Hasta La Gadget!

In 2013, Ikea took the plunge into the wide world of augmented retail reality, when it released a companion app to go with its catalog — to give Swedish furniture fans access to bonus digital content related to products shown on its pages. A new version of the app is now upon us, and with it comes new AR functionality. Namely, users can now see what certain pieces of furniture (or at least a digital version of said furniture) will look like in a given room. For the feature to work, users simply need to scan one of the 90 AR-enabled product pages with the app, and toss the catalog on the floor where they want to see the digital version of the product appear. Then, the app superimposes a 3D model of that bit of decor on your mobile device’s screen, allowing users to assure their would-be furniture will maintain perfect feng shui without, you know, having to actually move stuff around.

Filed under: Software

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Via: Geek.com

Source: Apple App Store, Google Play

Yet another player is joining Meta, Japan’s Telepathy One, China’s (allegedly real) Baidu Eye, and big Google’s Glass at the face-mounted AR table. GlassUp, the newest kid in town, claims precedent on the concept. Google just shrugs and pays its legal retainer.

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First of all, as contemplated here before, and as we all learned from the The Great Virtual Boy Tragedy of 1995, it could be, it just might be, that aside from early adopters, the geek elite, and a tiny slice of industry – nobody really wants the PIA of having AR in their glasses. Plus, there’s also the ongoing debate on how unusable and silly AR glasses would be in actual human life.

Something to consider.
Okay, on to the new:

GlassUp, Heads-Up, Read-Only
Yep, another competitor jumps into an as of yet non-existent market: Venice, Italy-based GlassUp’s angle is to Bluetooth its way into a user’s smartphone and display email, SMS, Tweets, Facebook notifications, etc. as they arrive. If developers get hip, other possibilities include translations, directions, and location-specific info displayed in real time as one arrives at a given waypoint.

With zero subtlety, GlassUp promotes their product as:

• “Receive only.” No photos or videos involved, no privacy issues. (As opposed to? -Ed.)

• The projection is Monochrome (currently green, but we may switch to amber).

• Longer battery life (Than? -Ed.)

• GlassUp projects the information close to the center of vision, with less strain to the eye of the wearer. (Whereas those other guys make you look up and to the right. -Ed.)

CEO Francesco Giartosio and co-founders claim to have begun work on their AR glasses two years ago, about two months before Google went public with Glass. Should their indiegogo crowdfunding campaign prove successful ($41,169 of $150,000, 20 days remain), they hope to come to market around February of next year – ahead of Google Glass, and, at $399, hitting a much more realistic price point for the average individual or bulk-buying corporate consumer.

Possible Legal Problems & Precedential Issues & Stuff
It’s unclear if “GlassUp” is an attempt at drafting off of Google’s marketing campaign, or if it’s been there all along (maybe it was “VetroUp?”). In any case, if, for example, one has an invention in their basement that only 3 people know about, and they’re calling it “1234,” but then one of the largest, most powerful corporate entities in the history of humanity invents something similar, gets patents and trademarks, and years before anybody hears of your stuff, happens to name their product “123,” then one’s kinda hosed.

But, Google does occasionally surprise, and they might Don’t Be Evil and simply concede that the word “glass” is like, you know, common, and that it’s also part of the word “eyeglasses,” which is also like, you know, common; indifference, pity, or straight-up common sense could prevail. Or, Google could decide to lawyer the name “GlassUp,” perhaps even the whole product, out of existence.

People do love an underdog story, so should Google go aggro, at least GlassUp will get a pile of publicity. Either way, for Sig. Francesco & Co., using the word “glass” is kinda win-win.

More images & video below:

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Reno J. Tibke is the founder and operator of Anthrobotic.com and a contributor at the non-profit Robohub.org.

VIA: Mashable; indiegogo
Visuals: GlassUp

The folks over at Japan are a pretty creative society – just take a look at the kind of quirky fashion ideals that people in the country ascribe to, and you have a better and clearer picture of how things look like. Not only that, their smartphones have long been so much more advanced than handsets in the West and the rest of the world, functioning as a portable wallet and all. This time around, we have Dentsu, a Japanese advertising company, make an announcement that they have come up with a new T-shirt technology that they call Asoberu-T.

The Asoberu-T can be said to be a form of augmented reality, as it comes in three different ways for one to “enjoy” the T-shirt, namely Play, Shot and Share. In order to begin “playing” with your T-shirt, you will first need to install the dedicated free application on your smartphone. Once that is done, hold the smartphone over the T-shirt and run the app, where your eyes will be greeted by characters as well as other designs which will pop-up on the screen as though it involved magic, and you can even manipulate those characters and designs from your phone’s touchscreen to boot. In Shot mode, you can pose with the characters while composing an entirely new photo, while Share would let you upload those photos to a special website. Definitely trendy and fashionable, don’t you think so?

Source
[ Asoberu-T augmented reality shirt copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Gunners. They are a unique subset of students found in most any university lecture hall who steer classroom conversations with constant comments and questions directed at the professor. But what if you want a more inclusive environment that lets even timid students ask questions? One where they can communicate with their professor privately, during class, without interrupting. Well, researchers from la Universidad Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M) have built a system that lets professors receive feedback from students and know which ones have questions by using augmented reality technology.

It works by leveraging the smartphones in students’ pockets and giving the professor a set of AR smart glasses. Using an app connected to the system’s server, students can indicate when they do or don’t understand a concept, that the professor should go more slowly, or that they know the answer to the question. Then, an icon indicating which action the student has taken will be displayed over that student’s head on the smart glasses’ displays. Using the system, the professor can also push predefined questions to students’ phones and control presentation slides using hand gestures and a Kinect. Intrigued? Speak Spanish? A demo video of the system in español awaits you after the break.

Filed under: Wearables, Software

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Source: British Journal of Educational Technology

We’ve seen the prototypes that led Google to Glass, but there are many devices that predate Mountain View’s smart specs, and Augmented World Expo in Santa Clara, California was able to gather and display a historic number of such headsets this week. From Steve Mann’s handmade WearComp 1 and EyeTap prototypes to Glass-like precursors from Optinvent and Vuzix, it’s quite the comprehensive collection — over thirty devices in all. While they may make their way into a museum some day, we’re bringing pictures of them all to your screen right now. Enjoy.

Filed under: Wearables, Alt

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