• Librarian’s dream app – researchers from Miami University created an augmented reality meets mobile application to help keep books ordered on libraries’ shelves.
• Beats me why the need the money, I always assumed they make millions, but Total Immersion gets USD $5,5M in funding led by Intel Capital (which, interestingly, also funded Layar).
• Quimo from the University of South Australia, is like play-doh for augmented reality. This “deformable material” supports “freeform modeling in spatial AR environments” by embedding almost invisible AR markers.
• “The Witness” is a German half-movie-half alternative reality game that uses AR (or pseudo-AR) to move the plot forward (via @GaryPHayes).
• Comedian Ricky Gervais dismisses augmented reality as “a load of bollocks” (via @Layar).

This week’s featured video is coming to us from Microsoft, a company that develops stunning technologies just to see them later made into products and sold by the likes of Apple. Here they develop a “Photosynth Lite”, enabling users to create 3d models by taking a few pictures with their cellphones. I wonder where this technology can be applied:

You can read more about this on Technology Review.

Have a sunny week!

The game is based on Total Immersion’s technology, and there’s even an iPad to win. Of course, an iPad is a small prize considering the trauma this game can cause you, but at least it gives you something to touch, other than your face.

If you have a video of your AR app running on the iPad2, shoot me an email or leave a comment.

String on an iPad 2:

Metaio’s Junaio on an iPad 2:

Total Immersion’s Magic Mirror on an iPad 2 (first covered by Thomas):

And I for one salute them.

The tablets are made for a better AR experience. While the magic mirror is strictly 2010 tech, I’m good with that, since it gives a new user a quick visceral experience with the technology.

Go, go, gadget Total Immersion.

• Metaio & USA Today launched an AR Super Bowl application that puts you in the middle of the Cowboy’s stadium.
• Virtual fishing with an augmented reel (via @yoav85)
• If fishing is too peaceful for you, the AR gun makes augmented reality shooting games more realistic than ever.
• Russian AR Door demo a neat science project – combining Total Immersion’s D’Fusion, Vuzix glasses and multitouch screens.
• Is LiveStache the world first live video AR iPhone app to put a mustache on your face?
• Most QR code scans are now taking place in the US (as long as you don’t consider Japan)

I found this week’s video on Toby’s weekend “linkfest”. It’s one more example how augmented reality can upgrade almost any old board game, this time making “battleships” more interactive. As Toby rightfully states, there’s no need for two boards when AR is deployed, as the two players can be shown different views of the same board. Still, it’s a cool demo:

Have a great week!

• Total Immersion uploaded videos of the two keynotes given in their AR Immersion conference. I find the Adobe one is quite boring, but TI’s CEO, Bruno Uzzan gives a very good talk on the past, present and future of AR.
• Did Layar hit the one million users mark, and if so, why was the Layar’s original blog post removed?
• Now that Kinect was reverse engineered, and there’s an open source driver for it, how long till someone creates an AR application for it?
• AirChalk, University of Illinois’ augmented reality drawing app wins Facebook’s Camp Hackathon competition.
• There’s no gift more romantic that a QR code in cross-stitch.

This week’s video is short and sweet, showing how a guitar lesson can be augmented. We have seen implementations of similar ideas before, but as far as I recall, it’s the first with marker-less tracking of the guitar itself. Of course, it’s nothing but a demo, and I’ll be surprised if it tracks any guitar but the one in the video. It’s cool, nonetheless:

Have an excellent week!

Now that this is behind us, here are other things that happened in the AR-sphere:

• Congrats to Mobilizy, makers of Wikitude for taking their first funding round.
• Augmented reality almost at the peak of inflated expectations, according to Gartner.
• And if AR is almost at the peak, is it ready for the trough of disillusionment? Chris Arkenberg covers offers some survival tactics for the fledgling industry.
  
• More advice come from O’Reilly Radar: “how augmented reality apps can catch on“. Skip the video, but do read the interesting comments.
• Pope Benedict goes against augmented reality, “risk of indifference towards real life” (via @sergecell)

This week’s video proves that augmented reality can be annoying at times, like a virtual fly you can shake off. Created by Michele Cirulli, this was apparently a video installation at the Live Performers Meeting this year.

Have an excellent week!

• Google Goggles is finally available for the iPhone. To be frank, I haven’t tried it yet (what kind of AR reporter am I), and I’m rooting for the underdogs.
• LightSpace from Microsoft Research – augmenting a room with projectors and 3d cameras. As I’ve said earlier, it’s amazing how a technology that would have looked like magic just four years ago, is quite banal these days.
• Layar awarded Most Disruptive Innovator at Deloitte Fast50.
• Zugara’s Jack Benoff ponders whether mobile AR is not just sexy, but also practical.
• Now Total Immersion are having a one day AR event. It’s November the 9th in LA. Sadly, it’s an invitations only event. They should learn something from their beer loving competitors from Germany.
• A British company wants to augment your curriculum vitae. Cheesy or acceptable?

Today’s video is coming to us straight from ISMAR 2010. It’s a presentation of the results achieved in the paper “Build Your World and Play In It: Interacting with Surface Particles on Complex Objects” by Brett Jones and other researchers from the University of Illinois. The paper presents a way to map virtual content on 3d physical constructions and “play” with them. For more details check out Jones’ website. I think that Angry Birds would be prefect on such a platform:

Have a great week, and the lucky of you who get to be in ISMAR, take some videos, please!

Who would want to use PowerPoint if you could have augmented reality to amaze your audience?  I know I wouldn’t.

I applaud the robust hand tracking, but could the game be something new rather than a Pac Man rip-off?  Come on Total Immersion.  You guys are better than this.

Learn more on the Total Immersion blog.