Yesterday I read an interesting article on Wired where they issued an open letter to augmented reality. In their article they question where all the killer apps are and highlight the fact that AR is well and truly in the trough of disillusionment. As someone who has been positive about AR for the last few years, I’m afraid I’ll have to agree and ask, has the AR bubble burst?. Sometimes writing a blog requires a lot of motivation. I open my inbox each morning hoping to find an email from the developer of the long...

This app probably isn’t exactly augmented reality but I have seen a lot of apps that claim to be AR for doing a lot less. If you’re a fan of the movie the Matrix, take a look at the free Real World ASCII app available for iOS devices. Real World ASCII is a simple app that uses your devices camera and in real-time converts the video feed into an ASCII view. Tapping the screen cycles through a several different views but the green is your very own matrix camera. You can get Real World ASCII from here: ...

The Augmented Planet app disappeared from the app store last year, but the good news its back, big and better than ever.  The new app is a universal version for iPhone and iPad users and contains: The latest posts from Augmented Planet Last news from our Tumblr feed News from all the top sources AR related tweets. It’s the ultimate way to say in touch with what’s happening with augmented reality. The iOS app can be installed here: itunes.apple.com Android owners, we are working on an update to our Android app. As soon as the tools we used for the iOS...

Trawling though my inbox I came across this fun video sent to me by Young Lee.   It’s a pretty sweet viral video showing some hi-tech gangsters training courtesy of augmented realty. If the Karate Kid had access to augmented reality he would have been the ultimate bad-ass and unstoppable. www.youtube.com/watch?v=w77MiguDqYc

I know I blog a lot about iOS and often neglect our Android readers, so it’s always good to hear from Android developers who ask ‘how about me’. Good stuff. This morning I posted about the Absolute Engine for the iPhone which prompted a response from Simon who has been working on the DroidAR project. DroidAR is an OpenGL framework for Android developers who want to add location based or marker based augmented reality functionality to their mobile applications. You can find out more about the project here: http://code.google.com/p/droidar/ The website contains a number of examples including a rather handy installing...

After writing a book last year on developing content for augmented reality browsers using Layar, junaio and Wikitude, I’m pleased to say that I will shortly be starting a more ambitious book project focused on natural feature tracking and face recognition. Currently there are no shortages of augmented reality tools for developers, so my new book will cover all the latest platforms and how they can be used. Think of it as a ‘choosing the right augmented reality tool’ guide and how to developer augmented reality applications for the iPhone (Android version also in planning). Obviously there is a long...

I wonder if I’m the only one that has visions of Phantasm when they watch this video.  The technology is fascinating, but there’s something about the eerie way they move together that creeps me out.

Ask anyone who grew up in the 80s what their all time favourite computer games is and there is good chance they’ll reply with Elite. They simply don’t make games the same any more. Back in the 80s it was all about the game play, and boy did Elite have it in abundance. Over the years there have been many attempts at producing the next Elite clone, all of which have failed to live up to the original. Even when the original creators tried to recreate their success with the truly dreadful Elite 2 and Elite 3 they failed to...

Friends, colleagues, and augmented reality enthusiasts at large – the early registration for ARE 2012 is open! We are just 3 and a half months away from another Augmented Reality Event, the world’s largest AR event, and I can’t wait. As one of the event chairs, I can share with you a secret – ARE 2012 is going to be even bigger and better than before! ARE 2012 will take place on May 8, 9 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California. ARE is where the people working on, and using, Augmented Reality technologies come together to explore best practices and...

I am super excited to be speaking at SXSW Interactive 2012, as part of Will Wright’s Stupid Fun Club, on “A Lifestyle with a Gaming Sense.” Michael Trice just did a post on our session for SXSW.com, Screen Burn Panels at the Palmer Presents Will Wright’s Stupid Fun Club. The photos of Will Wright, Tish Shute (me!) and Peter Swearengen are by Anya Zavarzina. Thank you Anya for such great photos! I have been too busy to blog much lately, but there is a lot to unpack in future posts in my quote...

My favorite Dr. Suess book performed by people straight out of his imagination.

A couple of years ago, when practically no one knew what augmented reality was, I put together a prediction about the future of augmented vision.  A recent development from the leader in augmented vision, Vuzix, made me realize my prediction might not be far off. Engadget recently reported about the state of Vuzix’s AR vision line (taken from the floor of CES 2012.) The end result is that Vuzix is promising a 0-600 AR vision line available in 2013.  This model is built off their military line used for creating the next generation...

Question…how do you demonstrate the power of a Ford Ecoboost engine at an autoshow without actually letting people drive the car (pretty tricky on an autoshow stand…)? We put our heads together and came up with Ken Block vs You! Without putting someone in a car or doing a physical stunt is there a way that you can demonstrate that engines created to be more efficient and eco–friendly can be just as powerful and exciting to drive as any other? Ken Block vs You! is a physical interactive experience at the 2012 NAIAS Autoshow in Detroit which uses Augmented Reality to put...

QR code generator is giving away dynamic recyclable QR codes with stats for free! The QR code generator http://uQR.me just launched a pretty cool 3 for 1 Promo. The offer gives their users 1 free dynamic QR code with statistics and full utilities for every 3 friends that sign up (through you). What’s the best part? You’ll get lots of free QR codes without paying a penny. Still, if you need more QRs and don’t have that many friends there’s always the Premium service option. F. Costa, head of PR at uQR.me: “We’re really excited about the feedback we’ve had from our...

Unless you have access to a special effects studio, your iPhone movies will be a bit on the bland side. At this time of year its probably endless hours of aunty Doris sitting around the kitchen table, tucking into Christmas dinner and telling you how they don’t make turkeys like they used to. To spice up your iPhone movies and to convince everyone that you’re a budding Spielberg, take a look at the new, free Action Movie FX application from Bad Robot Interactive. The application uses augmented reality to overlay computer-generated graphics such as explosions and crashes directly into your...

Regular readers will know that we constantly rave about the guys at Zugara and how they are changing the way we shop online. Since meeting them a couple of years back they have continued to amaze us with their augmented reality, motion capture driven shopping experience and augmented reality games.  To end the year we thought it would be a good time to catch-up with Jack Benoff, the VP of Products and Marketing for Zugara to find out more about what they have been doing and to give you an inside look at how Zugara are going...

2011 has been an interesting year for implementations of augmented reality that involve the unsuspecting public. While the Lynx girls remains my all time favourite it does seem kind of fitting that we have time to squeeze in one more before the end of the year. Thanks to Bruce who sent me this link for an AR stunt that took place at Munich airport. I’m not entirety sure what Fujitsu are advertising, presumably just brand awareness but it looks fun nether-the-less. www.youtube.com/watch?v=daYTW-vzr5I www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KQuNcxsqsc Related posts: insideAR Munich Event Air...

Whether Mayas were right or not, we’ve got to start tickling more next year. Ok? If you feel lazy to spot that QR code, here’s the link to it: http://uqr.me/diegopen/qr/hny-eng All the BEST for next year! Happiness is about tickling. Related posts:Tech adoption researchHow much would you charge for your work?

AR Door has been given the unique privilege of assisting RESO company in its presentation. The presentation, which was devoted to the company’s 20th anniversary, served to entertain guests and help them better understand the key functions of RESO’s uinsurance business. With the use of augmented reality (AR) technology, AR Door has managed to create a presentation tool that helped to visualize the company’s every day work. Right on stage the CEO Dmitry Rakovschik saved life of an old woman and repaired a crashed car with just a motion of his hand. The performance on stage managed to give a zest to...

MUNICH AND SAN FRANCISCO, DECEMBER 8, 2011- The worldwide leader in advanced Augmented Reality solutions, metaio, will today release a free version of its advanced mobile development tools for iOS and Android to the entire application development ecosystem. This will be the newest version of the SDK that already powers the world’s most advanced AR browser and over 70 applications, driving more than 10 million downloads. The metaio Mobile SDK is the first mobile developer kit to enable gravity-aware AR experiences and the only AR developer kit that includes a 3D rendering engine, making it the first truly free AR...