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Innovative wearable displays

January 7, 2012 By

Two companies announced upcoming imaging eyewear innovations:

Intelligent interactive 3D goggles

Sensics claims the first “intelligent, interactive, untethered 3D goggles” for video game play.

“Imagine being able to use hand movements and gestures to wield a light saber in a game,” the company says, “to select a movie from a media library, or to interact with augmented reality content.”

The “Natalia” system provides a fully immersive, stand-alone, 3D environment, Sensics says. It combines the resolution and field of view found in professional head-mounted displays, the unique ability to run powerful applications on board, and real-time, 360-degree tracking of the hands from the user’s perspective.

In addition to its two high-brightness OLED displays supporting both 1280 by 1024 /720p resolution, the glasses have a 1.2 GHz, dual-core processor, 3D graphics accelerator, 1GB of memory and run Android 4.

Natalia will be offered to consumer electronics and phone manufacturers as a reference design, the company says, and a development platform to game developers. Products should be available to consumers in late 2012.

More information is here.

See through Vuzix’ HD glasses

With integrated head tracking and options for multiple camera technologies, “Video eyewear” supplier Vuzix says its SMART glasses can “broaden the users’ sensory perception across a greatly expanded light spectrum.”

The company says for decades, “wearable displays have been referred to as Head Mounted Displays because of their bulky size and odd appearance,” says Vuzix. “This older technology is limited by the laws of optical physics that result in form factors that are large, heavy, and practically impossible to make into fashion eyewear.”

Now the company says it can provide HD video overlaid atop one’s surroundings with its SMART technology that fits into a conventional pair of eyeglasses. Its compact display engine is capable of high contrast and brightness for outdoor use in full daylight.

The 1.4mm-thick polymer waveguide lens “squeezes the light down the waveguide and then two dimensionally expands the image back into the user’s eye, creating an image that is mixed into the real world.”

The technology results in an interactive display that can merge virtual information with the real world, Vuzix ads.

Vuzix says it holds more than 51 patents in the field.

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Augmented Reality aids catalog shopping

December 2, 2011 By

A multi-vendor catalog app for the iPad is adding Augmented Reality features to show customers how a product would look in their home.

Mobile commerce developer TheFind says the new ‘Camera View’ feature on its product viewer “leverages Augmented Reality and uses the iPad 2′s camera to provide a backdrop of your surroundings so you can intuitively place furniture and home décor items from the catalogs into your living space. You can now snap a photo of how a modern art print from one of the catalogs would look hanging on your wall, or how a desk would fit right in your den. ‘Camera View’ helps you visualize how the items from the catalogs fit in your life, making it simple, easy and fun to shop.”

The feature is available initially for select products from home furnishings retailers such as Crate & Barrel.

The company says  its “Catalogue App” features more than 170 print catalog titles from national and boutique retailers such as Williams-Sonoma, Serena & Lily, Nordstrom, Best Buy, and Toys R Us, and has had more than 375,000 downloads on iTunes.

TheFind claims it is the most popular catalog aggregation app available for the iPad. Catalogue is also available for Android devices and to those without tablet devices, as a Facebook app.

More information is here.

 

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PBS Kids launches educational Augmented Reality app

November 14, 2011 By

“Augmented reality is becoming a popular marketing tool and a compelling feature for gamers, but no one has fully explored what this could mean for educating children,” according to the nonprofit Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The free Fetch! Lunch Rush app from PBS Kids uses the camera on an iPhone or iPod touch to overlay computer-generated graphics on top of the physical, real-world environment.

The app uses 3-D imagery to reinforce the early algebraic concepts, helping kids to make the connection between real objects and corresponding numeric symbols.

The app extends PBS’ leadership “in using augmented reality as an educational tool,” the association says, and “opens a new world of learning by teaching kids ages six to eight math skills, like addition and subtraction, while blending the virtual and real world into a truly engaging experience.”

 

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Metaio adds gravity to augmented reality

November 4, 2011 By

Augmented reality developer metaio says it will “tremendously improve the speed and performance of detecting real world objects such as common buildings with dozens or even hundreds of windows” by combining “gravity awareness” with camera-based vision detection.

The developer of the junaio mobile AR browser presented research on its “Gravity-Aligned Feature Description” (GAFD).

It can be “almost impossible to identify one specific window out of 100 at a given building as they all look the same through the eye of a smartphone camera,” metaio says. “If the AR application is however aware of gravity while trying to identify a single window on a building, perhaps to identify a commercial real estate listing, this suddenly becomes a doable task. In addition to enabling virtual promotions for real estate services the gravity awareness in AR can also be used to improve the user experience in rendering virtual content that behaves like real objects; for example virtual accessories like a pair of earrings will move accordingly to how the user turns his or her head.”

metaio also claims its latest 3D object recognition works “almost independent of light conditions or the way they are facing the camera. Not the image but the object itself is recognized.”

A video demonstrating gravity-aligned AR is here.

 

 

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Online shopping uses webcam to ensure clothes fit

November 4, 2011 By

Berlin-based UPcload lets online customers take clothing measurements at home via a standard webcam — making “possible to purchase clothing online with the exact size and fit recommendations.”

“Almost every other clothing purchase made online is sent back to the retailer — because in most cases, the customer had ordered the wrong size” the developers say. “This causes companies to pay considerable costs — in Germany alone it amounts to more than 600 million euro per year — and leaves the online customer feeling frustrated.”

Users calibrate the camera reading by holding a standard compact disc; with that reference, the system calculates body dimensions such as chest girth, arm length, and collar size. The user, for whom the service is free, must complete the measurement process only once, and it takes only a few minutes. The UPcload profile can work at all online shops within the company’s network.

UPcload is launching in the North American market in 2012 with a partnership with The North Face.  The company says it is also in negotiations with American fashion labels such as Gap, Nike, and Levi’s, as well as the online auction-house Ebay.

 

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iOnRoad augments driving

November 4, 2011 By

Computer vision provider Picitup calls its iOnRoad a “visual radar app” that warns drivers of potential collisions.

The Android app “redefines the smartphone-based navigation experience,” the company claims, “creating an almost magical merger of existing technologies. This launch is just the beginning of an entirely new user experience being enabled with smartphone technology, sensors and accelerometers.”

The app uses the phone’s camera and sensors to detect vehicles in front of the vehicle, alerting drivers when they are in danger. The “VisualRadar” maps objects in front of the driver in real-time, calculating the user’s current speed using native sensors. As the vehicle approaches danger, an audio-visual warning pops up to warn the driver of a possible collision, allowing them to brake in time.

More information is here.

 

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Junaio “scans the world” for Augmented Reality

September 5, 2011 By

The latest version of the Junaio Augmented Reality browser from Metaio “scans everything,” the company says: pictures, QR codes and even product barcodes. Point you camera at whatever it is you wish to get information on.”

Provided it can be found in one of Junaio’s channels, databases or connected partner platforms, Metaio says, you can get information about the artist; a product barcode to get relevant consumer information; or a user manual. “We are using the very objects around us as markers to get virtual information.”

The first mobile Augmented Reality browsers relied purely on GPS and internal compasses for providing location-based information as camera overlays, Metaio adds. “Yet the most important sensor on a mobile device is the camera itself.” The Junaio development team focused on image recognition and feature tracking, the company says, and a year ago Junaio recognized images on posters, magazines or billboards.

A demonstration video is here.

 

 

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Layer adds real-time real world object recognition

August 8, 2011 By

Amsterdam-based Layar is beefing up its open platform for mobile augmented reality by enabling phones to recognize real world objects and show digital content on top of them.

Layar Vision uses detection, tracking and computer vision techniques to augment objects in the physical world, the company says, “taking augmented reality to the next level.” It detects up to 50 target objects on which a wide range of augmentations can be displayed. Combined with existing location-based layers that host audio, video, and animated 3D objects, they can create truly immersive experiences, the developer says.

With Layar Vision, the platform is now able to enhance existing media like print with augmented reality experiences, Layar adds. “These experiences offer brands and publishers new ways to engage with customers.” When holding their phone over posters, magazines and newspapers users are able to view and interact with these digital experiences through the Layar app.

The Layar platform is now used by more than 10,000 developers worldwide to create augmented reality experiences for smartphones, and is installed on 10 million mobile devices, the company says.

 

More information is here.

A video demo is here.

 

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Navigate with augmented reality

July 24, 2011 By

With an augmented reality Android app that overlays a navigation route onto the camera view of the mobile phone, “navigation has just become significantly easier and safer.”

Austria-based developer Wikitude says a driver simply needs to follow a projected line, which is “a lot easier than following a route on a rather abstract map that hardly resembles reality.”

Wikitude Drive is $10. Wikitude’s previous AR product, the World Browser, is available for Android, iPhone, Blackberry, and Symbian.

Augmented reality uses a phone’s GPS and other sensors to determine location, and overlays real-time graphics and more atop the live display of the camera’s view.

 

More information is here.

 

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Bionic glasses use multiple cameras, augmented reality

July 18, 2011 By

Prototype glasses developed at the Department of Clinical Neurology atOxford University augment the wearer’s eyesight with added real-time information, and may allow continued independence for those stricken with common types of visual impairment such as age-related macular degeneration.

Cameras mounted at the corners of the glasses capture what the wearer is looking at, while a phone-sized external computer recognizes objects in the video image or tracks where a person is, and displays the extra information via lights embedded in the lenses.

The device could cost as little as a standard smart phone, the researchers say.

It may even be possible for the glasses to use optical character recognition and synthesized voices to read to the wearer through earphones in the glasses.

More information is here.

 

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TapNav combines AR and GPS

June 26, 2011 By

mSonar calls its Lustancia TapNav “the first vision based Augmented Reality GPS navigation.”

The app uses the iPhone’s camera to detect lanes to provide intuitive and precise driving directions to the user, with a real-time AR overlay

The price is $2.99 for 60 days, and then requires a monthly subscription.

It’s on the iTunes App Store here.

 

 

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Sunglasses stream augmented reality

June 12, 2011 By

The emerging market of AR needs custom applications and adaptation, says portable display maker Vuzix. The company’s new glasses combine cameras, displays, and motion sensors to overlay graphics and information over your real-time real-world view.

The Star 1200 (See-Thru Augmented Reality) system augments reality with 2D or stereoscopic 3D computer graphics or data, overlaid like a hologram floating in space, or locked in place atop a real-world object with an AR marker.

Two 852 by 480 LCD displays create a virtual screen emulating a 75-inch display as viewed from ten feet, with independent left and right eye focal adjustment. A high-speed 1080p camera enables marker and object recognition. A miniature six-degree-of-freedom head tracker with compass plugs directly into the display module. The whole package weighs approximately three ounces.

The system can be pre-ordered now for $4,999.

What’s missing? A portable Windows laptop, which is required for the video and AR processing.

More information is here.

 

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Sony smartens Augmented Reality technology

May 23, 2011 By

Sony says it has developed integrated “Smart” Augmented Reality that works without requiring markers such as 2D barcodes. An object captured by the camera is quickly recognized and can be tracked at high-speed along with the movement of the camera, the company says, as it is displayed over the actual 3D space.

“SmartAR” combines object recognition with proprietary 3D space recognition, which Sony says it developed for its Aibo and Qrio robots. SmartAR identifies objects by analyzing features detected from a portion of the image with their positional relationship. The feature matching employs a proprietary probabilistic method that matches local features with minimal calculations, Sony says. Recognition is possible even if the object captured appears to be comparatively small in the display.

Sony adds it will continue to experiment with SmartAR for services and business applications , including advertising and games.

 

 

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Qualcomm releases Augmented Reality platform

May 2, 2011 By

Qualcomm announced immediate commercial availability of its Augmented Reality platform for Android smartphones.

Developers can now build, market and commercially distribute applications based on the AR platform, Qualcomm says, marking the completion of the beta program.

The AR platform enables “a broad range of experiences that entertain, engage and inform consumers with a new form of interactive media,” Qualcomm adds. “The platform’s rich feature set enables developers to build high-performance, interactive 3D experiences on real world images, such as those used in print media (books, magazines, brochures, tickets, signs) and on product packaging.”

Qualcomm adds its “innovations in advanced computer vision algorithms and close integration of hardware and software” yield higher fidelity “in which graphics content appears more real against the real world background.”

The company says it already has more than 6,000 registered developers.

The AR Platform is available here.

 

 

 

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Facial recognition for augmented reality

April 25, 2011 By

Luxand says its Mirror Reality can identify 66 unique facial features based on a single still picture of a human face — and its animation can augment reality in real-time for “extremely realistic face morphing.”

Mirror Reality can be previewed in online projects such as In20Years.com, which makes people appear twenty years older, and MakeMeZombie.com, which, well, makes humans look like zombie creatures. PicTreat.com makes human faces look more appealing by removing small imperfections and applying virtual makeup.

The technology’s automated facial recognition identifies facial features without requiring painted indexing marks on the face, and is now available for licensing.

More information is here.

 

 

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iPhone navigation app adds AR to “scan reality”

April 18, 2011 By

Hamburg, Germany-based mobile navigation provider Navigon calls its MobileNavigator iPhone app “the most feature-rich navigation solution on the iOS platform” and says it “not only provides accurate directions but acts as a travel assistant, with many industry-first features.”

Version 1.8 adds augmented reality functions with the “Reality Scanner,” an “innovative way of displaying points of interest close-by,” the company says. “Instead of showing them on the map, the feature projects them onto a real-time camera view.” Users point the iPhone in any direction, and icons appear on the live camera view indicating the exact position of a location. “Pedestrians won’t miss a beat while they are on foot: in a couple of taps destinations such as restaurants, bars, hotels, and more are at their fingertips.”

The app also features a $5 in-app purchase for the “Safety Cameras” feature which alerts drivers of upcoming static speed and red light cameras along the route, “helping to potentially avoid costly tickets.”

Prices for MobileNavigator range from $25-60 depending on areas of coverage.

 

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Mirror, mirror: Total Immersion adds AR to iPad 2

March 21, 2011 By

Apple added cameras to the iPad, and Total Immersion is taking advantage of them with “AR Magic Mirror,” billed as a “playful” augmented reality application.

You can see yourself with “a selection of wacky virtual hairstyles, glasses and accessories to try on.,” the company says.

The app uses facial recognition to identify the user and apply virtual 3D enhancements to their video image in real time through augmented reality functionality.

“AR Magic Mirror” is a free application.

“This second generation iPad will be a key enabler to what we will soon see in a massive range of powerful augmented reality applications” Total Immersion says.

More information is here.

 

 

 

 

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Augmented Reality open standard proposed

March 7, 2011 By

A research team at Georgia Tech is proposing an open standard for augmented reality, which overlays information on a live video display.

The Georgia Tech development enhances existing web protocols to let web browsers store, transmit, and manipulate data for augmented reality services, eliminating the current need for separate AR applications.

The research is headed by 6Sight 2010 keynote speakers Blair Macintyre, director of the Augmented Environments Lab at Georgia Tech.

The standard is dubbed KML/HTML Augmented Reality Mobile Architecture, or KHARMA. It combines the Keyhole Markup Language (KML) used by the Google Earth mapping program with existing HTML and a handful of other protocols invented by Macintyre’s team.

More information is here.

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eBay classifieds with AR

December 20, 2010 By

junaio teamed up with eBay Classifieds to let smartphone users in the U.S. discover local listings by scanning the area around them with their phone’s camera.

junaio added keyword and pinpoint geographic filtering to its augmented reality viewer to work with the free, local marketplace to trade goods and services. “Location specific classified ads are very useful to our growing user community, and we hope to soon expand this service to other parts of the world.”

For example, the company says, when you point the camera at an apartment building, you will see eBay Classifieds listings for the apartments for rent in that building. “Point the camera down you street to see items such as furniture, vehicles and even pets available for adoption right in your own neighborhood.”

junaio can be downloaded for free at the iTunes App Store or the Android Marketplace.

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Augmented Reality makes iPhone a virtual make-up mirror

December 13, 2010 By

Augmented Reality enhances real-world images with computer graphics and information. Now an iPhone application uses the phone’s camera and display to mimic applying cosmetics directly onto the user’s face.

MakeUp Live is billed as a “virtual makeover tool” by developer ModiFace. “Our goal is to consistently push the boundary of what is possible when you apply state-of-the-art computer vision technology to beauty and fashion applications,” the company says.

The $1 application also gives step by step instructions on how to achieve trendy beauty looks

ModiFace says it already has the leading virtual makeup application on the iPhone, “MakeUp,” a free tool — sponsored by cosmetic companies — that allows users to virtually try on different types of makeup, including mascara, foundation, blush and eye shadow, in hundreds of shades from leading brand names. The company says it has patent pending facial recognition technology.

ModiFace says its automated virtual makeover technology is the result of more than a decade of research at Stanford University and the University of Toronto, and is the subject of 16 patents and more than 65 scientific publications.

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Metaio advances its Junaio AR browser

December 6, 2010 By

Metaio GmbH claims “most mobile browsers just paste location based text messages or simple graphic overlays onto the camera view. For the demands of commercial use, this is simply not enough.”

The company says the new version of its junaio browser boasts better indoor navigation, image recognition, object tracking, attaching correctly scaled, and interactive 3D displays onto objects. It also features an improved graphical user interface, easier channel navigation, and pinpoint geographic filtering.

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AR added to Android navigation tool

November 1, 2010 By

Sounds like augmented reality to us: Navigon says its MobileNavigator for the Android platform is the first to identify points of interest and show them atop a live camera view.

With the “Reality Scanner” feature, users can point the device and instantly identify POIs in or around the location. Utilizing the phone’s build-in camera, positioning, and compass components, the company says,  with its database of points of interest, it posts icons directly on the camera’s display on the phone’s screen.

Other features in the $60 app: Reality View Pro displays photo-realistic 3D views of the actual road, highway or interstate, with signs, exits, and lane guide markers for easy driving decisions; the Red Light Cameras feature provides drivers an advanced visual warning for most red light and speed cameras.

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Mobile Marker-free AR

October 18, 2010 By

Total Immersion says it has “made it easier for people to interact with AR applications in a more natural fashion – and that makes AR even more engaging.”

The company’s D’Fusion 3 for Mobile features an adaptation of Total Immersion’s patented Marker Less Tracking technology for mobile platforms.

With the new platform, users can experience “lightweight” AR applications on smartphones that deliver virtually identical functionality to those available on desktop PCs, the company says, while accessing such smartphone-specific capabilities as GPS, accelerometer and compass.

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Virtual 16-inch display projects into eye

September 20, 2010 By

The AirScouter wearable display from Brother is a prototype Retinal Imaging Display that mounts on a pair of glasses and projects fast-moving light that ‘paints’ an image directly onto the retina, making the viewer see a virtual 16-inch display with 800 by 600 resolution.

[The design does seem to beg the question of why not project a floating image on the glasses, rather than use glasses to project directly onto the eye?]

For the display, printer-maker Brother used optical system technologies developed for its laser and inkjet printers.

It will first be aimed at industrial uses in Japan, and later brought to consumer augmented reality.

The translated press release is here.

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Skyhook adds location to Layar

September 20, 2010 By

Augmented reality browser platform Layar is improving its Android application’s  location results with Skyhook’s “Core Engine.”

Layar displays information on a phone’s display, overlaying the real-time camera view.

“Because the purpose of Layar is to only show content within a user’s immediate surroundings, precise location is critical for our app,” the company says. “The Skyhook SDK provided greatly improved accuracy and speed over the native Android platform.”

Skyhook says its geo-location technology fulfills “hundreds of millions of location requests every day across millions of handsets, netbooks and cameras.” Skyhook’s location system uses a combination of Wi-Fi, cellular and GPS readings to produce a single, accurate location quickly and in all environments.

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