While some of the bigger features of iOS 4.2 such as AirPrint and AirPlay dominated the limelight, Apple snuck in a few other gems. As it just so happens, a development company by the name of Occipital happened to stumble upon one of these so called secret features: Augmented Reality.
You can check out the AR capabilities within Mobile Safari by pointing your browser to the live demo the developers at Occipital set up here. With all the talk of the web being the future of “apps”, it’s certainly cool to see a traditionally local feature move to the browser.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you didn’t exist? Perhaps something a little less deep — what if that hub cap on the car wheel were different? What if the building didn’t have some garish box jutting out of the side? Thanks to some researchers at Germany’s Technische Universität Ilmenau, now we can answer at least two of the three questions above. (Sorry, we can’t help you with questions regrading your existence at this point and time.)
The technology has the nickname “Dimished Reality”, and essentially works much like augmented reality. Except, the only difference (and it’s a big one) is that the process is all live, in real time, using video. The image above gets the point across. The video inside causes your shirt to turn into a drool rag. So get clickin’…
Last year, AR (augmented reality) was a huge splash in the tech world. The ability to lay over multiple layers of information on top of a real world video feed opened up countless doors for all kinds of services and applications. In the case of iKat (developed with Zentium’s D-Track software), the software overlays a cat on top of the video feed. It may seem pretty basic, but the number crunching required to actually pull it off and have it look decent is pretty involved. This use of AR is but one of many ways the technology can be used. If anything, it at least entertains us for a few minutes. Give the vid below a watch.
Continue walking and texting with ease complete with new fearless attitude thanks to “Type-n-Walk”. Anyone with a phone that has sent even one text message while on the move knows the dangers that present themselves when engaged in a riveting text based conversation whilst on the move. Thanks to the ingenious heads behind Type-n-Walk, worries of near death experiences can now be a thing of the past.
The concept and operation of the app is easy. Whenever you want to send a text, email, Facebook message, etc., fire up TnW and type away. (Basically, any app that is compatible with copy/paste will work with Type-n-Walk.) The app will use the camera feed from your iPhone’s camera (sorry no iPod Touch support) and display it onscreen while also overlaying the screen with the text you type. It doesn’t seem like much, but in practice it works and works well. The only thing that would improve this app is if you could specify and actually send out, receive, and read messages within the app itself. That however is a problem that only Apple can fix.
Some individuals may see this app and become incensed, claiming how the technologically epic minds of this generation are becoming robots. Well, you know what? I actually like robots. So there! Although, now that you can watch where you’re going and text, you excuse for how you walked into that wall, struck that old lady, or got hit by that car can no longer be blamed on the mere fact that “you didn’t see it/them”.
Overall, $0.99 is more than reasonable for an app that is as useful as TnW wouldn’t you say? In passing, I’ll leave off with a few words of wisdom: Take a few seconds to actually put the phone down while crossing the street. Common sense folks, common sense.
You know, with each and every “far out there” or geeky invention I see come forth from the great island way out east, I find myself second guessing my decision of staying here in the states. Of course, I don’t have too many options at the moment, finishing school and all. But nothing can quite compare to the uniquely weird things that Japan’s greatest minds put forth. Case in point: AR equipped vending machines. If you though AR was just for mobile devices and happened to stroll by one of currently three test locations for Tokyo’s latest craze, you’d be dumbfounded and awestruck to say the least.
Instead of merely choosing a product, slipping in some money, and walking off with your delectable treat, citizens of Tokyo can now interact with their food (didn’t your mother always tell you not to play with your food…?) in ways that should make any nerd quiver with unabated excitement. The first of many things that make’s Japan’s tech scene so much better than ours in regards to AR equipped vending machines is — (1) Customers can bring a printed or digital (on phone screen) copy of a QR code to a vending machine, scan it in and receive a free product sample. The road keeps going however with (2) an expanded experience as after buying any product, holding it within eye’s reach of your smart vending machine will ‘splay across the machine a visual symphony of infographs attempting to draw you deeper in, wanting and needing to spend more.
At the very least, it’s a novel concept that ads ever more flare and geekery to a typical Japanese citizen’s daily lives. Hey, I’m far from complaining or mocking. Hell, their vending machines have AR! I’m stuck here in northing Indiana wondering why I can’t get a damn traffic controlled light at the end of my block in the year 2009. We’ve all been there, the lone red light that waits for no one. See you in Tokyo…
Augmented reality has been getting a lot of hype lately especially in the mobile world as it gives GPS aided phones a rather nifty HUD-like layer to their normal map applications. So far, developers are just barely scratching the surface of the potential that AR holds. Though researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are quickly turning “sci-fi” into reality and giving AR a new, unique application — seeing through walls.
By using two cameras, one giving the drivers view as well as one giving the view of the area in question, the system allows drivers to essentially see through walls. The image taken by the driver view camera gets overlaid with the hidden view camera and presto chango we have a see through wall. Quite a novel and highly useful idea. Only thing is we don’t have that many cameras lining the streets here in the U.S., though that trait is changing. As long as your city has cameras, they can be made to work with this see-thru-wall technology. Don’t get too excited too much as the underlying technology to make this work is available now,it isn’t fast enough to work in the real world in real time just yet.
A unique and clever solution? Most definitely. Do I still want my x-ray goggles? You can bet on it!
One of the coolest Android apps available currently available hands down is that of Layar. This seemingly average socially “aware” augmented reality browser displays real time info about various places using your phone’s camera, GPS, compass, etc. isn’t sitting still in terms of development and advancement. Come November, this nifty little app will be making a mighty large move into the third dimension. As you can see from the photo above, the possibilities and doors that can be heard opening in your head are quite expansive and large. The addition of 3D text and images is huge even though the initial examples such as the plane above are rather crude. Don’t discount this app or the team behind it though. A big shift in socially aware AR apps is coming and I can’t wait. Currently, developers of all walks are being encouraged to delve into Layer and it’s upcoming 3D feature as to expand the apps potential and functionality. The new 3D feature is reported to be coming to end users this November. I’m definitely on edge….November can’t come soon enough.
If you so choose (and I highly suggest you do so), a video inside gives you a quick demo of the 3D goodness.
Video glasses have long been a coveted accessory for many gadget nerds to add to their arsenal. The idea of being able to have big screens right in front of your eyes is a compelling reason for many to go into debt and melt a credit in the process. However, up until this point, video glasses have been pretty expensive putting them out of reach for most. Though it appears that a day of reckoning is finally approaching. A company called Optinvent in conjunction with a Japanese manufacturer are teaming up as to release a more affordable mobile video glasses solution sometime in the 2nd half of 2010. This more affordable venture has been given the name “Clear Vu”.
The reason the price is sinking lower is due to newer, less expensive lenses that should still deliver optimal quality for many more consumers. Of course, with mobile video glasses, the possibilities are endless. Everything from private movie watching, to gaming, to augmented reality applications leave my mind spinning — particularly the AR scenario. How cool would it be to walk around a big city with an AR app fired up merely looking around getting bombarded with all sorts of information and specs. I welcome you dear future with open arms…
GPS devices are some of the most useful roadgoing gadgets today. Some people may prefer a good ‘ol atlas and the computer between their ears. But lets be honest, do you really want to go flipping through pages of an atlas and be Mr. Navigator or would you rather pick the start and end points, press go, and enjoy the scenery on your commute? I know I would. Likewise, the sometimes complex road changes and exchanges one faces in densely populated areas and those areas where a 3-year old designed the road systems, taking the wrong ramp can often lead to lengthly detours. But what if you could simply see the street infront of you with the instructions drawn on top? The concept is nothing new, though the app I’m highlighting, Wikitude, does it wonderfully. It falls into the current fad category of AR or augmented reality. It uses the phones camera, GPS, and accelerometer to take a live image of what’s in front of you and overlays GPS information on top giving you a real live, and again, live set of directions to your destination.
Definitely a cool thing to have and on a phone none the less. While I don’t have an Android device (yet) to try it out, I can guarantee that it will be one of the first Android apps I download. If you are currently rocking Android, care to divulge your journies so far? Video of the action inside.
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While some of the bigger features of iOS 4.2 such as AirPrint and AirPlay dominated the limelight, Apple snuck in a few other gems. As it just so happens, a development company by the name of Occipital happened to stumble upon one of these so called secret features: Augmented Reality.
Continue walking and texting with ease complete with new fearless attitude thanks to “Type-n-Walk”. Anyone with a phone that has sent even one text message while on the move knows the dangers that present themselves when engaged in a riveting text based conversation whilst on the move. Thanks to the ingenious heads behind Type-n-Walk, worries of near death experiences can now be a thing of the past.
