Chinese Chemical company pays 1 Billion for a talking cat

Head scratcher, but there's a LOT of money floating around out there.

Ask yourself this... what's worth more? the Talking Cat, or the technology that can take the talking cat --- and ALL OTHER media, make it much bigger, portable and touch-interactive.

Throw in some LiDAR, and some near eye displays -- and some kind of new welding technology, and what's it worth then?

I don't want Microvision to be bought out, because any price that has so far been floating around is far below the ultimate value of this technology.

Bloomberg

Talking Tom is not alone. There’s been a recent flurry of oddball pairings between Chinese industrial interests and Western entertainment companies. A real estate magnate in Beijing bought Legendary Entertainment, the movie studio that made the Dark Knight trilogy, for $3.5 billion. A maker of construction materials bought Framestore, the company behind the special effects in the Harry Potter films. Zhejiang Dragon Pipe Manufacturing Co. acquired app developer Entertainment Game Labs. And perhaps strangest of all, Digital Extremes Ltd., which created an alien battle game, and the studio Splash Damage Ltd., which made an offshoot of the Xbox hit Gears of War, were bought by an enormous Chinese poultry processor.

Insight to self-driving cars

Google and Ford aren't really sharing how they design and program their self-driving cars. We can get a little insight here.

For liability reasons, I don't think the full array of sensors will ever not be included. 


AutoWorldNews

The Transition from Unknown to Known.

Robert Scoble just posted this. This is a great story about what can happen to a company (what WILL happen to MicroVision) as it transitions from being a relative unknown to a known entity.

There is more at the source.

From Bloomberg




The relatively unknown robotics toy company Sphero had been making little remote-controlled balls for years. It's purely coincidence that the toys looked just like BB-8, an adorable little droid in the upcoming movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

"We already were changing the way people interacted with robots," said founder Adam Wilson. "This changed the way the world saw robots. It really did change everything. We could never have seen this coming like that."

Media Attention for RoBoHon just getting started

There is something in the Bloomberg article that REALLY sticks out.

Sharp has been a SUPPLIER of components - Displays.

From TechTimes

It's a phone that's a robot that can walk, talk, remember, understand and take photos and videos and project these to any surface. RoBoHoN is set for release in Japan in the second half of next year, and that's a wait that could be considered cruel considering how cool this phone is.

RoBoHoN is truly an android and it's unlike anything Google, Samsung or LG have bolted together today. The robot phone was developed by Sharp with the assistance of Robo Garage CEO Tomotaka Takahashi, who created the world's first space-faring bot.

Then there's its projector. RoBoHoN can splatter pixels all over walls and floors and other surfaces, allowing users to snuggle up to a movie, for example, or to drag their friends to a modern rendition of post-trip slide shows.

RoBoHoN also isn't shy about using its arms and legs. In the video below, this cool little guy is seen encouraging a child to crawl and even dancing. Watch the whole thing, and then try to tell yourself you don't want one!

From Bloomberg

Sharp, known as a brand-name for everything from the world’s first mechanical pencil to TVs and microwaves, has become more of a supplier in recent years to win sales, including making liquid-crystal displays for Apple’s iPads.

Becoming relevant as a maker of consumer electronics may require taking some chances and risking ridicule, which Sharp did when the media conference for RoBoHoN erupted in laughter as a well-dressed man walked in with a miniature robot pressed to his ear.

Undeterred, executives then showed how RoBoHoN responds to a voice commands to take a selfie and then bows to display the image on a table through a projector installed in its head. It can repeat reminders like “remember to go buy toothpaste” and also be a moving videophone or speakerphone.

“For good or bad, innovation comes with some surprise,” said Tomotaka Takahashi, who designed the device.

Demanjo