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Japanese man creates AR girlfriend

Using a motion sensor and a pair of video glasses, a Japanese hacker has created an augmented-reality (AR) anime girlfriend that interacts with the user.

Michelle Starr Science editor
Michelle Starr is CNET's science editor, and she hopes to get you as enthralled with the wonders of the universe as she is. When she's not daydreaming about flying through space, she's daydreaming about bats.
Michelle Starr

Using a motion sensor and a pair of video glasses, a Japanese hacker has created an augmented-reality (AR) anime girlfriend that interacts with the user.

(Screenshot by Michelle Starr/CNET Australia)

The hacker, who goes by the handle Alsionesvx, hacked together the Asus Xtion Pro motion sensor and the Vuzix Wrap 920 VR glasses to create a copy of Japanese virtual pop idol Hatsune Miku, as reported by Hack a Day.

It's an impressive piece of work. Hatsune Miku will track the user with her head and eyes, follow them around and even interact with both the user and her environment — she casts a shadow, will disappear behind objects in front of her, and the video below shows Alsionesvx patting her, hitting her over the head and flipping her tie. It's a little bit odd, at the very least, and disconcerting at the end, but we're still blown away by the home-made ingenuity of it all.

Check it out in the YouTube video below.