Booth your ego

Although MYSQ booths aren't yet commercially available, their GRAVANITY-appeal and clever technology could make them a big hit with the growing legions of video-cameraphone owners in Japan and the rest of the world.

Forget 15 minutes of fame, My Style So Qute (MYSQ) proves that 30 seconds can be long enough. As one’s claim to fame becomes an increasingly high priority, entrepreneurs are giving consumers the floor or, in this case, the booth. Building on the success of the Purikura machine (an oversized photo booth that took Japan by storm in the mid 1990’s, and can be spotted in just about every arcade in the country – inside the booth, kids get in front of the camera, strut their stuff, and then dress up their snaps on-screen with nifty designs), Ututu’s MYSQ is an interactive video booth which can shoot up to 30 seconds of “cute style” performances for up to three people at a time, at a cost of JPY 500 (EUR 3.65 / USD 4.50 / GBP 2.50). The clever technology – built-in floor sensors and a MYSQ ring worn on one’s hand – tracks the subject’s movement and creates cool visual effects. When the 30 second shoot is over, the system creates a movie file and a QR (bar) code flashes on-screen. Scanning the code with a camera phone instantly downloads the movie, ready to be displayed on one’s mobile phone, or better, dozens of cell phones belonging to friends, colleagues and family.

Opportunities