Another Take on Augmented Reality

I don't know about you, but my first thought was "how do they do that?"

eBay Introduces "Try It On Before You Buy" iPhone App

"With “See It On,” iPhone 4 owners can take a picture of themselves using a forward-facing camera and then pinch and zoom to fit the glasses to their face. Users can choose from a small section, including Aviator, Wayfarer or Rimless, in various colors. From there, they can search for matching listings on eBay.

For clothing, the augmented reality feature is called “Outfit Builder.” Users can designate favorite pieces of clothing with the eBay app and store them in their “Personalized Closet.” Then, they use “Outfit Builder” to mix and match items in the closet. To try the items on, the user can similarly overlay the clothes on a white canvas or a saved photo or live image (by pointing the camera toward a friend or a mirror).

Once an outfit is created, it can be saved for future reference or shared via email.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ebay-fashion/id378358380?mt=8

eBay Introduces Augmented Reality Into Apps to Try It On Before You Buy | Tricia Duryee | eMoney | AllThingsD:

A Whole New Way of Looking at Augmented Reality

A humorous look at augmented reality, using subtraction rather than addition, which is the normal way we think about augmented reality application.

Latest Version of Junaio Augmented Reality App Now at Android Market

  Junaio, Metaio’s free Augmented Reality Browser for mobile devices, is available for download in the Android Market and a new vesion will soon be available at the Apple App store as well.

The latest version allows users to take and submit images of objects to a centralized server, where these images are identified using software and a result is returned. For example, a user could take a picture of a book and submit that image for decoding. The response returned could be the book title or other information about the book.

As you might expect, this approach is a bit more complex than tagging items with 2D barcodes, which return a web page. The Junaio approach uses image recognition and object tracking to identify an object through the phone’s camera, access object relevant information through visual search and then virtually “glue” such information displays onto the object itself.

By moving the object or the camera the user is able to intuitively interact with the “glued on” augmented reality layer in order to navigate through information, rotate 3D displays, issue game commands or provide feedback.

Layar Launches First Augmented Reality Content Store

You might be wondering whether "augmented reality" is a feature or a business model. Layar hopes to prove it can be a business model, by introducing an AR content store that allows publishers to offer AR experiences on multiple mobile platforms such as iPhone and Android.

The content store is seamlessly integrated into the Layar "Reality Browser", which is already used on more than 1.6 million mobile devices globally.

The Layar Payment Platform supports multiple payment providers and multiple currencies, ready to serve the different local markets.

Layar deals with legal, administrative and tax rules enabling the publisher to focus on their core activities. The first payment provider is PayPal, supporting payments to residents of United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. More countries, currencies, payment methods and payment providers will be added regularly, the company says.

Publishers can set up accounts at http://site.layar.com/create.

Among the developers that already have signed up are Berlitz City Guides, Mouse Reality for Disney World, UK Sold Prices and Disneyland and EyeTour.

UK sold prices allows users to check the latest UK residential sold price information while users are out and about.  Berlitz helps people experience the city’s highlights: the best attractions, coziest restaurants, most comfortable hotels, coolest places to shop and most fashionable nightlife.

Mouse Reality for Disney World and Disneyland helps users find and navigate all attractions, shows, shops, dinning, transportation, and more in Disneyland and Disney World.

EyeTour helps users explore Puerto using exclusive video content of historical sites, museums, restaurants, parks and more.

Looking ahead, the company believes it can use AR to create a business offering a marketplace for content, services and goods, says Raimo van der Klein, Layar CEO.

Publishers can start selling their content without upfront investments while Layar facilitates payments between the end-user and the publisher. Publishers receive 60 percent of the net proceeds.

Android users who are residents of United States, United Kingdom, Canada or Australia can start buying layers right now after installing the new version of the Layar Augmented Reality Browser. The iPhone update is soon to follow.

Layar describes itself as the world’s leading Augmented Reality Platform on mobile. The Layar Reality Browser currently has more than 1.6 million users and comes pre-installed on tens of millions of phones from leading handset manufacturers and carriers by the end of the year. Over 500 layers are developed by the global community of 3000 Layar publishers.

The free Layar Reality Browser is available on Android devices and iPhone 3GS.

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3D Augmented Reality Flash Mob in Dam Square, Amsterdam

What is described as the world's first augmented reality flash mob will happen at Dam Square in Amsterdam April 24 at 2 p.m. Attendees using Android and iPhone handsets will see three-dimensional statues using the Layar application. 

Sander Veenhof is an organizer of the event, and TAB Worldmedia helped produce the content.  "You can actually walk around them to look at them from all angles by just using your phone and the Layar browser," says Veenhof. 

To prepare, download and install the Layar Augmented Reality browser and look for the layar using “ARflashmob” under the local tab.

GPS Using Augmented Reality

Augmented reality adds a layer of information to images viewed by a smartphone camera. So it was only a matter of time before some people figured out that if an iPhone can be mounted properly on the dashboard of a car, the right AR software can be used to enhance the normal GPS navigation functions the native GPS feature of the phone would provide.

As an aside, I notice that Microsoft-powered smartphones now offer a navigation service, but it requires a monthly recurring fee. Since that feature can be used for no incremental cost on an Android phone, I don't see that remaining a viable long-term competitive alternative.

People in competing firms often gnash their teeth when Google disrupts an existing business by giving away something valuable "for free." And that is what Google is doing by giving away turn-by-turn navigation services without requiring users to buy a monthly recurring subscription. Garmin obviously cannot be happy about that.

On the other hand, Google apparently had to spend quite some time and money creating richer data for its service, primarily because creation of a turn-by-turn navigation feature apparently cannot be created simply by importing satellite data, but also requires actual recording of the positions of vehicles as they drive around.

It's not as though Google is simply licensing software or database services from a third party; it had to create new data to enable the feature.

Lots of AR applications add metadata of questionable value. But features related to travel and transportation seem to be exceptions. It often is quite useful to be able to ascertain where the nearest subway station is, or whether the road sign you just read actually goes to the place you want to go, even though that information was not on the road sign.

Augmented Reality Projects Web Data Onto the Real World

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Augmented reality overlays information from the Web on top of objects in the real world, typically when a user points a mobile phone camera at objects in the real world. In some sense, augmented realtiy takes Web accessible data and projects it in real time onto physical objects viewed by the camera. 

There are all sorts of prosaic applications one can imagine. Helping people buy shoes and clothing is an obvious commercial example. 

Google, QR Codes and Mobile Tagging

You might wonder why Google is interested in "QR codes," two-dimensional bar codes that can contain any alphanumeric text and often feature URLs that direct users to sites where they can learn about an object or place.

Camera-equipped mobile devices provide the "reading device." Mobile always are with a user, so the QR reader software allows people to get information about anything with a QR code, wherever they are. Combine that feature with Google's advertising revenue model, location-based services and one ends up with the mobile equivalent of "tagging."

Beyond the ability to create richer information about places and things, widespread QR creates a richer platform for mobile advertising. That is all the incentive Google needs to push the technology.

The codes are increasingly found on product labels, billboards, and buildings, inviting passers-by to pull out their mobile phones and uncover the encoded information. QR codes can be used in newspapers, magazines or clothing.

Tracking information for products in industry, routing data on a mailing label, or contact information on a business card are other potential applications.

QR codes also are part of the move to "augmented reality," providing richer information and context about the physical world around any mobile user, where they are. Again, the marketing possibilities are obvious.