Make the first "AI doll" based on gravure idol Ai Shinozaki.
First off, there's some serious wordplay going on here: "AI doll" is aidoru (idol), while Shinozaki's name also references "artificial intelligence."
In other words, some geeky boffins are planning to create a fully digital version of Shinozaki.
Virtual idols already exist aplenty, from Vocaloid music idols to AKB48 temporary digital members and virtual dating game idols.
How is this different?
Well, they are going to use artificial intelligence based on Ai Shinozaki.
The digital creation will speak like her and learn her ...
We came across this story of a "super fan" and his love for schoolgirl Manaka Takane.
Of course, Manaka Takane is a character from the Love Plus virtual dating game by Konami.
And she and a special fan went on a trip for the summer.
They chose as their date destination Atami, the hot spring resort in Shizuoka that is one of the location of Love Plus -- and already a well-known spot for otaku to go in search of 2D girls come to life.
Twitter user Menokomakiri took Manaka with him to Atami -- or least a full-body suit of the 2D ...
We're a bit late with this but we love it.
Live2D Euclid is a system created by Live2D to animate characters in a rich 3D environment.
Reported by the reliable chaps at DigInfo, the technology allows you to interact with 2D illustrations in a 3D space.
Of course, the demo is an anime girl character!
Live 2D models can be animated and moved freely, while retaining the defining characteristics of the original illustrations, which are difficult to reproduce with regular 3D models. Due to this unique feature, Live2D has been used in over 100 commercial products since its release ...
While the Tokyo Game Show last weekend ultimately did not feature Sony's divisive "Summer Lesson" demo for the Project Morpheus HMD headset, it did have some virtual boyfriends instead.
One booth at TGS 2014 showcased virtual dating and romance apps so women could get their perfect partner. The only snag is that the man in question does not exist in reality.
Voltage Romance Apps features a series of smartphone social apps with fake boyfriends for lonely women. They even have English-language versions adapted for North American audiences.
The average user is a 30-year-old Japanese ...
After its ridiculously creepy Summer Lesson demo for Project Morpheus met an avalanche of criticism both domestically and overseas, Sony has pulled the plug on the demo exhibit that was set to debut at Tokyo Game Show later this month.
The cancellation was announced today (September 12th), over a week after the Playstation 4 Project Morpheus HMD demo went public, meeting an instant tidal wave of disbelief and disgust.
Summer Lesson was supposed to be the calling card for Sony's new HMD system. Announced on September 1st, it quickly raised eyebrows when it emerged the demo was about ...
Relax. The Japanese economy has been saved. Engineers are here to rescue industry from the doldrums and produce the next step forward like the Walkman or the Hybrid car all those years ago.
Young engineers like this one.
Smart boffin Ryuto Soma joins a long line of other tech-savvy hentai geeks in Japan who use their technological skills for reasons of a masturbatory nature.
We've already had the Novint Falcon headset and Tenga combo and even a virtual sex system courtesy of the University of Tsukuba.
Ryuto Soma has come along and combined the Oculus Rift with a pair of ...
Sony has bizarrely chosen to show off its virtual reality headset Project Morpheus with this creepy demo Summer Lesson, to be exhibited at Tokyo Game Show later this month.
Sony, perhaps with an eye on its dismal sales of late, seems to want to attract the otaku dollar, since the demo, in contrast to previous ones that involved such exciting scenarios as a shark cage, is about leering at a loosely-dressed schoolgirl as she hangs around at home.
Here's the demo, though you'll have to wait until TGS to test it out.
Directed and produced by Katsuhiro ("Tekken") Harada -- who ...
A researcher from University of Tsukuba has spent many valuable hours developing a way to make otaku dreams come true.
This system has been developed officially for "hospital patients" and it basically allows you to "sleep next to" a virtual character.
Scientists being the geeks they are, the explanatory images for the system naturally use Hatsune Miku as an example, as images doing the rounds on Japanese Twitter show.
This actually the same as the Hatsune Miku app/eye-pad device we wrote about at the end of last year.
Using the Oculus Rift headset for the head-mounted ...
Otaku of the world, rejoice. Your dreams have come true at last.
Virtual idol Hatsune Miku is now "fully" interactive.
We already can see and hear her, but now an app allows you to touch and smell her -- and, best of all, to sleep with her.
The Sleep With Her app started when an engineer thought that visiting a place like the Soine-ya bed-sharing "snuggle" cafe was too expensive. He developed this way to sleep beside Hatsune Miku as an alternative.
You wear it like a big eye pad and it allows you to see your sweet partner dozing beside you.
And with some "extras" ...
The Japanese like public baths (onsen) and they also like technology and otaku culture. Imagine mixing the three in the same way some hot springs allow mixed gender bathing!
Just released for Android phones, the Moe-yu app takes two concepts (moe and bathing) and lets users enjoy sensual bathing with special bishojo character Momori. Naturally Momori also talks to you (voiced by Asumi Kana) so you can, well, think you are having a conversation with a real girlfriend.
You can change backgrounds, and use the camera and augmented reality technology so that it even seems that the girl ...
