Quick response codes are now being used to help to assist foreign visitors to understand the attraction.
Though Tokyo One Piece Tower was first opened in March, it wasn’t until just recently that QR codes were added to the attraction in order to make it easier for tourists from other countries to be able to understand what’s going on.
One Piece is a massive international sensation but not everyone who likes the series speaks Japanese.
The manga based anime series has hundreds of episodes and is loved by fans around the world. Tokyo One Piece Tower is an attraction that was created in order to provide fans with a place to visit and share in their love of the series. However, until now it has created a struggle to visitors who don’t understand Japanese, let alone being able to decipher kanji (written Japanese characters). Now QR codes are about to change that struggle by opening up the experience to languages outside of Japanese.
The QR codes have been added to 28 different signs located around the tower so that translations can be obtained.
These quick response codes have been added above and beyond the bilingual crew members who have been hired by the attraction. Those employees wear color-coded badges so that visitors from other countries can look for the color that aligns with the language that they speak. While this will be helpful, the QRcode option will make it possible for visitors to be able to help themselves when they stop at any of the different barcoded signs.
The 28 signs can be scanned through the use of a smartphone with any free reader app already installed and open. When the barcodes are scanned, they display a translation of the sign’s original message in the language of the smartphone of the user. This allows the language to be automatically detected and selected for the user.
Upon the launch of the QR codes, the translations were available in any of twelve different languages, which included: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Indonesian, Korean, Malay and Thai. There are English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and Korean guidebooks that are also made available to visitors.
With a large number of different wearables on the market, it was the Sensoria Smart Socks that took the prize.
Though the majority of people picture fitness trackers and smartwatches when they think about wearable technology, it was a type of footwear that managed to take home the top title in the category from IDTechEx Printed Electronics USA 2015.
The event was the largest printed electronics and sensor event that has happened anywhere on the globe.
Though the competition was fierce, the “Best New Wearable Technology Device” that was named at the event was the Sensoria Smart Socks. They Printed Electronics Award was given to the footwear that was infused with textile sensors. The award itself was a recognition of the innovation, development and success of the company behind the wearable device.
Among the judges that determined that the smart socks should be the winner were several well known names, such as the U.S. Olympic Committee Senior Sports Technologist, Dr. Mounir Zok, PhD, as well as the London College of Fashion’s Head of Fashion Innovation Agency, Matthew Drinkwater. The award was presented to Sensoria by Henri Richard, the senior vice president of Sandisk Corporation.
This title is a highly coveted one by newcomers to the wearable technology industry that have released their first product.
According to the Sensoria CEO, Davide Vigano, “It’s such an incredible honor to be chosen for this award and especially by such an esteemed group of industry leaders.” He went on to explain that the team at Sensoria spent four years in research and development for the creation of their wearables in the form of smart socks. They had several challenges to overcome in order to ensure that they would be not only practical and functional but also comfortable for the wearer.
The final version of the wearable technology socks was created in order to ensure there would be a number of different potential applications throughout several industries, such as in fitness, sports, and even medicine. The smart socks have three soft, thin textile pressure sensors embedded within them. Any data collected from the socks is transmitted by a magnetic Bluetooth smart anklet that snaps onto the socks and wirelessly sends the info to the Sensoria mobile app.
These quick response codes have been added above and beyond the bilingual crew members who have been hired by the attraction. Those employees wear color-coded badges so that visitors from other countries can look for the color that aligns with the language that they speak. While this will be helpful, the QRcode option will make it possible for visitors to be able to help themselves when they stop at any of the different barcoded signs.