A couple of weeks ago I posted about the Augmented Reality Smart Windshield concept, well it turns out General Motors are working on that exact same idea.
A combination of night vision, navigation and camera-based sensors are used to gather data about your surroundings. Images related to the journey, such as edges of the road in poor visibility, are then projected onto the windshield surface.
Caught this in The Sydney Morning Herald today, no information on who makes it, I’ve tried Google without any joy.
Luckily the picture speaks a thousand words, the technology “allows visitors to look at a display, connected with a computer and a camera which detects their gender, age group and mood”
This is pretty amazing, I wonder if it will make it’s way onto mobile via Augmented Reality apps or picture recognition solutions?
Seems like the on-road extension of the Augmented Hyper-Reality video.
Loving all these ultra-AR concepts at the moment.
[Via @ChrisGrayson & Bhgoo]
This is SICK.
Check this video out by Keiichi Matsuda and Gen Otsubo as part of a larger project about the social and architectural consequences of new media and augmented reality.
What I like about it is how gritty it is compared to that super glossy Microsoft ‘Vision of 2019‘ – not everyone is going to be living and working in minimalist glass buildings 9 years from now.
I’ve been waiting for someone to make a video like this for ages. Especially with all that talk of augmented reality-enabled contact lenses that display your vital signs. Fits with the video perfectly.
Ok so this is a pretty pointless augmented reality application, you look through your iPhone camera and see….an augmented iPhone. It’s a bit like looking at a augmented Internet browser on your desktop to surf the web.
Anyway, where as the idea might be useless, check out the functionality of the augmented iPhone. You can actually USE the iPhone, it’s the first time I’ve seen this much interactivity with a object, it’s incredibly detailed.
The app was developed by Ogmento to promote the launch of iPhone by Orange Telecom Israel
Wowaweee check out this guide to making Augmented Reality cookies by Mike Clare (full video below)
It never occurred to me the MASSIVE opportunity to be had by printing AR codes onto food. Everything from competitions, nutritional information and even cooking guides. The possibilities are endless. Brilliant.
We’ve already seen how much fun you can have with Augmented Reality and cereal packaging.
(Thanks to @Chrisgrayson)
Ever wondered what that augmented reality edition of Esquire magazine looked like in its full glory? Check out these videos of the various AR bits of the magazine.
It’s amazing how polished it looks compared to other AR executions I’ve seen, must have cost a bomb!
[Click image for whole scanned page]
Standing by and watching Augmented Reality’s meteoric rise is becoming more and more interesting every day.
The Metro, a popular free London newspaper, featured this one page article on Augmented Reality this week. It focuses on the Transformers AR campaign ‘We Are The Autobots‘ which turns your head into Optimus as well as some other lovely creative AR executions.
Although one page might not sound much, this is a bit of a big deal. The Metro is read by 1 million people everyday and for it to run a educational piece about AR speaks volumes. It seems like AR has been around no time at all, I think it first came onto my radar around 18 months ago.
It took around 4 years for a similar article to appear about QR Codes (below) in a mainstream newspaper in the UK. Although admittedly that one had more pages dedicated to it and some interactivity using your mobile, oh and a page 3 model. But this is a start, how long before a major newspaper in the UK has some AR markers on that relate to articles?
The previous post about using Augmented Reality at football matches got me thinking – what information would I want instant access to at a football match?
I quickly knocked together these mock ups while it was still fresh in my head. Things like stats and video highlights from the game would be great, especially when you miss a goal or chance because you left to go get a burger.
You could even take it a step further and add voting functions for man of the match or some sort of social network integration (which I haven’t quite thought of yet).
Can you think of anything else?
The statisical data would come from live XML feeds such as ones by Press Association. Tracking players isn’t as hard as it sounds, there are some (amazing) technologies like Stats.com Player Tracking:
STATS utilizes a sophisticated technology software algorithm to collect the X/Y positioning data of the ball and participants (players and referees) within the playing field in real-time. Complex algorithms are employed to analyze the accumulated data streams and compile meaningful information and insights with incredible precision.
[Click to enlarge images]
Fed up of explaining the offside rule to your girlfriend? Just dump your iPhone in front of her face and run this proof of concept application by PSV Eindhoven.
Although I admire the innovation, the app isn’t actually that useful when you think about it. Offsides happen in a split second, are you going to spend the whole match looking at that red line? Linesmen are there for a reason.
The technology is by Layar.
[Via Rubbish Corp]
It’s been such a long wait I was beginning to wonder if it even existed. Sekai Camera has finally launched for the iPhone.
In the summer 2008, the mobile world was buzzing with the annoucement of the application at Techcrunch 50 (a tech innovation conference). It was one of the first iPhone applications to use Augmented Reality in a way that had never been seen before.
If you haven’t heard of Sekai Camera, it uses the iPhones camera as a viewfinder to overlay tags and information onto actual objects around you. This info is pulled in from servers based on your location and the direction you are facing. It’s a interface between the real and virtual world.
Tagging is bascially just like bookmarking, only in rich multi-media way. The tags can be images, audio, text and video, they can be made by you or your community.
Check out the video below to see the demo.
I remember testing out QR codes for clients 3 years ago when considering if we should include them into a few campaigns. None of them went for it, the main problem was that such a small percentage of mobiles were compatible with the QR code application, plus no phones actually shipped with the reader installed meaning that you would have to get the user to download something before they could even interact. This didn’t sit well with any brands and eventually all talk of using them vanished from future projects.
Fast forward to today and isn’t it funny that Augmented Reality has exactly the same problem, but brands and advertisers are going absolutely nuts for it?
I’ve always steered clear of making someone download an application to interact with advertising (excluding typical iPhone apps). It’s no secret that drop off rates are increased massively when you throw in a download. We have App Stores now to make that process a lot easier along with unlimited data plans which eliminate cost concerns for the users. But as super duper as it is, I still have a niggling feeling about AR. Read More
After posting about the Augmented Reality enabled front cover of Esquire, I got into a number of conversations about the possibilities of AR and where it was heading, as well as the pros and cons.
One of the downsides to AR is that the black and white marker used to activate the technology is pretty ugly and can limit how you incorporate it into designs and campaigns. I remember several occasions where I’ve tried to add some flair to a QR code for a client and it felt like I was polishing a turd.
You basically just have to slap it onto things. Occasionally you see some brilliance like the Louis Vutton code.
During this discussion the guys at the digital/mobile agency Movement alerted me to this Burger King augmented reality piece by Crispin Porter + Borgusky.
The user holds up a one dollar bill and the app overlays all the items on the Burger King menu which are $1 as you flip the note. Great tie-in. Read More
Ch-ch-check this out, old media is embracing new media in the latest edition of Esquire with Robert Downey Jr. coming to life using Augmented Reality (AR).
Readers will be able to hold the US edition in front of a webcam and the on-screen image of the magazine become alive with letter flying off the cover and Robert Downey Jr. emerging out of the page in 3D.
The animation is triggered by the box between Downey’s legs (no laughing please) which looks like a QR code but is way cooler.
Inside the magazine there are a further six AR boxes, each activating a different interactive video feature. Sections such as men’s fashion are transformed on screen with the models changing clothing ranges depending on how the page is tilted.
Even the regular feature called ‘Funny Joke from a Beautiful Woman’ gets the AG treatment with actress Gillian Jacobs taking part. Bring back the magazine to your webcam after midnight and Gillian tells you a ‘dirty’ joke, which is too rude for daytime audiences.
Looking at the front page it also looks like there is some education for the reader about what Augmented Reality is and how to use it. I wonder how many users will think this is just another QR code thingy?
It reminds me a bit of when The Sun did that QR code ‘Special’ pull out to teach van drivers what to do when they saw the little black and white squares. They went for a similar approach by using Keeley Hazel, just with slightly less clothing than Robert Downey Jr.
Advertising
The kind of AR enabled magazine isn’t easy or cheap to produce, so advertising support is essential, which is why two of the AR markers in the magazine trigger on-screen ads for Lexus. It sounds like their involvement is key as Editor David Granger admitted the issue cost more than usual to put together. Read More
Cereal from the 80s
Ahh cereal boxes, I fondly remember the days of my childhood when my mum would take me shopping and I’d hassle her the entire time for some Sugar Puffs only because they contained a pair of 3d glasses to use with the game on the back of the box.
If I thought I was annoying back then I would hate to see what kids would do for the cereal boxes in the video below:
