Kalakshar US

Hayao Miyazaki’s first film in ten years (and supposedly his last) premiered in Japan today — without any lead-up marketing from Studio Ghibli. Soon after, Gkids announced that it had acquired the animated movie’s North American rights. Called Kimitachi wa Do Ikiruka (translated as “How Do You Live”) in Japan, the international release will use the title The Boy and the Heron. Gkids says it will arrive in North America “later this year.”

Little is known about the new movie, but Gkids describes the hand-drawn animated feature as “an original story written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.” Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki produces it with a musical score from Joe Hisaishi. It was previously announced that Miyazaki’s next film would have an IMAX release (as well as Dolby Atmos, Dolby Cinema and DTS:X) in Japan. However, it isn’t clear if it will screen in IMAX in the US.

When the film arrives stateside, don’t expect to see any more promotion than it got in Japan. Gkids says it will follow Studio Ghibli’s “unprecedented decision” to premiere the film in Japan without any marketing images, trailers, synopses ads — or any information — ahead of its surprise premiere today. Suzuki attributes the decision to honoring another era while hoping to spark imagination. “A poster and a title — that’s all we got when we were children. I enjoyed trying to imagine what a movie was about, and I wanted to bring that feeling back,” Suzuki reportedly told Japanese broadcaster NHK via The Japan Times and Deadline.

Gkids has distributed the North American versions of previous Miyazaki films, including The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, When Marnie Was There and From Up on Poppy Hill (among others). The 15-year-old producer and distributor has 12 Best Animated Feature Oscar nominations in its short history. “Hayao Miyazaki is a living legend in filmmaking, as evidenced by his Academy Award win for Spirited Away and his two Oscar nominations for Howl’s Moving Castle and The Wind Rises,’” David Jesteadt, president of Gkids, wrote in a press release today. “It’s been ten years since the world has seen a new film from Miyazaki-san, and Gkids is so proud and honored to unveil his latest, highly anticipated masterpiece in North America.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/new-studio-ghibli-film-the-boy-and-the-heron-is-coming-to-north-america-later-this-year-192006799.html?src=rss 

Let’s end the week with a bit of good news for our future as a species on this floating ball of dirt. Brimstone, a major player in the industrial decarbonization field, just announced that its decarbonized cement has passed a crucial third-party strength test, bringing the dream of net-zero construction one step closer to reality.

The company’s proprietary portland cement met the American Society for Testing and Materials’ (ASTM) C150 standards for building products, indicating that it can do everything traditionally-made portland cement can do with regard to construction projects. This is a big deal, as portland cement is not some niche product, as it comprises 95 percent of all cement produced in the United States. Chances are, if you are in a building made from cement, you’re surrounded by ordinary portland cement (OPC).

Brimstone says the carbon-negative cement is identical in “all respects” to OPC, including performance, safety, and overall chemical composition. The only difference is that it wasn’t manufactured using the conventional, carbon-intensive methods. The company also notes that its “strength, workability, durability, and compatibility with steel and other materials” make it an ideal choice to “build structures safely and efficiently.”

There are plenty of other alternative building materials out there, but this is actual portland cement, so adopting Brimstone’s product won’t force “millions of construction workers to get retrained to use a new material,” according to CEO Cody Finke. He also touts that the product will be “equal or lower cost to other options” and will “slash carbon emissions.”

Being as this is the same industry-standard portland cement used for over 150 years, the company won’t have to jump the usual regulatory hurdles when developing a new building material, with the company boasting “the same buildings, bridges and roads being built today can be built tomorrow without carbon.”

How did it manage such a feat? Conventional cement production involves heating limestone to ultra-high temperatures, which releases large quantities of CO2 embedded in the rock. Brimstone went with carbon-free calcium silicate rock, so there’s no CO2 to release. As a matter of fact, the process generates trace magnesium compounds that absorb pre-existing CO2 from the air, making this concrete carbon-negative.

It’s no secret that traditional cement is a major contributor to the world’s climate problem, as cement production accounts for 7.5 percent of global CO2 emissions and 5.5 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. All told, the construction and real estate industries account for 40 percent of global carbon emissions, so this step toward net-zero construction could drastically reduce that number.

Of course, this is a brand-new manufacturing process and Brimstone’s cement has yet to be widely adopted by the industry. The company hopes to scale up production so they can sell its portland cement for the same price as conventionally-made materials. Brimstone’s constructing a manufacturing plant in Reno, Nevada and has already started negotiating with construction companies, real estate companies and various corporate partners. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/brimstones-decarbonized-cement-passes-crucial-third-party-strength-test-175616919.html?src=rss 

Did you ever feel that your Assassin’s Creed experience wasn’t personal enough? Maybe not, but Ubisoft is betting that you’d like to give it a try regardless. The company has teamed up with OWO to release an Assassin’s Creed Mirage edition haptic feedback shirt. Put it on and you’ll feel parkour, impacts and “exclusive sensations never felt before” — yes, really. You might want to close the door while you’re playing, from the sound of it.

OWO’s shirt includes haptic points at on your chest, stomach, lower back and arms. The trick is an algorithm that adjusts nine wave parameters to simulate interactions ranging from the wind to a dagger. You can use a mobile app to calibrate sensations in specific games or replace them with your own. Compatible games frequently rely on mods (such as Fortnite and Beat Saber), but there are already a handful of native games like Crisis Brigade 2 Reloaded and Drone War. This is the first major collaboration.

Details of pricing and a release date are yet to come, but the haptic apparel will work with PS4, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. The game will be released October 12th, and the OWO shirt will include a game code. OWO’s Founder Edition shirt sold for €499 ($560), but it was also part of a 2,000-unit batch and won’t necessarily reflect the final price.

Wearable haptics for games aren’t new, but they tend to be experimental efforts. See Sony’s Rez Infinite synesthesia suit from 2017 as an example. The Assassin’s Creed collaboration won’t necessarily take that tech into the mainstream, but it’s coming right as the next generation of mixed reality headsets is coming to market. Don’t be surprised if haptics gain some traction as immersion becomes more important in AR and VR games.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/assassins-creed-haptic-shirt-will-make-you-feel-exclusive-sensations-never-felt-before-160041375.html?src=rss