augmented reality
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'Second Sight' turns PSP camera into an augmented reality learning tool [update]
We've recently seen augmented reality used in some pretty clever ways in the gaming space, but Sony subsidiary ConnectED has come up with a way to turn real-time graphical overlays into an educational tool. Using a PSP equipped with a camera, the "Second Sight" technology allows tags embedded in textbooks or magazines to cue relevant audio or video clips directly on the PSP. The program can also create interactive 3D models which the user can examine by changing the orientation of the PSP. Check out the video after the jump to see a video demonstration of what we're talking about, and then imagine how awesome school is going to be in like, fifteen years. Update: We recently heard from Matthew Prodger, studio director at Black Ridge Technologies, who explained that his company was the actual developer and owner of the technology, while ConnectED is simply the distributor of the tech on the PSP. He also said the technology would appear on mobile phones for use in "museums, books, magazines and newspapers over the coming year." [Via Siliconera]
Developer Tom Soderlund explains the frights of Ghostwire
Bumps in the night. Unexplained sounds. A chill up your spine. Extreme terror. These things aren't associated with the Nintendo DSi, unless you unexpectedly leave yours behind in a taxi. But A Different Game CEO Tom Soderlund wants to bring all of that augmented paranormal activity to your DSi with Ghostwire and turn you into a ghostbuster (minus the proton packs). Now you're armed with a stylus and the power of Nintendo. Originally conceived four years ago for Symbian-powered smartphones, the idea is to turn your handheld into a tool for communicating with the paranormal world. The built-in camera, sound meters, light meters are all a part of the experience, providing a combination of real-world and computer-generated data. Soderlund's team built an adventure game around it -- you talk to ghosts, find out what's troubling them, and either capture them or attempt to ease their pain.
Poynt for iPhone is a mixed bag
Poynt has come to the iPhone, after having been a very popular free app on BlackBerry phones. Poynt provides local searches of individuals and businesses. It also shares a database with Open Table, so you can use it to make reservations at restaurants. Unlike the BlackBerry app, it has augmented reality, but is missing some features beloved by the Blackberry crowd. Like some of the other iPhone search apps, you can enter the name of a business, and get a phone number, links to a website (if there is one), a mapped location, or directions. If you use the theater search, you'll find nearby movie houses. You can also search by movie genres, or get a list of the top 10 box office films. You can't buy tickets, but you can stream trailers. (Note: The developer says you can buy tickets if a ticket icon appears next to the distance marker. I didn't see any offering from my local theater when I checked the app.) When you search for restaurants, you get similar results to those of the business search. Results include phone numbers, restaurant websites, maps, and directions. You can also narrow your search by cuisine, or by distance.
Nokia hints at augmented reality Maps and 3D smartphones in its future (video)
You know what happens when we see a video pop on Nokia Conversations (Nokia's official blog) featuring a senior VP from Nokia's smartphone division? Everything stops -- who knows what might be revealed during an informal, semi-scripted chat. When asked about Nokia's future smartphone technologies and experiences, Jo Harlow, SVP of Smartphones dives right into a discussion of augmented reality as a means to enhance existing Nokia services like the Ovi Maps experience. She then shifts to an entertainment perspective since "everyone's talking about 3D." As she sees it, there's an opportunity for mobile to be earlier to 3D than typical television development to mobile. That means content, specifically 3D games, which Jo says "could be very, very interesting in terms of enhancing that experience." One can only imagine that what interests Nokia's Senior VP of smartphones will ultimately interest manufacturers on the way to retail. And it's not like Nokia's been shy with its 3D prototypes in the past. Watch the discussion unfold in the video after the break.
Hands-on with TAT's dual-screen phone concept and augmented reality app
What, you thought Home was the only project in the pipeline for these guys? The mobile UI experts at Sweden's TAT are in the house at MWC this week showing off a couple other nifty developments that are keeping them busy these days: a dual-screen UI concept utilizing TI's next-gen hardware, and an app that makes good on a concept it had demoed before. First up, they've been using a TI Blaze to demonstrate their vision of a phone with two displays, likely in a slider configuration (in fact, they showed a Droid to represent how they think the form factor could work) with a screen where you'd normally expect they physical QWERTY keyboard to be. It's slick and wicked smooth on the brutally powerful OMAP4 core, but realistically, this is something unusual enough so that we'd need to play with a unit for a good, long while before drawing any usability conclusions. TAT believes we could see devices with this kind of setup by years' end, but we don't know what carriers, manufacturer, or time frames would be involved at this point. Next up, Recognizr is the realization of the Augmented ID concept it showed off last year that lets you tag your face (it sounds weird, but it's quite literally true) with icons representing services that you use, each of which exposes information about you that you want others to know; then, other users with the system can put you in their viewfinder and see the same icons. It's not flawless -- in fact, TAT readily admits that they probably need better camera tech before it can be commercialized, and they had quite a few issues during our demo time -- but it's a clever concept that's better watched on video than explained, which is convenient considering that we've got videos of both of these goodies in action after the break. Check 'em out, won't you?
Google exhibits Liquid Galaxy installation at TED, we toss back a Dramamine
You know you've wondered what Google Earth would look like across a curved, eight-display installation, and now your most stupendous dreams are a reality thanks to Liquid Galaxy. That's the moniker that's been given to Jason Holt's 20 percent project, which he's just now getting to showcase to the world at the TED conference in San Francisco. Reportedly, eight Linux machines are tied to the process, and he's able to fly through the digital skies via voice commands and sheer mental strength. Or maybe it's just voice commands. Head past the break for a cockpit view, but be sure to close one eye if you're prone to motion sickness. [Thanks, Camron]
Augmented reality mirror picks makeup for the ladies (video)
Ladies and rockers alike enjoy spending time testing different makeup, but their tag-along boyfriends? Not so much. Luckily for Japanese couples, cosmetic giant Shiseido has finally rolled out its Digital Cosmetic Mirrors in Tokyo malls to help speed things up. The machine is able to recommend products for the user's skin type, while allowing them to view it applied via an augmented reality effect. When all is done, the machine prints out a shopping list along with before and after mugshots to make you spend more money feel good about your selections. Good luck with matching the picture though -- the cosmetics aren't going to apply themselves. Video demonstration after the break.
Video: Augmented reality meets Virtual-On
Project Natal? Sony's Motion Controller/Arc/Whatever It's Called? Psshht, whatever. They've got nothin' on the ARToolKit augmented reality Virtual-On demonstration we just watched. Spotted by Mecha Damashii, the tech demo gets our hearts all aflutter with the prospect of fighting a tiny mech while running from room-to-room in our apartment, dodging lasers. We hear those things are bad news! (Lasers, that is.) Regardless, if the video after the break doesn't get your heart racing, you should probably call a doctor -- you might be dead. [Via GameSetWatch]
Yelp updates with check-ins, Foursquare not happy
Location-based social networking on the iPhone is a tough game to play, apparently -- the popular Yelp app [iTunes link] has recently updated to version 4.0, and along with a friend finder, hooks to Facebook and Twitter, and an updated version of their augmented reality Monocle feature, they've added the ability to "check-in" from locations around whatever city you live in. When you visit a great pizzeria, for example, you can send a ping out that says you've been there along with what you think of it. This replicates the functionality of another app, Foursquare [iTunes link], which is steadily building up its own social network prowess (you may have seen the "mayor of" tweets lately -- that's Foursquare doing its thing, either on iPhone or through a desktop interface). In this case, the imitation isn't appreciated -- Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley tore apart Yelp's new feature in a recent tumblr post, both comparing the two extremely similar "check-in" systems to each other and claiming that Yelp "copied the wrong stuff," and that Foursquare is already working on improvements to their own system. Which is the good news for us consumers, as competition tends to breed some great innovation. Personally, I haven't been too interested in an app that helps me broadcast my location everywhere just yet, but there's no question that these are popular apps and their popularity is growing. We'll have to see what new features Foursquare has planned and how Yelp eventually responds.
Vuzix Wrap 920AR augmented reality video eyewear: can you afford to look like this?
CES 2010 might go down in history as the show of silly glasses, and Vuzix isn't going to cede any ground to 3D: it's launching a new augmented reality headset called the Wrap 920AR, which features a built-in stereoscopic camera that allows reality and computer-generated imagery to blend in front of your eyes. To be clear, that means you'll actually be looking at reality on a 1,504 x 480 screen while you wear these glasses, but what's one layer of virtualized abstraction between friends who don't mock each other for wearing ridiculous $800 video glasses?
Parrot unveils the AR.Drone, an iPhone-controlled microcopter, at CES
Probably the coolest iPhone-related product to come out of the festivities at CES so far this week is the AR.Drone, created by a company called Parrot. It's a little working microcopter that's remote-controlled by an iPhone app, and it's decked out with all sorts of interesting gadgetry, including an accelerometer, gyroscope, and two cameras. A key feature is Wi-Fi integration, so the AR.Drone can actually be controlled by any Wi-Fi device, not just an iPhone. Release is rumored to happen as early as March of this year, although the product itself is still somewhat surrounded in mystery -- we don't know a price, and even some of the features sound a little fantastical. Apparently the drone has an "autofly" setting, in which it'll follow certain visual stimuli in the environment, and it apparently also watches the floor for flight stabilization. The features go even further than that, with the cameras on the real-life drone providing an augmented reality game feed (like shooting robots around your house as you explore with the drone) back to the iPhone. Like I said, the features are fantastical. Parrot hasn't actually been able to show off controlling the copter with the iPhone in anything but the video above -- apparently there's too much Wi-Fi permeating the air around CES. But this is the most-hyped item coming out of the first few days of CES for sure. It'll be interesting to see how the actual product looks and works as we get closer to the expected release. Boy, a price would be nice to hear, though it'll probably be high!
Found Footage: Sudoku Grab goes Augmented Reality
When it comes to the iPhone, Augmented Reality refers to applications that integrate live camera feeds with data generated either directly from those camera images or from related data linked to the user's real world location. Over the past year, we've seen a number of augmented reality applications appear on App Store and in the Cydia store, offering a way to connect real world visuals with enhanced data presentations. On the recent Augmented Reality front, Sudoku Grab [iTunes Link] developer Chris Greening has been inspired by Apple's recent decision to allow calls to UIGetScreenImage(), the computer function that allows iPhone developers to copy an image directly from the iPhone screen. By relenting on this issue, Apple has allowed programmers to pull live data from the iPhone camera, and process that data in real time. That opens the door to immediate image processing and visual presentation of data on top of that image stream. The above video demonstrates this ability by scanning for Sudoku boards. When it detects one, the numbers in question turn green. So how useful in general is this new SDK feature? Chris says, "It's a bit horrible to do anything really useful, you haven't got a direct feed from the camera so you have to do a bit of jiggery pokery if you want to draw on top of the camera preview and still have something usable." As you can tell from the video, his "jiggery pokery" is pretty well done. His real time scanning and enhancement of raw image data allows his detection routine to work with the camera's live feed to acquire new Sudoku boards. It's still early days on the augmented reality front. Greening's work represents just the start of where this technology can go. With faster processors and better screen access routines (UIGetScreenImage is a very slow call compared to the iPhone's non-public CoreSurface routines), real world integration is just going to get better and better.
Google Goggles gets video demo on Sony Ericsson Xperia X10
There's little sense in resisting the obvious: Google is slowly but surely taking over your life, but rather than get indignant and discombobulated, we'd suggest letting go and appreciating how much easier things are with the folks in Mountain View squarely in control. Take Google Goggles, for instance, which aims to convert cameraphone images into useful search results on its own Android platform. Up until now, we've been shown stock demos and videos of it running on conventional handsets, but seeing the Goggles hard at work on Sony Ericsson's not-yet-released Xperia X10 is another thing entirely. Hop on past the break for the frames you're craving, but don't bank on this making the wait for said phone any simpler to stomach.
iPhone ... in an iPhone
Here's a nice post-Christmas mind bender for you -- it's created by a company named Ogmento (they specialize in augmented reality applications -- get it?) and is an iPhone app that creates an augmented reality version of the iPhone. In other words, they put an iPhone in your iPhone so you can iPhone while you iPhone. Dawg. Why did they do this? Apparently it's a promotion for the iPhone launch by Orange Telecom in Israel. But it's pretty crazy -- the iPhone inside the app even runs apps, though they're just still pictures. And it's a little disappointing that you interact with the fake iPhone via the real iPhone's touchscreen. If it really was an augmented reality demonstration, wouldn't you interact with the augmented reality iPhone just by moving your hand in the air where it should be? Maybe that's too mind-melting after a relaxing Christmas day. At any rate, enjoy the crazy video above. This isn't anything we'll see coming to the App Store any time soon, we're sure, but it's just the kind of thing to get your mind up and running again after all that egg nog and holiday cheer.
iPhone in iPhone app is useless, but mesmerizing
Here's the premise: you take a good old fashioned augmented reality setup, the likes of which we've seen all over the land, and attach a three-dimensional, rotatable iPhone to it. Not impressed yet, are you? Neither were we, but there's some secret sauce to this one: you can actually launch apps on the simulated iPhone. That extra layer of interactivity makes the video after the break a lot more fascinating than it has any right to be, though it's worth pointing out that we don't think the apps are actually usable -- they just give the illusion of launching. Anyhow, don't wait around while all the cool kids are watching it, go have a gander yourself.
Gunman for iPhone finally makes augmented reality awesome
First-person shooters are great stress releases for a world fraught with nagging bosses, horrible traffic, and dry cleaners that screw up your pants, but there's a problem -- the people you're shooting are just collections of polygons on an electronic display. The solution, of course, is to combine the world's love of the FPS genre with real friends and loved ones, and that's exactly where Gunman for iPhone comes into play. Using the phone as your gun and the camera as your scope, you can seek out up to three other opponents in local multiplayer matches or take the hunt global using Foursquare -- when you score a kill, you can post a shot of your unsuspecting victim straight to Twitter. If nothing else, this seems like it'd be a fantastic workout and a cheaper substitute for a full laser tag rig, making it perhaps the best use of augmented reality to date. Score it now in the App Store for $2.99 -- follow the break for the full press release.
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 Twitter 360 app geolocates your friends by their tweets
We're going to start off by stating unequivocally that we think this is a bad, bad idea. The Twitter 360 app, just launched by Presselite, is an augmented reality app for your iPhone 3GS which enables you to track your friends by the geolocation of their tweets. The app makes use of the iPhone 3GS's compass to locate the tweeter, then reports back on their location. Now -- if, like us, you want to be able to tweet about the rocking party you're at on a Friday night when you're actually sitting on the couch watching Mama's Family -- don't worry: you can opt out of the geolocation feature. The Twitter 360 app, sure to be a resounding success with creeps the world over, is available now in the iTunes store for $2.99. Check out a video demonstration of it after the break.
Twitter 360 Augmented Reality app for Twitter
As far as AR (augmented reality) Twitter apps go, Twitter 360 [iTunes Link] looks like the best of the bunch... so far. In what will no doubt become the top term of 2010, this augmented reality app allows you to track your friends via geolocation of their tweets. If you're into that sort of thing (or have an iPhone 3GS, since AR apps use the compass to position their markers). If the thought of strangers tracking you while you tweet creeps you out (and frankly, it should), rest assured that tracking is opt-in in that you can turn off geotagging for your tweets. As Fast Company points out, a neat feature is setting your "limit" or range of detection for tracking tweets. You can set this to World and see just how far away everyone is from wherever you happen to be standing. So yeah, pretty soon we'll all be tracking each other all over the place. What could go wrong? Twitter 360 is currently $2.99US and is from Presselite, the folks who snuck in the first AR app without Apple's detection. Thanks for opening the floodgates! Check out the video of the app in action, below.
Apple taking their Maps app to 'the next level'
Apple is looking for yet another engineer to help make the iPhone even better. A new job listing found on Apple's website was posted looking for a full-time software engineer to be a part of the Maps application team. The position description explains that Apple wants to take their Maps application to "the next level" and states that they've "only just started." From the listing: We want to take Maps to the next level, rethink how users use Maps and change the way people find things. We want to do this in a seamless, highly interactive and enjoyable way. We've only just started. It's pretty clear that Apple is feeling the heat from the increasing number of GPS and augmented reality applications available from third-party developers and even the advancements that Google has made on their Android platform. This job application definitely shows that Apple is certainly not resting and that work is continuing on the iPhone OS and the applications it offers. While this listing is far more specific than usual, it could be a sign of great things to come. [via Macrumors]
