Sep 08

Qualcomm demos augmented reality app for digital photo frames (video)

Posted in: augmented reality, AugmentedReality, concept, demo, hands-on, qualcomm, Today's Chili, video, wifi, Wireless

Want a glimpse of the future? How about one from Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs? What he demoed in London just now was a groovy concept that combines his company’s two service technologies: augmented reality and peer-to-peer. The idea is that you want to upload an image from your phone to one of your many wireless photo frames (actually WiFi-connected PCs in disguise here), but rather than having to pick your desired frame from an eye-dazzling list of WiFi SSIDs, you can just use this augmented reality app — developed using Qualcomm’s very own AR SDK, naturally — to point at the frame and shoot the file over. Pretty rad, huh? But we picked out one flaw: currently, the app identifies each frame by remembering its previously uploaded image, so if two or more of these frames display the same image, the app would get confused. This can of course be fixed by simply adding a QR code onto the actual frame. Anyhow, you can see this demo in action after the break.

Continue reading Qualcomm demos augmented reality app for digital photo frames (video)

Qualcomm demos augmented reality app for digital photo frames (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 31

Resort uses augmented reality to pair virtual girls with actual nerds

Posted in: Apple, augmented reality, AugmentedReality, iPhone, Japan, Today's Chili, video

You’ve heard of this Love Plus thing, right? This Nintendo DS-based “dating simulator” is apparently a big deal in Japan, giving Otaku the opportunity to chat up (and kiss) girls the only way they know how: on a hand-held game console, with a stylus. To promote the latest version of the game (Love Plus +), Konami has developed an Augmented Reality iPhone app that players can take to the coastal city of Atami, allowing them to interact with their virtual girlfriends at any of thirteen romantic spots. One can even book a room at the Ohnoya hotel which, according to Discovery News, offers futon beds and a “barcode panel that allows the men to visualize their girlfriends in a flattering summer kimono.” Over 2,000 virtual lotharios visited the resort town during the campaign, which began on July 10 and ends today. Check out the trailer for the game (in Japanese, which doesn’t diminish the enjoyment for our English readers one bit) after the break.

Continue reading Resort uses augmented reality to pair virtual girls with actual nerds

Resort uses augmented reality to pair virtual girls with actual nerds originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 18

Another augmented reality, pico-projecting lamp threatens desktops, brings tablet reinforcements (video)

Posted in: augmented reality, AugmentedReality, pico projector, projector, research, tablet, Today's Chili, video

Another augmented reality, pico-projecting lamp threatens our desktop, brings tablet reinforcementsHow long have dumblamps been ruling our desktops for? Their reign of evenly scattered light might finally be coming to a close. A few months back it was MIT student Natan Linder putting a pico projector in a lamp to create LuminAR. Now, researcher Li-Wei Chan from National Taiwan University has crafted something similar, again with a pico projector replacing a bulb, this time relying on an IR camera to detect position. The lamp projects an image into a surface that users can interact with, while tablets (also augmented with use IR cameras) can be used to display a 3D view of the 2D projected content, allowing a user to look around and zoom in dynamically. The voice-over in the video below talks of potential military applications, generals analyzing battlefields, but for once we’d like to think that this sort of thing would be used for peace. You know, planning nature walks, watching virtual horsies romp around in a pretend field, that sort of thing.

Continue reading Another augmented reality, pico-projecting lamp threatens desktops, brings tablet reinforcements (video)

Another augmented reality, pico-projecting lamp threatens desktops, brings tablet reinforcements (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 07

Junaio’s augmented reality app for iPhone and Android can add cartoons to your otherwise-boring existence

Posted in: Apple, augmented reality, AugmentedReality, hands-on, iPhone, Today's Chili, video

As an augmented reality navigator that you want to use for finding pizza joints and friends on Foursquare and Twitter, you’ve got more polished options than Junaio’s new 2.0 release — Layar and Yelp, just to name a couple — but Junaio has at least one interesting differentiator with a feature it calls “Glue.” Basically, independent content providers can develop their own Junaio “channels,” which function in the same way as a Layar layer — it’s a particular set of points of interest that’ll be displayed in the current view. With Glue, though, Junaio isn’t just using your positional information as a point of reference, it can also scan the image for specific objects that developers have programmed their channel to look for, and when such an object is found, crazy things can happen.

In Junaio’s demo, pointing the camera at a superhero-type cartoon dude causes a 3D representation of him to be rendered on the phone’s screen; when you tap on him, he’ll point his gun. It’s an interesting concept that could eventually have some commercial implications, but in the short term, the company just needs to improve the app — it crashed several times for us, and its support for changing orientation is a little wonky. If you want to check it out, it’s a free download for both the iPhone and Android; while you wait for the install, check out our quick video demo after the break.

Continue reading Junaio’s augmented reality app for iPhone and Android can add cartoons to your otherwise-boring existence

Junaio’s augmented reality app for iPhone and Android can add cartoons to your otherwise-boring existence originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 06

Qualcomm demos augmented reality and peer-to-peer tech, tries to punch cellular gaming’s block off (video)

Posted in: augmented reality, AugmentedReality, bluetooth, game, Games, nexus one, NexusOne, qualcomm, snapdragon, Today's Chili, video, wifi

It’s just a tablecloth and a piece of paper, until you pull out a Nexus One, at which point it magically becomes an arena where toy robots fire off punches. Augmented reality isn’t anything new, of course, but Qualcomm seems determined to bring it to cell phones in a big way — launching an AR game studio, sponsoring a $200,000 developer challenge, and announcing a free software development kit (which will see open beta this fall) all on the same day. The company partnered with Mattel to build the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots proof-of-concept you see above using that very SDK, and you’ll find a hilarious video of grown men pretending to have the time of their lives with it right after the break.

However, augmented reality is only half of Qualcomm’s mobile gaming plan — a rep told Pocket-lint games like Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots are only financially viable if they can work across platforms. To that end, the company also demonstrated a simple three-player peer-to-peer title, but with — get this — a Nexus One (over Bluetooth), a Nokia N900 (over WiFi) and a Dell Latitude laptop all playing the same synchronous game. To commemorate this mishmash of awesome, the company funded another video; listen to an individual with a ludicrously bad accent give you the play-by-play after the break. Oh, and find some press releases, too.

Continue reading Qualcomm demos augmented reality and peer-to-peer tech, tries to punch cellular gaming’s block off (video)

Qualcomm demos augmented reality and peer-to-peer tech, tries to punch cellular gaming’s block off (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 02:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 22

Vuzix Wrap Fashion Shades, now in four colors

Posted in: augmented reality, AugmentedReality, Today's Chili
Let’s just say that things are really starting to heat up in the video eyewear arena. Vuzix, makers of the well-known Wrap line of video display eyewear, have busted out snap on colors — red, blue, amber, and mirror – to make the Wraps you already have even more awesome looking. You can grab them up for $19.99 each or get the whole set for $49.95. Full press release is below.

Continue reading Vuzix Wrap Fashion Shades, now in four colors

Vuzix Wrap Fashion Shades, now in four colors originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 25

Parrot AR.Drone to get official launch, price, street date at E3 2010 (update: Android client video!)

Posted in: augmented reality, AugmentedReality, e3, gaming, remote control, RemoteControl, Today's Chili, Toys
If you’ve been chomping at the bit to get your hands on the AR.Drone iPhone controlled, augmented reality-sporting, WiFi quadricopter (and you know we have been) we’ve good news for you. According to a brief blip on Parrot’s Facebook page, the thing will get its official US launch, complete with pricing and street date, at E3 come June 15. Sort of makes WowWee’s Tinkerbell look silly in comparison, don’t it?

Update: As our main man Kefs has pointed out, the gang at Parrot demoed the AR.Drone Android client at Google I/O last month week. Now we’re waiting on news of a BlackBerry client — which we sure hope makes the scene at E3! See it in action after the break.

Continue reading Parrot AR.Drone to get official launch, price, street date at E3 2010 (update: Android client video!)

Parrot AR.Drone to get official launch, price, street date at E3 2010 (update: Android client video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 May 2010 12:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 20

Wikitude Drive AR nav app beta announced, available in Android Market (video)

Posted in: Android, augmented reality, AugmentedReality, gps, Today's Chili, video
With all the action going down at Google I/0 you can be excused for missing this latest tidbit: the folks behind Wikitude have made the beta version of Drive (their augmented reality personal navigation app) available for free for 2,000 users. And we just got our hands on it, so we know that there are at least a few downloads left at the Android Market. The full-featured demo sports NAVTEQ map data, both AR street view and 3D map view, worldwide coverage, voice commands, and both driving and walking directions. There’s no word yet on when the final version will be released, so this might be your last chance for a while to play with what’s stacking up to look like a pretty decent application. See the thing in action and check out the PR yourself after the break.

Continue reading Wikitude Drive AR nav app beta announced, available in Android Market (video)

Wikitude Drive AR nav app beta announced, available in Android Market (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 May 2010 17:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 19

Cubic’s COMBATREDI combat simulator takes augmented reality to new, awesome levels

Posted in: augmented reality, AugmentedReality, military, OLED, Today's Chili, wargadget
Cubic Corporation is a defense contractor that’s been kicking around in some form or another since the early days of the Cold War, although you’re more likely to know them as the operator of the New York City MetroCard system. What brings ’em to our space, you ask? Another cutting edge wargadget, of course! Indeed, the company has just been contracted to supply 27 of its COMBATREDI training systems to the Florida Army National Guard (to the tune of $4.8 million). The combat simulator features a hi-def, helmet mounted OLED video display for a 60 x 45-degree field of view, an integrated 3D stereo headset for sound, and a wireless “surrogate” rifle that performs like a real one, right down to the need for fresh magazines and various firing modes. The user’s movements are tracked by way of a REDITAC tactical computer worn on the back, with a suite of sensors that can also determine where he’s looking, and whether he’s standing, kneeling, or lying on the ground. Of course, the company is selling this as the most realistic way to train our troops yet, although we can see it for what it really is: possibly the most bad-ass first-person shooter ever. PR after the break.

Continue reading Cubic’s COMBATREDI combat simulator takes augmented reality to new, awesome levels

Cubic’s COMBATREDI combat simulator takes augmented reality to new, awesome levels originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 May 2010 15:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 03

LG confirms Android-powered Ally, coming May 20th

Posted in: Android, augmented reality, AugmentedReality, LG, qwerty, QwertySlider, slider, Today's Chili

Well, this hasn’t exactly followed the usual smartphone launch route, but LG has now officially confirmed the existence of its new Android-powered LG Ally handset, although it’s still not doing much talking about the phone itself. It has, however, revealed that the phone will be available on May 20th (presumably on Verizon, though LG oddly doesn’t mention a carrier in its press release), and that it will naturally feature plenty of Iron Man 2 tie-in content, including an augmented reality application of some sort. Otherwise, LG is only saying that the phone will have a touchscreen and a full QWERTY keypad, and it’s pointing folks towards an Iron Man 2 tie-in site (linked below) that, last we checked, still says to check back on April 30th. We should be getting some more details on the phone soon enough, however, as LG is holding an event in New York on May 11th where it will be showing off the Ally and other “Stark-worthy” technology.

Continue reading LG confirms Android-powered Ally, coming May 20th

LG confirms Android-powered Ally, coming May 20th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 May 2010 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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