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Bulmers launches cider garden finder app

September 7th, 2010
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Bulmer’s cider launches pub garden finder augmented reality app

http://www.bulmers.co.uk

Bulmers Cider has launched a new free iPhone App will direct users to the nearest cider garden that stocks Bulmers using GPS, an interactive map and the very latest Augmented Reality technology. The app also shows reviews and additional info from www.useyourlocal.com providing the opportunity to join and support your local pub.

The app will also give users access to special offers and giveaways, as well as keeping them up to date on the Bulmer’s Summerside Garden, an installation that is currently touring the nation to spread the Summer lovin’ fronted by Bulmers bespoke band, the Sun Lovin’ Criminals.

The band’s performances on the Bulmers Sunshine Stage will use the latest Augmented Reality technology to open up a world of audience interaction and reward.

To download the app simply visit the apple iTunes Store and search for ‘Bulmers’ or visit
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/bulmers-cider-finder-app/id381536515?mt=8

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Rich features of Junaio cause rush in developer sign-up

April 14th, 2010
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San Francisco/Munich, April 13th, 2010 – The number of registered developers for the mobile augmented reality browser platform junaio has rapidly grown since the announcement of opening up the API four weeks ago and has reached more than 200 until now. With its open API, junaio gives developers and content providers the opportunity to create their own channels with state of the art augmented reality applications.

junaio`s open API allows developers to create their own AR applications with numerous features. It is easy to use and does require only basic knowledge in programming, e.g. XML and server side programming, such as PHP to create state of the art augmented reality applications. The platform experienced a run from developers and can announce over 200 developers – only four weeks after they opened up their API for the public. “We are very pleased with the number of developers. The feedback we receive is that junaio is a great opportunity for developers to create state of the art applications without spending any money”, states Peter Meier, the CTO of metaio, the company behind junaio.

The creative potential of junaio is vast: AR Mashups, multiplayer games or scavenger hunts, interactive, indoor and outdoor exhibitions, tours with animated 3D characters, edutainment right on the spot and location independent gaming. It is up to the developer to challenge his imagination and become as creative as he wants to. Starting is very easy, developers only need to register for an API-key on the website.

Junaio flowchart

Developer contest promises a reward of US$5000

Furthermore metaio wants to directly reward the effort of their developers and thank them with US$ 5000 for the developer who creates the best channel. Everybody registered as a developer and sets up a channel before June 16, 2010 takes part in the competition automatically. The five channels with the most subscribers will be shortlisted. An independent jury with AR- and IT-business experts will then select the winner. Among the jury members are Robert Scoble, ReadWriteWeb´s Chris Cameron, Mobile Consultants Christine Perey and Ken Blakeslee, Industrial AR expert, enthusiast and blogger Thomas Carpenter and finally Prof. Dr. Geiger from Duesseldorf University of Applied Sciences Department of Media Mixed Reality and Visualization.

Developers can register on junaio`s website.

junaio @ ARDevCamp in Berlin on 24th April, 2010

Developers who are not sure yet how they can use junaio`s different features should consider joining the Developers camp at the AR DevCamp in Berlin on 24 April 2010. The junaio team will give an insight in what developers can do with the new junaio API in free and moderated coding sessions. In addition, ideas for new channels will be collected together and findings will be taken into consideration in the future developments of junaio. The session will be a good starting point for the developer contest and the chance to win the $5k challenge. metaio is looking forward to a prolific session at ARDev Camp which will take place at Beuth-Hochschule für Technik, Luxemburger Strasse 10, 13353 Berlin. Registration starts at 8 a.m.

Please visit the ARDevCamp page for more information and free registration.

Outstanding feature: indoor usage

One of the most outstanding features of junaio which differentiates it from other AR browsers is its ability to use it not only outdoors but also indoors. This makes it especially interesting for usage in museums, exhibitions and shopping malls where GPS data is not accurate enough: http://www.youtube.com/junaio#p/a/u/1/lULKsnRniO0

Outstanding feature: dynamic reaction

junaio`s dynamical reaction can be illustrated by the example of BART. In San Francisco junaio partners with BART, the Public Transportation Service in the Bay Area. The junaio user can not only find the nearest train station but he can also get the time of the next possible train connection – in realtime at his current location.  http://www.youtube.com/junaio#p/a/u/0/nbAVMrNQhJI

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Attention Developers: win $5,000!

March 30th, 2010
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With junaio’s open API, developers can create state of the art augmented reality applications. You don’t need any experience in programming for embedded systems. Challenge your imagination and contribute to junaio’s exciting world with AR Mashups, multiplayer games and scavenger hunts, interactive, indoor and outdoor exhibitions, tours with animated 3D characters or location independent gaming. All you need to do as a developer is to register for an API key and start challenging your creativity.

You can not only win $5,000 but they will also invite the winner to their metaio Technology Fair to visit with them and to attend the world-famous Oktoberfest in Munich.

All you need to do:

  • Register as a developer here.
  • Become creative and set up your own channel before June 16, 2010
  • The 5 channels with the most subscribers on June 16 will be shortlisted and an independent jury will select a winner

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LearnAR – eLearning with Augmented Reality

March 29th, 2010
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LearnAR is a new learning tool that brings investigative, interactive and independent learning to life using Augmented Reality. It is a pack of ten curriculum resources for teachers and students to explore by combining the real world with virtual content using a web cam. The resource pack consists of interactive learning activities across English, maths, science, RE, physical education and languages that bring a wow-factor to the curriculum.

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Welcome SLARToolkit

March 1st, 2010
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Silverlight Augmented Reality Toolkit

SLARToolkit is a flexible Augmented Reality library for Silverlight with the aim to make real time Augmented Reality applications with Silverlight as easy and fast as possible. It can be used with Silverlight’s Webcam API or with any other CaptureSource or a WriteableBitmap. SLARTookit is based on the established NyARToolkit and ARToolkit. SLARToolkit uses a dual license model and could be used for open or closed source applications under certain conditions. See the License page for details.

Features

Live samples and videos

There are two samples available; one uses Silverlight’s 3D projection capabilities and the other the 3D game engine Balder. The samples are part of the source code repository, but not included in the binary release.
A webcam and at least the Silverlight 4 runtime must be installed to run the samples. At the moment the beta developer runtime is available for Windows and Mac. Alternatively there are also videos of the samples in action linked below.
The SLAR and / or L marker should be printed non scaled at the original size (80 x 80 mm) and centered for a small white border. See the Markers documentation for details. Then hold the printed marker in front of the camera and move it around. Make sure the camera is set up properly and the scene is illuminated well without hard shadows.

Silverlight Projection Sample

Open the sample and press the “Start Fun” Button or watch the video.

See this blog post for details.

Balder Sample

Open the sample and press the “Start Fun” Button or watch the video.

See this blog post for details.

Easy to use

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// Load marker and initialize detector with the a CaptureSource instance

using (Stream markerSlarStream = App.GetResourceStream(new Uri("SLARToolKitSample;component/data/Marker_SLAR_16x16segments_80width.pat", UriKind.Relative)).Stream)
{
var markerSlar = Marker.Load(markerSlarStream, 16, 16, 80.0, "SLAR");
ArDetector = new CaptureSourceMarkerDetector(captureSource, 1, 4000, new List<Marker>{ markerSlar });
}
// Detection event

ArDetector.MarkersDetected += (s, e) =>
{
var detectedResults = e.DetectionResults;
}

See the Marker Detectors documentation for details.

Additional Information

SLARToolkit – Silverlight Augmented Reality Toolkit announced this project and included the Silverlight 3D projection sample.
World# – Real Time 3D Augmented Reality with Silverlight provided the first Balder 3D sample.

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The future of Augmented Reality gaming

February 28th, 2010
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This is one of the best examples and visualization of how augmented reality games will look like. the head mounted display will be replaced with augmented reality goggles or glasses and will overlay the added elements onto what you are seeing in real time and will allow you to interact with them.

Check the video:

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Microsoft Adds “Augmented Reality” to Bing Maps

February 22nd, 2010
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At the TED conference, Microsoft announced a new, AR mapping feature.

[press release]

Microsoft just added an interesting new feature to Bing Maps–augmented reality. Actually, it’s a bit more like augmented reality in reverse.

A new function, called Streetside Photos, takes real images and video clips and neatly stitches them onto the Bing Map’s street-level view, using a clever combination of geolocation information (from a GPS-enabled device, or added manually by the user) and imaging-matching algorithms. This means you can, for example, zoom in on a street and see an image of a particular storefront that was just uploaded to Flickr or Twitpic instead of the standard one. Steetside Photos, which is available for Seattle and San Francisco maps, also includes some nice historical imagery.

Blaise Agüera y Arcas, architect of Bing Maps, demoed the feature today at the TED conference, which is taking place in Long Beach and Palm Springs, California.

Agüera y Arcas presented another image-stitching program called Photosynth at TED in 2007. He tells me that the new application’s algorithms are similar to Photosynth’s but effectively work in reverse. “In Photosynth you start off with a bag of disorganized photos and it finds visual connections,” he says. “This is the same; instead of a bag of photos I have one and all of the structured imagery [to attach it to].”

The software behind Streetside Photos can adjust a photo so that it matches to within a few inches, rather than a few feet. This kind of precision is important for augmented reality to work effectively. “The pushpin or the GPS both have quite a bit of inaccuracy,” says Arcas. “It’s typical for it to be off by 40 meters or more. Some are even more ambiguous.”

The user sees a list of photos on the side of the screen and, if she clicks on one, the map view moves to that spot and the photo becomes a bubble overlaying it.

Perhaps most impressively, it can overlay moving video on top of a map, creating a “lens” type of effect, as illustrated in the video at Pike Place Market in Seattle below. While Agüera y Arcas would not say if there will be a Smart phone app to follow Streetside Photos, it seems like a natural progression.

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adidas Originals ARvertising

February 16th, 2010
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Augmented Reality Sneaker Experience

adidas Originals has launched the first Augmented Reality experience in footwear.

The shoes are available now. Here’s where to find them:

US: Exclusively at select Champs Sports stores and Eastbay.com: http://bit.ly/9wPkUE

UK: Available now at Size?: http://bit.ly/a2Zv2q

and Offspring: http://bit.ly/cNjFGH

Rest of the World: Available now at adidas Originals stores and other select retailers:

http://www.adidas.com/conceptstores

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Posted in Online campaigns, Retail, popup stores, etc

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2010 Olympics Augmented Reality

February 16th, 2010
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Yahoo at their Fancouver location

Yahoo! extends its vision of being the center of people’s online lives with comprehensive coverage and experiences coming from the world’s largest winter sporting event.

Yahoo! will keep fans on top of the action with a games-dedicated website featuring award-winning writers, a new Olympic mobile site, a custom-designed broadcast studio in Vancouver, and an entertainment center, FanCouver, where fans attending the games can participate in Yahoo! events and promotions.

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Posted in Retail, popup stores, etc

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Mobile World Congress 2010

February 12th, 2010
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The 2010 Mobile World Congress will be held 15-18 February, in Barcelona Spain.

For four days, this beautiful Mediterranean city will become the place for mobile leaders to gather, collaborate, conduct business and experience VISION IN ACTION.

This year’s Mobile World Congress will include:

  • A world-class thought leadership conference featuring visionary keynotes and action-provoking panel discussions
  • An exhibition with more than 1,300 companies displaying the cutting-edge products and technology that will define the mobile future
  • An Awards ceremony  and industry seminars that highlight the most innovative mobile solutions and initiatives from around the world
  • And most importantly, the planet’s best venue for mobile industry networking, finding business opportunities, and making deals

In 2009, Mobile World Congress hosted approximately 47,000 mobile professionals from 182 countries. More than 50% of these were C-Level executives, and 9,000 of them represented mobile network operators from around the world.  In addition, more than 2,400 members of the press reported from the event, representing more than 1,500 media groups from 76 countries.

If your company wants to be a serious player in the mobile eco-system, you can’t afford to miss the 2010 GSMA Mobile World Congress. Join us in Barcelona and see VISION IN ACTION!

Preview the agenda!

Take the MWC Virtual Tour

Download the Brochure

Highlights from last year’s event

Be a part of Mobile World Congress!

Showcase Applications

The following companies/projects will demonstrate their software in the Mobile AR Showcase:

Would you like to participate?

If you are planning to come to the Mobile Augmented Reality Showcase
@ Mobile World Congress and you have a smartphone, then go to the
Apple AppStore, the Android Market and the Ovi Store and download the
applications from companies mentioned above.

On February 17, don’t forget to bring your business cards, your mobile
handset and your open mind! And maybe an umbrella if it begins to rain.

If you are a provider of an application or service and you would like to
demonstrate as part of the Mobile AR Showcase, there is no cost. We only
request that you help us to populate the Showcase directory of applications
by completing this form (same as button above).

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