Posts Tagged augmented reality
Cherry And Leather Belt Earphones
Posted by admin in Audio Gadgets on February 19th, 2010
These earphones don’t just have a cherry pattern printed onto them. Instead they look like cherries dangling from a stem. Of course it’s a little easier to tell what they are if you buy the maroon or bright red versions, but the other colors look good too. Thanks to one Japanese company not only can you get cherries, but Leather Belt Earphones too. Yes, they are actually shaped like the end of a leather belt. Not the side with the buckle, the one with the notches. Why? I’m really not sure.
It’s entirely possible there’s a rhyme or reason to the belt earphones, but I sincerely doubt it. Both versions of the earphones come in 4 different colors. The cherries you get white, maroon, red and light pink. Then the belt you’ll get brown, black, blue and a very strange shade of yellow. They’ll go on sale sometime in the middle of next month within Japan. At that point the Pioneer earphones will cost right around $30.
Source: Crunchgear
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Nooka’s ad campaign uses augmented reality
Posted by admin in Audio Gadgets on February 19th, 2010
We’ve already talked about how a mirror at a Japanese store can show customers what make-up looks like without putting it on their faces.
This conceptual ad campaign from Nooka also uses augmented reality, and it shows how a watch will look like without actually wearing it.
As you can see by the video, Nooka wants to put this weird paper band in major magazines. This band is removable, and it is full of QR codes. The user puts on the band, and he or she can then go into front of a webcam and the Nooka site.
From there, far out augmented reality takes over as the user figures out what watch goes well with them. In other words, it’s augmented reality accessorizing!
I don’t really see the effect being at all realistic. I mean, it looks like the Nooka is super-imposed on the wrist like an old-school special effect. However, does it have to look that realistic?
No, this is just a way to see how something looks, which means that it doesn’t have to look all that good.
Unfortunately, my Source does not have any word on when this new ad campaign is starting, or if it is starting. However, videos like these just don’t make themselves, which means that it had to be made for a reason.
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Japanese customers’ augmented reality mirror to see what makeup looks like without trying it on
Posted by admin in Audio Gadgets on February 6th, 2010
And now for another interesting application of augmented reality, and it’s pretty practical, too.
Not only that, but it is already in use. At the Takshimaya department store, there is a Digital Cosmetic Mirror that allows customers to see what make-up will look like on their face, without putting it on.
I find it hard to believe that this would work very well. I saw a similar demonstration of augmented reality at CES 2009 that allowed me to have glasses and a mustache, but it looked pretty fake. I mean, it looked like the ’stache and shades were just super-imposed there.
I can’t imagine that this Digital Cosmetic Mirror could do a good job putting makeup on a person and make it look good. However, there seems to be some sort of program that gives personal recommendations and its it put on a virtual version of makeup on your image. However, technology is getting better all the time, so who knows, maybe the augmented reality image really is what the makeup looks like.
If so, then why can’t they make augmented reality to see what clothes look like without trying them on? Hey, they could put these in clothing shops and completely remove the need for dressing rooms altogether.
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Japanese customers’ augmented reality mirror to see what makeup looks like without trying it on
Vuzix 920AR augmented reality glasses
Posted by admin in Audio Gadgets on January 29th, 2010
Some of you might remember yesterday’s post, which showed a short film with some advanced (maybe even too advanced) augmented reality. However, at no point in the short film did we see what sort of interface the main character was wearing.
Well, if he wanted his augmented reality today, he could have probably used the Vuzix Wrap 920AR glasses. We have covered Vuzix’s products before, and their present models simply have LCDs at the eyes as well as headphones on the frames, so a user can watch their video on the road as a very private experience.
The last time we cover Vuzix and augmented reality, it was at GDC 2009. Well, they were up to some new tricks at CES 2010. Hit the jump if you want to see a video of it.
The Wrap 920AR has a camera that can capture video a 752 x 480 resolution at 60fps, and combine it with a 1504 x 480 stereoscopic 3D image. You can see on the video some guy playing some sort of game with the goggles.
You will notice the man playing the game is doing nothing but looking at a bunch of strange symbols. These are the augmented reality codes that we have seen before on other entertaining applications, and the Wrap 920AR has many uses, but we already covered that with the short film. It should be out in March, but my source doesn’t have a price.
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Augmented Reality short film might be an accurate representation of the future, but I hope not.
Posted by admin in Audio Gadgets on January 28th, 2010
The image that you see here is from a short film called “Augmented (hyper) Reality: Domestic Robocop”. It is a short film by Keiichi Matsuda, a Masters student at the Bartlett School of Architecture in the United Kingdom. I think he deserves top marks for his effort to show us what the future could be like.
I believe that I have praised augmented reality on this blog before, I even called it the “Coolest Gadget Ever” at CES 2009. I’ve since seen many variations of it, which were mostly entertainment, save for the X-ray vision app for drivers. However, I have now seen the dark side of augmented reality, and it will hopefully never be our future.
You can watch the video of it after the jump. You will notice that the viewer is bombarded by corporate logos, that must be waved away in order to become virtual posters on the wall. The user then was able to pull up a window with a tea recipe, and the goggles, or whatever interface he was wearing, knew exactly where the ingredients were.
My source compares this concept kitchen to something out of Alice and Wonderland, but in all honesty, I would compare it to the dark cyberpunk worlds of early-nineties science fiction, like the works of William Gibson. Just imagine being bombarded with corporate ads as we go through our day. I mean, do we really want our augmented reality programs giving us an inventory of our refrigerator? In all honesty, I feel that perhaps this is the end result of augmented reality: a dumbed-down society where our interfaces are constantly telling us what to do next.
Okay, I don’t want to end this article on a negative note and claim that our humanity will be conquered by our technology. However, I think there is a limit to how much augmented reality should be used in a person’s daily life, and the main character of this short film is overdosing.
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Augmented Reality short film might be an accurate representation of the future, but I hope not.
Augmented Reality could give drivers some much-needed X-ray vision
Posted by admin in Car Gadgets on January 18th, 2010
I have written several posts about Augmented Reality and how cool it is, but I’m sure that most of you are wondering what it is good for, other than some entertaining special effect.
All that is about to change as Yaser Sheikh of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has figured out a way that Augmented Reality can save lives.
Just watch the video to see what it is about, and you will see how useful AR technology could be. Haven’t you ever had to make a left turn into a blind corner? Wouldn’t it be handy if you knew that there was a car coming? An accident could be prevented.
The technology uses two cameras in order to make this X-ray vision trick possible. One camera has to be placed around the corner, and the other would have to be in the automobile that the user is driving. From there, the two images are synced together, super-imposed, and the driver can now see through walls. I am assuming that the driver wears some specialized helmet or has a display on their dashboard.
I suppose that the proper implementation of this tech could rid the world of blindsiding accidents as we know them. Howerver, using AR technology like this could flood the driver with multiple images that could make make one doubt what is reality, and what is augmented reality. Still, I think that drivers could get used to it, maybe.
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SCOPE uses augmented reality to make one highly-technological kid’s game
Posted by admin in Games Gadgets on December 18th, 2009
I’m sure a lot of you are wondering what you are seeing in this picture. Don’t worry, this is not the point-of-view of a Terminator who is trying to kill John Connor, but a new way of gaming.
This is the SCOPE, a game system designed by France-based game designer Frantz Lasorne that uses augmented reality. You can see a video of it after the jump of the modded device with viewer and webcam tied together with rubberbands.
If you look closely in the picture, you can see a Lego man that is surrounded by some hexagonal piece of paper. Each of the six sides has a different augmented reality code for the user to interact with such activities like choosing a weapon.
As the video shows, the user can see in realtime a Lego toy with the chosen weapon, firing it at a bowling pin-shaped opponent. The video even shows the opponent using some sort of force field.
Clearly, this takes those little imaginary games that you played as a kid to a whole new level, doesn’t it? I suppose it would make an interesting game of Pokemon.
The technology is still in concept stage, so who knows when it will be available. Maybe they will actually have glasses like the kid is wearing in the photo when the SCOPE gets mass-produced.
SCOPE – Augmented Reality Toys.v3 from Frantz Lasorne on Vimeo.
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Augmented Reality is now in vending machines
Posted by admin in Audio Gadgets on December 12th, 2009
There’s just something about augmented reality that makes me want to report on it every time I see a new development.
This next step in augmented reality is a unique development from Toppan Printing Co Ltd for vending machines. It is being used in three Japanese supermarkets, and it requires the consumer to have a specific QR code in order to receive a free sample.
I’m sure that you have seen QR codes on other augmented reality apps such as the cover of Esquire’s December issue, for example. The customer can print out the Toppan QR codes from home, or can put it on a screen of their mobile device. From there, they can show it to the Toppan brand vending machine, and they will receive a free product sample. Find out after the jump what happens from there.
Yes, the augmented reality fun doesn’t stop there as the consumer can hold up the actual product to the augmented reality-fitted camera and get a really cool effect. I’m not certain what kind of effect is seen, but you might want to check out this new Coke Zero ad campaign to give you an idea of what’s up.
Toppan seems to be on to something good, all right. I suppose that it is too much to ask for this augmented reality to go worldwide.
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Sungale’s IPTV/PMP Kula set to splash at CES 2010
Posted by admin in Audio Gadgets on December 12th, 2009
In 2010, Sungale is planning on releasing the Kula, “the first IPTV to access over 500 local and international channels combined with a fully functional PMP”.
This new IPTV/PMP has 2 GB of internal memory that is good for music (WMA, MP3M WAV, AAC, OGG formats), video (AVI, MPEG4, DIVX, XVID, RM/RMVB, DAT, WMV, 3GP & FLV formats), and photos (JPG, BMP, TIFF, PNG formats). The user can also use the SD/MMC slot to upgrade to 16GB worth of memory.
This Kula will come with various channel packages that are customizable with the Basic, the Kid, and the Grand. The first two packages will give users 100 channels for free, and the Grand is a special service that offers 500 channels. The user can choose from all sorts of live streaming programs that are selectable by country, language, and topics like the News, Sports, and Finance.
The Kula is powered by a rechargeable battery and has a 4.3 inch screen. It will be on display at CES 2010, along with some of the company’s other products. According to Gary Bennett, the Sungale VP of Sales, “The Kula is the next big thing that will revolutionize the way people watch TV”.
That is a very big claim, Gary, because with mobile devices and internet video streaming channels, I believe that the TV-watching revolution has already begun.
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Esquire’s December 2009 issue has Augmented Reality
Posted by admin in Audio Gadgets on October 31st, 2009
Esquire Magazine continually thinks outside the box when it comes to the print media. First it was their 75th anniversary issue with an e-ink cover, and now it is their December 2009 issue full of Augmented reality.
It seems like I seem to be defining augmented reality every time that I cover it. In all honesty, if you haven’t experienced it for yourself, clearly you aren’t looking hard enough, as it has recently appeared in Best Buy ads and games based on Criss Angel’s Mindfreak.
Did I not tell you at last January’s CES that Augmented Reality was the Coolest Gadget Ever? That may have been exaggeration, but the rest of the world is starting to see how cool it really is!
Yes, the December 2009 issue will be full of images that will reveal 3D flying text and images when viewed on a webcam display.
I have heard that only six pages of the actual magazine issue will feature augmented reality. This probably includes the cover, which has the augmented reality “spot” sitting underneath Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr.. There is also an augmented reality page featuring Gillian Jacobs, and ads for the Lexus, who helped pay for the costs of creating the issue.
This December issue comes out on November 7th if you want to get a copy for yourself.
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Esquire’s December 2009 issue has Augmented Reality