- The following is content from the press release -
Providing a new reading experience that fosters children's interests
(DNP) has developed a prototype of "Magical Insect Glasses (tentative name)" that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to convey to children the "joy of knowing" and foster their interest and curiosity. This prototype is the successor to the same demo unit*1 announced in December 2020, and aims to realize communication that deepens the "bond between parents and children" using smartphones.
In order to nurture children's interest and provide them with the "reading experience of the joy of knowing," a demonstration test will be held at the "BabyTech TOUCH (Baby Tech Touch) in akachanhonpo TOC Store (Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo) on June 26 (Sat), 27 (Sun), July 3 (Sat) and 4 (Sun), 2021, from 10 to 18 pm. in akachanhonpo "*2 at the Akachanhonpo TOC store (Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo) from 10 to 18 on July 3 (Saturday) and July 4 (Sunday).
Features of the "Magical Bug-Eye" Prototype
- When you hold the special AI-equipped "Bug Glasses" up to a book or other object, the AI recognizes text, pictures, photos, illustrations, etc., and the device then tells you the contents of the book or other object through voice and music.
When you look into a picture book with "Insect Glasses," the system recognizes characters and scenes, and plays the most appropriate reading voice and background music.
When you look into a picture book or an object with "Insect Glasses," it recognizes the object and plays the most appropriate sound effects and explanatory text.
The contents of a child's peeks can be saved as an archive and referenced by a smartphone application for parents and other users.
- The prototype in December 2020 consisted of a device that recognized objects held up to it and a controller that played a sound, but this prototype is linked to a smartphone and performs the processing that is burdensome on the smartphone side, making the device cheaper and smaller and easier to carry. The new prototype is linked to a smartphone and performs the load processing on the smartphone side.
- Commercially available picture books and illustrated books can be used as they are. When the child holds up the "Magical Bug Glasses" to an object that interests him or her, he or she will hear sounds and background music for picture books, and for illustrated books, sounds of creatures, vehicles, and explanations from the speakers.
- The images and other data seen by the child through the "Magical Bug-Eye" are transmitted to the parent's smartphone, and then sent to the cloud for storage. Parents can listen to the audio corresponding to the images, etc. seen by their children on their own smartphones. In addition, a function to refer to the lifelog of the child's behavior and a function to analyze the child's interests have been added this time. These functions allow parents to share the world their children are seeing and their interests, and will lead to the creation and deepening of communication between parents and children.
Example of a possible application of "Magical Insect Glasses
- Learning at home or in kindergartens/nursery schools : By holding up a picture book or illustrated book, children learn letters and objects, and develop a desire and interest in learning.
- English learning : Hold the device over teaching materials or familiar objects, and listen to the English voice again to incorporate it into your English learning.
- Explanations at museums: By holding the device over an artwork, visitors can "discover" information (anecdotes, etc.) hidden in the artwork.
"Magical Bug Glasses (Prototype)"
Demonstration test conducted within the "BabyTechTOUCH" hands-on showrooming event
As a demonstration experiment using the "Magical Insect Glasses" prototype, a hands-on event was held at the "Magical Insect Glasses" booth.BabyTech TOUCH (Baby Tech Touch) in akachanhonpoThis will take place on Saturdays and Sundays during the period of the "Mere Old Man" (Thursday, June 10 through Friday, July 9). The purpose of this experiment is to verify the value of the user experience and the usability of the equipment.
- Date and time of the demonstration experiment: Saturday, June 26 and Sunday, June 27, 2021,
Saturday, July 3 and Sunday, July 4, 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
*Please note that these hours are different from the store hours. - Location : Akachan Honpo TOC Store(TOC Building 5F, 7-22-17 Nishi-Gotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo)
- Access : 8-minute walk from Gotanda Station on the JR Yamanote Line and Toei Subway Line, 6-minute walk from Osaki-Hirokoji Station on the Tokyu Ikegami Line
- How to participate : Participation is free and reservations are not required.It is.
Future Development
As the DX trend accelerates throughout society, DNP is promoting the development of DX human resources and teams that can realize everything from service design to actual product and service development, and this prototype was born as part of such efforts. In addition, while working on "data distribution-related" and "IoT/next-generation communication-related" businesses as its priority businesses, DNP is also focusing on developing services that leverage its long-cultivated relationships with the publishing industry and expanding into the education field.
DNP will promote the commercialization of the product by inviting co-creation partners to expand new reading experiences using the "Magical Insect Glasses" and repeating demonstration tests at events related to reading aloud and children.
1 Developed a demo unit of "Magical Insect Glasses," which uses AI to make sounds come out of a picture book:
Released on December 2, 2020 https://www.dnp.co.jp/news/detail/10158928_1587.html
2 Launched "BabyTech TOUCH," a hands-on showrooming event to search for technology that will become a "partner in child-rearing.
Released on May 13, 2021 https://www.dnp.co.jp/news/detail/10160856_1587.html
All company and product names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective companies.
The information provided is current as of the date of the announcement. Please note that it may differ from the latest information.
