layar
Latest
Dutchman celebrates Pong's 40th birthday with a global, augmented reality edition
Don't think the festivities surrounding Pong's 40th are limited to official channels. Sander Veenhof of the Netherlands is marking the occasion in his own way with an augmented reality version built as a Layar plugin. Instead of batting the ball across a TV screen, players play across whole continents: anyone who's been online recently is fair game as a fresh target, and the camera's field of view gives a sense of where opponents reside in real life. Games won't be nearly as fast-paced as you might remember from that classic system from the arcade or living room. However, they'll still be reminders that people worldwide have a soft spot for the Nolan Bushnell title that arguably started the video game industry -- and global Pong sure beats a game of global thermonuclear war.
Layar chief exits CEO spot in favor of print guru, edges closer to augmented reality magazine dreams
Layar previously signaled that it wants to get into augmented reality print media, and its founder Raimo van der Klein is putting his money (or at least, his title) where his mouth is. He's leaving the CEO position in favor of Quintin Schevernels, who comes from the print publishing world as VNU Media's COO. Van der Klein will hang around as Creative Director to keep the company pushing forward in new directions, but he sees most of the money-making coming from print-friendly tools like Layar Creator -- it only makes sense to have someone who's well-steeped in the medium (and who can turn a profit) running the show. Schevernels hasn't signaled any grand strategy changes in his first few hours on the job, although he might not be in any rush following the launches of apps like Stiktu. We'd just be ready for a whole lot of augmented reality magazines and cereal boxes in the near future.
Layar lays the AR on thick with worldwide Stiktu app rollout
Layar's no stranger to the AR game. The company's been acting as an enabler of sorts, putting its Player and Creator dev tools into the hands of the masses across iOS and Android for some time. Now, the outfit's making Stiktu -- a social app that attaches augmented reality tags on everyday objects -- available outside of its previously defined European borders for worldwide consumption. Users who download the platform will be able to set virtual drawings, images or text to objects and leave those invisible markers behind for other curious parties to scan and discover. The practical applications aren't exactly obvious, but as a crowd-sourced scavenger hunt, it'll do just fine. Hit up the source below to download the goods on your platform of choice.
BlackBerry 7 gets an SDK, NFC, AR, other acronyms
BlackBerry 7 OS is coming soon but, to take advantage of all those fancy features like NFC and the digital compass (ok, some of them aren't that fancy), devs are going to need some new APIs -- enter the BlackBerry 7 Java SDK. Creators of BlackBerry apps can go download the beta of the new software development kit at the source link and start whipping up augmented reality browsers and 3D games, thanks to support for OpenGL ES 2.0. There's nothing mind-blowing about RIM's latest update, but we're glad to see the corporate stalwart start to catch up to other smartphone OSes, and it's only a matter of time before Layar and Quake hit the BlackBerry Bold 9900.
Windows Phone adds multitasking, deeper OS integration, and sensor access to dev platform
We knew it was coming, and today at MIX 11, Microsoft showed off its developer platform for the next version of Windows Phone, which developers will be able to get their hands on for free in May. The new application platform adds: Multitasking for background processing, audio and file transfer, and fast app switching, including background audio playback for HTML5 webpages Deeper integration of apps into the OS, allowing programs to leverage Live Tiles, including push notifications via Live Agents running in the background Raw access to the camera and sensors (gyro and compass) via the Motion Sensor library, letting apps to control device hardware Microsoft hopes this will allow developers to make even more creative and engaging apps. To get our juices flowing, it showed off demos of new app concepts from Skype, Spotify, Layar, Qantas, Amazon Shopping, and Kik Messenger. Check out our gallery below and hit the break for the details. %Gallery-121151%
Layar Player lets AR loose on iPhone apps
Layar's been the go-to platform for augmented reality on Android since 2009, bringing you the useful, the creepy, and the just plain weird -- and now it's unleashing the beast on iOS, again (it's already available as a dedicated app). The Netherlands-based company just launched Layar Player, a free tool that allows anyone -- with a little developer know-how -- to create their very own AR iPhone app. Accompanying the announcement are three brand new Layar Player-enabled apps: the Bing-sponsored Snowboard Hero, which incorporates a special AR mode for collecting points; a contractor locator called Layer Trade; and VerbeterdeBuurt, an app that acts as an AR community bulletin board. The company's press release touts the "democratization of augmented reality," and while we can get behind their AR-for-alll message, we've already seen Layar used in ways that give us the willies. Don't get us wrong, we're still excited about the endless AR possibilities, but we're hoping, at least for now, that iPhone app developers can keep the AR monsters at bay.
Layar 3.0 reunites the Beatles in 3D augmented reality
Layar's approach to bringing augmented reality to the masses is unique. Instead of writing isolated AR apps, Layar provides a very real augmented reality platform onto which content owners can layer (or layar) their data resulting in a richer experience when viewing the world through your Android or iPhone 3GS camera lens. There are already 294 layers and counting ranging from Google's ubiquitous local search results to homegrown content listing apartments for rent or tourist hot spots. Today sees the launch of Layar 3.0 with new 3D capabilities, authentication, and plenty more to entice anyone "with basic web development skills" to join the fun. To show the platform's new capabilities Layar presents a handful of use cases that include the ability to add authenticated social media layars (like Twitter and Foursquare), see incomplete construction sites in their final form, interactive public-space art projects, and a guided Beatles discovery tour that takes you to destinations made famous by the fab foursome -- you can even pose with the band for pictures as they cross Abbey Road. Sure, the jury's still out on the usefulness of 3D content presented in this manner and the ability to geolocate Twitter users and Hollywood stars in this manner continues to creep us out. But man is this stuff interesting.
Augmented Reality to the max with Layars for iPhone 3GS
Every so often an app comes along that you just get excited about. Well, I'm excited about the Layar Reality Browser [iTunes link], and even better: it's free! This app has been available on the Android platform, and iPhone users have been eagerly awaiting it. Wait no more. The Layar app will only run on an iPhone 3GS because it really needs that built-in compass. So what does it do? Quite a lot. The app displays real time information based on your location and the direction you are facing, overlaying the camera with locations and information that you are looking for. Yes, like other apps with augmented reality, it can find food and shopping, but that's only the beginning. You can find apartments for rent, Flickr photos taken near your location, mountain peaks, tourist information, and the list goes on and on. The Layar screen shows your live camera view, a radar-like display showing you a 360 degree view of 'hits' near you, the accuracy of your GPS fix, and the number of items it has located. The Layars app is based on an open architecture, so it can interact with an unlimited amount of information set up to talk to the platform. It is globally aware, not just U.S. centric, and lots of 3rd party developers are jumping in. In operation it generally worked very well. I didn't see any crashes, but at times some of the many servers supplying information did not seem to be up and running. When I wanted to see some information on the mountains in my area, it worked great one time, and the next time it said there was nothing around, even though I was standing in the foothills of some 5,000-foot peaks. Generally though, the app was well behaved, and as you explore the riches it contains your mind races with all the possibilities an app like this has. You don't have to use only the camera view. You can get a list of nearby points of interest or see everything on a 2D Google map. Wikipedia is even available. When I brought it up, it gave me some information on my town, a nearby school, and some info about nearby parks. I hope this app really grows, because the potential here is limitless. Try it for yourself. There's no cost, and no risk. You'll be surprised at all the stuff around you. I'm going on a trip soon, and can't wait to explore with Layars. Let us know how it works for you.
Layar goes 3D, reality now more augmented than ever
The Layar Reality Browser for Android has already managed to stir up quite a bit of interest in its current state, but it looks like the mad geniuses behind it aren't about to rest on their slightly augmented laurels just yet, and they've now announced that they're adding full 3D capabilities to the app. That, of course, doesn't mean you'll have to start wearing goofy glasses every time you walk outside, but you will soon be able to tag real-life objects with 3D text, or place 3D objects in a real-world space (like the Pac-Man fever dream above, for instance). Of course, the potential uses for the upgrade are limited only by the developers working with it, and they'll have a bit of time to toy around with things before the 3D-enabled version of Layer launches to the public in November. Head on past the break for a quick video, and hit up the link below for a closer look at what's in store.
Video: The unsettling truth about our augmented reality future, starring Brad Pitt
With more and more phones featuring beefy processors, GPS, HSPA data, and compasses, augmented reality apps are ready to take off in a big way. Layar, in particular, is shaping up to be the platform of choice from which to overlay information onto the streets that surround you. This is great for serendipitous discovery of cafes, ATMs, real estate, and even jobs, but at what expense? Recently, we casually joked about the ability to "hunt down tweeps with cold, calculated precision." Now a Dutch crew from Beste Product took up the task by giving Layar and its "Famous People Finder" feature a real-world test on the streets of Amsterdam with the help of Samsung's i7500 Galaxy. The results are unsettling as demonstrated by the celebrities, including Brad Pitt's, reaction to being discovered. Is our near-term future to be filled with people laughing maniacally while pointing their cellphones at each other? The video is in Dutch, but the reaction that unfolds at 2 minutes and 40 seconds is universally human. See it after the break. [Via @Dutchcowboy]
Layar augmented reality app now available globally, lets you hunt down tweeps with cold, calculated precision
Following a Netherlands-exclusive release back in June, SPRXmobile has now taken its so-called Layar "Reality Browser" for Android to the global stage and advanced it to version 2.0 in the process. Perhaps the first commercial augmented reality app to launch on a large scale, Layar's got a good amount of momentum behind it -- the company claims that 100 developers are already hard at work developing reality layers that users can toggle, and an additional 500 developers are being added into the mix with the latest release. Version 2.0 adds favorite layers (because we're sure you'll be stalking friends and foes all too often using the Tweetmondo layer), map and list views, and enhanced search capabilities, but the real secret to Layar's power might ultimately lie in the third-party ecosystem if they can get enough content providers on board. We grabbed Layar off the Market and took it for a quick spin; we're having trouble getting it to aim correctly, though Google Sky Map is having the same issues, so we're fairly certain that we're dealing with a phone or location problem rather than a Layar one. The key thing with an app like this is going to be speed and fluidity, and even on our Magic's relatively lightweight 528MHz core, it's plenty usable. The Google-powered Layar local search -- arguably the most important reality layer bundled with the software -- is a little annoying to use, primarily because the search box has no history or suggestion capability which means you've got to type out a full search every time you want to use it. Ultimately, though, the app's very young (as is this whole category of technology, for that matter) and we're stoked to see where this goes over the coming months.
Video: Hands-on with SPRXmobile's Layar augmented reality browser for Android
We had a chance to go hands-on with Layar, the new augmented reality browser from SPRXmobile. Launched yesterday on Android Market in The Netherlands, we were curious to see how the software, that looked damn-impressive in the promo video, would function in actual use, in this case, from the living room of SPRXmobile's Maarten Lens-FitzGerald just outside of Amsterdam. Our take? it's the real-deal, especially for a v1 release. The software looks rock-solid and the initial data layers -- ATMs, social joints like cafes and clubs, and job listings -- appear fully populated and thus, useful. The ATM and cafe/club layers (or layars) are definitely helpful for serendipitous discovery though we're still scratching our heads over the job search layar. See, what you're discovering are jobs you can apply for from that particular employment office, not jobs necessarily available in that specific neighborhood or office building. Next month, Layar will have access to what could be its killer app (or killer data layar) called Funda, the site in The Netherlands for finding places to rent or buy. Of course, you can imagine travel guide companies like Let's Go and Frommers jumping into this with huge effect as well. And really, it's content that's going to make this type of augmented reality software a success. Maarten tells us that more partner announcements are expected this week with expansion into the US, Germany, and UK anticipated later this year on Android devices and on the iPhone 3G S (compass required). Check the interview and demo after the break.Update: New layers announced including Google local search (that's a ton of content), Tweets Nearby (exactly what it sounds like), and ANWB (Dutch AAA) coming in July.
Video: SPRXmobile's Layar is world's first Augmented Reality browser for cellphones
This one's been a long time coming but it looks like Dutch company SPRXmobile has launched the world's first Augmented Reality browser. Layar, as it's called, runs on Android and aggregates the data from the cellphone's compass and GPS coordinates to understand where you're standing and what you're looking at. A "radar view" then applies a visual information layer on top of the camera display as you pan around your environment. Content partnerships including a local bank, social networking site, and a realty company allows Layar to identify houses for sale, nearby ATMs, and local clubs and bars all laid out visually on your cellphone's display. Layar will be available this month in The Netherlands via the Android Market for phones such as the G1 and HTC Magic. It will launch in the US, Germany, and the UK sometime later this year with the iPhone 3G S listed as a primary target platform. Looks great with plenty of data populated in the video sample (posted after the break) but we have to wonder how well it works in day-to-day reality.Update: As pointed out by a number of readers, calling this a world's first is a bit of stretch considering apps like Wikitude (a travel guide) and NRU. When pressed, SPRXmobile said they are a world's first AR browser platform.
Layar app for Android presages the augmented world of iPhone 3G S
If you caught the Copper Robot show on Sunday or any of our recent talkcasts, you may have heard me yammering at length about the possibilities for using the iPhone 3G S in enhanced or augmented reality applications. After the dynamic demo of compass-enhanced Google Street View on the Android Dream, the news of a magnetometer included with the 3G S -- allowing the phone to determine its direction with respect to the real world, along with position (GPS/SkyHook) and orientation/acceleration (accelerometer) -- starts to make geeks drool with eagerness for practical heads-up displays or browsable views of the world.Here it comes, folks. As noted over at 9to5Mac, the Layar app from Dutch developer SPRXmobile will get Android phones into the realm of science fiction X-ray specs when it comes out at the end of this month. Point your phone across the street to see what houses are for sale, which bars are offering happy hour specials, or where the nearest ATM might be. A live, animated overlay points out the key locations and moves with your camera view. It's tough enough to describe, so I've got the video in the second half of this post -- but the effect is impressive. The previously-announced Wikitude app gives a travel guide the same augmented treatment for Android.The guys at IntoMobile have given Layar a good once-over and come away quite awed. I can't wait to see this app, or one like it, make it over to the App Store. Add some social networking features from Brightkite or foursquare and iPhone users will jump all over this -- but they'll have to be careful not to walk into lampposts.[via MacRumors]