Applications iPhone stations de ski : Val d'isère et les 7 laux

 On a évoqué récemment les applications iPhone des 3 vallées, de Serre chevalier et celles à venir pour Meribel, Val Thorens,les 2 alpes et les ménuires. Il y en a deux autres qui sont déjà sorties et que l'on a pas évoqué : les 7 Laux et Val d'isère, cette dernière semblant apporter des innovations intéressantes.

L'application iPhone de la station des 7 Laux est disponible ici en téléchargement gratuit sur l'AppStore. Elle propose le plan des pistes, les webcams, les infos de la direction de la station et l'indispensable météo.

La seconde application concerne la station de Val d'isère et l'espace Killy. Elle est payante mais propose des fonctionnalité avancées :

• un plan interactif en haute résolution zoomable tel (je cite) "qu'avec des lunettes de soleil et un fort contraste, vous pourrez toujours l'utiliser".
• Elle permet de se localiser sur le plan classique (idem le plan papier) du domaine skiable, utilisant pour cela une technologie de positionnement unique brévetée
• l'application pré-charge le plan (70 Mo) pour le rendre accesible sans réseau, pour les étrangers ou les possesseurs d'iPod Touch
• elle permet de chercher un itinéraire pour vous rendre d'un point à un autre du domaine skiable.
• Pour les utilisateurs d'iPhones 3GS, elle intègre un identificateur de sommets à base de réalité augmentée permettant d'identifier les principaux massifs des environs (noms et caractéristiques des éléments du paysage)
  

La voici en images :


L'application iPhone et iPod Touch "Val d'isère ski guide" est vendu 4,99 euros ici sur l'AppStore.
Pas trop de bouchons pour monter en station ? En tout cas la neige est là ... Bon ski !

Source : iphon.fr

Magicam 2.0 released - Augmented Reality

Buckley, United Kingdom - Magicam 2.0 has now been successfully added onto the AppStore. Magicam is an application for iPhone and iPod Touch that allows you to take ultra realistic live photographs with an additional prop such as U.FO's, Ghost's, Silly Haircuts and fantastic masks to create the most entertaining and realistic photographs you have ever seen.

Version 2.0 brings with it a host of new features including:
* Edit current photos
* Multiple props
* 50 props
* iPod Touch support
* New prop selection interface.

U.F.O photographs have never been so realistic or simple to produce. Magicam features 50+ realistic props that are added to your photograph in realtime. Want to tell your friends that you have just seen a UFO over their house and have taken a photograph to prove it? Want to take some ultra realistic halloween photographs such as Pumpkin head, Aparitions, Zombies or Witches? What about the fish that got away? Every fisherman has one of those! Not any more!

Using Magicam, these all become reality. Our unique application has several objects that at a press of a button will appear on your camera screen in realtime to ensure the highest level of realism. You can then scale, move, blend and rotate the object until you are happy with it and take that amazing photograph.

Now in MagiCam 2.0 you can even edit your existing photographs from your camera roll and add as many props as you like. Complete flexibility to create amazing photographs.

Complete Magicam 2.0 Feature List:
* Augmented Reality LIVE Photograph Mode
* Edit photos direct from Saved Photos
* Now features 52 props
* New blending filters Hue, Saturation and Lightness
* Flip Prop
* Multiple Props
* Categorised Props
* Easier Prop Selection
* iPod Support (Edit Mode)

Your Photographs:
We know that you are going to get some amazing shots using magicam and as such would like to see them. Please send you greatest photographs taken using magicam and we will feature them both in the screenshots for the app and on our website for all to see. Thanks

Minimum Requirements:
* iPod Touch or iPhone 3G, 3GS running 2.2.1 firmware or later

Pricing and Availability:
MagiCam - Augmented Reality Camera 2.0 is $1.99 (USD) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Photography category.
MagiCam - Augmented Reality Camera 2.0
Purchase and Download

Source :  prmac.com

Trippy iPod Nano Augmented Reality Hack

In the future people won’t take drugs, they’ll augment their vision with a perception enabler.
“Woah! I took my chrominance to the max!”
“When I got to the party, it was like my inverse telecine had doubled the shaders!”
“I think my reality has gone all lossy on me—”



Source : thomaskcarpenter.com

Augmented reality app Layar keeps crashing, gets yanked from the App Store

Soon after landing $1 million in funding, Layar, one of the pioneers in the emerging augmented reality space, has withdrawn its Layar v3 application from the Apple App Store because it keeps crashing on too many users.
The app, which superimposes data on top of mobile phone browsers — like housing prices on top of street views, or restaurant menus when you point your handset at a restaurant — has had the problem since its launch. The Dutch company attributes the issue to poor memory management and unknown buggy code that will require the app to be reengineered from the ground up — a process expected to take several weeks.
Layar went ahead with the third version launch even though previous iterations of the app proved problematic for 20 percent of users. And it says it hasn’t experienced any crashing with this version through extensive testing. Still, it has received too many complaints to keep it in the App Store. It is, however, still available on Android phones.
The setback could cause Layar to fall behind competitors like Tonchidot, AcrossAir, Junaio and Wikitude. With so many companies entering the augmented reality space quickly, hiccups like this could prove costly. It’s an area that could soon become saturated, pushing stragglers out of business.
That said, Layar’s problems don’t reflect too well on augmented reality either. It’s such a young concept, that if one of its frontrunners bites the dust, investors could get skittish and choose to invest elsewhere. Layar’s first $1 million, closed in October, was unattributed.

Source : digital.venturebeat.com

Video Release of McDVISION Avatar Pandora Augmented Reality Experience

During the month and into January, product packaging in the U.S. for Big Macs will feature an AR Thrill Card on the side of each box, delivering an up-close experience with the rich environments of Pandora, and revealing insights into the characters, fauna and flora from the movie. Displayed before a webcam, the perforated Thrill Card becomes a portal into three unique, immersive Pandora environments the Pandoran Rainforest, the Hallelujah Mountains and the Tree of Souls.

Players control their AR experiences by moving and tilting the Thrill Cards through the world of Pandora. They are invited to Touch the Mysterious Anemonids where they watch the Pandoran Rainforest light up as they touch the bioluminescent Anemonids. Players are then beckoned to Navigate Across Ancient Vine Bridges, where they can show their balancing skills by crossing the shaky vines to reach the Hallelujah Mountains. In the third scenario, Find Mystical Woodsprites, players explore the willow tree in search of the mystical Woodsprites, and watch them come to life.

Source : augmented-reality-news.com

SCOPE uses augmented reality to make one highly-technological kid’s game

I’m sure a lot of you are wondering what you are seeing in this picture. Don’t worry, this is not the point-of-view of a Terminator who is trying to kill John Connor, but a new way of gaming.
This is the SCOPE, a game system designed by France-based game designer Frantz Lasorne that uses augmented reality. You can see a video of it after the jump of the modded device with viewer and webcam tied together with rubberbands.
If you look closely in the picture, you can see a Lego man that is surrounded by some hexagonal piece of paper. Each of the six sides has a different augmented reality code for the user to interact with such activities like choosing a weapon.
As the video shows, the user can see in realtime a Lego toy with the chosen weapon, firing it at a bowling pin-shaped opponent. The video even shows the opponent using some sort of force field.
Clearly, this takes those little imaginary games that you played as a kid to a whole new level, doesn’t it? I suppose it would make an interesting game of Pokemon.
The technology is still in concept stage, so who knows when it will be available. Maybe they will actually have glasses like the kid is wearing in the photo when the SCOPE gets mass-produced.
Source


Source : coolest-gadgets.com

Mc Donald’s Orders Up Augmented Reality From Total Immersion, in Global Promotion For Fox’s ‘AVATAR’

AR Experiences Connect Film and Filmgoers Worldwide, In Biggest Mass Deployment of Augmented Reality to Date.



LOS ANGELES (Dec. 17, 2009) – You’ve seen the trailer — now grab a bite of augmented reality to accompany your Big Mac as you gear up for the Dec. 18 opening of 20^th Century Fox’s “Avatar.”
Augmented reality pioneer Total Immersion (www.t-immersion.com) today announced that it has teamed up with McDonald’s on a global promotion for the film at its restaurants in 40 markets around the world – the most extensive deployment of AR technology to date.  The promotion kicked off earlier this month, on hundreds of millions of McDonald’s boxes — and, on Dec. 18, on the web, at www.mcdonalds.com/avatar.
During the month and into January, product packaging in the U.S. for Big Macs will feature an AR “Thrill Card” on the side of each box, delivering an up-close experience with the rich environments of Pandora, and revealing insights into the characters, fauna and flora from the movie.  Displayed before a webcam, the perforated “Thrill Card” becomes a portal into three unique, immersive Pandora environments – the Pandoran Rainforest, the Hallelujah Mountains and the Tree of Souls.
Players control their  AR experiences by moving and tilting the “Thrill Cards” through the world of Pandora.  They are invited to “Touch the Mysterious Anemonids” where they watch the Pandoran Rainforest light up as they touch the bioluminescent Anemonids.  Players are then beckoned to “Navigate Across Ancient Vine Bridges,” where they can show their balancing skills by crossing the shaky vines to reach the Hallelujah Mountains.  In the third scenario, “Find Mystical Woodsprites,” players explore the willow tree in search of the mystical Woodsprites, and watch them come to life.
“The McDonald’s/Avatar promotion delivers augmented reality on an unprecedented global scale,” said Bruno Uzzan, CEO, Total Immersion.  “It’s by far the widest use of AR we’ve ever seen, potentially touching hundreds of millions worldwide.  At the same time, it signals the arrival of digital experiences, to complement durable goods in the marketplace – a trend we expect will accelerate in the months and years ahead.
“Augmented reality does more than engage customers – it enlightens and entertains as well,” he said.  “We’re as excited about the upcoming release of ‘Avatar’ as moviegoers worldwide, and this promotion with McDonald’s extends both the trailer and the energy building around the film.  We’re absolutely thrilled to be part of this, and to offer a technology that conveys to consumers the magic of the movie.”

Source : augmented-reality-news.com

Marketing mobile : cap sur la réalité augmentée et les codes-barres 2D !

Pour attirer les consommateurs, les marketeurs doivent miser sur la réalité augmentée pour afficher des coupons de réduction géolocalisés. Les codes-barres donnant accès à des réductions seront aussi convoités.

L'année 2010 pour les marketeurs mobiles sera placée sous le signe de la réalité augmentée et des codes-barres 2D, note la Mobile Marketing Association (MMA). Pour aider les entreprises à choisir leur stratégie, elle vient de publier une liste des dix tendances clés pour l'année 2010. Celles-ci concernant surtout le marché nord-Américain. Et selon elle, la réalité augmentée trouvera sa place, notamment pour fournir des bons de réduction géolocalisés. Selon l'association, le consommateur recevra ses bons de réduction directement sur le mobile, au moment de rentrer dans la boutique.
Etonner le consommateur

Les entreprises doivent également s'intéresser aux codes à barres. Ceux-ci proposent une manière d'accéder à du contenu comme des concours ou des bons de réduction et d'attirer des consommateurs curieux et peu habitués à cette technologie. Autre tendance : la généralisation de la télévision mobile. La MMA prévoit que les Jeux Olympiques d'hiver ainsi que le Coupe du monde de football de 2010 intensifieront la consultation de la vidéo sur mobile. Les appareils mobiles capables de réaliser des vidéo-conférences vont également s'imposer. Aux marketeurs de saisir cette opportunité : les nouvelles techniques marketing comme les écrans interactifs ou la publicité affichée partiellement sur l'écran permettant de subventionner une partie du contenu gratuit.
Mesurer le succès

Quant aux applications, elles auront la cote en 2010, poursuivent les responsables de l'étude. Selon l'association, il y a une demande pour que celles-ci soient gratuites et basées sur la localisation actuelle de l'utilisateur. Ce qui laisse supposer l'insertion de publicités, notamment géolocalisées. Enfin, le marketing mobile deviendra mesurable. Comment ? On estimera l'efficacité d'une annonce en nombre de scrolls, clics, blogs, tweets, diggs et articles publiés. La quantité de discussions, appels, réponses, recommandations et achats constituera également un critère de succès.

Source : atelier.fr

Du lèche-vitrines en réalité augmentée pour Hugo Boss

Comment faire venir le client dans sa boutique à cette époque de Noël ? Hugo Boss a misé sur la réalité augmentée. Sur les vitrines du magasin Hugo Boss de Londres a été installé des écrans interactifs en réalité augmentée nommés “Boss Black Magic“. Lors de la présentation d’une carte de la marque ou d’un magasine devant ce même écran apparaît alors un défilé de mode avec toutes les nouveautés de la marque.

Un deuxième dispositif utilisant de la réalité augmentée est disposé dans le magasin. Cette fois-ci, quand la carte ou le magasine est présentée, un jeu de black jack est lancé. Si vous tombez sur la bonne carte vous aurez peut-être la chance de gagner des bons d’achats de 50 £ a 250 £ a utilisé dans le store Hugo Boss.
Hugo Boss a trouvé le moyen d’intéresser les personnes passant devant leur vitrine en proposant un jeu en réalité augmentée avec possibilité de gagner des bons d’achats. Même si les passants ne sont pas intéressés par des vêtements Hugo Boss, un tel jeu est attractif et ces derniers viendront dans l’espoir de gagner. Reste à voir s’il y a beaucoup de gagnant ?



Source : la-realite-augmentee.fr

La réalité augmentée chez Sony Ericsson

Court billet aujourd’hui à propos de Sony Ericsson. Hier je vous parlais de l’application Ompass sur le Samsung Omnia II, aujourd’hui on va également sortir des sentiers iPhone et HTC entre autre en vous parlant du Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 et de Layar. En effet cette application est compatible avec un de leur dernier modèle qu’est le X10 tournant sur OS Android. Ylva Kronqvist, une développeuse chez Sony Ericsson nous fait une présentation ci dessous:




Source : la-realite-augmentee.fr

La réalité augmentée avec OMPASS World Cities

Sur le blog nous parlons énormément de la réalité augmentée (jusqu’ici rien d’anormal :) )mais les terminaux qui font les sujets de nos billets sont toujours les même (HTC, iPhone…). Aujourd’hui nous allons voir la réalité augmentée sur un smartphone Samsung plus particulièrement l’Omnia II qui tourne sous windows mobile 6.5 avec l’application Ompass World Cities. Rien de révolutionnaire en terme de fonctionnalité avec la combinaison gagnante de la boussole numérique, caméra et GPS. Ici l’écran nous indique les villes les plus proche comprenant la distance avec le système d’indication sous forme de flèches qui a fait le succès de “Métro Paris“. Deux versions de cette application (Gratuite et Payante), la version “allégée” contient uniquement la direction des villes voisines alors que la version “complète” vous apportera des renseignements sur ces villes (Théâtre, magasins, métro…). Ce n’est pour le moment qu’une version bêta mais le mois prochain vraisemblablement du nouveau contenu fera son apparition. Pour finir je vous invite à regarder la vidéo ci-dessous.


Source : la-realite-augmentee.fr

Nexus One Will Take Augmented Reality To The Next Level

The details about the recently “dogfooded” smartphone from Google called the Nexus One have been surfacing more rapidly than a fart in the bathtub.  For most the buzz centers around the Nexus One’s rumoured untethered bachelor lifestyle or potential $99 price, but I found the more interesting nugget of information to be the Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm.

The Snapdragon processor has 1GHz processor and onboard graphics and claims to produce 22 million triangles per second.  Compare this to the iPhone which only produces 7 million triangles per second (see this comparison chart for more details.)  Now we’re still way outside the realms of the desktop processors which light up screens at 60 million to 300 million triangles per second, but we’ve passed the old GameCube which ran at 12 million triangles per second


The Nexus One will also sport a 5 Megapixel flash camera with 720p HD recording possible.  With the Android OS2.1 open API access to video, augmented reality will look better on the Nexus One than the sorry old iPhone and do so without all the annoying limitations from the Apple app store.
While the Nexus One is still a smartphone and limited by its small screen (aka “Magic Lens”); its better graphics, higher processing speeds, open OS and improved camera will make augmented reality work and look better.  The real breakthroughs will come with a cheap HMD, but until then I think the Nexus One with the Snapdragon processor will help augmented reality take another step toward wide usage.

Source : thomaskcarpenter.com

"La réalité augmentée doit être un moyen, pas une fin"

Les initiatives se multiplient pour rendre les produits culturels plus multimédia. Un facteur différenciant si on sait l'utiliser. Entretien avec Branislav Péric, directeur média de Duke interactive.

Publié le 15 Décembre 2009

Duke Interactive est une agence spécialisée dans les expériences numériques.

L’Atelier : Jacques Attali vient de sortir son "hyperlivre", Sinik intègre de la réalité augmentée à son dernier album... Que pensez-vous de ces initiatives ?

Branislav Péric : Il y a une suite de lames de fonds, tout le monde se précipite là-dessus depuis six mois. Les marques, les magazines cherchent à rendre leurs produits plus interactifs. C’est dans l’air du temps. Je suis assez sceptique la plupart du temps, même si c’est un bon exemple de ce que permet le numérique aujourd’hui. Dans le cas d’un livre ou d’un CD, on enrichit l’expérience de l’utilisateur. C’est un facteur différenciant, on donne accès à un contenu unique à l’acheteur.

Est-ce un effet de mode ou un mouvement de fond ?

Pour moi, cela va se limiter à quelques initiatives, je ne vois pas cela comme quelque chose de durable. C’est un sujet qu’il faut prendre avec beaucoup de pincettes. Beaucoup des projets qui sont sortis récemment semblent intéressants sur le papier, et puis l’expérience s’avère souvent assez pauvre et décevante. Il faut réfléchir à ce qu’on va en faire. Je pense qu’avec le temps ce type d’applications se restreindra là où elles apporteront de la vraie valeur.

Par exemple ?

Ce quoi doit prédominer, c’est le contenu, sa créativité. Par exemple ce qui contient des descriptions très riches, un univers très particulier, et si on arrive à le retranscrire avec la réalité augmentée, c’est intéressant. Mais vouloir l’intégrer à tout prix, sans savoir pourquoi, ça n’a pas de sens. La réalité augmentée doit être un moyen, pas une fin.

Peut-on dire que cela constituera une planche de salut pour les secteurs de l’édition, de la presse, de la musique ?

Ca fait des années que l’industrie de la musique cherche une issue en proposant de nouveaux packaging, en se présentant de manière plus valorisante, et ça n’a pas très bien fonctionné. Pour moi le livre devrait plutôt regarder du côté des nouveaux appareils de lecture. La réalité augmentée ne sauvera pas ces secteurs. C’est très certainement une avancée, mais ça n’est pas la panacée. Il faut faire attention à ce à quoi elle va servir. Par ailleurs, il reste beaucoup de barrières à l’usage.

C’est à dire ?

Souvent ce qui est proposé nécessite l’impression d’un code et l’utilisation d’une webcam. C’est clairement un frein à l’usage, il faut qu’il y ait un vrai intérêt derrière pour que les internautes entreprennent ces démarches.

Et le mobile dans tout ça.

Ce qu’apporte le mobile, c’est une dimension sociale. C’est vrai qu’on aura plus tendance à utiliser ce genre de technologies si on peut le partager directement avec les personnes autour de nous.

Source : atelier.fr

Augmented Reality Car System

Mobile computing devices are wonderful for bringing the world of information to our fingertips anywhere we go.  Hurtling down the highway in one ton vehicles while trying to access our maps or find directions is not the safest way to drive.
This video shows an augmented reality street view using a Windows 7 notebook, Royaltek GPS, webcam, and an arduino board with 2-axis compass module.

The final intent of this garage-made system is unknown, but it certainly opens up possibilities for augmented reality car systems.  Projection units could easily put these views onto the windshield and voice-command for GPS to keep it hands free is nothing new.
Speaking of GPS, did you know that you can get a TomTom GPS system with Snoop Dogg’s voice on it?  Here’s the video to prove it.

How hard would it be for an AR GPS maker to have dual cams mounted on the dashboard with a projector blasting the screen information on your windshield?  The car dimensions are fixed and the GPS is known, add in some object recognition for the occasional readjustment of geospatial location, and an AR car system could draw yellow lines on the road to follow and highlight points of interest along the way.
The technology exists and only needs someone to put the pieces together.  I wouldn’t be suprised to learn a nimble startup had already started creating one.  And even if such a project was started today, one could be on the market by late this year or next.

Source : thomaskcarpenter.com

Total Immersion Puts Augmented Reality At The Forefront Of Entertainment With New Interactive Walk Through Experience

Total Immersion has confirmed its position as leader in the field of augmented reality through the launch of new kind of interactive attraction using mobility and augmented reality. This new attraction developed in cooperation with Hanwa Co. (Japan) is a state of the art walk through where guests are swept in an experience merging videogame and real live adventure.



Before entering in the attraction, guests are equipped with a backpack and a video gun (with an infrared camera, one LCD display and a trigger). Guests have to use the video gun to progress inside the horror house and find ghosts. As soon as the ghost is found, guests have to shoot it to collect point and succeed their mission. Augmented Reality permits to have very impressive scenario like a videogame for this kind of attraction. Guests are totally free of movements inside the ghost house.

“We’re demonstrating the magical ability of augmented reality to capture visitors’ attention and imagination,” said Bruno Uzzan, CEO, Total Immersion. “Guests experience real time interaction with augmented reality content — and are pulled into real life videogame, dynamically.”


This new kind of attraction has been especially developed for Family Entertainment Centres, Shopping Mall and Pay per Ride Parks. This new concept benefits of a high marketable price and revisit rates especially with teens and gamers audience. Hanwa Co. provides turn key project including design and hardware supply and Total Immersion develops Augmented Reality Software.


Photo credit : Hanwa/Total Immersion

Source : augmented-reality-news.com

Augmented Reality is now in vending machines

There’s just something about augmented reality that makes me want to report on it every time I see a new development.
This next step in augmented reality is a unique development from Toppan Printing Co Ltd for vending machines. It is being used in three Japanese supermarkets, and it requires the consumer to have a specific QR code in order to receive a free sample.
I’m sure that you have seen QR codes on other augmented reality apps such as the cover of Esquire’s December issue, for example. The customer can print out the Toppan QR codes from home, or can put it on a screen of their mobile device. From there, they can show it to the Toppan brand vending machine, and they will receive a free product sample. Find out after the jump what happens from there.
Yes, the augmented reality fun doesn’t stop there as the consumer can hold up the actual product to the augmented reality-fitted camera and get a really cool effect. I’m not certain what kind of effect is seen, but you might want to check out this new Coke Zero ad campaign to give you an idea of what’s up.
Toppan seems to be on to something good, all right. I suppose that it is too much to ask for this augmented reality to go worldwide.

Source : coolest-gadgets.com

V2 Instituite for the Unstable Media AR Talk

Both Wikitude and Layar spoke at this Ecosystem event for augmented reality hosted by V2 Instituite for the Unstable Media and PortalToYourDreams.  First half of the video has standard AR talking points, but after halfway point, I like the idea of seeing a person’s “aura” comprised of their metadata.  Would people act differently if you could instantly know they’d never given a dime to charity or cheated on their SATs?  Instant-karma feedback loops.



Source : thomaskcarpenter.com

Reed + Rader – Augmented Reality Avatars

NY based photographer/artist/graphic designer Pamela Reed and Matthew Rader (reed + rader) created those pretty amazing animated Gif or Augmented Reality Avatars for the trendy Spiral Mag…

This is the FUTURE of the Internet media : augmented reality avatars or animated photography – some effect that is impossible to do with print media, and that is why internet media/magazine and blogs is the future…





Reed + Rader have plenty of cool other Fashion related animated gif ! LOve it !



Be sure to check Reed + Rader site for some more amazing work !! and check as well Spiral Mag by Ryan Dye

Source : cyanatrendland.com

IKEA Uses Mobile Augmented Reality To Engage Shoppers’ Imagination

Earlier in 2009 IKEA launched a new line of furniture, IKEA PS, whose objective was to stretch the idea of design, to think about empowering people, and to minimize the impact on the world.

With such unusual designs, IKEA felt they had to do something special to help customers imagine how this furniture would fit into their houses, so they turned to a mobile augmented reality solution.

The Portable Interior Planner application gives customers the ability to see exactly how the new designs will look in their home, without the need to actually move any furniture!

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Mobile Augmented Reality has become a hot topic recently. An “Augmented Reality” system deals with the combination of real-world and computer-generated data, and generates a composite view for the user that is the combination of the real scene viewed by the user and a virtual scene generated by the computer
The beauty of the IKEA application is the simplicity and strong appeal of the basic proposition: wouldn’t it be nice if you could bring all these new furniture designs home to see how they might look in your own house. While this would be very difficult to do in the physical world, it is a perfect application for mobile augmented reality.
In fact, technology advancements in mobile handset cameras, screens, and processing power are enabling lots of new and interesting consumer applications in the entire field of mobile visual interactivity (see MobiAD article Visual Interactivity: The Next Great Way To Engage Consumers and NIKE PHOTOiD: Using Color To Connect With Customers)

The Application

To help overcome a customer’s lack of imagination, IKEA worked with Ogilvy and Mindmatic to design and build a mobile application that is a portable interior planning tool.
Here’s how it works:

• In the application are images of many of the pieces of furniture from the new IKEA PS line. The customer selects the product they are interested in, and then selects “Take a Picture”.
• The customer aims the camera of the phone at the area of the room where the furniture might be placed. The image of the room appears on the phone screen, along with the IKEA furniture. The furniture can be scaled larger or smaller to make it fit better in the scene.
• Once the image is the way the customer wants it, they use the camera to take a picture of the scene.
• If the customer likes the photo, they can either save it on the phone, or send it via MMS directly from within the application

How it looks

Here are some images of the IKEA application in use.

Distribution

The IKEA PS made the mobile application available to consumers in three ways:
1) In-store posters urged customers to send a free text message to IKEA to receive a link to download the application.
2) Customers going to the IKEA website were able to enter their mobile number and receive a download of the application.
3) Bluetooth pillars were installed in IKEA certain stores. These would periodically sent out signals to nearby phones inviting the subscriber to download the application.

Conclusion

We believe that the IKEA interior planning tool application is a great example of applying the unique attributes of mobile to a specific customer situation. In this case, providing customers with an easy-to-use means to understand exactly what a piece of furniture would look like in their home.
A couple of key points to take away from this campaign:
• Sometimes simple, single use apps are the best. As Magnus Jern, MD of Golden Gekko told us when discussing how to develop great marketing apps, “Prioritize just the key functionality, avoid the temptation to make the app do too many things, or you will never finish.” (from MobiAD article Mobile Applications: The Next Big Thing In Mobile Marketing?)
• The relatively low development costs for mobile apps means that this type of app can be build economically for a specific campaign (although this sort of capability could certainly be an ongoing part of IKEA marketing).
• Emerging technologies, such as mobile augmented reality or visual interactivity will be an important force in enabling new opportunities for brands to communicate with their clients, especially with branded utilities. The key will be to marry new technologies with real customer needs in a simple to use way. The proper application of mobile technology with a good user interface to offer a specific solution is what’s really important.

Source : mobiadnews.com

Vampires turn to augmented reality

Augmented novelty. Even the dusty traditional world of book publishing can’t resist the lure of augmented reality. Penguin is claiming that it’s the first US publisher to employ AR, and that in a campaign that certainly has bite.
The book in question is Vampire Academy Signature Edition, a hardback edition on the Razorbill imprint of the first volume of the teen hit Vampire Academy, written by Richelle Mead. Readers who head to the dedicated microsite and flash the book at their webcams can bring the cover to life and hear a message from the author.
VA fans can also post a picture of themselves to the site, see it transferred to the book cover, and then send it to their friends via Facebook.
As always with AR, there’s one of those how-it-works clips. This one features a young Academista putting the tech through its paces. Scary stuff indeed.
Also on the microsite is an online quiz Is Your School A Vampire Academy? Plus a handful of VA widgets and wallpapers.

Source :  brand-e.biz

Augmented Reality for Music Marketing and Live Streaming

We are now living in an attention economy where it is increasingly challenging to effectively engage consumers. In the music industry, advertising and promotion efforts are further complicated by a landscape in which fans are saturated with options for experiencing music, usually for free. These two factors make it critical for music promoters and marketers to seek innovative methods for engaging the consumer. One increasingly popular technique for capturing consumer attention involves the use of augmented reality technology. For the unfamiliar, augmented reality (AR) essentially overlays information on a live view of the real world, usually through a device’s camera.
Though the technology has been in research and development for decades, it has recently become mainstream largely due to the FLARToolkit which enables the development of web sites in which visitors can experience AR with a webcam. Over the past year, augmented reality has been featured in a number of high profile web campaigns for BMW, Doritos, and GE among many others.  It was also used throughout a recent issue of Esquire magazine.
Considering this trend, I recently explored how AR could be used in the context of the music business by developing a series of demos. These experiments described below illustrate how AR can be utilized for both music marketing efforts and live streamed interviews and performances.

Interactive Album Cover (AR Album Cover)

• -Special markers are printed on the front or back of an album cover.

• -Fans visit a website and hold the marker in front of a webcam.

• -An album cover is transformed into a music video and a 3D photo cube.

• -Could be used to showcase exclusive video and audio content only available in augmented reality

• -Feature could encourage physical album sales.

• -Try it out here.

Interactive Promotional Flyer (AR Flyer)

• -Special markers are printed on the front or back of a promo flyer.

• -Fans visit a website and hold the flyer marker in front of a webcam.

• -The flyer turns into a concert performed on your desk.

• -An AR flyer could be utilized to promote upcoming concerts with teaser performances.

• -Star musicians could use AR flyers to deliver special messages to fans.

• -Try it out here

Appear in a Concert With Your Favorite Artist

• -Interactive retail kiosks equipped live cameras and large screens could deliver augmented reality experiences in a store. Here’s an example.

• -Kiosks could promote a label’s roster by allowing fans to take photos and videos of themselves standing with augmented reality band members.

• -After registering on a website at the kiosk, fans could share these videos and photos with friends using e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail.

• -Try it out here.

Live Streaming Visual Effects

• -Live streaming of artist performances is becoming common with major acts such as the Foo Fighters and Tori Amos embracing it as a way to bring live music to their fans.

• -Where appropriate, AR techniques could be used to create virtual logos, pyrotechnics, back up dancers, and videowalls that appear on stage with an artist as their performances are streamed on the internet.

• -Could facilitate a low cost virtual set for web casting

• -Try it out here.

Conclusion

Currently, the most practical way to reach consumers with AR is through a webpage viewed on webcam equipped computers. The reach of AR marketing and promotion will expand as the number of AR capable mobile phones and retail kiosks increase. The Apple iPhone along with most Android devices and many Nokia phones are technically capable of running fiducial marker based AR applications similar to those created with the FLARtoolkit. Furthermore, the increasing use of in store digital signage should encourage the profileration of AR capable retail kiosks.

Undoubtedly, AR is an attention grabbing consumer engagement technique. However, to prevent being dismissed as a technical gimmick, it must be smartly utilized in a way which delivers consumer value in the form of unique content and compelling interactive experiences.

Source : devblog.lp33.tv

Augmented reality startup Tonchidot raises $4 million, will use virtual goods for revenue

Finally, a decent fundraising round size for an augmented reality startup.
Tonchidot, the Japanese startup behind the augmented reality browser Sekai Camera, raised $4 million from DCM and existing investor ITOCHU Technology Ventures. Augmented reality is a young field that lets you superimpose data and graphics over the real world in a camera viewfinder.
Two things are interesting about this round — Tonchidot becomes the second of several augmented reality startups to raise a venture-backed round this year. It’s a decent size for a first round and four times what Dutch competitor Layar raised this fall. Although a number of startups have launched products this year on the iPhone and Android-based phones, few venture capital firms had gotten their feet wet in the space. That seems to be changing now.
The second thing to note is that Tonchidot sounds like it will take a very different route to monetization than all of its competitors. It will use its augmented reality browser for more game play. Other competitors like Layar and Wikitude will take the advertising route, letting businesses pay for augmented reality tags or ads or sponsor layers in the browser that point to nearby places like fast-food locations or coffee shops.
Like many other mobile technologies, augmented reality will probably evolve very differently in Japan. Users can tag locations with data and comments in the browser that other people can pick up later if they use Sekai Camera in the same place. Ken Inoue, Tonchidot’s CFO, suggests that there might be special virtual goods that users can leave in different places for a fee.
“We think augmented reality provides a really interesting user interface, and a place to combine social interaction, marketing and content creation,” said  Osuke Honda, a principal at DCM. Specifically, Honda says Tonchidot’s technology could be used to stage game play in the real world. For example, you could have robots battle each other through your phone on a real physical location like a playing field. Or it could be used in  cosplay, a type of performance art popular in China and Japan where people wear elaborate costumes.



Source : venturebeat.com

AR-based Interactive Displays Debut in Japan

Augmented reality (AR) technologies, which superimpose information from computers on real fields of view in real time, began to be actually used on streets in Japan.
For example, they are now being used for improving item description on digital signage, providing new features to show windows and helping shoppers find stores.

Item description

One of the Japanese companies that promptly employed AR technologies is Toppan Printing Co Ltd. It began testing a terminal that looks like a vending machine and features AR functions and functions to showcase products at three Ito-Yokado supermarkets in October 2009.
For example, consumers can use their mobile phones to read the QR codes that are printed together with sample product information on e

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lectronics fliers available on Toppan's Website. After completing member registration on the Website, they receive a QR code. When they show the QR code to the camera equipped on one of the terminals, they can get a sample product.
Furthermore, when the package of a sample product is shown to the terminal's camera, the display on the terminal superimposes the description of the product on a real image.

Show windows

Sony Music Communications Inc (SMC) and Sky&Road Co Ltd are providing the "interactive show-window display using AR technologies" for offering shoppers new experience. When a person stands in front of the display, it superimposes a virtual image around the person in the real image by using face recognition technology.
"We are offering an experience like being drawn into a wonderland," the companies said.
The display was developed by using the AR development kit of Total Immersion, a France-based software solutions provider.
The display is exhibited in the show window and children's clothing department at an Isetan department store in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, from December 2 to 25, 2009.

Virtual fitting room

Furutanisangyou Co Ltd will test its "Magical Mirror" to let shoppers try on outfits and help them find stores in an underground mall in Okasa, Japan.
The Magical Mirror has a full-HD LCD display equipped with several cameras and superimposes the images of clothes on an image of a shopper standing in front of the display. It also has a function to measure the physical constitution of a shopper and process the images of clothes so that they fit the body.
The clothes are actually being sold at stores in the underground mall. And the display can show the availability of the clothes in appropriate sizes.
It is possible to try on up to six items, such as inner clothes, pants/skirts, shirts, dresses, sweaters and coats, at the same time even when they are being sold at different stores. Then, shoppers can go to a store and purchase the items they tried on.
"It eliminates the need for going to many stores and enables to try a combination of clothes that are being sold at different stores," Furutanisangyou said.
However, the Magical Mirror does not use AR technologies in a precise sense. It takes an image of a person standing in front of the display and, then, superimposes the images of clothes on it. So, it is not done in real time.
Still, the company plans to increase the number of items wearable at the same time to nine in October 2010 and enable to show images taken from the sides and behind a person in or after October 2011.
The Fraunhofer Institute of Germany demonstrated such virtual fitting technologies at CEATEC JAPAN 2009, a trade show that took place in October 2009 in Tokyo, under the name of "Virtual Mirror."

Toppan Printing's terminal equipment with AR functions

When the camera recognizes the package of a sample product, the display on the equipment shows the description of the product.

The "interactive show-window display" developed by Sony Music Communications (SMC) and Sky&Road

Furutanisangyou's "Magical Mirror." When a person wearing a shirt with long sleeves tries on a sleeveless item, the display shows a computer generated arm image.

Source : techon.nikkeibp.co.jp

Le lèche-vitrine a enfin son application de réalité augmentée

Thundre propose un moteur de recherche en réalité augmentée dédié aux chalands modernes. Celui-ci permet de voir la description et le prix d'un objet sans rentrer dans la boutique.

Publié le 08 Décembre 2009

Ce réseau anglais spécialisé dans la publicité locale a mis au point une application de réalité augmentée pour rechercher des produits vendus à proximité. Par exemple, un client qui chercherait des chaussures rouges émet une requête sur le moteur de recherche. L’application va ensuite chercher dans sa base de données la liste des détaillants à proximité en proposant. L’utilisateur peut ensuite visualiser la description, les photos et le prix de l'objet, telles que rentrées par le commerçant. Toutes ces données se superposent aux images captées en temps réel par le téléphone. Sont également proposées les directions à suivre pour se rendre aux points de vente. L'application propose également les horaires de l'ouverture du magasin et des liens vers le site de la marque.
Pas besoin de rentrer dans le magasin

"L'application donne la possibilité de voir ce qui est vendu dans le magasin sans rentrer dedans", explique Paula Abrahamson, le PDG de Thundre. "Utiliser le moteur de recherche en réalité augmentée permet de raccourcir le temps passé à faire du shopping". L'application permet aux détaillants de rentrer dans le système tout produit vendu dans leur boutique et d'attirer les clients ayant une idée précise de ce qu'ils recherchent. Pour ceci, il n'est pas nécessaire d'avoir un site web de la boutique. Les informations rentrées dans le système sont disponibles à la consultation immédiatement, l'indexation se faisant en temps réel.
Ne payer qu'à l'achat

Le détaillant ne paye pour l'utilisation du service que lorsque l'objet est acheté. La monétisation de l'application fonctionne de manière suivante. Tout commerçant publicisant ces services sur Thundre doit proposer un bon de réduction minimum de 5% au client. En rentrant le code du bon (par numérisation d'un code à barres imprimé sur papier ou directement sur l'écran du mobile), une commission de 5% est versée à Thundre. L’application de réalité augmentée est accessible sur iPhone 3GS ou tout ordiphone sous Android équipé de boussole. Pour accéder au moteur de recherche, il est nécessaire de télécharger l'application Layar, disponible gratuitement.

Source : atelier.fr

8 Things That Are Possible With Google Goggles

Unless you’ve been sleeping under a pile of old Commodore 64s, you’ve heard about the Google Goggle announcement.  The service allows you to use pictures to search the web.  The service is amazing in its own right.  Check out the videos if you haven’t seen them already.




Google Goggles opens up huge possibilities for augmented reality.  One of the challenges of AR is for the computer to understand the world around it in a realistic manner.  GPS and compasses only tell one tiny part of the story.  If the only thing you know about the world is the exact location you’re in and which direction you’re facing, then you really can’t accomplish much.
Object recognition (which for Goggles includes facial recognition, but they’re not allowing individuals to be accessed until privacy issues are figured out) allows our phones to mimics how the brain works in the seeing the world around it (or the Reality Recognition if you’re familiar with my AR Scale.)  This doesn’t mean that Google has mind-mapped our mental processes to make the service work.  What it means is that Goggles allow for computers to start doing what our brain is doing–seeing the world around it.
Google Goggles Will Make These Eight Things (and More) Possible:
1 – Cataloging your refrigerator and pantry so you can cross-reference at the store and get menu ideas.  Maybe in five years your fridge will have a camera inside of it to do it real-time. 
2 – Noah Zerkin on twitter pointed out pretty quickly that “If they can recognize scene elements, and they also provide GPS/inertial/mag-based overlay, how long before using surroundings to fix POV?”  This will make immersive augmented reality games and services possible.
3 – Run your TiVo through it so it can edit out the commercials.
4 – Wilderness survival tool that lets you know if its safe to eat the purple berries (when the plant picture search is added and assuming you have cell phone coverage!)
5 – Scan your strange garage sale items to find out what they go for on Ebay (Who actually owns purple zebra lamps?)
6 – Warehouses or stores can auto-count items as they are removed from the shelves with a bank of cameras so they can have real-time inventory and also know which items were “almost” sold.
7 – Genealogists can use old family pictures as a search criteria to find other long lost family branches.
8 – Trend spotters could use live camera feeds to understand usage patterns of products.

These do require access to Goggles database or at least a way to port through Goggles (like using Twitter for real-time search) and some might also require usable HMDs to make it worth using, but the possibilities are exponential.  While none of these things are going to happen overnight, Google Goggles sure has made things a lot more interesting (especially if they allow facial recognition.)

Source : thomaskcarpenter.com

Video Release of Augmented Reality Bonus on Gi Joe The Rise of Cobra DVD

For the last release of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Special Edition and Blu-ray Edition DVD, use your DVD as a special trigger for Augmented Reality Combat Experience. This exclusive AR Experience is first time used as part of a bonus in a DVD.

Source : augmented-reality-news.com

Video Release of Universal/Mercury Sinik CD with extra AR content

Universal Music France has announced that the upcoming album by hip-hop act Sinik, “Ballon d’Or,” will include images giving access to ‘augmented reality’ features.
The booklet for the album, released Nov. 30, features images that, when placed in front of a computer webcam, launch the augmented reality videos on the image on the computer screen.

Source : augmented-reality-news.com

Trading Cards : Video Release of Emax/Calcio 3D Consumer Products Augmented Reality Experience

E-Max launched in Italy Calcio 3D, a brand new AR experience powered by Total Immersion for trading cards with innovative game plays including scoring systems.

Source : augmented-reality-news.com

Silverlight 4 Augmented Reality Proof Of Concept

In this short blog post I want to present a demo I've actually made last week. Unfortunately I had no time to work on it since then. This demo is a proof of concept for doing Augmented Reality with Silverlight 4 and the built-in webcam API.
I use the open source Augmented Reality library NyARToolkitCS and implemented the necessary interfaces to make it work with Silverlight. The NyARToolkitCS library is a completely managed version of the well known ARToolkit.



Live
If you want to try it yourself you need do download this marker [PDF], print it and hold it in front of the camera. To run the demo you need the Silverlight 4 runtime. You can download the beta developer runtimes for Windows and Mac. If you don't like to install the runtime you might want to see the video below.

I recommend the non-embedded version of the application.

Simply press the "Start Capture" Button, hold the printed marker in front of the camera and move it around.
If you click the "Start Capture" Button for the first time you need to give your permission for the capturing. This application uses the default Silverlight capture devices. You can specify the video and audio devices that are used by default with the Silverlight Configuration. Just press the right mouse button over the application, click "Silverlight" in the context menu and select the "Webcam / Mic" tab to set them.

Video
I've also recorded a short video with my iPhone 3GS. The video was recorded at night and it's no secret that the iPhone camera is not the best, but I think it's good enough to see how the marker is tracked and the Silverlight logo moves with it.

To be continued
The first results are quite good and the demo runs smoothly at 60-70 fps on a dual core machine utilizing both cores. I will continue my work on this project and provide more details, samples and of course source code.
Stay tuned...

Source : kodierer.blogspot.com

Facial Recognition is the Future of Social Search

Nokia’s concept video shows what they think mobile computing will be in 2015.  The list rounds out the usual suspects of future-tech: cloud computing, geolocative services, service-anywhere and facial recognition, to name a few.  The last one tweaks my concerns about data harvesting and social stalking as presented the last two days (Thoughts on the OGI and Surveillance Society).  Seems like this is privacy week at the Future Digital Life.
Nokia isn’t the only one delving into this aspect of computer vision as Qualcomm gave a sneak peak into their future products and facial recongition tied to social networking is one of them.  Ben Sillis from Electricpig reports what the Qualcomm European president presented:

the company’s European president, Andrew Gilbert, showed how you would soon be able to point your phone’s camera at a person, then instantly bring up their Facebook and Twitter profiles, along with recent updates and all the details said victim (Karmen, in the above picture) has chosen to make public about themselves.
 Gilbert admitted that the possibility raised serious privacy issues – you could theoretically pull up a person’s home address through automatic whois requests – but ethics aside, it’s an interesting next step for augmented reality apps, which layer data over the surroundings and have started to take off in a big way over the last year. As phones get faster and more powerful, what’s to stop people integrating this form of search?
Gilbert described a future where the “handheld device becomes the remote control of your life”. If you ask us, we’ve already reached that stage – would you take it to the next level like this?

Personally, I wouldn’t mind facial recognition tied to my social services as long as I controlled who had access to my face data.  Things get tricky when you have access to search anyone in your viewing distance.  Either way, facial recognition is sure to be part of the future of social search.

Source : thomaskcarpenter.com

HMD Augmented Reality Display with Vuzix CamAR

A workable HMD augmented reality unit is a major step forward for the technology.  Once a see-through model is available, we can break out of the “magic lens” smartphone.  However, a see-through HMD is still a couple of years away and until then we’ve got to make due with what’s currently available.
Craig Kapp, a full time graduate student at the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at NYU, has put together a working HMD unit with the Vuzix VR920 model and the ARCam.






When I contacted Craig this is what he had to say:

Thanks for the message. I am using the Vuzix VR920 head mounted display in conjunction with their brand new “CamAR” attachment – it’s a snap-on webcam that fits snugly onto the front of the goggle. Here’s some more info on my blog about the project.
I’m working on a larger project that involves these goggles + a voice detection package to create a sonically controllable AR environment. Feel free to check back in a week or two for an update!

While a unit like this would never be usable by the masses, it could allow researchers and hard-core AR enthusiasts to create early full view games and apps.  I’m looking forward to hearing how Craig’s project turns out.  Maybe some of the other AR gear heads could lend a hand with making the project more immersive or porting it to a smartphone.


Source : thomaskcarpenter.com

Bamzooki – Augmented Reality TV Game Show

Robots battling it out for glory is nothing new.  Augmented reality robots racing around real streets and battling on rooftops is so 2010.

The BBC show, Bamzooki, is an augmented reality TV game show in which autonomous creatures called Zooks are designed and then controlled by participants on the show by shouting instructions during the battles.  The game is run by:

The BBC’s Virtual Studiotechnology was used to enable realtime composition of the 3D rendered graphics with live camera feeds. Each studio camera has a dedicated render PC to render the virtual scene from that camera’s perspective. To know what a studio camera’s perspective is, each camera is fitted with a second ‘Free-D’ camera which points towards the ceiling. On the ceiling are reflective, circular bar codes. The 3-D camera data is fed to a computer system that identifies the targets on the ceiling and calculates that camera’s position and orientation, 50 times a second. Series 4 adopted vinten tracking peds instead of FREE-D as an alternative approach.
The contest runs in realtime on a networked PC. All the clients receive contest scene information and render their scene from their studio camera’s point of view. A bank of chromakey boxes then composite the virtual and the live feed together to provide a realtime composite. This video stream can be sent to the studio camera monitors so that camera operators can view the composite and hence follow the action in realtime.

The relaunch of the show began this November and the new season will run thirteen shows.  The Zook Toolkit comes with a simulator and a Motion Player to watch your Zook perform.  The Zooks can be run in an entirely VR environment, but the show uses AR to put the battles into the real world.  Some schools are using the Zook Toolkit to stage their own battles.



Source : thomaskcarpenter.com