Augmented Planet » G1

Augmented Reality Driving Applications

lester — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:13:34 +0000

Two driving applications for Android users this morning.

I noticed a few days back, AugmentedTimes reported an update to the Wikitude application aptly named ‘Wikitude drive AR navigation system’. The new update gives turn by turn instructions and POI navigation to Android users.

Unlike a TomTom or other GPS device which gives directions overlayed on a map, Wikitude overlays the directions on reality via the phones camera making it much easier to see the instructions. This should solve those GPS problems where you are told to turn left but not exactly sure which left you are meant to take.

I was a little bit worried about the idea of using augmented reality in a car for navigation, the whole idea of looking at a small screen for instructions was a bit scary, however as long as it is properly mounted to the dashboard and you don’t drive down the road with it in your hands then there is not really that much difference with a traditional GPS device.

The new update from Wikitude represents a big change for the application which previously offered information on points of interest, I’m wondering if the change is largely due to the success of Layar. Either way it’s a very compelling update that would actually make me buy an Android device so excellent job.

Wikitude drive AR navigation system – in action

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReH9dmqfOqA

While on the subject of traffic navigation, readers in Toronto take a look at the augmented realty Traffic View application.

Traffic View gives you access to over 250 traffic cameras directly from your Android device to help you see what the traffic is like and plan your journey. You can either view the cameras in advance to see what the traffic is doing and plan your route, or as you are driving the application will show you what the traffic is like ahead of you by showing you the view from the next traffic camera. It’s a fantastic idea, how many times have you been stuck in a traffic jam just after you passed a turn off? I am not in Canada so unable to test it, if you have tried it I am sure we would all like to know your experience.

Traffic View – in action

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqlwZK9e5UI

Both applications are available in the Android Marketplace

Heavens Above Augmented Reality

lester — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:43:47 +0000

Morning all. A couple of demos today.

Have you ever tried to install a satellite dish? It’s not difficult, to some degree it’s just fix it to the wall and point it in the same direction as all the other dishes. The tricky bit is getting a good signal, for that you ether need a sat meter or a sat bleeper (it bleeps louder when you have a good signal). As you can imagine space is littered with satellites, so why you think you are locked on to the right satellite and have a great signal you might be picking up the signal of it’s neighbour so end up wondering why you have no tv channels.

Just like the numerous augmented reality applications that enable you to find the nearest underground stations, you can now get hold of a mobile augmented reality application for the iPhone that shows you the positions of the satellites. The application is from DishPointer and is great if you want to install a satellite or just annoy people at BBQs, either way it makes a great demo

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AFtcgYRcu4

Sky Maps

If knowing the location of satellites is not your thing, then how about an application that tells you the names of the constellations and the locations of the planets. If you have a Google Android smartphone then they have an application called Sky Maps that will do just that. Point it at the sky, set a reference point and then see all the heavenly bodies revealed.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COlvfEXvOlw

Install

iPhone users can isntall the DishPointer application from here.
Android users can install the Sky Maps application from here.

87 Layers And Counting

lester — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:20:21 +0000

A quick congratulations to the guys at Layar today who have now taken their product global and have an amazing 87 layers available for their augmented reality browser.

If you are not familiar with Layar, Layar shows what is around you by displaying real time digital information on top of reality through the camera of your mobile phone (augmented reality to you and me). There is an older post here that will get you up to speed.

We have a lot of new reads to the blog recently (welcome), so if your new and your trying to get up to speed on the hype behind augmented reality, imagine you see an advertisement in a magazine for new car. You could of course phone the car dealer, or using augmented reality you could point your phones camera at the special marker embedded with the advertisement and get directions to your nearest dealer. Sounds great right? That’s one of the many layers available.

From Magazine to Mazda in 80 Seconds.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0okCzYp6s34

The Mazda layer is just one 87 different layers available, using Layar you can find everything from houses for sale to the location of the nearest hospitals so if you have an Android device you’re bound to find something interesting. Browse the catalog for the full list of available layers.

The Layar application is available to download from the Android market.

Finally, for more information about Layar take a look at 10 minute video presented by Raimo van der Klein, CEO of Layar, as he announces the new global release of the Layar Reality Browser and walks through the new features. You can watch the video here.

Augmented Tourisum

lester — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:21:03 +0000

Welcome to Monday. I have a feeling this is going to be great week.

Please continue to send in your details if you are a developer looking for augmented reality projects to work on, or if you have tools/SDKs that you want developers to use. I do have one reader who is in need of a iPhone developer with augmented reality programming experience so ping me if you are interested in being put in touch.

Gamaray
Layar and Wikitude are great examples of applications that enable you to get more information on your surroundings, but what happens if you don’t want to, or can’t travel and still want to see some of the sights? Gamaray have come up with the interesting idea of placing 3D images on your mobile device and walk around them. As part of the application they have a service called ‘dimension’ that contains a list of virtual objects that can be interacted with, soon anyone will be able to upload their own 3D creations to become part of the Gamaray application.

This application has great possibilities for augmented tourism, let’s say I want to visit Stonehenge, I tell the application what I want to visit and it downloads the 3D model from the dimension service. In the comfort of my own garden I can then have the experience of walking around Stonehenge without the hassle of driving to Salisbury and paying to park. If it was raining it would be even more realistic. Gamaray is the first step on what could be a very interesting idea.

Gamaray is available for the Android device and has the following features:

3D objects that you can actually walk around and view from different angles and distances.
Geo-located images and text boxes can also be displayed.
Each dimension can create a custom interface using image and text overlays.
Familiar web application programming model that uses a simple XML schema.
A radar widget with adjustable viewing range.

You can read more or find the download link here. http://www.gamaray.com/

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aivtT1iTAi8

www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9Wt6YYbBEk

IBM Seer, Augmented Reality At Wimbledon

lester — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:43:40 +0000

Twitter seems to have gone ARRR Zombie crazy today. Have you noticed how something gets pickup on Twitter and the world goes crazy for a few days, then a few weeks later someone else picks up on the same thing and we have the same crazyness? Next week we’ll be knee deep in Sasquatch demos. Not me though, this will be my last post for few weeks as I’m off on holiday.

In the meantime, as Wimbledon is almost upon us, IBM have launched an application call Seer for the Android. If you are attending Wimbledon then Seer will help you stay in touch with your surroundings at the show.

Just install the app, point the phones camera at various objects at the event and you’ll get back some cool information. For example if you are hungry point it at the bar and it will tell you what food they have and how long the queue for food is, or If you’re are looking for the toilet it will help you find the closest.

You can also get the scores, find out what the taxi queue is like and much more all without having to get out your seat.

Now that’s pretty cool.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VZoDmqcZ34

See you in a few weeks.

Wikitude and the augmented reality hype cycle

lester — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 08:13:14 +0000

Floating around on Twittersphere this morning is a very interesting article on the augmented reality hype cycle. (read here)

The article that breaks down the technology in to 4 stages:

Level 0 – Physical World Hyper Linking
Level 1 – Marker Based AR
Level 2 – Markerless AR
Level 3 – Augmented Vision

Right now we are around level 2 with mobile applications beginning to use markerless AR. A good example or markerless AR is the Wikitude application for the Google Android G1 device.

It looks like a great application if you are a traveller.

Wikitude
Wikitude is a mobile travel guide for the Android platform based on location-based Wikipedia and Qype content. It is a handy application for planning a trip or to find out about landmarks in your surroundings; 350,000 world-wide points of interest may be searched by GPS or by address and displayed in a list view, map view or cam view.

Wikitude AR Travel Guide Part 1

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EA8xlicmT8

Wikitude AR Travel Guide Part 2

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpaJBu4BEuA

More
Application home page
Install from here

At the moment the Google Android device appears to be hogging all the augmented reality limelight. With some of the new super powerful Symbian based devices coming out later this year I hope all that will change.

Have you used it?
If you have used the Wikitude application? I’m sure we’d all be intrested in hearing more