Chapter 1. Autumn: Autumn in Hot Spring
Making furniture 1
Back home in Roppongi, Tsubasa linked up his RUICA to Kanalu's in Takafu-cho. Through earphones, Kanalu asked him, "Please let's start recording the layout of your grandparent's room."
Following Kanalu's instruction, he used the camera function of the RUICA to take pictures of all corners of the room starting from the entrance, and all the furniture; beds, chairs, table, wardrobes, and dressing table. Then Kanalu told Tsubasa, "Press the green button on the screen of the RUICA." He pressed the green button, sending the data on the location of all furniture and the position of windows and wall air conditioner to Kanalu's RUICA. A 3D computer image was instantly generated and superimposed on the pictures he had just taken.
"Next, press the orange button on the screen." He did as instructed, holding the button down and keeping RUICA steady in the same position as before, and RFID information on all furniture with detectable tags was gathered by Tsubasa's RUICA and sent on to Kanalu.
"I think I got all the RFID information except for the dressing table and curtains. Please check them again," Kanalu said.
"How do I do that?" Tsubasa asked.
"Sorry, search for the places that might have RFID tags and press the orange button, the same way you used your mobile phone to get data on the bed."
"O.K. ... Well, I cannot find it. Kanalu-san, this dressing table seems very old. Maybe it is one of the pieces of furniture that grandmother brought with her when she got married. I think the curtains are handmade."
Kanalu sounded very pleased. "How wonderful! I love it when people use non-digital products. Please collect as many images of the dressing table and curtains as you can from every angle. In order to do so, please use the camera function again, and press the green button to get the location information as well. Repeat these operations a couple of times. "
Tsubasa did as he was instructed. Gradually, RUICA converted the photographic data into an increasingly dense set of CAD line drawings superimposed one upon another. The final image looked like a very precise computer-generated 3D graphic. "Thank you, Tsubasa-kun. I think we have enough data. Using the system's image recognition feature for the pictures and matching the images with the data of the shape and location, I will reproduce their current room layout."
It did not take long before the system analyzed the data and generated a graphic image. RUICA's display showed a recreation of Tsubasa's grandparents' room including every detail from wallpaper color the location of a vase. "This is incredible. It makes a perfect reproduction so quickly!"
"The system has been developed for customers who want to buy furniture. Many people are not sure whether the new items that they see in a showroom or on the Internet will fit in their own rooms, or how they will look. However, if room data is input into RUICA, customers can know whether the furniture will be a good choice for their home. Based on the data, we can also recommend furniture that will be suitable."
Tsubasa asked, "Why do you also reproduce the color of the wallpaper and curtains?" Kanalu answered, "Some people like to redecorate their rooms when they purchase new furniture. Doing both at the same time can be difficult. This system makes it easy to totally furnish and decorate a room." Tsubasa listened to this explanation with great interest. As he had never purchased furniture, he had never realized the complexities involved in furnishing a room.
