reality

Aurasma may have found market for augmented reality

We've been seeing whizzy augmented-reality demos and apps for years. But so far, AR has been a gimmick--a fun toy for your smartphone or tablet, but not something you go back to a lot.

At the Demo conference today, yet another company, Aurasma, showed off AR technology. While the demo I saw looked way too much like a product from Total Immersion that I saw at Demo in 2007, Aurasma might actually have (finally) found a non-trivial use for this technology.

With this company's innovation, any real-world object can act as an AR trigger. Point your phone at … Read more

The 404 902: Where logical fallacies beg the question (podcast)

If you had to guess, how many pages exist on the Internet, including advertisements and computer-generated articles? Google just gave The World Wide Web Foundation a million dollar grant to answer that question.

We also want to talk about the next evolution of augmented reality apps, like a Google maps extension that overlays historical images on modern locations, and an Android app that shows you objects that would otherwise be invisible to humans- stuff like gamma rays, X-rays, and ionized gasses.

Finally, we'll examine the Electromagnetic Field (EMF) phenomenon that'd led a group of "Wi-Fi refugees" to live in the West Virginia mountains, where a Quiet Zone bans wireless signals across 13,000 square miles.

The 404 Digest for Episode 902

How many pages are on the Internet? Historypin overlays historical images on modern day Google Map. " Wi-fi refugees" shelter in West Virginia mountains. Kevin Rose goes full honeybadger on Gizmodo. Does 7-11 still have chilli and cheese for Nachos/Super Big Bite? Your daily 404 bathroom break: Boy scared of dinosaur.

Episode 902 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Gore tweaks climate call with '24 Hours of Reality'

Climate change activist, former vice president, and near-president Al Gore will present a 24-hour live Webcast--"24 Hours of Reality"--on September 14-15 that's meant to counteract what a statement about the event calls misinformation on global warming.

The Webcast consists of 24 back-to-back screenings of a new multimedia presentation by Gore, introduced live by presenters in 24 different parts of the world, and in 13 different languages. It heralds a new focus for Gore's nonprofit Alliance for Climate Protection, which is changing its name to The Climate Reality Project. Reads a statement on the Reality Project's Web site:

This campaign comes at a critical time. As the impacts of climate change are growing more prevalent, so is the resistance to finding the truth and implementing solutions. Just like the tobacco companies that spent decades in denial that smoking causes cancer, oil and coal companies are determined to sow denial and confusion about the science of climate change, ignore its impacts, and create apathy among our leaders. This event is the first step in a larger, multi-faceted campaign to tell the truth about the climate crisis and reject the misinformation we hear every day."

Augmented reality meets D&D-style gaming

Dungeons & Dragons and other turn-based strategy games are alive and well. Gamers paint elaborate miniature fighters, monks, thieves, and monsters and send them out to battle on tabletops around the world.

OggBoard, a new Kickstarter project, is looking to bring those characters to life without plastic or paint. The concept is to mix augmented reality with board games so that knights and creatures take shape on your iPhone.

The OggBoard has an appealingly minimalistic design. It features a playing surface with small tiles and docks on either side for your iPhone or iPod Touch. Each tile is rendered on the screen as a different 3D character.

"We aren't just trying to make new apps, we are trying to change the way players and developers think about strategy gaming," said OggBoard co-creator Sam Lytle in an e-mail to CNET.… Read more

Your phone will soon recognize things it sees

Mobile-browser maker Layar is about to make augmented reality all that you thought it could be. The company has added visual search to its augmented-reality browser. Point your phone's camera at an object in the real world and an appropriate digital activity will occur on your handset.

For instance, point your phone at a historic house and a video clip will play; point your phone at your friend's new shoes and a buy button will pop up; or point your phone at an article in a paper magazine and a social-media button will pop up asking if you want to share the digital version with friends.

Layar's augmented-reality browser for iPhone and Android runs apps written for it. Layar also offers a player that software makers can embed in iPhone and Android apps. Both will gain visual search. The browser app upgrade will be in app stores at the end of the third quarter. The player upgrade will be available in the fourth quarter.… Read more

AR tool lets you bring home a virtual Sony Bravia

Sony has joined Panasonic and Toshiba in releasing an augmented-reality tool that lets users "visualize" the panels in their homes. As with its competitors' systems, a marker has to be printed and positioned accordingly, though Sony is taking a different approach to displaying the superimposed TV.

Rather than showing the AR image on a smartphone's screen, a photo of the surrounding space has to be uploaded to a Web site, which will prompt the users for the Bravia TV's model and render the composite picture. Watch the video above to get a better idea of the whole process.

(Source: Crave Asia via Engadget) … Read more

T-shirts come alive with augmented reality

Need to spruce up your wardrobe? When that "Bazinga!" T-shirt just will not cut it anymore, maybe some interactive augmented-reality attire could be for you.

Augmented-reality app specialist Zappar and private-label clothier Hybrid Apparel today announced a line of 20 T-shirts with Threadless-esque designs that come to life through AR. In the video below, we see an example of augmented-reality fashion via a T-shirt named "Mars Attacks." Using the free Zappar app (available for iOS and Android devices), a person using the iPad's touch screen and rear camera defeats a large robot projected on the T-shirt by zapping it with lasers. Not bad. … Read more

Apple patent hints at augmented reality camera app

A patent application unearthed today and detailed by Patently Apple, suggests Apple could be planning to bring augmented reality-based mapping and map search features to its camera app.

The patent application (PDF), entitled "augmented reality maps," details using the iPhone's camera and onboard sensors to pull up information about what's nearby. This is combined with a way to search, similar to what users can currently find in the maps app.

In one of the figures included in the patent (embedded above), the example user is pointing the device towards an intersection in downtown San Francisco, while … Read more

On the road with iOnRoad collision warning app for Android

Recently, we took a look at an app for Android that could help save your life. iOnRoad is a driver safety app that uses a combination of GPS data and augmented reality to monitor the road ahead for potential collisions. By warning distracted drivers that they're too close to the vehicle ahead, iOnRoad could save money on low-speed fender benders or save lives when speeds get higher. I hit the road with this app to see how it performs.

After downloading and installing the beta version of the app (version 0.99.5), I used a suction-cup cradle provided … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1526: Prepare for Maximum Overdrive! (Podcast)

The sun is throwing out magnetic storms that could disrupt your GPS, your cell phone signals, and maybe even cause soda machines to kill you in extremely violent 1980s movie style. Just ... Google it. In other news, the World Wide Web turned 20 this weekend, the kids of today are learning to be hackers at DefCon, and if you buy virtual gold instead of earning it, the terrorists win. No, really, that's actually kind of true.