By Patricia Frischer
One of the four projects of
the DNA of Creativity project (the Batt App) is going to have an augmented
reality (AR) component. I had no idea what that meant this time last year, but
bit by bit I am learning about this exciting new area of communication. I hope
to give you a brief description of my discoveries and some links so you can see
for yourself how exciting this technology really is that combines elements from
the physical and the virtual world to create new experiences at home, in business,
and by smart phone where ever you are connected to the internet.
Please note in my
descriptions below, you must click on the links to really get an idea as no
written explanation is adequate to describe these new technologies.
I went to a presentation in
May produced by Commnexus
called Augmented Reality: Is It Real? hosted by the law firm Mintz Levin. The first presenter, Mike Gonzales,
Creative Director and Brand Digital Manager of Wow
Wee USA Inc is producing a line of AR toys under the brand AppGear which will sell for only $9.95. That is
an incredible price when you realize that the child (or child at heart) will
get a toy that acts as a marker to launch the technology similar to computer
games purchases as dvds. The toys will be collectable and the AR component will
lengthen the play time from the usual few hours to days and days of
interaction.
This is the natural
progression when the ipad, computer and smart phone become the playthings of
our young people. The company started with a $100 robot which sold 6 million
units and will probably come out with a $39.95 robot that will allow you to use
your smart phone to see smoke trails when rockets are launched and do virtual
repairs. But the first set of apps will include a small toy plane (Foam Fighters) which attaches to your device and makes that
device into a control panel for flying through the digital landscape. It has
gaming capacity for multiple players and other games in this line can make your
tabletop into a game board. Mike has produced toys in the Far East, but lives
and has his head office in Carlsbad.
That brings me to our star
local company Qualcomm which is no longer making actual phones but streaming
ahead with software. Jay Wright, Senior Director, Business Development,
Qualcomm is so confident of the augmented reality technology that the firm is
offering free software to develop apps using it called Vuforia. Go to
this link to see some incredible videos
of what this software can do. This, more
than anything, has convinced me that AR is not a flash in the pan, but an
alternate reality that will be here to stay. Retailers will use the AR apps and
that will generate income and of course, apps will continue to be sold for $.99
in the millions.
Qualcomm sees AR in three
distinct areas: 1. gaming and play (like WooWee), 2. Interactive media (like
offering more information at point of sale, expanded advertising techniques and
added value in use of products) and the last big area is 3. instructional (all
those how to use, construct and repair manuals will be interactive). I loved
the catsup bottle label that turns into a recipe book.
The goal is to treat your phone as much like your eye as possible. Not many of the applications that I have learned about have actually materialized yet, but they are really coming. They already have 26,000 software designers using the software which recognizes 400 phones and already 800 apps have been developed. There are challenges that the technology faces. These programs are battery suckers and there is no unified viewer so you have to download each app. The idea of AR glasses or goggles is still in the future.
The goal is to treat your phone as much like your eye as possible. Not many of the applications that I have learned about have actually materialized yet, but they are really coming. They already have 26,000 software designers using the software which recognizes 400 phones and already 800 apps have been developed. There are challenges that the technology faces. These programs are battery suckers and there is no unified viewer so you have to download each app. The idea of AR glasses or goggles is still in the future.
We have no idea at this
stage what aspects we will be incorporating into our upcoming smart phone
application for SDVAN. Will we use it for promotion or will our resources be
able to use it to add layers of information to their programs? We are only at
the beginning of this research.
Here are two more links that
are already resident on the DNA
of Creativity Blog. If you are not yet following this blog, it is great fun
to see the variety of art and science collaboration that are out there.
Mar 24, 2012
Augmented Reality Pop Up
Books. Augmented Reality Pop Up... NokiaTattoo that vibrates
Jan 08, 2012
In our sample DNA of
Creativity application we give a link to Elipse augmented reality. You can use
your phone to see added featured on images that are processed to be recognizable
by the camera of your smart phone.
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