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A DC-themed Snapchat Lens could get you into Comic-Con
You're not completely hosed if you missed your chance to attend San Diego Comic-Con... if you're willing to dabble in some augmented reality art. Snap and DC Comics have launched a DC Super Heroes Challenge that asks you to create a DC-themed Lens championing Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman for the chance to win an expenses-paid trip to San Diego Comic-Con in July. You don't have to start completely from scratch, thankfully, as there's a load of DC assets to bring into Lens Studio.
Lego is basically building AR ‘Sims’ for its playsets
Lego is infusing its bricks with digital magic in a series of new augmented reality experiences using Apple's updated ARKit 2. The Lego AR experiences, due out later this year, combine real-world Lego buildings with digital landscapes. Build a physical Lego structure, such as the Assembly Square building that appeared on-stage at Apple's WWDC 2018 conference, and hold up a tablet or phone running the AR app to see the entire thing come to life. Streets appear at its base, alongside trees, grass, digital buildings, little Lego people and cars.
Apple’s augmented reality is shared and persistent
Apple has been flirting with augmented reality for a bit. Now, the company is ready to take it to the next level. ARKit 2.0 is just that. Apple even tapped Pixar for a special file format, USDZ. Cupertino's plans for AR go beyond just file formats, though. Using the new Measure app, you can take full measurements of an object using nothing but your iPhone's camera. Lowe's and Mercedes are probably frothing at the mouth for this update. Senior Vice President Craig Federighi used it to measure his college suitcase and a photo of him as a baby.
NBA's AR app gives you on-court access
The next high-tech push from the NBA uses augmented reality to put you behind the scenes of the post-season. Simply open the NBA AR app (on either Android or iOS), place the AR target and walk through a "door" to experience the 360 Portals feature's handful of vignettes including player intros and huddles, and post-game celebrations. The NBA also teased "special on-demand content" from the Finals for the app. It's free so you're not out anything for giving it a look, but will it be more than a gimmick you use once or twice? That's up to the NBA. Check out the video below for a taste of what's on offer.
Google's AR drawing app lets Android and iOS users collab on doodles
You no longer need an Android phone to try Google's take on augmented reality drawing. The tech giant has released an iOS version of Just a Line that brings the same three-dimensional doodling to the iPhone crowd. It's largely the same app you saw in March, but there's a clever cross-platform twist: you can "partner" Android and iOS phones for two-person collaborative sketches. Both AR artists can see each other's work while adding their own.
New Google Lens features are now live on Android phones
It wasn't too long ago that Google announced a slew of new features coming to its various products, from the terrifyingly realistic Duplex phone-calling Assistant to the tantalizingly useful camera-based navigation for Maps. These new tools are starting to trickle out, and some of the first to arrive are updates to Lens, Google's app that provides "real-time answers to questions about the world around you." Now, things like Style Match and Smart Text Selection are available to all "devices featuring Lens in Google Assistant," according to the company. That means basically all Android phones now have the updates, while iOS users will have to wait awhile till Google Photos receives the new software.
Qualcomm built a chip to power AR and VR headsets
Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips have powered devices from smartphones and laptops to VR headsets, but the company is doing away with repurposing mobile processors for mixed reality devices. The company just released the Snapdragon XR1 -- its first "dedicated Extended Reality (XR) platform," and it's a chipset designed specifically for AR and VR headsets. XR1 is meant to offer better experiences on mainstream devices by enabling high-quality visual and audio playback, as well as 3-DoF and 6-DoF interactive controls. Qualcomm also announced that companies like Meta, Vive, Vuzix and Pico are already working on devices using the XR1 chip, and those products could potentially be ready as early as this year, depending on each partner.
Google's mobile augmented reality platform arrives in China
Google's ARCore is helpful for making augmented reality widely available to Android users, but there's a glaring problem: it requires the Play Store to get updates. That's no good in countries like China, where Google's services are either unavailable or blocked. Thankfully, Google has a workaround. It's now making ARCore available in China through the Xiaomi App Store. You'll need Xiaomi's Mi Mix 2S to take advantage of the AR features, but this beats having to sit on the sidelines while the rest of the world uses immersive apps.
Target's AR 'studio' helps you try on makeup at home
You don't need to spring for a Galaxy S9 just to try makeup from the comfort of your living room. Target has unveiled a Beauty Studio feature that uses augmented reality to try a selection of cosmetics (including lipstick, blush and eyelashes) on Target's desktop and mobile websites as well as kiosks in 10 retail stores. Tech from YouCam maps the products to your face either in real-time or through a photo, saving you the trouble of visiting the shop and creating a mess.
Chrome will let you have AR experiences, no app needed
Google believes that 2018 is the year the web turns a corner and starts becoming more immersive, and the company's new WebXR API is at the heart of its efforts. Long story short, WebXR provides a platform to more easily optimize and integrate VR and AR experiences right into web browsers, and developers can start crafting VR experiences for Chrome with the API today. In-browser VR has been a thing for a while, though — web-based AR, however, feels more immediately helpful. It'll be a while before you can virtually plop 3D objects into an augmented reality space inside Chrome, but we just got to take it for a spin and honestly, the AR-friendly web can't arrive soon enough.
Niantic is building AR maps with help from 'Pokémon Go' players
Niantic may have split from Google years ago, but there's a little bit of Google culture left -- namely, the Maps part. The developer told Reuters that it's planning to create 3D augmented reality maps with the help of Pokémon Go players' cameras. Gamers would help map public spaces (such as parks and plazas) so that the AR experience could extend to the entire environment, not just characters. And crucially, these wouldn't be limited to Niantic's own games -- the company hopes to offer these AR maps to third-party developers.
Google Lens hands-on: Copy-and-paste the real world to your phone
Google may have teased us with exciting new AR features for the Maps app, but it's not forgetting to make its Lens camera more useful, either. Since its launch last year, Lens has rolled out to iOS and gained a few skills, like identifying cat and dog breeds. At its I/O developer conference today, Google announced three new features for Lens -- Smart Text Selection, Style Match and Real-time results. After checking it out here at the show, I'm most intrigued by the text-recognition tools, which actually seem useful.
Microsoft's AI future is rooted in its gaming past
The Kinect will never die. Microsoft debuted its motion-sensing camera on June 1st, 2009, showing off a handful of gimmicky applications for the Xbox 360; it promised easy, controller-free gaming for the whole family. Back then, Kinect was called Project Natal, and Microsoft envisioned a future where its blocky camera would expand the gaming landscape, bringing everyday communication and entertainment applications to the Xbox 360, such as video calling, shopping and binge-watching. This was the first indication that Microsoft's plans for Kinect stretched far beyond the video game industry. With Kinect, Microsoft popularized the idea of yelling at our appliances -- or, as it's known today, the IoT market. Amazon Echo, Google Home, Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana (especially that last one) are all derivative of the core Kinect promise that when you talk to your house, it should respond.
Challenge your friends to lightsaber duels in 'Star Wars: Jedi Challenges'
Last November, Disney and Lenovo partnered up to release Star Wars: Jedi Challenges, an augmented reality experience that combines video games with a lightweight AR headset and a matching lightsaber. With the headset on, you can play Holochess, command field troops on Hoth and, of course, have duels with bad guys like Kylo Ren. Today, Disney is releasing yet another update to the game with a hotly requested feature: local multiplayer, so you can duel your friends in the same room.
Facebook is winning the augmented reality war
If it weren't for data privacy, fake news and hate speech taking up so much air time, this year's Facebook conference would've probably centered around a far less controversial topic: augmented reality. It's one of a few unifying themes that's spread across most of Facebook's product announcements this week. Now that AR is in Facebook's News Feed, Instagram and Messenger, the company is poised to have the biggest AR platform on the planet.
Facebook and Nike just gave hypebeasts a reason to use Messenger
Nike hasn't been coy about how much it loves using augmented reality to sell hyped sneakers, since the technology can be used to fight the bots (automated systems) that are so beloved by resellers. And today, at the F8 developers conference, Facebook revealed a partnership with the sportswear giant that will let sneakerheads buy limited-edition pairs through the Messenger app... in AR. To show this feature off, Nike dropped a pair of Kyrie Irving signature shoes during the F8 opening keynote, which were dubbed the "Red Carpet" and sold out within minutes after the Facebook announcement.
Facebook continues AR push with tracking, audio and location tools
Last year, Facebook revealed Camera Effects Platform and the associated AR Studio — tools to make it easier to create interactive experiences using the Facebook camera. The latter enabled developers to add animated frames, masks and effects for Live broadcasts. Today at the F8 summit in San Jose, California, Facebook is announcing a new version of AR Studio that the company says will make it even easier to create and distribute AR experiences.
Apple's rumored AR headset may pack 8K displays and VR support
Those rumors of Apple making an augmented reality headset just got a little more concrete. A CNET source claimed that the stand-alone device (codenamed T288) would also support virtual reality, and would have an 8K display for each eye. For reference, even the HTC Vive Pro is limited to 'just' 1,440 x 1,600 per eye. If this is accurate, Apple could effectively eliminate the screen door effect you often get with current VR, where the proximity of the display lets you see the gaps between pixels. The improved realism might also help fend off motion sickness for some wearers.
Snapchat's latest AR trick turns Lenses into games
Snapchat's augmented reality Lenses are clever, but not particularly engaging. You probably won't use them outside of the occasional moment when they help express what you're feeling. Snap may have a clever way to keep you coming back, though: add a game-like element. It's unveiling Snappables, or Lenses that let you play AR games (and other interactive experiences) with friends. You can fight aliens, blow up virtual bubble gum, or jump into a world like a nightclub. You'll even get a score in some of these experiences, in case you want to challenge a friend.
Samsung could use AR Emoji as stand-ins during video chats
Samsung's AR Emoji may be useful for considerably more than the occasional funny reaction GIF. The tech giant recently received a US patent for a "hybrid visual communication" system that would replace live video of a person with an augmented reality 3D model (basically, AR Emoji) that reflects their facial expressions in real time. This virtual self would stand-in for you during video chats when your connection is flaky, so you could hold a call without the stops and stutters that come with low bandwidth. We'd add that it could be helpful for those moments when you're less-than-presentable but still want to talk face to face. Just got out of bed? You won't look quite so groggy.
