Mobile Technology

Panasonic promotes 3D Viera with ingenious AR iPhone app

Panasonic promotes 3D Viera with ingenious AR iPhone app
Panasonic's '3D VIERA AR Greeting' iPhone app
Panasonic's '3D VIERA AR Greeting' iPhone app
View 5 Images
1/5
Panasonic's '3D VIERA AR Greeting' iPhone app
2/5
Panasonic's '3D VIERA AR Greeting' iPhone app
Panasonic's '3D VIERA AR Greeting' iPhone app
3/5
Panasonic's '3D VIERA AR Greeting' iPhone app
Panasonic's '3D VIERA AR Greeting' iPhone app
4/5
Panasonic's '3D VIERA AR Greeting' iPhone app
Panasonic's '3D VIERA AR Greeting' iPhone app
5/5
Panasonic's '3D VIERA AR Greeting' iPhone app
View gallery - 5 images

While augmented reality still hasn't quite lived up to the initial hype (at least in terms of practical applications), it's still a great source of eye candy and geeky fun, especially in Japan. Panasonic is the latest company to jump on the AR bandwagon, as they recently released an iPhone app called '3D VIERA AR Greeting' that uses augmented reality to promote the new 3D VIERA TVs.

Readers might be familiar with AR displays that require users to print out a special pattern and then hold it up to a webcam to display an augmented view. Panasonic's campaign is similar, but here the company has made the special pattern available on T-shirts. Of course, you can print it out on paper too, but that's nowhere near as fun!

Using the iPhone as your augmented reality lens, you can then see amazing 3D displays emerging from a virtual VIERA TV which now appears mounted on your chest.

It sounds crazy, I know. But it looks really fun. To see for yourself, check out the video demonstration from Panasonic below. It's not every day that you get to see a giraffe or a shark jumping out of your body. Personally I think Panasonic should have partnered with James Cameron to have a chestburster pop out of your chest. Now there's a promotion!

If you'd like to play around with Panasonic's AR application, you can go ahead and download it from the iTunes store (Japanese). Special thanks to Serkan Toto for the tip on this one.

View gallery - 5 images
1 comment
1 comment
Stan Sieler
The AR Greeting app fails to run on iOS 4.1 (it ran fine on the prior OS (4.0.1 or some such).
Also, if you have a U.S. based iTunes store account, you won\'t be able to download the app. However, to get it you can do: click on the link above (http://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/panasonic-3d-viera-ar-greeting/id386916341%3Fmt%3D8 %23iTunes), click on the blue iTunes icon below the larger \"Panasonc 3d viera\" icon. That should get you a pop-up that says you can\'t complete the request because the item is not currently available in the US store ... and a button to click to \"change stores\". Click it. You are then at a page where you can download the app ... IF you have an account at the Japanese store. (Hint: create one ... and you don\'t have to provide credit card info because the app is free.)
Once I got the app to my Mac, I had to authorize my computer for that new Japanes iTunes account ... but the app still wouldn\'t transfer to my phone (thanks, Apple) ... until I searched for it under [apps], and found it was unchecked. I checked it, clicked sync, and ... the app\'s on my phone!
The app has two major buttons on the bottom ... labelled in Japanese. Click on the right-side button to enable showing the creature (each click on the button cycles through the set of creatures).