Miraikan, Asimo is brought out for a 30-minute demonstration of his capabilities, where he showcases his mobility. He's appeared at many different events, ranging from conducting orchestras to dancing in Disneyland. When it comes down to it, though, Asimo's purpose is to be a personal assistant, and he is capable of recognizing faces, following people, respond to questions, call people by name, and react to sounds, completely on his own. I think Asimo would be fun to have around.

Geminoid F.

 The second of the two is Geminoid F, or Otonaroid (with "otona" signifying "adult".) Geminoid F is an attempt at creating the most human-like android possible, and, at a glance, it's pretty convincing. She mimics the mannerisms of real people, by blinking, shrugging, and using her hands to gesture. Geminoid F, though, is designed to be controlled remotely, allowing an individual to operate her and even speak through her lips with the help of a voice changer. Personally, while I think she's pretty impressive, she's also pretty damn creepy though. Her movements are a ever so slightly angular and broken, and she kind of has a glazed look, with her smiles lacking warmth. It's hard to look at her and not think that this won't somehow eventually collide with the development of sex dolls. Maybe Geminoid would be a little less fun to have around.
 And there you have it! Maybe eventually these will come into the public market, with debatable yet interesting outcomes.

The ExploraScience Hall

Today, for the second time, I went to the Miraikan to find it closed, goddamn it. The temporary exhibition on toilets and shit would have to wait. And once again, I found myself in Odaiba with a lot of time in my hands. Thankfully, Odaiba is a bit of a treasure trove when it comes to random points of interest, so Ken and I made the best of it and went roaming.

And wander we did until we stumbled upon the ExploraScience hall (which is actually officially named Sony ExploraScience, but I find it tiring to throw in the company's name every time.) And, though ExploraScience is a poor substitute for the very acclaimed Miraikan, which is also a science museum, it does have a certain charm in its array of interactive technological exhibits which really don't aim to teach you anything, but merely to entertain you in some way or another. Here, it'll make more sense if I show you, won't it.

 ExploraScience is a playful museum built around the theme of sight and sound. Using screens, monitors and recording devices, visitors are encouraged to mess around and make their own fun, as well as to experience recent emerging technologies in the home entertainment industry, such as 3D screens and augmented reality.
  There are various booths placed around the dimly lit, sci-fi looking hall that allow you to record your voice and alter it in a number of ways, including, but not limited to, drunken slur. Then, other people can stumble upon the same booth and listen to you babble like a drunk person. That's an example.

 I personally had the most fun using the motion mapping booths that converted your movements into those of a character on the screen. There was a game with the object of touching other objects popping up on the display with your hands, and I enjoyed cartwheeling and attempting to jump and kick them. I was a little disappointed that feet didn't count.

 There was also a terminal at the very beginning of the hall that rated and ranked your smile amongst all the other people who came in and used the machine during the day. I made light of it and smiled in a rather spacey-looking manner and was somewhat surprised I ranked amongst the better half. And then I felt a little bad I beat a lot of people who genuinely tried.
 It's all simple fun, really. You can spend an hour in ExploraScience and that might be just enough. Spending more than two would be pushing it, perhaps. But the admission fee is a measly 500¥, and it might just be one of those things where the more people you bring, the more fun you have.

Pepper isn't Science Fiction

 Softbank's one of the big players in Japan. It's basically a telecom company, like Verizon and such. But telecom companies have a foot in every door in this country, and so it turns out that Softbank is heavily invested in the field of robotics. That's usually a fact of little consequence, but recently, Softbank and the robotics company, Aldebaran, have decided to show the world their love child, named Pepper.

So much promise!

 Now, Pepper's not just some toy. He's programmed to understand 4500 (Japanese) words, and be able to make conversation. He's able to face you when you're talking and even read the tone of your voice and respond appropriately. The slogan to Pepper's reveal commercial was "this isn't science-fiction." Honestly, I could've been fooled. It turns out Japan really does have a bit of a lead when it comes to technology.
 When Ken and I walked by the Harajuku branch of the Softbank store, I was thrilled to find out that Pepper was available to be seen by the public. So we stood in a thankfully rather short line and finally got our chance to speak to the robot itself.

 "Oh! You've been looking at me since earlier, huh?" said Pepper as we approached. "So, have you been anywhere nice lately?"
 "Well I went to Kamakura recently," Ken brought up.
 "Oh. That's nice. Did you know the Osaka branch of the Softbank store is considered to be a therapeutic and relaxing place?"
  And it kind of occurred to me that Pepper's a bit of a dick. He shamelessly took several opportunities to direct the flow of the conversation towards Softbank products! God damn it, Pepper. I know you're on the clock, but you could've crushed my hopes a little less blatantly.

 Even so, it was kind of cool how Pepper would move towards the speaker and gesture realistically while talking. I guess the truth is, programming a robot to speak doesn't mean it will make for good conversation. In a nutshell, Pepper's a pretty shitty listener!
 All that being said, though, Pepper's going to be commercialized as a home robot and will go for 2000$-ish starting next year. Hey, that's actually not such a terrible price at all. Hopefully the home model isn't going to be as much of a little salesman as the representative in the shop. I think it's a fascinating step towards the future, and it may just be that everyone will have little robots to keep company, one day.