Mobile Intelligence Unit - AR Research

NEW COMPETITION

- London Tube is now available for the first time in the same application via in-app purchase. This option allows you to switch between the bus and underground systems at any time using the same application. This add-on includes the official London Tube map from TfL, locates the nearest Tube stations, and also offers a Journey Planner tool.

The most interesting update to Mobilizy's mobile augmented reality offering is the relaunch and full integration of the Wikitude.me platform with the browser. Wikitude.me is a socially-aware geotagging site where you can log in with an existing Facebook (Facebook), Twitter (Twitter), Google (Google) or Yahoo account and add location-based information that other users will be able to access later at that same spot.

The browser uses awesome 3D navigation which you can see as you spin around. There is local data from property companies and big name brands which is represented in an augmented reality view. Holding it flat jumps to a Google maps view and when you spin around so does the browser to make sure you know where everything is in orientated.

Wherever you are, the nru mobile application ("near you") will work out your exact location and which way you're facing. It will then show you the nearest places to go, from bars and restaurants to cinemas and cafes. As you turn to face different directions, the view will change so you always know which way to go. nru gets it's content from Qype, the local search and recommendation website, and fonefood, the mobile restaurant booking service from lastminute.com.

Layar is a new augmented reality Android framework that comes from SPRXMobile. SPRXMobile, which previously brought us the ATM finder and this excellent post about the AR hype cycle, have kicked it up a notch with a full blown AR platform. SPRXMobile don't provide many details quite yet (they save it to Mobile 2.0), but here's what was made public on their site:

Gamaray's AR Explorer shows virtual 3d objects not seen with the naked eye. Obviously, the technology is in its infancy, and it's quite a bold move on Gamaray's part to release its application in such an early stage:

And we are not the only ones thinking that AR is about to hit its full hype potential. Gartner shows that in their latest report, "Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, 2009," AR is steadily climbing towards the "Peak of Inflated Expectations."

This is a video of the first beta version of TwittARound - an augmented reality Twitter viewer on the iPhone 3GS.

This is a video of the first beta version of TwittARound - an augmented reality Twitter viewer on the iPhone 3GS. It shows live tweets around your location on the horizon. Because of video see-through effect you see where the tweet comes from and how far it is away.

As a pioneer in the area of augmented reality technology, metaio develops software products for systems driven by visual interaction in both real and virtual worlds. Our Unifeye software platform not only lets you place 3D animations directly into live video streams, but also supports the seamless integration of images from the external user environment.

By far, the biggest crowd pleaser at last week's TechCrunch50 was a demo by the Japanese startup Tonchidot for a mobile social tagging product it is developing called Sekai Camera.

"Enkin" introduces a new handheld navigation concept. It displays location-based content in a unique way that bridges the gap between reality and classic map-like representations. It combines GPS, orientation sensors, 3D graphics, live video, several web services, and a novel user interface into an intuitive and light navigation system for mobile devices.

A Hype Cycle is a graphic representation of the maturity, adoption and business application of specific technologies. Since 1995, Gartner has used Hype Cycles to characterize the over-enthusiasm or "hype" and subsequent disappointment that typically happens with the introduction of new technologies (see Understanding Gartner's Hype Cycles) for an introduction to the Hype Cycle concepts). Hype Cycles also show how and when technologies move beyond the hype, offer practical benefits and become widely accepted. Read More.

Wikitude is number 6 in this lineup id ar applications. Very subjective selection process.

A lot of excitement has been building around a category of iPhone and Android (Android) apps, most of which have yet to be approved or released. They are known as augmented reality apps.

Original Website - Mostly Japanese

The video below shows JWT International experimenting in combining QR Codes with the Layer augmented reality platform.

JWT International has been proposing and developing fun Augmented Reality applications for some time, Layar however is completely new. It is the one application that separates the role of the smart phone from the desktop/laptop and really sets a new standard in smart phone applications and the way in which brands can communicate and engage with customers.

MUST SEE VIDEO! Some quotes: "Right now this is the peak of my interest" "A techno visionary dream come true" "People can actually, conceivably make some money off of this" "It's not too geeky" "It's Artsy" "It's Girls, Money and Fame!" "It's happening" "I put on a tie" "New names will not work" "It's a tag" "AR language top 3 at Google Trends: 1: Korean, 2: Dutch & 3: English" "Do some high culture things" "Criminals are going to come…" "You are going to get the four horse men of the infopocalypse" "You are going to get the fear about…" "Don't be a deer in the head lights about it" "You are going to need an industry journal" "You are going to need an industry code of ethics" "You are heading for the trough of disillusion" "It's human nature" "Be prepared to work for the other guy" "Be prepared to hire the other guy" "The majors will buy you out" "It's gonna happen, get ready for it" "Augments eat batteries like popcorn" "Is there an Augmented Reality system for building Augmented Reality systems?" "Do you have your own language?" "You need to have a look" "You are gonna be glamorous" "Pretty chique… you are video people" "…hot Dutch augmentation chicks" "You are in for a wild ride"

Some quotes: "Right now this is the peak of my interest" "A techno visionary dream come true" "People can actually, conceivably make some money off of this" "It's not too geeky" "It's Artsy" "It's Girls, Money and Fame!" "It's happening" "I put on a tie" "New names will not work" "It's a tag" "AR language top 3 at Google Trends: 1: Korean, 2: Dutch & 3: English" "Do some high culture things" "Criminals are going to come…" "You are going to get the four horse men of the infopocalypse" "You are going to get the fear about…" "Don't be a deer in the head lights about it" "You are going to need an industry journal" "You are going to need an industry code of ethics" "You are heading for the trough of disillusion" "It's human nature" "Be prepared to work for the other guy" "Be prepared to hire the other guy" "The majors will buy you out" "It's gonna happen, get ready for it" "Augments eat batteries like popcorn" "Is there an Augmented Reality system for building Augmented Reality systems?" "Do you have your own language?" "You need to have a look" "You are gonna be glamorous" "Pretty chique… you are video people" "…hot Dutch augmentation chicks" "You are in for a wild ride"

SHOULD the guidebook industry be feeling anxious? The Sunday Times draws attention to an interesting new gadget, Wikitude, which could render some guides obsolete. Wikitude combines accessibility-it's a piece of software that can run on certain mobile phones-with the encyclopaedic breadth of the Wikipedia website to provide detailed information about what you see around you.