I am fascinated by concept videos based on augmented reality by mixing real and virtual environments.
They are a real good basis to prototype future scenarios for augmented reality applications.
An application for advertising a game in a different way can be found at the announcement of “The Settlers 7″.
See the following video on YouTube or the relevant WebSite of the Game: The Settlers 7.
The AEL is a research lab at Georgia Tech investigating the design and implementation of augmented- and mixed-reality experiences.
A recent project they have done in collaboration with different project partners is ARhrrrr!
ARhrrrr is an augmented reality shooter for mobile camera-phones. The phone provides a window into a 3d town overrun with zombies. When you point the camera at a special game map, you get a mix of virtual and real world content.
While shooters are not really my favourite reference projects for such applications I see a lot of possibilities to augment also games and open an new dimension of games, board games, serious games and edutainment.
It is important to know that it is based on the new NVidia’s Tegra platform.
At the moment, it is all just concept. But we will se the devices soon out there that are capable of running it. But once Tegra actually launches in more devices, we will start seeing some real breakthrough games on mobile devices.
See a nice video from BMW doing research in augmented reality.
BMW research projects - virtual world meets reality.
In future, the real world is set to combine with the virtual at BMW Service. BMW Augmented Reality creates this bridge and extends the real world by adding virtual information. BMW Service is planning to use this technology as a means to assist BMW Service staff in their highly demanding technical work.
BMW research projects - applied research.
Research in the field of augmented reality is paving the way for a number of new applications in BMW Service. BMW Augmented Reality techniques provide ideal support in maintenance work on complex technical innovations in the vehicle. Using special data goggles and wireless access to a powerful computer, BMW mechanics have all the information at their disposal, precisely where they need it: in the workshop, at the vehicle.
I just retrieved from the blog of the Learning Technologies team at NUI Galway the following nice blog post and the reference to a well designed video from Sorin Voicu showing a interesting future perspective auf Augmented Reality:
Augmented reality looks at augmenting the real-world with virtual reality in real time. It’s a been around for a long time (the term first coined in 1990), and has become popularised in the public mind by the film Minority Report (2002). More recently, some interesting projects have been looking at mobile phone applications as avenues for new interest and research.
This video here illustrates an idea how augmenented reality could positvely work in an educational context. For me, it identifies the importance of reading - central to student learning - and paper as a tool to support it. The main character uses the individual reflective “alone” time to prompt ideas, that are then explored and expanded through digital interactions as he moves through the world. A simple spark of an idea unleases a curiosity that the student can then explore in an augmented way, on paper and his experience in world. The creator is Sorin Voicu, from the Valle Giulia faculty of Architecture, University of Rome, in Italy.
Bionic Eye is a new application specifically developed for the iPhone 3GS that enables you to visualize Points of Interest (POI) located in your nearby environment in the US, thanks to a unique Augmented Reality functionality using the iPhone camera.
POI databases include restaurants, WiFi hotspots, subway stations (New York Subway, Washington Metro, Chicago L Rapid Transit), etc. Over 100.000 POI are already included in this application. Elements located at a distance less than 1km (0,621miles) only will be displayed on the screen.
Our new project has been revealed today, we are very proud to announce a new Augmented Reality game called Firefighter 360 for the iPhone 3GS.
We actually used our Augmented Reality engine developed for Bionic Eye application to create this little game.
In this life-saving fire-person shooter, you play as a firefighter, rather than gunning down enemies, you will have to douse virtual flames spreading very fast in your real environment. As you physically turn around 360 degrees with your iPhone, you have to methodically extinguish the flames you see, thanks to the camera. The fire itself isn’t just a static “enemy” to be dealt with. Flames will propagate and spread if you don’t put them down completely, the fire itself is capable of doing you harm if you’re not careful.