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Honda Combines Personal Mobility and VR in World’s First Extended Reality Mobility Experience to Debut at SXSW 2024

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Honda will introduce all-new entertainment experience fusing virtual reality with UNI-ONE, a hands-free, personal mobility device users steer by shifting their center of gravity Honda envisions UNI-ONE having applications at theme parks, entertainment facilities and retail spaces across the U.S.

TORRANCE, Calif., Feb. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Fasten your seatbelt, Honda will hold the global debut of a first-of-its-kind extended reality1 (XR) experience at SXSW 2024, merging the joy of mobility with virtual reality (VR) adventures. The all-new Honda XR Mobility Experience integrates digital environments with the real-world experience of riding the Honda UNI-ONE, a hands-free, personal mobility device. 

Honda is seeking to collaborate with AR and VR developers to create custom digital experiences.

SXSW attendees will be able to immerse themselves in the all-new Honda XR Mobility Experience at the company’s booth #729 located in the SXSW Creative Industries Expo at the Austin Convention Center, March 10-13, 2024. Watch a demonstration of the Honda XR Mobility Experience at https://honda.us/ExtendedReality.

“With the Honda XR Mobility Experience, we are expanding the joy and freedom of personal mobility into entertainment applications,” said Hirokazu Hara, vice president of New Business Development, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “By combining the unique, physical experience of riding the Honda UNI-ONE with highly immersive digital entertainment, Honda is creating a brand new multimodal experience that takes extended reality technologies to the next level.”

Making Mobility More Fun with UNI-ONE

 SXSW 2024 marks the U.S. debut of the Honda UNI-ONE, a hands-free, personal mobility device that features advanced self-balancing technology and sensors that enable the user to move in any direction based on postural movements.

UNI-ONE features a seat that can be raised and lowered, making mobility more fun when interacting with people at the same eye level. In “high position,” the user is closer to the eye level of someone standing and can move in all directions – forward, backward, sideways or diagonally – as well as turn around with both hands free, simply by leaning in one direction to shift their weight. In “low position,” the user is able to better communicate with those who are seated or small children and can move in any direction by steering with a joystick.

The electric UNI-ONE is equipped with Honda’s original wheel mechanism, Honda Omni Traction Drive System (HOT Drive System), an evolution and advancement of the Honda UNI-CUB β device – first introduced in 2013. UNI-ONE has two units of the HOT Drive System – one on each side – enabling the user to move smoothly in any direction. Based on a user’s posture, UNI-ONE can estimate the user’s intentions, such as a desire to stay in place or move in a specific direction and speed. The stabilization function controls UNI-ONE’s wheels so it does not lean too far and applies feedback to achieve natural behavior that is neither too fast nor too slow.

Beginning in 2023, Honda has been demonstration testing UNI-ONE for multiple use cases in Japan, including at the Mobility Resort Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi; Suzuka Circuit Park in Suzuka, Mie; and the Gotemba Premium Outlets in Gotemba, Shizuoka. For the demonstration testing at Suzuka Circuit Park, Honda integrated UNI-ONE with AR technology to create a game. Users play by holding a tablet and navigate UNI-ONE according to scenes displayed on the tablet. These demonstration trials are helping to validate UNI-ONE as a mobility device for entertainment applications.

UNI-ONE is designed to offer stress-free mobility and appeal to a wide range of users. It is battery-operated and has a maximum speed of 3.7 miles per hour. The maximum user weight capacity is 242 pounds.

New Entertainment Applications with UNI-ONE

 SXSW attendees can ride UNI-ONE and immerse themselves in their own “choose your VR adventure” at the Honda XR Mobility Experience. While wearing a VR headset and shifting their body weight to steer UNI-ONE, users can experience the peaceful feeling of floating in the sky or the exhilarating feeling of gliding along a half-pipe path.

Working toward commercialization in the U.S., Honda envisions people enjoying the XR mobility experience in indoor and outdoor obstacle-free spaces, including theme parks, entertainment facilities and retail spaces such as shopping malls. Honda also believes that UNI-ONE can be used as a mobility device in XR games, such as a racing game where players use their hands while moving freely or a game in which players follow certain routes.

In addition to entertainment and retail business partners, Honda is seeking to collaborate with AR and VR developers to create custom digital experiences choreographed with the movements of riding UNI-ONE. Interested companies can visit Honda’s booth #729 at the SXSW Creative Industries Expo or contact unione@na.honda.com.

UNI-ONE Specifications

Dimensions

(length x width x height)

30.3 × 26.8 × 30.3 inches (lowered)

25.6 × 22.8 × 36.2 inches (raised)

Seat Height

21.7 inches (lowered)

27.6 inches (raised)

Weight

Approx. 154 pounds

Riding Capacity

1 person

Maximum User Weight

242 pounds

Maximum Speed

3.7 miles per hour

Range

5 miles (at 2.5 miles per hour)

Battery

Lithium-ion battery (replaceable)

Drive Wheels

Honda Omni Traction Drive System (HOT Drive) – 2 wheels

*When UNI-ONE is in the low position, HOT Drive wheels and four auxiliary wheels are on the ground. 

Honda in America
Honda started operations in the United States with American Honda Motor Co., Inc. in 1959. Today, Honda employs over 30,000 associates in America engaged in the development, manufacturing, sales and service support of Honda and Acura automobiles, Honda power equipment, Honda powersports products and the HondaJet advanced light jet.

Based on its longstanding commitment to build products close to the customer, Honda operates 12 major U.S. manufacturing facilities, working with 600 U.S. suppliers to produce a diverse range of Honda products. Honda has built automobiles in America for over 40 years, and in 2022, more than two-thirds of all U.S.-sold Honda and Acura automobiles were produced in America, using domestic and globally sourced parts.

Honda also conducts research and development activities at 23 facilities in America where we fully design, develop and engineer many of the products the company manufactures in America.

Learn more with Honda’s Digital FactBook

1 XR stands for “extended reality,” an umbrella term for technologies such as VR (virtual reality), AR (augmented reality) and MR (mixed reality) that fuse the real world with the virtual world to enable the perception of things that do not exist in reality.

 

 

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SOURCE Honda

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Primero Games Acquires Win Systems Gaming Division, Expanding International Reach

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Acquisition adds slot and electronic-roulette products, manufacturing capabilities and an installed base of more than 3,000 gaming positions across Latin America and the Caribbean.

NORCROSS, Ga., Sept. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Primero Games LLC (“Primero”), a provider of gaming content, technology and products, today announced the acquisition of the Gaming Division of Win Systems (“WSG”), including its Gold Club electronic-roulette business.

The acquisition expands Primero’s international presence and product portfolio, adding established slot and electronic-roulette products, manufacturing capabilities and gaming operations across Latin America and the Caribbean. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquired operations have an installed base of more than 3,000 gaming positions in Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Puerto Rico, and Panama. Primero will support existing customers and products while introducing additional Primero game content, platform technology and development resources.

“This is an important step forward in executing Primero’s growth strategy to build a diversified, global gaming company,” said Mike Macke, Chairman of Primero Games. “Primero has built its reputation by creating compelling game content and developing innovative technology that helps operators deliver consistent revenue via engaging player experiences.”

“We are excited to welcome Eric Benchimol, Dario Zutel, and the talented WSG team to Primero,” Macke continued. “By combining Primero’s content and development expertise with WSG’s products, operations and customer relationships, we can deliver more products, more content and greater value to customers across a wider range of gaming markets.”

“This combination makes both businesses stronger,” said Eric Benchimol, CEO of Win Systems. “Pairing our installed base, manufacturing operations and market knowledge with Primero’s game library and development engine means we can bring more, and better, products to our customers faster than either company could alone. The team is energized, and we’re looking forward to getting to work as part of Primero.”

“This transaction marks an exciting new chapter for our Gaming Division,” said Dario Zutel, Executive Chairman of Win Systems. “We are confident that Primero Games is the right partner to build on what we have achieved and drive the business into its next stage of international growth.”

Building International Scale

Primero has an established presence in U.S. gaming markets, with a portfolio that includes game content, online gaming solutions, redemption kiosks, and a mature omnichannel gaming platform.  The WSG acquisition adds established products, manufacturing capabilities and long-standing customer relationships in international markets.

The WSG teams and infrastructure will continue to support customers in Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Panama and many other countries around the world. Primero and WSG are committed to providing continuity for every customer as Primero invests in the business and introduces additional products, content and technology.

About Primero Games

Primero Games is a leading provider of innovative games, platforms and products designed to deliver engaging player experiences and value to gaming operators across land-based and digital environments. Founded by gaming-industry veteran Mike Macke, Primero has made significant investment in its Hurricane gaming platform to support international expansion. The Hurricane platform is designed to support offline, online, single, and multi-game applications across emerging and regulated gaming markets. Primero’s Spark server-based gaming solution extends the Hurricane platform by offering value-added features such as business intelligence, linked and wide-area progressive jackpots, game content subscription features, and player marketing/retention.

Headquartered in the United States, the company designs, manufactures and markets a portfolio of more than 100 original titles for land-based and multi-game platforms, as well as online games for markets worldwide. With studios in the U.S., the U.K., and Canada, Primero combines international creative talent with deep technical expertise to produce high-performing, scalable gaming solutions. For more information, visit www.primerogames.com.

About Win Systems

Win Systems is a global technology company with extensive experience providing innovative solutions to the gaming industry. Through its international operations and long-standing customer relationships, the company specializes in casino management systems and has a strong track record of delivering technology and solutions to operators across multiple markets worldwide. Following the transaction, Win Systems will continue to focus on its remaining businesses and strategic opportunities, building on its technology expertise, international experience, and commitment to delivering value to its customers and partners.

Contacts:

Primero Games
Gina Lanphear, Director of Marketing
422019@email4pr.com 

WinSystems Gaming
Virginia Pin, Marketing Manager
422019@email4pr.com 

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SOURCE Primero Games

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AEON Launches Agentic Checkout, Powered by AI Card for Autonomous Commerce

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HONG KONG, Sept. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — AEON, the settlement layer built for the AI economy, has launched Agentic Checkout, enabling AI agents to autonomously shop, check out, and pay across e-commerce platforms such as Shopify and Amazon. Powered by the AEON AI Card, Agentic Checkout gives agents controlled spending capabilities to turn user intent into completed purchases.

Natively integrated with Model Context Protocol (MCP) and the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), Agentic Checkout allows users to interact with an AI agent through a conversational interface, describe what they are looking for, and let the agent search for suitable products and build a shopping cart based on their requirements.

Once a product is selected, the user can authorize the purchase with an AEON AI Card settled over the Visa/Mastercard networks, allowing the agent to complete the transaction without exposing the user’s primary payment credentials or treasury wallet. The agent can move from product discovery to cart creation and payment, turning a natural-language request into a completed purchase.

AI Card: Giving AI Agents Controlled Spending Power

At the core of this experience is the AEON AI Card, designed to give AI agents financial autonomy while keeping spending under defined controls. 

The infrastructure supports single-use agent cards and predefined budget limits, allowing spending authority to be scoped to individual tasks or transactions. Backed by crypto-based authorization and connected to existing Visa payment infrastructure, the AI Card creates a bridge between on-chain assets and everyday commerce.

This allows agents to spend on behalf of users without requiring direct access to their primary wallets or traditional credit cards, bringing agentic commerce closer to a model where AI can not only assist users with decisions, but also securely execute those decisions in the real economy. 

Agentic Checkout to Bigger Commerce Ecosystem

Agentic Checkout is designed to give AI agents access to an open commerce ecosystem, rather than a limited list of curated merchants. Through Shopify, agents can search across 3M+ active storefronts in 175+ countries and more than a billion products, spanning categories including apparel, home, beauty, electronics, and books.

Shopify is one of the first environments where AEON’s Agentic Checkout capability is being demonstrated, but the underlying infrastructure is designed to extend across e-commerce ecosystems and support both physical and digital goods. Amazon and Travala are next, bringing mass-market retail and travel inventory into the same agent interface.

The infrastructure is also designed with the safeguards required for production use. Full card numbers and security codes never enter conversation logs or model context, while uncertain payment states are verified before any retry to prevent silent double charges.

As more commerce platforms become accessible to AI agents, the ability to securely authorize and settle these transactions will become increasingly important. AEON Agentic Checkout and AI Card provides the financial execution layer that allows agents to act within defined spending boundaries. And AEON is building the settlement infrastructure to enable these agents to transact, pay, and settle securely across the digital and physical economies.

Building the Settlement Layer for the AI Economy

The Agentic Checkout and AI Card represent two connected components of AEON’s agentic payment infrastructure: Agentic Checkout gives agents the ability to execute commerce, while AI Card gives them controlled financial authority to pay for it. Together, they connect agent intent, payment authorization, checkout execution, and settlement into a unified flow.

AI agents are increasingly capable of searching, reasoning, coordinating tasks, and making decisions on behalf of users. The next step is enabling those decisions to result in secure, verifiable economic transactions. AEON is building toward this infrastructure by combining agent identity, payment authorization, checkout execution, and settlement into a unified framework for the AI economy, enabling AI agents to transact across digital and physical economies, autonomously, securely, and within clearly defined financial boundaries.

About AEON

AEON is the native settlement layer built for the AI economy. By equipping agents with a comprehensive suite of programmable payment primitives, spanning across Agent Account, AI Card, AI Gateway, and more, AEON empowers autonomous AI to seamlessly navigate global value networks. Designed to eliminate the fee overhead, programmability gaps, and settlement lag of legacy infrastructure, AEON provides the universal financial rails needed for agents to enter the global economy across any currency, chain, or protocol.

Natively integrating with leading standards like x402, ERC-8004, MCP, and Google A2A, AEON enables verifiable AI payments at scale and connects agentic capabilities directly to a network of 50M+ global merchants. Having processed over $514M in cumulative volume for 2.3M+ users, AEON is backed by top investors including YZi Labs, IDG Capital, HashKey Capital, and the Stanford Blockchain Builders Fund. The $AEON token is live on major global exchanges including OKX, Bitget, Binance Alpha and Bithumb.

Website | X | Telegram | Medium | AEON Pay

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SOURCE AEON

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WOODLAND DIRECT OPENS NEW DISTRIBUTION CENTER IN RENO, NV

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AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Sept. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Woodland Direct, the nation’s premier e-commerce site for fire products, is opening a new 47,000-square-foot distribution center in Reno, NV. This is the company’s second distribution center, joining its world headquarters and distribution center in Auburn Hills, MI.

The new facility, officially opening in September, will improve the customer experience by shortening shipping times for West Coast customers.

“Woodland Direct has grown and evolved substantially over the past several years,” said President and Founder Andrew Ingram. “We already ship all around the country. By opening the Reno distribution center, we’re able to serve our West Coast customers more quickly and efficiently.”

The leadership team began exploring the idea of opening a second distribution center in the final quarter of 2025. Woodland worked with logistics consultants to determine whether an expansion west of the Rocky Mountains made sense, and Reno’s strategic location made it a natural choice for the expansion.

“We are excited to be a part of the Reno community, and we look forward to making our customers’ experience even more enjoyable,” said Gunnar Bennethum, senior manager of supply chain operations and business planning.

In addition to using local Reno companies Engineered Solutions, Teledata Technologies, and WTR Electrical to build and prep the warehouse, Bennethum and Warehouse Assistant Wesley Davey will be making the move from Auburn Hills to Reno to oversee operations.

The Reno distribution center will be using industry-standard software NetSuite to increase efficiency.

“This will be a new milestone for Woodland,” Bennethum added, “that will improve our inventory accuracy and allow our sales team to have better visibility of product availability.”

For more information on Woodland Direct, visit our website www.woodlanddirect.com/ or contact Drew Maresco at drew.maresco@woodlanddirect.com or (877) 771-2925.

ABOUT WOODLAND DIRECT

Woodland Direct is a premier online retailer specializing in fireplaces, patio heaters, fire pits, and outdoor living products. Founded in 2004, Woodland Direct offers a curated selection of top fire brands to homeowners, contractors, and businesses. Woodland Direct has the most NFI-certified sales professionals and Master Hearth Professionals under one roof. For more information, visit woodlanddirect.com.

Media Contact:

Drew Maresco

Drew.maresco@woodlanddirect.com

(877) 771-2925

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SOURCE Woodland Direct

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