Dentsu Group showcases innovative works to the world at SXSW 2019 in the U.S.
The text of the Dentsu Inc. news release distributed on March 7 is as follows.
March 7, 2019
"Things whose value is not yet clear bring the future." Under this concept, we exhibited four works creating unprecedented experiences at the Interactive Division trade show.
Dentsu Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Toshihiro Yamamoto) and its cross-functional internal organization, the Digital Creative Center (※1), along with Dentsu Creative X Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Yoshiyuki Kaneto), will participate in the world's largest festival, "SXSW 2019" (※2), (South by Southwest 2019), held in Austin, Texas, USA, from March 10 to 13.
Our exhibition concept this year is "Pointless Brings Progress." Based on the idea that ideas deemed "Pointless"—things whose value isn't immediately apparent and thus outpace contemporary values—are precisely what will drive future innovation, our group will create unprecedented experiences alongside our partners (details below).
<Overview of Each Exhibit>
1. "SUSHI SINGULARITY"
Demonstration of a "super-futuristic experiential restaurant" scheduled to open in 2020
OPEN MEALS aims to revolutionize food by digitizing it. We are currently developing the ultra-futuristic data-driven restaurant "SUSHI SINGULARITY TOKYO," and this demonstration showcases that concept. OPEN MEALS predicts two revolutions will occur in the near future as sushi becomes digital and connected to the internet: ① Sushi will connect with people worldwide, enabling its online creation, editing, and sharing, leading to the continuous birth of new sushi. ② Sushi will connect with the human body, achieving personalized nutrient optimization based on health data like vital signs and genetics. The venue exhibition will feature the world premiere of prototype food manufacturing machines centered around 3D printers, alongside conceptual designs for sushi enabled by this technology. The ultimate goal is to digitize and accumulate all food data, building a digital platform where anyone worldwide can share food. This is OPEN MEALS' latest project, following last year's "SUSHI TELEPORTATION."
OPEN MEALS: DENTSU / Yamagata University / Soft 3D Co-creation Consortium / Magnarecta / Advantest / Saikinso / Yukashikado / Atari / Amana / Hydroid / Tohoku Shinsha
http://www.open-meals.com/
2. "RETHINKING TOBACCO"
Could tobacco save the world's food crisis? A project realizing inter-generic grafting with tobacco
Did you know tobacco holds the potential to save the world's food crisis? Grafting—a traditional technique that combines different plants to enhance flavor, resistance, and other traits—has now achieved what was once thought impossible: intergeneric grafting, using tobacco as a new medium. Furthermore, applying biotechnology like genome editing to all varieties can accelerate improvements in plant disease resistance and tolerance to infertile soils. "RETHINKING TOBACCO" is a project pointing to the future of food, collaborating with "Todai To Texas (TTT)" hosted by the University of Tokyo's Industry-Academia Collaboration Promotion Headquarters.
RETHINKING TOBACCO: DENTSU / GRA&GREEN / Todai To Texas / PICT INC.
https://www.gragreen.com
3. "FATHER'S NURSING ASSISTANT"
Evolving childcare with technology! A device for fathers to feed and put infants to sleep
Japanese babies are said to have shorter sleep times compared globally. Much of the stress and worry in childcare revolves around putting babies to sleep and feeding, yet fathers' participation rates remain generally low. While co-sleeping is effective for putting babies to sleep, it tends to make mothers the primary ones doing the bedtime routine. Therefore, we focused on the "nursing" that mothers do before putting the baby to sleep. By enabling fathers to nurse too, we aimed to increase both the mother's time free from nursing and the baby's sleep time. The wearable device "FATHER'S NURSING ASSISTANT" achieves both of these goals simultaneously. Drawing on advice from pediatricians and babysitters, we noted that babies often place their hands on the breast during feeding and find comfort in its softness. We designed the product to closely mimic the mother's breastfeeding position. This allows fathers to hold the baby with both hands, fostering skin-to-skin contact and enabling them to put the baby to sleep in a manner similar to the mother. The product features a milk tank on one side and a nursing mechanism on the other. It also connects to an app that senses the baby's feeding and sleep patterns, providing a more visual understanding of the baby's state.
FATHER’S NURSING ASSISTANT: DENTSU / Ginger Design Studio / Apex
4. "HANKOHAN"
Japan's traditional HANKO culture merges with technology to create a new form of communication.
HANKO (seals) are traditional information tools long valued in Japan for official documents and personal authentication. "HANKOHAN" combines HANKO with AR markers, enabling not only personal name verification but also the reproduction of personal information (like faces and self-introduction messages). The seal design is generated by digitizing facial features—face shape, eyebrow shape, eye angle, nose shape—using a unique algorithm. When you view the stamped HANKO in AR space, your face pops out. Business cards alone don't help people remember your face. Even then, stamping HANKOHAN on your business card can expand its potential as a business tool.
HANKOHAN: DENTSU CREATIVE X
http://hankohan.com
＜Exhibition Venue & Date＞
・Venue: Austin Convention Center
Exhibition Hall 2-5, Booth No. 807
・Dates: March 10 (Sun) - March 13 (Wed)
11:00 AM - 6:00 PM (Until 2:00 PM on the 13th only)
＜Main Visual for Exhibition Concept＞
Unseen, mysterious objects formed by the interplay of two distinct shapes. These represent the services and products born from creatively combining our group's two distinct areas of expertise—food and bio, among others. They might be perceived as Pointless by modern values. Yet, without fear, we believe they will change the future and challenge various new frontiers—this is the sentiment expressed.
Dentsu Inc. SXSW Special Page (Scheduled to open March 9)
: http://dentsusxsw.com
<Other Works (Exhibited at Other Booths)>
Separate from "Pointless Brings Progress.," we will also exhibit "the whu," an IoT cushion supporting Zen meditation (Zen Life), a mindfulness solution gaining attention. "the whu" supports starting and integrating Zen meditation into daily life through a sensor-equipped IoT cushion and a high-quality coaching program supervised by globally renowned Zen meditation instructor Issho Fujita. "the whu," enabling zazen practice anytime, anywhere, contributes to people's everyday "mental well-being." Additionally, we plan to launch a crowdfunding campaign for "the whu" in the US during this exhibition period.
the whu: DENTSU / DENTSU MEDICAL / atali / COI TOHOKU
http://thewhu.com
※1: A cross-functional organization within Dentsu Inc. whose mission is to transform people's feelings and behaviors in the digital age using every possible "method, technology, and experience."
※2: SXSW is the world's largest festival encompassing music, film, interactive, comedy, games, and more.
End
Dentsu Inc. News Release
http://www.dentsu.co.jp/news/release/2019/0307-009769.html
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