Technomaly » augmented reality

Augmented Reality Tattoos Are Awesome

Nick Upton — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:06:55 +0000

Alright, there are a lot of augmented reality things that really don’t seem to do much and a whole lot of hype. But I must say, augmented reality tattoos are really cool and raise a lot of interesting possibilities.

As is apparent in the video, the computer reads the tattoo and displays it as a flying dragon — awesome right? Now what if these tattoos (permanent or temporary) could be stuck on someone and display contact information or connect a user to their Facebook profile, LinkdIn etc. Never have to tag another photo!

And the best thing about augmented reality tattoos, when you get bored of that fairy tramp stamp, you can update it to a bald eagle or a badass dragon — which you could never get bored of.

Augmented Reality Shoes: Why Not

Nick Upton — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:22:50 +0000

Adidas unveiled this teaser video and said that it will embed augmented reality codes into a new line of shoes.

In 2010, we’re celebrating a lot of firsts at Adidas Originals — here’s one. We’ve created a collection of shoes with an augmented reality code built directly into the design. These five special kicks, the Adidas Originals AR Game Pack, will unlock an exciting online experience with challenging games an exclusive content living within a virtual version of the Adidas Originals Neighborhood.

The new shoes and “online experience” launch Feb. 10, but the details are few. The shoes look nice, but I wonder if the AR code will just be an extra few dollars so that you can help Adidas advertise.

Augmented Reality Check

Asterios Kokkinos — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:33:51 +0000

Everyone’s buzzing about augmented reality, which is popularly defined as overlaying digital data on a physical space. The above picture is from Best Buy’s augmented reality campaign – aiming a smartphone with an IR scanner at a circulars nets you a 3d image of the product in question. So, in other words, the first widely popular augmented reality campaign is designed to sell us expensive print cartridges.

That’s the opposite of what augmented reality should be – it was supposed to be cool. Robocop style heads up displays or handheld projectors dispersing three dimensional holographic scanning fields. When we imagine the interaction of real time data on a physical space, we want this:

That’s right, Terminator! You steal that motorcycle! Augmented Reality is supposed to provide us with important real time data related to the physical world, not the quickest place to find a Fresca.

Once again, it’s Google to the rescue. They recently filed the patent for this little number:

This is what I’m talking about! A personal, Dragon Ball Z style eye scanner providing me important real-time information, like if the person I’m talking to has an elevated pulse (a.k.a., they’re lying), or whether I have an email. Good job, Google. The future can’t get here soon enough.

Augmented Reality Ads A Necessary Evil?

Nick Upton — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:03:53 +0000

With all talk about how cool Google Goggles is and the Layar Reality Browser and the slew of smaller social players it’s no surprise that advertisers are getting into the space.

The old adage — find your users where they live — is heard loud and clear as services like Brightkite implement ads via augmented reality browsers. But how these ads will continue to be implemented will be interesting or incredibly annoying to see.

If done correctly, users will be able to find incredibly targeted, useful ads, coupons and special offers while they are already out and about with shopping or eating on the brain. But if done wrong, these ads could become nothing more than an annoying popup over the augmented reality.

These ads could be a quick way to turn people off to a particular browser, especially when it blurs the line between a social fun time and an advertising space. Tech-savvy users could run as soon as they start thinking about how these reality browsers are taking their information and spitting ads back at them.

Hopefully advertisers will tread lightly.