In the terrible “offline world,” you might soon encounter anime characters. At least when people start wearing these cyber face masks.
Thanks to the ongoing and increasingly intensifying Corona issue worldwide, face masks have become mandatory almost everywhere. But if you don’t want to resort to the flower-patterned mask sewn by grandma, you’ll need something more exclusive. This is where the E2-Mask Z from Hirata Takegawa Lab could help. It transforms your face into that of an anime character – like in Genshin Impact.
How does it work? The “mask” is actually more of a helmet, as it contains a lot of technology in a small space. Nearly 40 sensors constantly scan the wearer’s face, creating a digital representation and then converting that into facial expressions displayed as an anime character on the screen. If you smile under the mask, the anime girl will smile too, and if you wink, she will do the same.
What is the mask actually intended for? According to the brief introduction video, the mask has several applications, even beyond the pandemic. For instance, dentists could use the mask to distract children with the friendly (or silly) face displayed, helping to alleviate their fears. Other potential uses seem even more bizarre but could certainly fulfill a niche in the long run – for example, at theater performances or as a slightly “weeby” version of a masquerade ball.
The mask still allows for visibility – part of the fabric above the screen is transparent, so you won’t be wandering around blindly.
The displayed standard face can also be swapped for other faces. This should not be a problem and is already possible with similar software. Until now, such features have mainly been used in digital settings, such as during video calls or live streams, which temporarily transform the streamer into an anime character. With the E2-Mask Z, this is also possible in everyday life – at least limited to the face.
When the mask becomes available in the future, a long-held dream of many anime fans will likely become a bit more real: the real world will soon be populated by 2D girls. Cheers to progress.
Until then, perhaps the best anime MMORPGs can help you through the waifu drought in the real world…
