Hands down, this is the weirdest augmented reality game I encountered. Clic&Spot by French company Clic&Gain, is a game that adorns your face with virtual zits and challenge you to burst them as quickly as you can. Who wouldn't this premise enticing?
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.
Los Angeles based, but Japanese named interactive marketing agency Zugara has launched a couple of days ago a new application named "The Webcam Social Shopper". Basically, it's a magic mirror application that let's you try on different clothes. But, there's so much more to it - the user interface is engaged via motion detection, and you can take a photo of yourself with your new virtual clothes, and share it on facebook with your friend. However, one thing this application fails to do, is to show you whether any of the clothes fit, as they all stay static and don't interact with your body movements. I don't expect this application to improve the 3.57% conversion rate state in the next video.
Now, this application is only in alpha state, and a lot can change until it goes public. And admittedly, Zugara has some nice ideas on the future use cases of such application (e.g. shop together with your friends, online). Nevertheless, I think it's too early for it to become useful. Maybe when Project Natal matures, but not now.
Oh, and lest I forget, this technology is patent pending. Great.
When it comes to using augmented reality for marketing purposes, nothing beats those magic mirror applications. After all, trying on a product, even virtually, goes a long way towards selling it (and surely it's better than those novelty AR gimmicks). Previously I've covered Fraunhofer's magic mirror that lets you try on new shirts, and just last week we reported about virtually trying on diamond rings. Today I'm going to cover to exciting companies working in this field, Fittingox and Seac02. One of the first and still most famous commercial applications of this kind was Ray-Ban's virtual mirror that enabled web surfers to check out how would they look with different sunglasses. The company behind the technology, FittingBox, has recently licensed the technology to British online glasses retailer Glasses Direct. Taming face detection algorithms, FittingBox can place a pair of glasses on you with an admirable accuracy. And it doesn't end with Ray-Ban and Glasses Direct. Vogue Eyewear also uses that technology and FittingBox is the owner of YouAreTheModel.com, where you can try on many other brands. Here's a short video showcasing the technology:
While FittingBox is somewhat a niche company specializing in virtual eyeglasses, Seac02 develops many AR applications (and I really need to cover some of them, sometime). Their Eligo engine simplifies the creation of magic mirrors application at point of sales. Seen here is HairArt, an application developed by Seac02 Asian distributor Hanoul Neotech, that lets the user try on wigs. Yes, we have seen such applications before, but it's always good to see another one:
Another application of this technology is this next magic mirror that lets you try on and even choose some tailor made shoes. This one still needs a marker to work out, but according to Seac02 they will be releasing a version in July that waives this requirement and detects your feet automatically.
Before going on with our scheduled linkfest, I would like to pose a question to my readers. Am I updating too much, or not enough? How many augmented reality related posts would you like to read per week? Your opinion is important to me, so please comment away on this topic.
Now, without further ado, here's this week's linkfest.
From Total Immersion comes this web application that enables you to summon a virtual Disney dragon. I think the more interesting angle here is that Total Immersion has registered a domain named dfusionathomeapps.com.
Sony's Play Station 3 motion controller lets you play with virtual swords (if you happen to have a few cameras installed around your living room).
If you are invited, you can try Roque's new rings collection by wearing an AR marker on your finger. The technology comes from Holition, which specialize in using augmented reality for promoting jewelry. (via Not Just Reality)
if you put a marker on something inadequate (for example an oily food box) and fail to produce both a nice game logic and fancy design, augmented reality becomes totally obsolete. Driven by nothing. And because I am driven by augmented reality I don´t want immersive “campaigns” to be as attractive as a modem.
This augmented reality video comes from Berio Molina Quiroga thesis project for the Computer Graphic Design Masters at Rochester Institute of Technology. It's called Augmented Sound, but I fancy the drawing process much better than the auditory results. You can find more information over here.
Fraunhofer, the German research organization that brought us the MP3 format, is presenting two augmented reality technologies in CeBit this year. First is a nifty magic mirror, presented in the video below (no horizontal, English version yet, sorry):
The mirror is actually a touch screen, a camera, and an algorithm that samples the camera feed 30 times per second. The algorithm looks for the original logo imprinted on the shirt in order to replace it with another logo (or even with a video), while changing the shirt's color at the same time. Once you understand it's marker based, the demo looks less cool.
On the other hand, Fraunhofer demoed a mobile AR technology, aimed to augment historic tourist attractions. In the future, using an application installed on an iPhone (or currently on a mini Sony Vaio), tourist will be able to examine the Reichstag or Brandenburg Gate and see them as they looked through the years.
The software recognizes the buildings, as well of the perspective of the shot and delivers the historical equivalent of the photo, covering the original. The rendering of the historical snap is done is real-time – so if the user walks around the building, the picture moves with him. The picture is sent to a server via the 3G network, which delivers the “Augmented Reality View”. Views of the Reichstag just after the Second World War, during the separation of East and West Germany, or after the fall of the Berlin Wall are available. The user can scroll back and forth between the different time periods and short explanatory texts round off the offering. (source)
Fraunhofer presented the same concept for ancient Rome in SIGGRAPH 2008, but it seems their technology has matured since then.
We, at Augmented Times, believe that augmented reality (AR) is the next big paradigm shift. Connecting the world wide web with the physical world and the many objects, places and humans it contains, AR is both a disruptive technology and an exciting vision of the future.
This blog's goal is to document AR taking over our lives, but it needs your help. Have an augmented reality related news or story? Published an interesting paper about AR? Have something to say about this site or the AR community in genereal? Tell us about it, at rouli.net ~at~ gmail.com
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