Thomas Wrobel: Augmented Reality in 2010 (Part 3)

Thomas Wrobel: Augmented Reality in 2010 (Part 3)

Thomas Wrobel is our first "outside expert" to share his predictions for augmented reality in 2010 over this blog. Thomas is a regular commenter on Games Alfresco (under his own name and under the username Darkflame), the man behind Rateoholic, one of the driving forces behind the AR Wave initiative, and a swell guy in general.

* Google will move into AR space. Probably a simple expansion of google maps to have street view on mobile devices with a transparent rather then preset views. Expect googlemap pins hovering in your view space in the not too distant future.

* First use of image based outdoor positioning to give sub-meter position accuracy demonstrated. The race to map cityscapes start.

* A merging or two or more AR firms.

* Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft *all* show of specific first party new AR applications. (DSi,PSP and Natal based most likely)

* A half decent AR dedicated HMD will finally come out, even if its not consumer level.

* The first cross-browser cross-platform AR content will start to appear.

* AR technology will become a persistent element in at least one major western tv show and will be presented in a fairly realistic manor.

* Many sites catalogues AR specific apps and games will start. Possibly even category searches appearing on app shops specifically for them.

* The Daily Show will make fun of AR. (and maybe have an interview with a predominant figure in that space)

* At least 5 augmented reality outdoor gaming events will be held. Scratch that. Make it 10.

and, umm, some hosting of AR content on Wave servers ;)

Again, Thomas was asked for his predictions prior to Google's recent moves, so you'll have to excuse him for the first bullet point.
Previously:
AR in 2010 Part 1 - What's your opinion?
AR in 2010 Part 2 - Crazy predictions that might come true.

Augmented Reality in 2010 (part two)

Augmented Reality in 2010 (part two)

Let me be the first to share his predictions (don't worry, it only gets better from here on). Following are five outrageous, yet reasonable, predictions about augmented reality for the next twelve months.




Oprah discovers augmented reality
In 2009 she catapulted Twitter to the public eye, and in her last year as day-time host, Oprah Winfrey will do the same for augmented reality. After learning of all the cool features of the latest 4.0 release of Layar, from NY Times columnist David Pogue ("You can actually see where I parked my car with this gadget? That's amazing!") , Oprah give an iPhone preloaded with Layar to everyone in her audience. Augmented reality has become mainstream.



Microsoft buys Wikitude
April 2010. A young engineer at Redmond comes with a brilliant idea on how to push Photosynth forward. So many people are using augmented reality browsers not realizing they are taking an enormous number of geo-tagged photographs. If only those photos were uploaded to one centralized place, they could serve as a great input for Photosynth. And thus Microsoft acquires Wikitude gaining a visual coverage of major cities around the world. Google's Streetview becomes outdated overnight.


Augmented Reality is blamed to incite violence amongst teens
May 2010. Parents across middle America rally together, calling to ban violent AR games from the iTunes appstore. This, following a shooting accident that left two high school kids wounded. The shooter, a teenage boy that no one noticed until the incident, was apparently addicted to the latest augmented shooting game augmented sniper (only $1.99 on the appstore). Soon, many other augmented reality applications find themselves under attack.

Augmented Playboy
February 2010. Playboy, taking a lesson from Esquire, issues a special edition featuring augmented reality markers (shaped like their logo's bunny) that lets you see that month's centerfold actually sitting on your sofa in your very own living room. Using another marker with an image of a hand on it, the user can tickle her. The technology is said to have been acquired from a Japanese company that made a similar product starring a Manga character. The porn industry is not very far behind, and March 2010 marks the release data of the first AR pornographic film (and my readers will excuse me for not going into details).


Apple tries to patent augmented reality
And succeeds in doing so. But no one cares except AR bloggers around the world.

Don't forget to vote on our survey. Together we can predict how 2010 is going to be (and do a far better job than the predictions above)


The fine print - I've tossed a coin before using Layar for the first prediction and Wikitude for the second. No hidden intention was behind choosing those two.
Credits:
Opera image by
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fecki/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Playboy image by

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26160201@N08/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Google Newsflash

Google Newsflash

So, no point of guessing whether Google is to make a major AR move in 2010. It is going to do it in 2009:

• Google Goggles has just launched, and can be downloaded from the Andorid Marketplace.
• Google sponsors a mobile QR reader and want store owners to put QR codes on their windows.

Indeed, the Google has awoken.

Augmented Reality in 2010 (part one)

Augmented Reality in 2010 (part one)

As I've said yesterday, we dedicate this week for predicting AR trends in 2010. Over the last few weeks I've asked AR luminaries for their predictions, and I'm going to post them over here (before getting insulted for not being asked, first check your spam folder).

But more importantly, we are giving you, or beloved readers, a chance to predict the future. Please use the following survey to chose those predictions that you believe will come true in the next year (you can choose more than one).

Hopefully, the wisdom of the crowds will prove itself once more, and we will have a very good sense of what's going to happen. The results will posts on the first week of January, but please don't wait, and vote now:




Moreover, feel free to share your own predictions. You can post them here in the comments section, on your own blog, on Twitter (use the hash tag #AR2010), or even send them to me (rouli.net gmail.com).

Weekly Linkfest

Weekly Linkfest

Before the linkfest, let me share some exciting news. Starting from tomorrow, and throughout the week, I'll be posting augmented reality predictions for 2010 from top AR luminaries. But wait, there's more - I'm hoping to harness wisdom of the very smart crowds reading this blog, by putting on a survey were you can vote for your favorite predictions. Hope to see you tomorrow!

And now, as usual, the weekly linkfest:

• The first AR DevCamp was held yesterday. Thomas Wrobel (can I say our very own Thomas Wrobel?) had an FAQ prepared for the occasion, about the AR wave initiative.
  
• On the mobile browsers front - Layar 3.0 is out (also see AugmentedPlanet's review). I should have really dedicated a post for it. In a nutshell, this latest version, and the presented use-cases are really making Layar much more than just a "browser". You can create augmented tours, games, and city scapes which is a huge step over just showing the "closest" x.
• Augment Pro review of Presselite's Twitter-360, a browser like app that shows you nearby tweets from your friends
• And AcrossAir is behind "Le Bar Guide" an application created for beer label Stella Artois that lets you find closest bars (serving that beer).
• Sarnoff presents an augmented reality training system for the US military with virtual baddies. I really want to see a video of that.
• Augmented reality via Silverlight (Microsoft response to Adobe's Flash).
• Laboratory4 is offering the joys of a fashion show right in your own home.
• Pandemica is another fast paced pseudo AR shooting game for the iPhone.
  

Weekly quote comes from OneZeroThrice's piece "Who Is, and Who Isn't Augmented Reality"(yeah, I gave you the punchline, but you should read the whole article)

if only we, who know the difference between good and crap AR, can be more vocal - if we can start saying what we mean and not be afraid of pissing off the people who make this garbage ... maybe we'll actually save this industry from what happened to Virtual Reality.

And the weekly video is another "augmented" magic trick from Marco Tempest (see the first one here) (via The Future Digital Life):



Have a nice week, and don't forget to come back tomorrow for a peak at 2010.

It's the Season to be Augmented

It's the Season to be Augmented

Looking for a way to send Christmas greeting cards to your friends with an augmented reality twist? There are already three options for doing just that.

Sony Ericsson lets you create a virtual Christmas tree that features pictures of you and your (Facebook) friends that appears once you wave your mobile phone in front of a web camera. Though shown working with a Sony Ericsson phone, it probably works with any mobile phone, as long as its screen is bright enough:



ARWishes, on the other hand, is a web application from Inglobe Technologies (of AR-media fame) that lets you attach holiday related 3d animation to holiday related AR markers and send them as a greeting card to your friends:



ARWishes is not focused solely on Christmas greeting cards, and is set to capture the augmented reality greeting cards market (yeah, I made that up). It already features some new-year and birthday cards, and I guess Kwanzaa and Hanukkah cards are just around the corner.

If you prefer beer over eggnog, maybe sending branded Stella Artois holiday cards is the right choice for you (but you must be over 18 to create them). The best thing about Stella Artois application is that for each card sent, they will protect one tree from being chopped down.



Judging from Halloween, we can expect many more AR applications this coming Christmas. I'm willing to bet someone will create an application the puts a Santa Claus beard around your face, and I'll be here to cover it, when it happens! Oh right, Microsoft and Ubisoft have done just that last year, and Talking Dog Studios have it covered this year:



Many thanks to Development Memo For Ourselves for finding the link to the ARWishes app. Also check out Ori's coverage of 2008 holiday AR greetings.

Watch Out, Google has Awaken

Watch Out, Google has Awaken

Amazon (SnapTell), Nokia (Point and Find) and many others better watch out, Google is making its play for mobile visual search, as revealed in CNBC's "Inside the Mind of Google". Harnessing technology bought when acquiring the startup Neven Vision back in 2006, Google is developing an android application that will identify locations and items captured in photos taken by the app's users.

Tech lead Hartmut Neven:

Imagine you are on travel in Paris and you visit a museum. If a picture catches your attention you can simply take a photo and send it to the VMS [Visual Mobile Search] service. Within seconds you will receive an audio-visual narrative explaining the image to you. If you happen to be connected to a 3G network the response time would be below a second. After the museum visit you might step outside and see a coffeehouse. Just taking another snapshot from within the VMS client application is all you have to do in order to retrieve travel guide information. In this case location information is available through triangulation or inbuilt GPS it can assist the recognition process. Inside the coffeehouse you study the menu but your French happens to be a bit rusty. Your image based search engine supports you in translating words from the menu so that you have at least an idea of what you can order. (source)

At the moment, the visual mobile search application, internally known as Google Goggles, is going through a long battery of tests:

Back in California, the visual search team anxiously watched by video link as first time users tested the product. After some initial reviews were less than enthusiastic, Google engineers decided the new technology just wasn’t ready for prime time. So team members were dispatched to fix any remaining problems. (source)

So although not an immediate threat to leading Snaptell, we can be sure that Google will not rest till they will create a user friendly product that will use your photos to serve useful information and, naturally, more ads. In the meantime, if Google is looking for enthusiastic beta tester, my email is on the right :)

Read more at eWeek.com and CNBC. Via Steve Rubel.