Archive for the ‘Augmented Reality’ Category

Augment Your Reality With Layar for iPhone

Layar, which has been the poster child for augmented reality smartphone apps, just arrived in the iPhone’s App Store.

The Layar augmented reality browser looks at an environment through the phone’s camera and overlays data on top of points of interest such as restaurants, shops and tourist attractions.

The app retrieves information from third-party developers who contribute their “layers” to the Layar platform. For example, there’s a layer called iMetro, and when that’s selected and you’re standing outside, Layar will display digital overlays of nearby bus stops and the time the next bus is arriving.

Get what we mean? Layers are similar to plug-ins that customize desktop browsers. There are also layers for Yellow Pages, Las Vegas casinos and Wikipedia. The layers are free, as is the Layar app. Based in Amsterdam, Layar told Wired.com that after the platform generates enough interest, it might begin charging users for premium layers. For now, Layar appears to be in a stage of experimentation, and it’s a good start.

Wired.com’s Rose Roark last week wrote a hands-on about the Android version of Layar. Check that out for some more insight into the app.

Download Link [iTunes]

See Also:

• Hands-On: Android App ‘Layar’ Brings Reality’s Unique Snowflakes …
• If You’re Not Seeing Data, You’re Not Seeing
• Digital Contacts Will Keep an Eye on Your Vital Signs

Hands-On: Android App ‘Layar’ Brings Reality’s Unique Snowflakes to Your Phone

Imagine if you could browse the web through your eye vision: A review of a restaurant when you stare at its sign, or the times that a bus will arrive while standing at a stop.

That’s the idea behind Layar, an augmented-reality browser available for Google Android smartphones. Layar allows a user to view their environment through their camera lens and see real-time Points of Interest (POIs) from the physical world, providing a mixed reality. In the Layar Reality Browser, you can discover and save specific POIs depending on what you are looking for.

Layar is a unique AR app because it allows third-party developers to contribute layers to their platform. Other AR apps pull their data from search engines, Wikipedia or review-based sites. As location-based features grow, such as Flickr and Twitter, allowing you to tag your location to your content, the ability to see how others are interacting around you in real-time is a compelling element in AR technology.

Layar provides an easy-to-use interface with four clear sections that list layers by name and description. For example, “i-Metro, locate the public transportation stations and stops around your area” allows you to judge its relevance without having to open it. You can sort the layers by popularity, search terms and favorites.

During my testing, I found many of the layers were well done and useful. However, the open platform of Layar has attracted some not-so-polished layers with kinks that need to be worked out, mostly involving usability. For example, BuildAR, a layer that allows you to create your own POIs, has a difficult account sign-up process: You need to type their domain into a separate browser, sign up, then return to BuildAR, and it’s not clear where you’re exactly putting your POI.

This small example could serve as a clue for Layar to implement a user-rating system to hold developers accountable and maintain a standard of experience. Personally, I wish I didn’t spend as much time as I did fiddling with BuildAR. The description made it sound interesting, and I initially thought I was doing something wrong; a rating system would have informed me that the problems were with the software.

In November, Layar will be further expanding their platform by incorporating a 3D grid into their layers. Developers will be able to build 3D objects and assign actions such as sounds or clicking on the object for a link.

Layar is a free application available in the Android Market.

See Also:

• At the Dawn of the Augmented Reality Industry
• If You’re Not Seeing Data, You’re Not Seeing
• Digital Contacts Will Keep an Eye on Your Vital Signs

PewPewPew (With Your iPhone) [IPhone Apps]

I don’t really have to explain this one, do I? It’s called iPew and it’s 99 cents and it’s got rockets and lasers and fire and bullets and it’s awesome. [iTunes, Thanks Kevin!]

Virtual Mirror: augmented reality without glasses

The Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute — the same Fraunhofer that holds many of the patents on MP3 — have a booth at CEATEC exhibiting some of their research efforts, shopping them around for potential licensees. Their Virtual Mirror display is, I think, a great example of augmented reality done right. It uses a camera, a display, and their special software to dynamically alter the image projected back to the viewer.

The concept of a mirror realizes augmentation without the customer needing to wear glasses. No additional equipment has to be used as you can just step into the application and move freely like in front of a real mirror. This significantly enhances acceptability and immsersiveness while also reducing the effort needed for supervising such an application.

Here’s a quick video:

Note how the shadows of the shirt are preserved. This is the kind of detail that really makes augmented reality believable. Without that nuance, our brains (or at least my brain) kind of gives up trying to make the whole thing work. I was particularly impressed by how well the deformations were preserved as the guy stretched and pulled his shirt.

And I stand corrected: the lady watching and not-watching TV at CEATEC does not have the best job of the event. This guy does!

You can learn more at virtualmirror.de.

The Secret Ingredient Is Love Augmented Reality [Food]

The confections look innocent enough—slightly geometric renditions of Vanilla Refrigerator Cookies from The Joy of Cooking. But hold these cookie markers under a webcam with some accompanying software, and you get this:

AUGMENTED FREAKIN’ REALITY!!!!!

Remember back when butter, flour and sugar were enough? Now the American appetite has grown so vast that we’ll be consuming Pokémon, movie advertisements and Nascar figurines in no time. Just wait for it: A bowl of Cooler Ranch Doritos topped with Cialis coupons is just an ad campaign away. [Mike Clare and Tellart viaMAKE]

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