augmented-reality

Portico takes tablets off-screen

Someday we may say size doesn't matter for tablets. Researchers from Intel, Microsoft, and the University of Washington have extended the interactive action beyond the tablet screen to the surface where a tablet computer sits.

Portico is similar to existing tabletop computing systems like Microsoft's Surface that recognize gestures and real-world objects, but is more portable and affordable. It re-creates the tabletop experience on a tablet by breaking free of the confines of the tablet's screen.

The system features a pair of downward-facing cameras mounted on stalks affixed to the back edge of a tablet. The cameras enable the system to see the tablet's screen and the surface around the tablet. Portico's augmented-reality software recognizes objects on and near the tablet. This allows interaction to be both on and off the tablet. (See the video below.)… Read more

PBS chief on child education platforms (podcast)

PBS has long provided programming for children along with "viewers like you." It's famous programs, such as "Sesame Street" and "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," reach millions of children each day. But like other media companies, PBS is also on the Web and mobile devices, providing videos, songs, and learning games for kids to use at home and school.

The extensive classroom material the nonprofit broadcaster provides includes this lesson on explorer Henry Hudson, aimed at grades 3 through 12.

I recently spent an afternoon at PBS headquarters in Arlington, Va., where, in addition to … Read more

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

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