Augmented Planet

Augmented Reality Gaming: Nokia Ovi Maps Racing

Nitin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:19:36 +0000

Here at Augmented Planet, we have reviewed a few mobile augmented reality games in the past. Many of these are of the more traditional type: overlay some virtual enemies in the camera view, and wave your phone around and try to shoot them, see here. Occasionally a game like Parallel Kingdom comes along which is a little different to the norm – so to speak. Again the debate arises as to what the definition of augmented reality is in the context. Is the only ‘reality’ the live camera view, or is your location also a type of ‘reality’, which too may be augmented. I won’t delve too deep into this discussion here, however this article will probably help to muddy the waters a little further.

Recently Nokia launched Ovi Maps Racing For Nokia Symbian^1 handsets. This article does not serve to review the game itself, as there are many sites which do this already, however what I want to do here, is to discuss the augmented reality-ness (<-I want to coin this phrase if no one has already claimed ownership), of the game.

The idea behind the game is that you use your current location to create a track using Ovi Maps (Navteq), and then you can race around, trying to set the fastest lap times.

From the Ovi Store:

Access your location, create a track and put the pedal to the metal. Ovi Maps Racing gives racing game enthusiasts a totally unique gaming experience combining map navigation and racing. Why not race on your home street? In addition to creating your own tracks in European cities, you can also choose from pre-defined tracks and check global rankings. Ladies and gentlemen, download and start your engines!

Is this Augmented Reality?

So the argument arises: is this an augmented reality game? It has not been marketed by Nokia as such, and we’ve not made our minds up yet. Do you need to be able to use your current location using the GPS sensor? Is it not enough to just be able to pick a map from a library, or create a map from an Ovi Maps interface? (The application provides both of these options). Is the use of the GPS sensor just a shortcut that feigns ‘augmentation’? Many augmented reality application and games simply give the perception of augmented reality and whilst the technology bubble continues to inflate, maybe this will do for now?

In any case, we’d definitely be interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter.

Ovi Maps Racing is available for Nokia Symbian^1 (S60 5th edition), devices: N97, N97 mini, 5800 XpressMusic and can be downloaded for free for a limited time only from the Ovi Store.

Junaio 2.0 Now An Augmented Reality Browser

lester — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:06:19 +0000

The new, all singing, all dancing Junaio application appeared on my iPhone a few days back. I was expecting more of the same but with more 3D images to chose from, what I got was a pleasant surprise.

Junaio is no longer just an augmented reality 3D photo/social networking tool, thanks to new functionality Junaio is now an augmented reality browser similar to the likes of Wikitude, Layar, or WhereMark. With the new channels feature you can browsers for nearby services like Shopping, Games, Nightlife, nearby tweets etc. Live view, the augmented reality view of the world now gives you a wikipedia view so you’ll be able to see where the nearest tube station is located as well as any pictures that have been uploaded by other users. In Junaio 2.0 everything revolves around the notion of channels, as a user you get your own channel that you can share with friends, or you can subscribe to their channels and overlay and view their content.

It’s such a big step forward that I was surprised that Metaio didn’t make more fuss about the release. Normally Metaio release a cool video and send over a copy of the press announcement, but I was unable to find anything. The website doesn’t reflect the new branding or reference the 2.0 release and the general lack of fanfare makes me feel like 2.0 escaped in to the appstore rather than being released, I raised an eyebrow for sure when I first loaded it and saw Junaio 2.0 Alpha on the splash screen. I searched through the twittersphere and found nothing other than a few users complaining about the new UI, which I have to say I like. The concept of channels is a little confusing at first but it doesn’t take long to figure it out and everything is easily accessible from the home screen.

I’m not sure about backwards compatibility as the pictures I added with the first version seem to have disappeared, but I am using a new account and think they might be in a channel somewhere. Incidentally you can now work with pictures in your phones gallery rather than having to take new pictures. Great if you have the perfect picture and are feeling creative.

On the home screen there is now an option to take pictures of augmented reality markers, in the screenshot you’ll see an AR marker with the trademark Junaio dragon flying above it. We’ll just have to see what that feature is for once we get a bit more news.

Like all good applications, Junaio have an open SDK for developers who want to build content and extend the platform. If you are looking to build content then take a look here:

Android users relax, Junaio is comming soon
iPhone users download from here:

Augmented Reality Dating For The iPhone

lester — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:00:36 +0000

Last week I was presenting on augmented reality at a minibar event in central London. As part of my talk I was giving an overview on the opportunities and how companies can include augmented reality functionality in their existing solutions. One of the examples I gave was around online dating. Specifically, if you are single, wouldn’t it be great to be able to see who around you right now is single? After I had finished a company came up to me and in true ‘there’s an app for that’ fashion told me about their augmented reality dating application.

Street Spark is an augmented reality dating application for the iPhone that allows you to see other single people who are around you and send them private messages. The designers have actually put a lot of thought into the application and augmented reality actually feels useful rather than a bolt on. In fact the designers have played down the augmented reality functionality all together so it doesn’t show up in the appstore when searching for augmented reality.

To avoid being spammed by psychos and bunny boilers, if you spot someone you like you can express your interest by ‘igniting’. If they reciprocate by igniting you back then you’ll be able to view their full profile and chat. If you don’t get on then you can simply ‘extinguish’ the spark and they can’t bother you again. Since you are more likely to get a spark if you have completed a good profile and uploaded a decent picture the format should work well.

Rather than attempt to match you with people 50 miles away, you are able to sign into HotSpots, so if you visit lets say London Soho you can sign in to the area and see who else is using the application around you, and that’s where the augmented reality view comes into effect. Holding up the phone enters SparkView which shows you where your matches are located, how far away they are, your compatibility match rating as well the all important profile picture. When they gave me a demo I was impressed, it’s well worth taking a look as the weekend is coming up.

StreetSpark Demo

StreetSpark is free and you can download it here.

Give it a try this weekend, I would be interested in how you got on.

Layar 3 Back To The iPhone – worth the wait?

lester — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:19:23 +0000

Layer 3 makes a welcomed return to the iPhone, I was interested to see if the new version would be just a bug fix to fix the crashes or a update with the new 3D features. If you are a Layar fan you may want to go and get yourself a cup of coffee and skip today’s blog.

Firstly, the good news, it is the update with the 3D functionality rather than just a bug fix. There are some nice new 3D layers. Screenshots 3D is a fun layer where you can include a 3D image into a picture, if you have used Junaio then the idea is very similar. The problem is however is you can’t place the 3D object where you want it so you’ll have to arrange your subject around what Layar dictates. You’ll get four instances of the 3D image appear (north, south, east and west) in your compass and it’s up to you to position the subject to those points. I tried to take a picture of the Sphinx in my garden but the best I could get was the Sphinx hovering 20 feet above a car park. When you do have your subject lined up the next problem is tying to figure out how you take the picture, so far the only way I have found is to take a screenshot which means you’ll get the Layar UI obscuring your picture, probably not what you wanted.

On several tests with the Catch Of The Day layer all the fish appeared clumped together (see screenshot) rather than in separate locations. I also had giant fish appear that were so huge only part of them appeared on the screen. I’m pretty sure neither of these things were meant to happen.

Leading on to the UI, it’s very inconsistent. There is a 2 degrees icon which sometimes when pressed appears to tilt the screen by a few degrees, other times it doesn’t really do anything. I can’t really get my head around that feature. There is also (I’m assuming) a hide POI icon which sometimes causes the POIs drop off the screen and hide and other time just drop a few degrees but stay on the screen. I think the idea is to show distance and scale but the idea doesn’t quite work.

I didn’t test all the layers but, Pubs Galore found my local pub which was good, but the UK Post Box Finder which I thought would be useful failed to find anything despite the fact that I can see a post box from my window. I have said before that Layar are doing a great job getting developers to build layers, some of them however will leave you scratching your head as to why. Take Urban Farm for example, load it and you’ll see icons of animals which do not represent the locations of where they can been seen, selecting the icon give you useful information like ‘Cow’, ‘Turkey’ or ‘Chicken’. Layers like that make me question the quality of the other layers, I think when time permits I will look though the list to see what the quality is like for all 370 layers. On the subject of useful, the Tube Stations layer has been extended to show you the live departure board which is really cool. The integration with the live departure board could have been better than just taking you to TFL’s website, but any ray of sunshine will do.

I was surprised that since the previous Layar was pulled from the appstore due to crashes, I suffered 4 random crashes when testing the application this morning, nothing reproducible just click an icon and boom, app gone. Sadly I still have to complain about the fact that Layar still haven’t caught on to the fact that not everyone in uses KMs.

Having written this I feel like I am too negative, perhaps I got out of bed the wrong side this morning, but Layar and Wikitude are like the Microsoft and Apple of the augmented reality browser world and as such everything they do you expect to be ground breaking. I had such high hopes for Layar 3 but I don’t feel that it’s a step forward from the previous version. The 3D functionality is still buggy and the UI confusing.

Download Layar from here:

It will be it be interesting to hear what you guys think. Love it or hate it?

The scary world of augmented reality gaming

lester — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:57:05 +0000

Today’s augmented reality games are a fun affair, shoot a few aliens, blow up a few planes, or relax and put out a few fires all from the comfort of your own home. The only danger you face is banging your knee on a table as you turn around. But as technology gets more sophisticated and graphics get better, what are the implications of augmented reality games, will the technology make them to hot to handle?

Is the the future of gaming?

When I brought an xBox some years back and played Grand Theft Auto III for the first time, I thought that some people would have problems separating real life from the game, or at least use it as an excuse in their defence come their day in court. Sure enough a few people went out on violence sprees and did exactly that and as a result the use of violence in video games came under the spotlight.

I love computer games as much as the next man but it’s going to be a scary world when computer games have photorealistic graphics and are blended with augmented reality. Take a look at the following video:

The future of AR gaming?

While it looks cool, (tell me you are not dreaming of AR Quake right now?) what are the implications for games here? On one hand you can’t halt the progress of video gaming because the graphics and therefore the violence gets too real, on the other hand will augmented reality gaming lead to an increase in violence because some people are unable to separate the two?

MWC highlights and the next Augmented Planet event

lester — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:05:46 +0000

Greetings from Barcelona, the last few days have been Mobile World Congress. I was running an augmented reality discussion group on Thursday for the Wireless Industry Partnership at the MWC Mobile Jam. Along with my panel of experts, David Caabeiro (Sequence Point Software), Dan Romescu (Augmented Citizen) and Cristina Puig (Visual Century who I will talk about in a later post) we met some really interesting people and had some fantastic discussions. Everything from UI design, should developers build plug-ins for other mobile augmented reality products (eg Layar/Wikitude) or should they create their own. One app verses many apps was a consistent theme along with how do developers make money from augmented reality when so many applications are free. Lots of blogging ammo for another day.

Incidentally, David Caabeiro has open sourced the ARound project, so if you are a Symbian developer and are looking to build an augmented reality browser you can get the source code from here.

In Rouli’s (ARTimes) predictions for 2010 I predicted that by the end of the year we’ll have face recognition on mobile devices. You may recall the excellent TAT concept video showing the future of mobile face recognition (below), I am happy to report that TAT have a working prototype which I manged to catch a demo of at the show. It’s still in the concept stage so not as robust as the video but I can confirm that mobile face recognition is here. Pretty amazing stuff.

I also predicted that augmented reality mapping/navigation would arrive, Mobilizy were the worthy winner of the NAVTEQ challengeat MWC for their Wikitude Drive product. The NAVTEQ challenge is an annual competition designed to recognise the best innovation on their mapping platform. They give away a ton of prizes so well worth keeping an eye on their developer program for future events.

Prediction wise I am doing pretty well and it’s only February.

Planning for Augmented Planet 2010 is well underway, we have located a venue in London Soho and are figuring out what the agenda will be. We’ll shortly be sending out a survey to see if you want a full day or an evening event and to help us focus on the right content. We are also thinking about visiting a few cities so if you are not in London (we have lots of Canadian, US, and Far Eastern readers) then be sure to complete or survey and if we get enough interest we may pay your city a visit.

That’s it from me in Barcelona, time for lunch and then 7 hours at the airport.

TAT Augmented ID -- now a reality (almost)

Layar The First Augmented Reality AppStore

lester — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 12:38:18 +0000

I’m working with several companies who have augmented reality platforms and are looking to make money by allowing 3rd party developers to build content using their tools and services. Layar however have struck the first blow in becoming the first augmented reality appstore.

At Mobile World Congress yesterday, Layar announced that from mid March developers will have the option to produce either free or paid layers. These layers will be will be distributed via the Layar application so developers will be able to take advantage of Layar’s existing user base (around 1 million users) rather than having to market a new application to new users.

Make money building layers

Consider you want to build a World Cup augmented reality application and charge $.99 for it, do you :

A) – hire a developer, spend a few months building something, go through the Apple approval process, then spend months trying to market you application
b) - develop it as a Layer, have access to all of Layar’s customers

Unless you are looking for a complete bespoke solution I think most people will be in B-land. As a side effect, allowing developers to make money from their work should bring about a whole new generation of quality content as users will demand more than find me a bar type apps.

It’s an ambitious project, having personal experience of putting together an application store, dealing with tax issue, customer complaints, refunds and payments it is a messy business.

Tiger Beer for the iPhone

lester — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 11:51:46 +0000

If you have ever been to China Town you’ll know just how overwhelming it is, fortunately to celebrate Chinese New Year Exposure have released a Tiger beer promotional iPhone application that will highlight local bars that sell Tiger beer, give you costs so you can figure out which is the cheapest and reviews so you’ll know which is the nicest.

Like all augmented reality applications we have seen, it has an AR view, hold the device up and see the results in the camera view, or see them in a map. Nothing new there. But it seems that advertisers are finally catching on to the whole concept of augmented reality as a branding platform.

Tiger beer also comes with a game to encourage users to interact with the application more and not just when they are thirsty. As I installed the application I accepted the ability to receive push notifications, so I’m assuming that next time I am out and about in London’s West End I’ll get relevant offers delivered.

The game incidentally is not an augmented reality game but is kind of fun nether the less.

If you have a China Town near you and you want to do a bit of exploring, you can install from here: TigerBeer

Wikitude World Browser Update – Quick Look

lester — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:03:48 +0000

The iPhone update to the Wikitude World Browser has just hit the appstore. So here is a very early look at whats new.

Firstly upon loading you are presented with a new list of search criteria which includes:

Booking.com - European hotel reservation
Wikipedia
Qype - local reviews on services around you
World Heritage List - Cultural and natural heritage listings
Webcams.travel - collection of webcams
English Premier League - locations of premier league teams stadium’s
City Search - Search cities for entertainment and dining
EPER 2004 - details from the European Pollutant Emissions Register
Twitter - Nearby tweets
Wikitude.Me – your bookmarked POIS
Bordatlas
Flickr
Youtube
Google Local
Planes – spot flights
F1 Racecourses 2009
Panoramico - photo sharing
Last.fm – gigs taking place around you
Yahoo Upcoming - community event’s taking place around you

It’s good to see 3rd party POIs being supported and easily found. It’s also good to see that there is support for both KM and Miles which has been my pet gripe. The new version also allows you to control the number of POIs shown at any time, however there is stil the issue of the application not remembering your previous selections. So every time you start the app it defaults back to the maximum distance and default set of POIs.

There is a good mix of POIs, the first POI I tried was the Planes and had a good chuckle to myself. The only flight found was Sewage. I’m pretty sure I am flying them to Barcelona next week. The EPER POI throws up an interesting list of who around you is putting pollutants in to the environment and I was surprised to see that even in the middle of nowhere where I live there are offenders.

I’m not sure how I manage to break things but I hit upon a few bugs.

1) The camera option disappeared a few times while choosing the POI. It meant that I could select POIs but I couldn’t turn on the camera without closing and restarting the app

2) I found a repeatable crash with the English premier league POI. Enable the POI, select any item in the camera view then select Web and the app crashes.

Overall it’s a nice update and good to see the inclusion of more POIs and the ability for developers to easily add their own.

Augmented Reality Toys For Boys

lester — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:19:32 +0000

If I won the lottery apart from a new Porsche, Ferrari, and Lamborghini I’d have a fleet of robots.
Every day my garden would be mowed by robotic lawnmowers that would come out, cut the grass and then return to their base station. Each room in the house would have a vacuum cleaner robot that comes out at 3am does a bit of hovering (quietly) before going back to it’s base stations to recharge.

Of course I would want a Rovio as well to act as my home security. If your not familiar with a Rovio, it’s a mobile web-cam that you can control over the web. Put the Rovio somewhere in the house, disappear somewhere exotic on holiday and at anytime you can connect up to the device and view the cam. Better yet you can control it and drive around the house to make sure the pets are OK or check that your TV is still where you left it.

So we have remote control robot with a web-cam, wouldn’t it be great if…

Way ahead of you with that one. LinceoVR is a set of tools that enable developers to build augmented reality content, using their SDK a mash-up has been created that allows the Rovio web-cam to recognise markers turning the robot into a games platform.

Check out this video and I’m sure it will be on your wish list.