augmented

Eleven years since its original inception, the Deus Ex series welcomes a new entry in the form of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. In a world where human augmentations have been commercialized by big business, human beings have the option to upgrade not just their bodies but also their minds. Such an ethical hot topic has created passionate factions on each side of the argument forcing players to find a balance between the two.

A franchise known for mixing RPG and action elements all while giving the player the freedom of choice, we've been anxiously awaiting to see just how such an ambitious collection of mechanics play out on current-generation consoles. Taking a special look at the game on PC is CNET Senior Editor Rich Brown.

Jeff: After just surviving a summer drought of games like the one we just experienced, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a very welcome light at the end of the tunnel. It's an incredibly deep and layered game with a cerebral storyline that will charm even the most jaded cyberpunk enthusiast--a true complement to the game's great Blade Runner-inspired art direction.

The best way I can describe Human Revolution is a cross between Metal Gear Solid and Mass Effect. The team at Eidos Montreal borrowed the best elements from each of these franchises and made it their own, successfully weaving a game that lives up to its series' legacy of giving the player ultimate choice. This concept applies to almost everything Adam Jensen--the game's main character--does, from interrogating a person of interest to infiltrating a testing laboratory.… Read more

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

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

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

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.

Toyota is toying with augmented reality to improve the view outside of its vehicles' windows.

A design exercise developed in conjunction with the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID), Toyota's "Window to the World" concept uses augmented reality to turn a car window into a glass canvas that lets the viewer interact with the elements outside the window.

CIID and Toyota Kansei Design Division engineers and designers came up with five potential uses for the new windows. Similar to the way kids draw shapes onto fogged-up glass, passengers can trace images on the window, but they appear … Read more

Marketing and design company SapientNitro unveiled an app today that allows smokers to see exactly what cigarettes are doing to their lungs.

The AR Lungs app uses augmented reality and a database of medically correct digital lungs to illustrate the effects of cigarettes. People point a Webcam or smartphone camera at their chest and see a superimposed image of the digital lungs.

Using sliders, a person can adjust how many cigarettes they smoke a day and for how long to get a visual representation of the damage and discoloration they've suffered. A nonsmoker, meanwhile, would see healthy, pink lungs.

The app was developed as an unconventional way of spreading the antismoking message. The company said it is using the potential of augmented reality to help raise disease awareness. The digital lungs paint a stark image of the consequences of smoking.

Computer users with a Webcam can check the app out for free here. … Read more

Augmented reality, which brings together the physical and digital worlds, holds much promise for gaming. So why do most augmented-reality games suck? Here's the key: Most aren't true augmented reality. They're little more than animations overlaid on a video feed.

Enter Ball Invasion, a game from Swedish software developer 13th Lab. The iPad 2 game is a leap forward. It's also simple: Shoot a stream of round black bullets at the colorful balls that emerge on your screen. Unlike other augmented-reality games, however, you can bounce your animated bullets off the real walls around you. Check out the video below.

Here's what goes on under the hood. Ball Invasion uses Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) to build and continuously update a 3D digital representation of the physical space in the iPad camera's field of view. This is the technology many robots, including NASA planetary rovers, use to get a sense of where they are.… Read more

What happens when you mash up a bunch of buzzword technologies together in one video? Look no further than the below presentation, titled "Augmented Reality 3d Video on iPad with Kinect."

iOS developer Laan Labs yesterday demonstrated a concept app (created with the String AR SDK) that can use video captured from Microsoft's Kinect as augmented-reality content when viewed through an iPad 2 camera. This means that one day you could possibly record a video of yourself on a Kinect camera, transfer the data to an AR card, and send a virtual 3D movie greeting of yourself to someone. This could really unleash creative possibilities for your mother-in-law's next birthday card. … Read more