Augmented Reality

Esquire magazine to release augmented reality edition

By Paul Ridden

15:04 November 15, 2009 PST

After experimenting with things like origami (May edition) and e-ink (October 2008 edition), Esquire magazine is running a special "augmented reality" edition in December where readers use custom-designed software and a webcam to interact with the pages being viewed and get access to 3D animated video content. Read More

Avatar toys ‘come to life’ on home computers

By Jeff Salton

22:48 August 5, 2009 PDT

Toy-maker Mattel is releasing a range of action figures that incorporate augmented reality technology, based on characters from the Avatar movie hitting our screens around Christmas. The toys, to be launched in October, ‘come alive’ on your home computer when scanned on a webcam. Each action figure in the range has a unique 3-D web tag (i-TAG) which, when scanned, reveals special content onscreen. The animated 3-D models will show off “engaging, evading or defending moves”, says Mattel. And when two i-TAGs from the same Battle Pack are scanned together, the 3-D characters will interact on-screen. Read More

VirtualHUD gives any propeller plane an affordable head-up display

By Loz Blain

02:25 June 25, 2009 PDT

Every now and then, we come across an idea so forehead-slappingly simple, so practical and logical that we have to ask: how come nobody thought of this before? When you have one of those moments, you know the inventor's onto a rip-snorter of a product - and so it is with the VirtualHUD, a super-bright projector that uses the back of a plane's propeller as a screen to create a full-color heads-up display. The system uses similar technology to the augmented reality systems The Mobiler covered recently to overlay instrumental data, as well as GPS points, 'highway in the sky' targets and visual representations of things like no-fly zones, over the pilot's actual view out the cockpit windscreen - all without obscuring natural vision through the propeller. Read More

Today on The Mobiler - The augmented reality browser for Android

By Tim Hanlon

00:58 June 17, 2009 PDT

Today on The Mobiler we've looked at an augmented reality browser for Android called Layar, Kingston's 128GB DataTraveler 200 USB Flash drive, the Dev-Team being ready to release a jailbreak for iPhone OS 3.0, TweetDeck for the iPhone, IBM launching a real-time Wimbledon application for Android, how to tether a Palm Pre, Optus Australia's leaked pricing for the iPhone 3G S, and an updated Google Maps for Android. Read More

Vuzix announces Augmented Reality Accessory Kit for VR glasses

By Stephen Saunders

18:55 March 31, 2009 PDT

Vuzix, the creator of the VR920 Virtual Reality Video iWear, has showcased some exciting new accessories to compliment its 3D visor. Dubbed the Augmented Reality Accessory Kit, the add-ons consist of a clip-on USB camera and a wand-like input controller which the company promises will "allow the user to perceive and interact with the real world in ways they have never dreamed of before". Read More

Electronic Contact Lens promises bionic capabilities for everyone

By Mike Hanlon

23:12 January 21, 2008 PST

It’s not often in this era of rampant technological innovation that a fundamentally new concept surfaces with groundbreaking societal implications, but that was the case this week with the news that engineers at the University of Washington (UW) have used microscopic scale manufacturing techniques to combine a flexible contact lens with an imprinted electronic circuit and lights. Ultimately, such devices promise the bionic capabilities we became familiar with in the Terminator movies and Bionic Man TV series: optical zoom eyesight, recording what we see (quite literally), effectively invisible heads-up high resolution computer displays, genuine GPS-based augmented reality and a complete real-time health monitoring system with visible read outs. Thanks to the team headed by UW Electrical Engineering Professor Babak Parviz, these concepts are now not just viable, but likely in the foreseeable future. Gizmag spoke with Parviz about the project … Read More

Meade mySKY: the personal, point-and-shoot, multimedia guide to the heavens

By Mike Hanlon

19:49 October 8, 2007 PDT

June 5, 2007 The US$400 Meade mySKY is a remarkable mash up of technologies that creates a very cool educational toy and the first of a new breed of augmented reality informational products. It is NOT a telescope! mySKY is an interactive, hand-held, point-and-identify multimedia guide to the heavens. It locates, identifies, and describes 30,000 celestial objects in the night sky – every object visible to your unaided eye, as well as many you’ll need a separate telescope to see. If you like this new “browse function for the heavens” ability, it has the added ability to control a Meade computerized telescope. No knowledge is needed - just turn it on and mySKY does the rest. It incorporates full GPS Auto Alignment using a 12-channel GPS receiver which aligns itself on the sky without any input from you. Read More

The Falcon Game Controller - with realistic force feedback

By Mike Hanlon

UPDATED IMAGES June 30, 2007 We all know the keyboard and mouse are NOT the future of the computer human interface, and to be frank, we’re getting a bit sick of waiting for a replacement capable of generating critical mass. One device with the potential to play a role in the next generation interface, at least in the area of computer games, began shipping this month. Novint Technologies’ highly anticipated, award-winning Novint Falcon game controller is now available in a special Limited Edition bundle. The Falcon is an entirely new type of 3D game interface that makes virtual objects and environments feel real. Replacing a computer mouse or joystick, the US$190 Falcon is, essentially a small robot that lets you feel shape, weight, texture, dimension, dynamics, 3D motion, and force effects when playing enabled games. Read More

Skin for people with a high EQ – fashion of the future

By Mike Hanlon

September 21, 2006 As the Digital Age progresses, technology will be available to create masterpieces of all types, and high fashion will find itself with magical new abilities. A garment no longer need be made of earthly materials and can now become a highly complex interactive electronic device, or a biochemical machine responsive to subtle triggers like sensuality, affection and sensation. The SKIN fashion range of dynamic garments developed by the far-future research program at Philips Design came from ongoing research into emerging trends and societal shifts in the area of 'emotional sensing' and demonstrate several possibilities in the way electronics can be incorporated into fabrics and garments to express the emotions and personality of the wearer. The marvellously intricate wearable prototypes include 'Bubelle', a dress surrounded by a delicate 'bubble' illuminated by patterns that changed dependent on skin contact- and 'Frison', a body suit that reacts to being blown on by igniting a private constellation of tiny LEDs. The SKIN research project challenges the notion that our lives are automatically better because they are more digital. It looks at more 'analog' phenomena like emotional sensing and explores technologies that are 'sensitive' rather than 'intelligent'. An extraordinary image gallery with this story. Read More

FHI unveils an Intelligent Driving Enhancement System

By Mike Hanlon

April 14, 2006 Japanese industrial heavyweight Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI), the maker of Subaru automobiles, today announced the development of its SI-DRIVE (Subaru Intelligent Drive), an innovative driving enhancement system that provides optimal control of the powertrain unit and delivers driving pleasure under various traffic and road conditions. The company displayed a Legacy sedan 2.5GT equipped with the new system, at the New York International Automobile Show. The SI-DRIVE enables three distinctively different modes of engine power characteristics by regulating the engine control unit (ECU) as well as the transmission control unit (TCU) in the automatic transmission, and by fine-tuning the electronically controlled throttle. Intelligent mode ensures smooth, strong power output, yet facilitates city driving at low- to mid-speed range and contributes to greater fuel economy. The Sport mode is designed to deliver ideal power, faithful to the driver’s acceleration, and heightens enjoyable, sporty driving under a wide range of road conditions. The Sport Sharp mode further elevates sporty driving by accurately responding to the driver’s acceleration and boosting engine revolutions earlier than the Sport mode for a more powerful driving experience. The SI-DRIVE selector will be installed on the center console for the driver to choose from these three modes, which bring out very different driving experiences while driving the same car. Read More

Augmented Reality for tourists, education and … fun!

By Mike Hanlon

March 3, 2005 Superimposing virtual objects over real static images is common practice in some industrial applications. Using a modified telescope, researchers are now aiming for the tourism, entertainment and education sectors. The device is set to premiere at CeBIT and the Messel Pit. Read More

Invisible digital post-it notes

By Mike Hanlon

February 12, 2005 In the future, cell phone users will be able to leave messages anywhere in the form of what might be termed electronic post-its. They will be able to post virtual messages referring to a specific location wherever they are needed. Siemens researchers have now created the technical basis and the computer programs for this "digital graffiti service." Post-its are exceedingly practical. They're a handy way of letting people know if you've gone out quickly to shop or to lunch, or for reminding you to do things. However, you can't stick these yellow memos in mid-air - at least not yet. But that will be possible in future with the virtual post-its from Siemens Corporate Technology's research laboratory in Munich. Dieter Kolb's team of specialists have developed computer programs that assign cell phone messages to specific locations. Read More

Wearable 3D Augmented Reality displays go high resolution

By Mike Hanlon

Wearable 3D Augmented Reality displays have taken a leap forward in viability with the announcement of Microvision's 7.6 Million Pixel Microdisplay unit that can be incorporated into eyeglasses, goggles or helmets to create a stereoscopic, 3-D effect.

These compact, high-resolution displays can further enhance the visual realism of the interactive experience to make the simulated environment more engaging.

Unlike Virtual Reality, where the user's field of view is completely replaced with an artificial visual environment, Augmented Reality uses another technology known as "head tracking" in conjunction with augmented vision to overlay complimentary information on the user's view. Read More

Augmented Reality enables computer-enhanced work

By Mike Hanlon

With an Augmented Reality system like Arvika, complex tasks such as repairs to a BMW 7 can be greatly simplified and speeded up. Augmented Reality means that, with the help of data glasses, a computer overlays virtual information onto what the viewer actually sees. Siemens Automation and Drives and all the partners in the Arvika project recently demonstrated just how powerful these systems have become. Read More

Wearable Computers - coming to a job near you

By Mike Hanlon

Computers are shrinking, and new display technologies will enable professionals to wear an interface to critical information whilst they go about everyday business. Already military personnel, surgeons, pilots, and aircraft engineers are using them. Follow our links to the newest of these productivity aids. Read More