Games Alfresco

ISMAR, the world’s best Augmented Reality Event, is just 2 months away!

As a member of the review committee I have seen some amazing submissions. Thank you all submitters for the tremendous effort and enthusiasm. By now, you should have received feedback from the organizers. If you haven’t – contact your respective track chair (go to ISMAR – and click on Contact on the left) .

This year, marking the 10th anniversary of ISMAR, will be a land mark year for the event, expanding for the first time beyond pure research into applicative domains such as interactive media, humanities, and education.

In addition, the first day of the event will feature a set of very interesting workshops. I can’t choose which to attend.

One of my favorite workshops is dubbed “Let’s Go Out“, or as I like to call it: Alfresco…

A crew of AR research veterans have joined forces to generate a leap with Outdoor Augmented Reality: Christian Sandor (University of South Australia), Itaru Kitahara (University of Tsukuba), Gerhard Reitmayr (Graz University of Technology), Steven Feiner (Columbia University), and Yuichi Ohta (University of Tsukuba).

From the workshop organizers:

The outdoors presents enormous challenges for mixed and augmented reality. Outdoor environments encompass extreme weather and illumination conditions, and mobile systems must deal with technological constraints, including low-resolution cameras and displays, inaccurate and fragile tracking systems, limited system and network resources, and cumbersome interaction devices.  This workshop will provide an opportunity to discuss research issues related to outdoor mixed and augmented reality. Researchers are invited to submit two-page position statements for presentation in a morning session. The following sessions will address specific areas, including a review of the state-of-the-art and a discussion of current issues and research directions.

So don’t wait. Get your thoughts on paper and send it to outdoor_ar@icg.tugraz.at.

It’s your opportunity to make an impact, games alfresco style.

Stay tuned for details about the other exciting workshops.

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A new campaign for Weet-Bix , launched On July 6th centered around a series of “3D cards”.

Photo credit NBR

When 10 of the series of 43 cards are held up to a web-cam, they trigger a three-dimensional image of the relevant All Black to appear onscreen (see photo above). Fans can rotate the card held in front of the web cam, and the onscreen figure rotates in full-perspective.

This now common augmented reality experience was developed by Total Immersion (creator of the Topps AR game), and Australian company Dreamscape.

The typical reaction you expect from such campaigns (many of which were produced in the past year) is – jaws dropping.

Not this time.

Ben Geek vividly describes the experience as a modern via Dolorosa. Hilarious. From an intrusive registration process ( “[they] demand, my name, my email address and my date of birth? Why exactly?”), to a draconian installation process (“have I broken the computer?”) – it left a strong bad taste among its users.

When Sanitarium, the Cereal company behind the promotion, dumped traditional media outlets such as TV and print in favor of this “futuristic” campaign, they didn’t expect this dystopian backlash. Apparently they reacted quickly and are redesigning the Weet-Bix promotion “after accepting that children might find their hi-tech features hard to digest.”

As Mark Billinghurst pontificates:

there’s a lesson there about how having great AR technology doesn’t guaranteed a successful marketing campaign if you provide a bad experience.

Thanks Mark Billinghurst for the tip

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Microsoft’s Project Natal made the news at E3, and ever since it’s only growing in mind share thanks to “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” and, now, Stephen Colbert.

The highlight last night was the introduction of the “next next generation” of Xbox technology, the X-Xbox, a device that requires no controller, no screen and no console. (can only be viewed in Hulu approved territories)
Vodpod videos no longer available.

Funny. Will Microsoft ever ship another “Box”…?

But I saw something beyond the joke: A sign for the end of hardware.

Why would you need a console, a control, and a screen when you could have more fun without all of it? Really!?

Just put on your favorite augmented designer sun glasses, wear that chic augmented e-textile shirt you got from your mom (both communicating with the mini network computer in your pocket), and go out an play!

This, by the way, would also satisfy Obama’s plea to parents voiced in a speech to the American Medical Association this week:

“…raising our children to step away from the video games and spend more time playing outside.”

You will look just like Colbert in that clip – albeit expressing more subtle gestures, and having REAL fun.

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