Honda Promotes N-ONE with a Smartphone Case Featuring Airbags

Honda Smartphone Case N

I’ve owned some form of mobile phone for almost 12 years now, and despite that length of experience I still drop the damn thing at least once a day. Thankfully I’ve avoided any serious damage to the phone thanks to a $20 plastic case.

To promote the Honda N-WGN — a light automobile produced specifically for the Japanese market — engineers at the car maker (apparently with lots of free time on their hands) have created the ultimate safe smartphone case. The (apparently) working, yet bulky prototype deploys a series of airbags when dropped.

According to the video, an accelerator detects when the smartphone is falling, and within 0.2 seconds gas is released from a C02 cartridge inflating the 6 airbags contained within the case.

Last year, Honda created a 1:1 cardboard model of the N-ONE that dedicated fans could download, print and assemble.

[via Gizmag]

Japan

Honda Promotes Mobile App With Tribute to Aryton Senna Using Just Data, Sound and Light

Sound of Honda - Aryton Senna 1989

Sound by Honda is a mobile app created by internavi lab as part of Honda’s Dots (Design Our Transportation Story), a two way information and communications service. the app leverages the smartphones GPS and accelerometer allowing a user to experience the sound of several Honda cars including the Acura NSX-R, S800, Civic R, NII360 Town and the McLaren Honda MP4/5.

To promote the app Honda used telemetry data collected during legendary Honda/McLaren driver Aryton Senna‘s record-setting qualifying lap at the 1989 F1 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

The data collected from the car’s onboard telemetry was used to create the experience of sound and light. Speakers and lights were placed around the Suzuka Circuit along the path that Senna’s car drove on that day, and once night fell the record-setting lap was brought to life using a trail of light and the scream of the Honda/McLaren’s engine.

[via Contagious]

Japan

Japanese Drivers Use Odometer Reading as Entry for Insurance Company Lottery

Sony Assurance Odometer Lottery

With Sony Assurance basing their auto insurance rates on the number of kilometers that their customers drive, they along with ad agency Frontage Inc. came up with a contest idea to make Japanese drivers more aware of the distance that they travel.

The Odometer Lottery was launched in August 2012 during the Bon festival, an annual tradition when Japanese make the journey back to their hometown to visit family.

To enter the contest, drivers simply took a picture of their odometer reading and uploaded it to an app on the company’s Facebook page.

Grand prize was a JTB travel gift worth 30000 yen with 50 second prizes of 2000 Amazon gift vouchers. In 3 weeks, the contest site had 14,887 visits and 546 entrants.

[via Ads of the World]

Japan

Subaru Promote Collision-Avoidance System with Mini-Car Music Player Installation

Subaru Eyesight - Mini Car Symphony

To promote the capabilities of Subaru’s ‘Eyesight’ collision-avoidance technology, the car company fitted dozens of mini-Subarus with a pair of forward-facing stereoscopic cameras similar to the ones of the real cars.

A tiny speaker on the car beeps as it approaches a strategically-placed white cube. More and more cars beep as they approach the mini traffic jam, stopping just short of each other thanks to Eyesight.

A metallic claw appears from above and removed the cube, sending the now dozens of cars safely off in their different directions.

[via Digital Buzz]

Japan

Download, Print and Assemble a Life-Size Paper Version of Honda’s N-One

Honda N-One Paper Crafts

Get out your scissors and gluesticks, this may just be the ultimate project for the crafty crafter.

To promote the new Honda N-One, Honda and ad agency Denstu created a model kit that can be printed, cut-out and assembled as a cardboard and paper 1:1 scale version of the car.

But, why just watch the video when you can assemble one yourself. The Honda N-One model kit is available for download in 1:1 scale, or for those with more realistic ambitions a 1:9 scale model is also available. The 1:9 version even comes with a full interior for you to assemble!

Japan

Make Noise, Go Fast: Nissan Promotes ‘Z’ With Voice-Driven Radio-Controlled Cars

Nissan Voice Driver Cup

Anyone who has ever played with toy cars can tell you that the way you make them go fast, is to make the engine noise yourself. Nissan and their agency TBWA/Hakuhodo have collaborated to create voice-driven versions of radio-controlled four-wheel-drive models based on Nissan’s Fairlady Z Sports Car.

The first race, the Japan GP takes place on November 10 at the Nissan Galley in Yokohama, with visitors controlling the cars with their voice in person. The events will be broadcast live via UStream on the Voice Driver Cup website.

On November 17 (but just for 24 hours), everyone around the world will be able to join in and control the cars from their own computer using their microphone.

I’ll be rehearsing my car engine noises, see you at the starting line.

[via DigitalBuzz]

Japan

Nike Japan Twists Their Shoe to Match Your Funny Face

Nike Free FaceMy mother would frequently warn me that if I made a weird face it might just freeze that way. Decades have past and many odd and twisted faces later it thankfully hasn’t frozen up.

Nike Japan has launched the ‘Free Face‘ website and is inviting people to come by and contort their faces for fun and profit.

The site uses facial and expression recognition via your webcam to capture an image or your face at both it’s relaxed and most twisted state. The site promotes the super-flexible sole of the Nike Free shoe. The more you can twist and contort your face the more twisted a 3-D image of the shoe ends up looking.

Once your image is captured it then competes head-to-head against others for votes. The face with the most votes each week ends up winning a NikeiD gift card. Contestants must be living in Japan.

The campaign was created by Wieden + Kennedy Tokyo.

Japan

Tokyo Bike Sharing Service COGOO Turns BMX Bike Into Music Mixer

Cogoo Turntable Rider

Japanese bike sharing service COGOO brought together professional BMX rider, Kotaro and professional DJ Baku (and their friends) to create ‘turntable rider’, turning a freestyle BMX bike into a music mixing instrument.

The system allows to rider to control the sounds by performing tricks, while controlling the beats sirelessly with an iPod or iPhone. The bike’s back wheel acts as a jog dial, brake levers are sound pads and a crossfader sits on the center of the handlebars.

While the ‘turntable rider’ isn’t available to the public yet, the company says that if the page gets 5900 ‘Likes’ they’ll consider mass-producing the units.

Stay tuned, ‘Let’s Share (Turntable Rider)’ a new track by DJ Baku will soon be available for download at iTunes.

CNN Begins Experimenting with On-Air QR-Codes

CNN Impact - QR CodesToday I came across CNN using an on-screen QR Code to direct viewers to additional content on their mobile site. After researching a bit online, it turns out that the cable news channel began using these last weekend.

CNN has consistently been experimenting with social and mobile platforms over the past few years, having been one of the first media outlets to use Twitter to enhance their news coverage.

In this case, the QR Code was used as part of CNN’s Impact Your World Japan feature and when scanned directed viewers to a mobile page where they found links to organizations that are helping in the earthquake/tsunami relief effort.

The QR code was shown on screen at the end of the segment for about 10 seconds, which was nowhere near long enough to find my phone, turn it on, find my QR scan app and point it at the screen. The code did appear like it would be large enough to scan from across the room and I was able to easily scan it from the original photo to the right. It would be a good idea to have the QR Code shrink to the corner of the screen for a few minutes, and have it appear at a size that still be easily scanned without having to dash up to your screen. Older televisions will surely have issues with the dot density of the codes making them impossible to read

We’ve seen ScanLife 2D codes being used here in both the National Post and Metro newspapers in the past few years to link to additional content on the mobile web. I can see how TV news outlets would be eager to use it for the same purpose. I’m looking forward to seeing QR Codes being used more, and to see additional bridges between content mediums including audio triggers as used in the IntoNow iPhone app.

Photo by renaissancechambara

A 1000 Cranes for the People of Japan

1000 Cranes for Japan

The world has watched in horror and disbelief as the powerful earthquake and tsunamis on march 11 left thousands dead or missing throughout northeast Japan. The devastation, powerful aftershocks and subsequent nuclear plant problems have left millions of Japanese people homeless, displaced or living in fear of what could happen next.

BBDO/Proximity Worldwide has launched the 1000 Cranes campaign site to provide messages of hope from people around the world to the people of Japan. A Japanese legend promises that a crane – considered a mystical creature in Japan – will grant a person’s wish for a long life or recovery from sickness or an injury if they fold a thousand origami cranes. This makes them popular gifts for friends and family in that country.

If you’d like to create your own real origami crane, here are some easy-to-follow instructions.

In addition to sending a message, visitors can make financial donations directly to the Red Cross.