X-Ray Vision via Augmented Reality

Posted on May 16, 2009 by rouli

The Wearable Computer Lab at the University of South Australia has recently uploaded three demos showing some of its researchers’ work to Youtube. Thomas covered one of those, AR Weather, but fortunately enough, he left me with the more interesting work (imho).
The next clip shows a part of Benjamin Avery’s PhD thesis, exploring the use of a head mounted display in order to view the scenery behind buildings (as long as they are brick-walled buildings). If understood correctly (and I couldn’t find the relavant paper online to check this up), the overlaid image is a three-dimensional rendition of the hidden scene reconstructed from images taken by a previously positioned camera.

The interesting thing here is that a simple visual cue, such as the edges of the occluding items, can have such a dramatic effect on the perception of the augmented scene. It makes one wonder what else can be done to improve augmented reality beyond better image recognition and brute processor power. Is it possible that intentionally deteriorating the augmented image (for example, making it flicker or tainted), will make a better user experience? After all, users are used to see AR in movies, where it looks considerably low-tech (think Terminator vision) compared with what we are trying to build today.

Anyway, here you can find Avery himself, presenting his work and giving some more details about it (sorry, couldn’t embed it here, even after several attempts)

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More Core Tools for Augmented Reality

Posted on May 14, 2009 by rouli

Last week Microsoft held an “Enabling Innovation Through Research” event at its Cambridge research labs, and demoed many of its projects. Core Tools for Augmented Reality was one of those projects, presnted by Simon Winder:

Well, there’s nothing in this video we haven’t seen before, to be precise, two months ago at Microsoft’s Techfest (click for my previous blog post). Even the same bubble oriented treasure hunt game was shown then. The technology itself is based purely on image recognition, using the same concepts behind Microsoft’s Photosynth. Some more details (but not too many) can be found on the project’s web page.

Via The Future Digital Life and Developement Memo for Ourselves.

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Stop Using AR to Sell Cars – Part Two

Posted on May 12, 2009 by rouli

Nissan has a new augmented reality campaign to promote their cars. It’s much better than their old campaign promoting only the Cube, but it’s still meh. But don’t you think that they didn’t consider my plead to stop using AR to sell cars (go there to see their former use of AR, as well as many other augmented car campaigns). They actually think that’s the right decision. Here, see for yourself:

stopusingar

No video this time, sorry. Via Twitter, on every other mention of augmented reality.

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AR Game Designs from Georgia Tech

Posted on May 12, 2009 by rouli

The Augmented Environments lab at Georgia Tech (AELatGT) has recently uploaded to Youtube videos showing off many games developed as projects in the “HAR: AR Game Design Studio” class last year. Blair MacIntyre‘s students came up with some interesting ideas (some would say unconventional), but in my view, there’s one clear winner –
Candy Wars is a physics oriented game, played with your fridge magnets, where the goal is to feed a frog until it explodes. Things couldn’t be better:

Many more video goodies can be found on AELatGT’s Youtube page. Just a little tip – don’t be tempted by the name, GuitAR hero, is nothing more than a rickroll in AR disguise.

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IGC East: What I Learned About The Game Industry in Boston

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Ori Inbar

On a train from New York to IGC East (Independent Game Conference) in Boston.
The forests along the tracks are blooming yet foggy – I wonder what’s in store at the first ever IGC on the east coast.

The day is structured into 2 tracks: business-oriented as well as developer talks; the highlight of the day is expected to be the demo session, where east coast indies show off their babies for the first time.
I may attempt to do the same.

In my pursuit of the ultimate augmented reality experience, I review the agenda; I am predictably shocked not to find any augmented reality talks.

I miss the keynote (damn trains…) and join the business track mid way with Aaron Murray’s session about the ins and outs of MMOs.

Law and IP session gets into the nuts and bolts of IP protection and licensing content. Some folks get a kick out of it.

Next I learn from Brett Close,  the secretive CEO of 38Studios, about “How To Build Games, Make Your Company Successful And Still Have a Life” 3 noble causes all stringed into one sentence. I get it – it’s not an oxymoron, if you have the right size pockets, or extra patience.

A panel of branding experts from the game industry – beautifully orchestrated by Jeffrey Anderson from Quick Hit – provide tips and strategies for managing your brand.
I use the opportunity to pick Amy L. Brosius‘ brain about how to evolve your brand with the bite-size apps of the iPhone world. Hint: make it simple, short…or bite size…

The sessions end with an activity. Not just any activity, a social change activity. The participants join an effort to transform the lives of unfortunate members of the community – by designing games!
results will be sent tp the participants. I can’t wait.
Dan Roy represents Games4Change and leads the charge. Don’t miss their Festival this month in NYC.

Now for the cherry on top: demo night.

The room is packed with enthusiastic developers showing off their off springs on laptops. Some pretty creative stuff, but I have no time to dig deeper.

One guy, stands next to a corner table, but on the table there’s nothing but a printed image. The guy is waving a mobile camera phone. You guessed it – it’s yours truly, showing off a prototype of his company’s upcoming  augmented reality game. It will be launched this summer on the iPhone app store.  Attendees are wowed. He enjoyes the positive feedback. Curtains. The end.

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Enterprise Solutions in the Palm of Your Hand with Augmented Reality

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Ori Inbar

When a large conservative corporation, the #1 enterprise software company in the world, adopts augmented reality technology to promote its new ecosystem site – you know AR is nearing a tipping point.

SAP is launching today its own AR flash based campaign to promote the ecohub.

Is it as slick as the Sasquatch campaign or as cool as the Star Trek app?
Well, keep in mind we are talking about an Enterprise Software company which is less about wowing customers and more concerned with providing value to its customers. And this app is no exception. Naturally the novelty factor still plays a role – but check out what it actually DOES.

SAP’s AR app simulates a search across various dimensions of its massive library of community-created solutions, and it allows you to pick your solution of choice!

A first app striving to be functional among a sea of AR gimmicks.

Full disclosure – I helped SAP produce this app just in time for its annual customer event with less than 3 weeks to put it together.  Programming credit goes to Patrick O’Shaughnessey

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Augmented Field Guides

Posted on May 11, 2009 by rouli

The New York times ran a story yesterday about a new breed of field guides, those made not out of paper, but out data bytes and computer vision algorithms.
The article mostly revolved around a new application coming to the iPhone, that enables users to take photographs of leaves and by doing so identify the tree to which they belong.

The computer tree guide is good at narrowing down and finding the right species near the top of the list of possibilities, he said. “Instead of flipping through a field guide with 1,000 images, you are given 5 or 10 choices,” he said. The right choice may be second instead of first sometimes, “but that doesn’t really matter,” he said. “You can always use the English language — a description of the bark, for instance — to do the final identification.”

The technology comes from this group at Columbia University, which on their site you can find the academic papers describing the algorithms that were used in prior incarnations of that application. Now, I know some of you will say that this is not AR, since no image-registering was involved. Well, it fits my definition of AR (it augments our reality), and looking at a previous prototype that involves a HUD, and fiduciary markers, makes things even more obvious:

Anyway, I find this use of AR fascinating. It could really connect kids with nature, detaching them from the computer screen for a while, and transforming any outside walk into an exploration. What do you think?

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Weekly Linkfest

Posted on May 10, 2009 by rouli

This week top post at Games Alfresco was the always classic “Top 10 augmented reality demos that will revolutionize video games“, if you haven’t read it, do yourself a favor and take a look. Lagging far behind, the top post on Augmented Times was “Augmenting Deformable Surfaces“.

Here are some more AR related news from around the web:

  • If you can’t take augmented reality with you for a dive, you may bring augmented fish to your room, with this project from Canon.
  • I’ve missed that last week, but apparently, Microsoft hired interactive design firm INVIVIA to create videos for some group named “Volume Studios”. That group goal is to “explore in a poetic narrative way how certain developing technologies could begin to blend and augment our daily lives”. Check out two of the (rather bizarre) video at “i started something“.
  • Drawing in three dimensions, a futuristic design at Yanko Design.
  • If you always wanted to play an augmented reality game where your goal is to dip chicken nuggets, you need not look any further.
  • Wired is joining the AR fun.
  • It’s always great to see amateur programmers’ take on AR. This video combined augmented reality with emerging patterns, and I find it lovely

Quote of the week comes from this post at Locative Lab, describing the connection between horror movie “They Live” and the state of augmented reality:

“They Live” in my mind is the canonical, defining vision of what any sort of Augmented Reality should start with. Sort of presenting an “anti” world — the world made strange so that we see it in a different way. Reconstructed. No Pink Pony scenarios or anything that makes the engineer-accountants get eager, sweaty palms. Weird stuff to invert things and better see the alternative possibilities beyond way-finding, tour-guiding, and informatic overlays of measured data.

I don’t exactly agree with this position, but it is an interesting take on what should our augmented future look like.
And finally, to start off the next week with a good feeling, here’s an interesting project, bringing World of Warcraft multiplayer mini games to a desk near you. It’s nothing special, but looks very exciting (at least more exciting than playing the same games using a keyboard):

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Augmented Animals of the Future

Posted on May 9, 2009 by rouli

It’s old news, but I’m allowed to be late since I had to overcome a language barrier. Since 2008, Le Futuroscope, which is a really cool theme park in France with many cinematographic related attractions, has a ride named “les Animaux du Futur” (animals of the future). Based on the BBC show “The Future is Wild“, this ride, created by Total Immersion, takes you through futuristic landscapes and lets you interact with the animals occupying them.

Since its inception, the ride had a home version, that enabled you to see some animals come to life on an AR marker. To welcome a new version of the ride, launched last month, the home version went one step further, and enabled users to play with the dreaded “octopus monkey”, without any need of printed markers. It looks like great fun –

You can try it yourself at this mini-site (via Development notes for ourselves)

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The Augmented Real Slim Shady

Posted on May 8, 2009 by rouli

Let’s start with a little contest – whoever comes with a better play on words for a title will be named the king of AR puns.
Polydor Records, which is a British record label and part of Universal Music Group, has set up a competition to promote Eminem’s new record Relapse. Contestants are asked to spray a virtual graffiti on an augmented “E” letter (using a FLARToolKit application). Then you may upload your creation to a web-gallery for the whole world to see.

As for the prizes –

You could win the trip of a lifetime to visit Em’s home town of Detroit on an all expenses paid trip (flight and accommodation). Plus, once you’ve touched down you’ll be whisked off to attend a top secret official Eminem album launch event.

You see, you don’t even get to meet with Eminem himself (who, I guess, was never consulted about this marketing campaign). Currently, the gallery features only two entries, so you may actually “win” it. Go here to try out your luck.

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