An Augmented Reality Japanese Pop Star of Your Very Own, Courtesy of Toyota

Japan’s beloved virtual pop goddess Hatsune Miku, star of her own video game series and hundreds of thousands of user-create YouTube videos, is now the voice of the 2011 Toyota Corolla, and you can hold her in the palm of your hand.

Created by Crypton Future Media, Inc., Hatsune Miku is one of the world’s very first virtual stars, her vocaloid-powered voice giving her wide repertoire of songs a quirky, charming quality you just can’t get with today’s real people. Besides, what real person in their right mind would sing “Po Pi Po”, which might be the greatest song ever created?

Unfortunately the augmented reality Hatsune Miku included in Toyota’s free Toyota Shopping Tool app in the iTunes App Store and the Android Market does not sing “Po Pi Po”, but she’s still rather adorable. Users downloading either app can print out a special AR card and have Hatsune and a Corolla show up wherever they’d like. Yes, I suppose “on your junk” counts as wherever.

The idol and her car companion pop up, sing a song just for you, and then you can put them in various places and take pictures.

Toyota used metaio’s junaio Plugin to integrate the AR performance into their shopping application.

“The junaio Plugin provides a convenient and efficient solution in taking existing mobile apps and integrating rich, robust AR functionalities like this Hatsune Miku Corolla experience,” says Lisa Murphy, project lead and metaio Sr. Business Development Manager. “I am thrilled that we were able to work with Toyota to take the virtual Hatsune Miku and make her a reality. We look forward to working together with Toyota in the future to make augmented reality an integral part of the customer purchasing experience.”

As for why Toyota is pairing up the Corolla with the virtual singer, the company says they both represent the same ideals: Big dreams and small packages.

The Corolla Miku Experience [Toyota]

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