Posts Tagged innovation
Augmented Reality Car System
Posted by Tom Carpenter in Steal This AR Idea!, augmented reality on December 14th, 2009
Mobile computing devices are wonderful for bringing the world of information to our fingertips anywhere we go. Hurtling down the highway in one ton vehicles while trying to access our maps or find directions is not the safest way to drive.
This video shows an augmented reality street view using a Windows 7 notebook, Royaltek GPS, webcam, and an arduino board with 2-axis compass module.
The final intent of this garage-made system is unknown, but it certainly opens up possibilities for augmented reality car systems. Projection units could easily put these views onto the windshield and voice-command for GPS to keep it hands free is nothing new.
Speaking of GPS, did you know that you can get a TomTom GPS system with Snoop Dogg’s voice on it? Here’s the video to prove it.
How hard would it be for an AR GPS maker to have dual cams mounted on the dashboard with a projector blasting the screen information on your windshield? The car dimensions are fixed and the GPS is known, add in some object recognition for the occasional readjustment of geospatial location, and an AR car system could draw yellow lines on the road to follow and highlight points of interest along the way.
The technology exists and only needs someone to put the pieces together. I wouldn’t be suprised to learn a nimble startup had already started creating one. And even if such a project was started today, one could be on the market by late this year or next.
Popularity: 15% [?]
10 Games That Could Be Made with Layar 3.0
Posted by Tom Carpenter in Steal This AR Idea!, augmented reality on December 4th, 2009
The new Layar 3.0release brings more functionality to the reality browser. To help people envision what the service can do, Layar touts five new use-cases:
Five Layar 3.0 Use-Cases
1) Architecture Showcase – Visualize the final building at a construction site.
2) Storytelling: Beatles Tour – A visual tour of forty-three locations in London involving the Beatles. Each stop must be followed in order.
3) History Comes Alive – See the past reconstructed before your eyes with facts and 3D models.
4) Art, Messages & Fun Objects – Weird objects placed in unexpected places.
5) B2B & Personalization – Useful for businesses and social layers, enabling interaction with Twitter (take that Twitter 360!) and Foursquare services.
While these five use-cases expand the Layar reality browser (and more info on them can be seen here), I think they’re missing a huge use-case that’s now possible with 3.0. After reading through the Layar Developer Wiki, I found these functions that should help make Layar games possible.
Two Layar 3.0 Functions
* User added 3D objects – 3D objects up to 5000 polygons can be created with any 3D program (assuming it can create a Wavefront)
* Auto-Triggered Actions – POIs can trigger a URI (audio, video, webpage, etc) which can allow for additional programming aspects to happen. By utilizing functions within a webpage, most programming tools can be utilized within the Layar framework.
These two simple functions can add a lot of versatility to the program to make games. And while the 3D graphics are still pretty limited and animations aren’t yet possible, think back to the dawn of gaming when text based games like ZORK were all the rage, or simple 2D lines and text created time-sinks like Wizardry. Even simple sprites doomed many a night I should have been studying with Lemmings! The key to these games is that they should be locative, otherwise, what’s the point?
10 Games That Could Be Made with Layar 3.0
1) Capture the Flag – Instead of capturing flags on your opponent, hide flags in the city and capture your friends flags by visiting their locations.
2) Choose Your Own Adventure – Who didn’t read these cheesy books in grade school? Be a fun way to host a weekly bar-hop.
3) Simple RPG- a city based RPG that used locations as the “action areas.” Any math or combat resolving could be done through a URI webpage call and then reveal the 3D model (win=dead creature/lose=gravestone). Go into Joe’s Pub and kill a goblin for 5xp and then drink a pint to celebrate your victory.
4) Hidden Treasure- Clues and visual markers only seen through Layar can lead you to finding “special points” in the city.
5) Avatar Battles- Customize an avatar that does battle with others for control of locations. Think Foursquare crossed with Pokemon.
6) Economy Game – Buy and Sell real properties with virtual money. Must visit the location to purchase, can develop it with special actions (putting special 3D models in the area) and mark it with your sign.
7) Mystery Games- In a randomized Clue-style game, participants are given clues in different locations they visit and can ask questions using the URI webpage (pull down list) to figure out the daily murder.
8 ) The Hidden Story – A mosaic story could be told through the location in the city. For those that visit all of them, they can piece together the whole narrative that involves history, places and interesting people while the occasional 3D object might illustrate the narrative.
9) Planet War- Mine resources at locations, purchase tanks and other warfare equipment that can be places in areas you want to control. The website resolve winners and you see your battle regalia in the location. Take over your favorite eating establishment with a load of Panzers.
10) Lemmings!- I don’t really know how to do Lemmings! with Layar 3.0, but I’m sure someone much more creative than I can do it. It is the greatest game of all time, right?
Popularity: 35% [?]
25 Things I Learned At ISMAR09
Posted by Tom Carpenter in augmented reality on October 27th, 2009
Inspired by Joe’s “50 Things I Learned at ISMAR“, I’m going to take a crack at 25 things since I was only there for half the conferance.
1. Participation in ISMAR doubled from 2008 to 2009.
2. In the next six months it’s important that a few AR companies have success so funding will flow for the others.
3. Projections should be used in big interactive spaces to allow for a shared augmented experience.
4. The Disney Imagineers showed us how AR can make a difference right now.
5. HMDs will bring stripper poles to every corner.
6. Magic lens is or isn’t the answer for AR.
7. Lots of great research isn’t making it to commercial usage.
8. Apple must open up their video API, now!
9. Don’t wait. Use the technology at hand to make the killer AR app.
10. Place is the new social networking.
11. Augmented reality is NOT following Moore’s Law (but it can with enough money.)
12. Disney teaches us that the technology has to be invisible.
13. Sell the experience not the technology.
14. Stop trying to reinvent old games using AR. Create your own category.
15. Augmented reality should be about 4D (don’t forget about time!)
16. We need indoor locative solutions.
17. History can be reborn with the right magic telescope.
18. Light-weight, fashionable HMDs aren’t ready yet.
19. Conferances at the same hotel at the Mountain Dew Tour makes for interesting people watching.
20. I’m excited about the future of AR.
21. I saw at least five applications for AR on my factory floor, but no one is developing a commercial product for me to purchase.
22. Leverage the military to fund development for commercial.
23. I learned as much in conversations outside of the conference rooms than I did in them.
24. Don’t forget to tell a story.
25. Augmented reality pets don’t chew on the furniture (unless you want them to.)
Popularity: 12% [?]
ISMAR09 HMD Review
Posted by Tom Carpenter in augmented reality, digital singularity on October 21st, 2009
The biggest barrier to true augmented vision is an HMD that can handle all the requirements. I had the oppertunity to experience what Microvision, Vuzix and ORALab/EvoOpticks had to offer. I’ll try to relate their talks and my experiences with their products and let you know if any of them have achieved augmented vision.
Microvision – Ben Averch
Ben started the presentation during the Industrial section of Workshop Monday. The first AR-style model Microvision tried was the Nomad which tried to be a hands-free automotive maintenance model. The unit was plagued by poor ergonomics and eye strain. It only used the red spectrum and they retired the product line in 2006 only two years after release.
Microvision then changed their plans to achieve an AR enabled HMD by leveraging their military contracts. The plan is to sell their Urban Warfare model (Ultra-vis) to the government and then use what they’ve learned to create a consumer model.
They see a big market for a consumer HMD display but need to solve the remaining issues before its ready for the public. I had an opportunity to try out their prototype HMD. It wasn’t a full unit, but a bulky monocle on a stick. While it didn’t give me an idea how it would function as a pair of sunglasses, it did give me a feel for the graphics. I was impressed by the clarity of the color in the monocle. The big problem I see for the first generation of HMDs will be the field of view. This prototype only had a ~25degree field of vision. The limited view will mean our early HMDs will only mimic our computer screens and not release the full spectrum of hands-free AR.
Ben has written about his experience on his official Microvision blog and has said they expect a commercial product by 2011.
It’s clear from the discussions I had with various industry members that a see-through wearable display that meets people’s expectations from both ergonomics and display performance is the big, obvious missing link in the AR solution story. We at Microvision are working hard to fill in this gap and create a technology solution that can allow this new market to take shape.
Ben also showed off their projector which at the time didn’t excite me much from an AR point of view. However, after the key note speech from Mark Mine from Disnery Imagineering, I learned that the projector had a lot more going for it than I realized.
Vuzix – Paul Travers
Paul gave us a nice history of HMDs including the failed hype of VR which has made getting money for HMDs harder to come by. On a good note, Vuzix has a good track record of selling video glasses which gives them a good base to work from once they master the AR HMD. Currently they’ve sold around 200,000 video glasses by marketing them the same way a HD TV would be sold. This might mean that augmented reality’s best bet for widespread use is to be a Trojan horse within another accepted technology (similar to how Yelp gained AR eyeballs through their Monocle easter egg.)
Unfortunately, Paul had to apologize a few times for misleading on the AR community about the “see-through AR HMDs” everyone thought were right around the corner with the 920Wrap. He hopes they can reach market by 2010, but like Microvision they still have challenges to solve.
I did get to try their video glasses, which were interesting, but I would have preferred to try out the glasses Ori tried at GDC. Paul did say that see-through AR glasses would be priced from $199-349. This sounds like a great price point that would help gain wider audiences. I know I would buy one.
ORALab/EvoOpticks
This presentation delved into more historical and technical realms rather than commercial usage. Not a lot to pass along, but I did get to try their see-through HMD. The view port was around 20 degrees and seen through two reflected mirrors on the screen rather than a laser created image. They have no current plans for commercial production.
And for the history buffs, the first patent for an HMD was by Albert B. Pratt in 1916.
I wish Lumus had also attended ISMAR, but no such luck.
Overall, I was disappointed that no HMD maker had a surprise announcement that they had a product ready for release Q1 2010. Release dates of 2011 sound more like appeasement than real schedules. Having experienced the products myself, I also realize the field of view will be a problem for early developers. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be happy to have a HMD right now, even with a 15 degree field, but the small width will limit creativity. Hopefully when they solve the lighting and weight issues they’ll also figure out how to achieve a 40 degree field of view.
This past May, I predicted true Augmented Vision would occur around 2015. After the demonstrations on Monday, I’m not going to change my prediction. While I heard many quote Moore’s Law in regards to AR, I’m not buying it yet. Moore’s Law is fed by billions (with B) of dollars which pushes the technology as fast as it can go. AR is still languishing in VR’s dead space and has to catch a few wins of its own before it can start generating real cash to take advantage of Moore’s Law.
Even if Microvision or Vuzix or Lumus release a commercial product in 2011, the software and apps to make the experience fulfilling won’t be available. I also expect the first versions of the AR HMDs will only be bought by the early adopters. It will take a few tries to make them lightweight, eye-strain free and with enough field of vision to keep people from having to rotate their head constantly. I’m all for being wrong on this one, but I expect the road to widespread acceptance will be paved with a few missteps. Cellphones took twenty years to go from the bag phone to the ultra-sleek smartphone, and while technology moves faster these days, I’m still sticking with my year 2015 prediction.
Popularity: 66% [?]
YDreams: Flyar Birdies Bring Tweets to Your PC
Posted by Tom Carpenter in AR Games, augmented reality on September 24th, 2009
YDreams, a Portuguese information technology company, has been quiet in the augmented reality news lately, but remedy that with their release of an AR twitter product called Flyar for your PC.
What is Flyar?
Flyar is a free Twitter visualization application that uses Augmented Reality and gesture interaction. You can set it as your screensaver or just play around with it.
It uses your webcam to create an augmented video image, enabling you to visualize incoming tweets (from your account or a general feed) in a twitteresque setting that you can interact with.
How does it work?
Flyar uses your webcam to create an augmented reality image where birds fly or hang around tree branches and fly towards you to deliver tweets. The birds represent incoming tweets, and their color represents different types of messages: blue for normal messages, green for replies and red for direct messages.
When a bird is standing on a branch it means you have a new message. With just a tap you can “call” him and he’ll fly to your side to deliver the tweet (only one bird at a time). You can also interact with the birds by disrupting their flight patterns, or affect the falling leaves. The flock of birds flying around tells you how many messages you have waiting to be read.
It works as a screensaver which means it’ll be active when you come back to your computer. Later on when the technology develops and I’m wearing my Vuzix AR920 Wraps, I’ll have the eyeball space to wait for a bird to deliver my tweet where ever I am. In the meantime, AR birdies delivering my message will be desk-bound only.
YDreams also released a compilation video of their products. The montage goes through examples of AR sightseeing, museums, interactive catalogs, advertising, books, full-body motion capture and a slightly creepy playground.
I’m not sure how the interactive playground works, but it’ll mean we can finally play with our imaginary friends for real.
Popularity: 21% [?]
The Zerkin Glove – Touching the Future, Now
Posted by Tom Carpenter in augmented reality, digital singularity on September 23rd, 2009
With all the buzz about multiple AR news announcements (ARML, Layar 3D, Vuzix contest), Noah Zerkin’s glove/tracking project got lost. Hopefully I can shed some much deserved light on what this one-man show is doing.
Noah has been working on an interactive glove that could be used as an augmented reality interface since early this year. The video shows how he built the glove in less than a day for under $300.
Noah lists more details on his new website – Zerkin Glove.
What is the Zerkin Glove?
A low-cost, motion and position capturing, data glove for 3D interaction with virtual objects in augmented reality (AR) environments.
What do you mean, really?
The Zerkin Glove, is the most intuitive input device using natural hand gestures – like you’ve only seen in sci-fi movies – with a consumer friendly price.
The glove enables accurate 1-to-1 tracking of one’s entire arm – from shoulder to knuckles – without external reference infrastructure (such as cameras, sensors, scanners) allowing intuitive interaction with virtual objects in augmented reality environments such as games, education, 3D design, training, healthcare and more.
Why is it important?
Augmented reality applications, which promise to change the way people interact with the world, have been largely focused on augmenting one’s field of view with additional information. The Zerkin glove is the missing element for enhancing the interaction in any handsfree mobile AR application.How does it work?
Thanks to the use of inexpensive off-the-shelf components such as flex sensors, gyros, accelerometer, and compass headings, the glove precisely tracks the slightest gestures in the augmented reality space. Based on a proprietary patent-pending method. The graphics are overlaid relative to fiducial markers using AR tracking software. A pair of see-through AR glasses complements the experience as display for a first person perspective.
Noah is looking for investors, developers and fans. I can’t help with the first two (unless they happen to read this post), but count me in as a fan. Good luck and hopefully I’ll get to see the glove at ISMAR.
Popularity: 11% [?]
Augmented Reality Helps Art Meet Life
Posted by Tom Carpenter in augmented reality on September 17th, 2009
This augmented reality video from Najork has clearly been modified post-production, however, it really gives a sense of the possible. When the tools to do this easily become available some artists might abandon real materials and instead build their art installations out of imagination and the colored lights reflected on our eyes.
Combine these free-flowing art layers with the personal modification from Sony’s Vision Libary, and you can choose to live in a pretty weird place.
street tests from Najork on Vimeo.
[Via Cruces]
Popularity: 14% [?]
Turn Your Book Into A Webpage
Posted by Tom Carpenter in augmented reality on September 7th, 2009
Robert, a student at the Fraunhofer Society, sent me a video of their project that his group will be presenting at UbiComp 2009 in October. Their project shows proof that projectors are not entirely dead, but even in their video they acknowledge the usefulness of other platforms.
The aim of their project is to use text capture in an augmented reality environment to turn any book into a webpage. The project focus is to improve research work with physical information sources. By allowing a “touch” motion sensor through a projected image, the user can bring up online information on top of their 2D paper. The project, only in pre-alpha stage, looks like a good meshing of various techniques: motion capture, text capture, map torchlight, etc. Most importantly, they’re trying to solve a real problem.
They’re hoping to share thoughts about their project and discuss ideas on applications, so if you have an interest, contact Robert on his blog or look them up at UbiComp 2009.
Popularity: 5% [?]
The Augmented Reality Flying Car
Posted by Tom Carpenter in AR Games, augmented reality on September 4th, 2009
The company HD Interactive released a video today of their augmented reality hangman game. They demonstrated the game at the Tampa Internet and Technology Summit 2009 and say they will release the game soon. They also say they will be releasing more AR games in the future.
Now, I’m going to be nice and assume they were showing their hangman game to an audience full of people that didn’t understand augmented reality. So if that was the case, then the demonstration showed how the basics of augmented reality worked.
However, since I want to help make sure augmented reality can connect with the general populous in a productive way, I’m going to use this AR game as an example. I’ll let you, gentle reader, guess if its going to be a good or bad example. Now for the video:
The question we must first ask when applying new technology to any problem is: “How will this new technology make my product better?”
Augmented reality has the potential to solve many complex and interesting problems. However, in the case of the video, I don’t think it will revolutionize the game of hangman anytime soon. While the game demonstrates the technology, it doesn’t improve the product itself. Voice commands, keyboards, mouse clicking or any other interface would work much better than shuffling through a stack of papers to find the letter you want.
Occasionally, I see articles titled something like: “When will I get my flying car?” The flying car is a perfectly good example of the economics of technology applied. Just like this game of AR hangman, the flying car does exist. It’s called a personal aircraft. The only problem is the initial costs are around $200,000 and yearly upkeep is $15,000. Not to mention the lack of convenient landing locations and the safety factor.
It’s not that flying cars don’t exist, it’s that they don’t get you from point A to point B better than your current car.
So when you’re working on an augmented reality application, try to ask if you’re doing it any better than its already been done. Otherwise you’ll be working on the augmented reality version of a flying car.
Popularity: 16% [?]
10 Things Your AR App Must Have to Succeed
Posted by Tom Carpenter in AR Games, Steal This AR Idea!, augmented reality on August 23rd, 2009
With the iPhone OS 3.1 launch set to debut next month, I wanted to explore the features that are going to help make some AR apps succeed over others. We’re going to be seeing a spike of releases since many have been working towards this moment waiting for the iPhone to become AR enabled, so its a good time to get those apps in tip-top shape.
And while I’m personally smartphone agnostic, these are features that should be present on any app, no matter what the platform. But the OS3.1 release will connect the hype of AR with the hype of the iPhone, so that’s why we need to talk about app features now. Call it Hype2.0 if you’d like.
And now for the features:
1 – Solutions Not Gimmicks
The best products and services are solutions to a problem. Going to your webcam to open up a 3D version of the product has lost its luster as a tired gimmick. Find a reason that augmented reality can be useful for your customers. And if you’re a car maker looking to use AR, listen to Rouli.
Don’t be like Always, the feminine hygiene company, please…
2 – Social Connections
The reason these social connectors like Twitter and Facebook work is because they allow us to be nosy neighbors seeing what next person is doing. The term “Keeping up with the Jonses” applies here. Give your app a way to connect other people in creative and interesting ways. Even if its seeing the high score along with a picture of you dodging a cannonball.
3 – App Search
Google dominates the search wars because they’re the best at it. Many functions of AR require pulling information from the data sphere and if it gets hijacked by spammers then the app will quickly lose its purpose. No one wants to pull up a restaurant layer to find a nice place to eat in a new town and get a porn layer instead while your three smiling children peer over your shoulder.
4 – Alacrity Wins
I could say apps need to be quick, but they need to be more than that. The Webster’s definition of alacrity is “promptness in response” or “cheerful readiness.” Apps should anticipate what the user wants and get it quickly. If it takes 10 seconds for the camera to identify where its at so you can decide which way to walk, no one is going to use it. If the processor is too slow, move your heavy lifting to servers off the smartphone. Life moves quickly, your app should move at the same pace.
5 – Unique Style
If you want your business to grow, your style should be tasteful and easily recognizable. When people see your products they should instantly know who created it. Already the Layar symbol has stuck into my head as a good product identifier.
6 – Not Another Vista!
If I let my kids cook dinner for themselves they make cereal. My wife will take six hours to make an exquisite dinner that uses every dish in the house, including a few of our neighbors. The kids eat cereal because its easy to do. My kids are your users. They’re not going to make Chateaubriand no matter how good it tastes. So make your apps simple to use.
7 - Save the Trees, Please
Please don’t make me print out another marker to see your version of augmented reality. We might be able to say that AR is a green product, but for all the papervision markers we’ve had to print out.
8 – Now With Less Spam
For the AR apps that allow user added content, we need to make sure we’re not besieged with spammers like the regular Internet. While this might be an impossible request, at least consider the spammers in your product design.
9 – Tell Me A Story
Augmented reality was built by programmers, but it needs artists to grow. Don’t forget to tell me a story and engage my emotions. AR is a wonderful new medium with potential to tell stories in ways never told before. The story can exist all around us or even in our living room.
10 – FUN!!!
Now matter what the purpose of your app, even if its a serious one like saving the rain forest. Don’t forget to make it fun (and maybe include a little magic).
Popularity: 58% [?]
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