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Apple sta lavorando a un paio di occhiali per realtà aumentata e l’iPhone potrebbe fungere da controller. È quanto si apprende da un nuovo brevetto che descrive un sistema capace di combinare i due dispositivi per garantire una migliore fusione tra Realtà Aumentata e mondo reale.
Nello specifico questi occhiali smart, dotati di schermo semi-trasparente, sarebbero capaci di posizionare con precisione elementi tridimensionali nel mondo circostante, sfruttando sensori e GPS per calcolare l’esatta posizione dell’utente. Nell’esempio documentato viene mostrata l’evoluzione di un’applicazione per le Mappe, che segna percorsi e punti di interesse nell’ambiente circostante.
Tale sistema sarebbe un’alternativa a quanto abbiamo in parte già visto da uno dei recenti video di applicazioni sviluppate con ARKit, dove l’utente semplicemente inquadrava il mondo circostante con l’iPhone per vedere le indicazioni stradali su muri e strade attraverso la fotocamera del dispositivo.
Qui però l’iPhone avrebbe un altro ruolo, quello di controller per interagire con il software: occhiali come questi infatti non potrebbero offrire un’interazione touch come quella a cui siamo abituati con lo schermo degli smartphone. Ecco che quindi il sistema sarebbe in grado di riconoscere la posizione del dito dell’utente sullo schermo, virtualizzando probabilmente un cursore sul display degli occhiali per permettere all’utente di effettuare click e selezioni.
Continuando sull’esempio evidenziato dal brevetto, i cui dettagli sono stati resi noti dal sito AppleInsider, punti di riferimento, edifici noti e altri oggetti tipici sono comunemente denominati POI (“Point Of Interest”) nelle applicazioni di mapping, inclusa l’app Mappe di Apple stessa.
La Casa di Cupertino integra già POI per alcune funzionalità di ricerca in Mappe; sono usati, ad esempio per cercare ristoranti e stazioni di servizio. La proprietà intellettuale per la quale Apple ha chiesto il brevetto, va oltre i punti di interesse visualizzabili su una mappa in due dimensioni, prevedendo modalità utilizzabili nell’ambito della Realtà Aumentata.
Nello specifico è previsto quando mostrare POI nelle vicinanze, visualizzando quali rilevanti o in qualche modo vicini alla vista nel mondo reale. Sfruttando dati relativi a latitudine, longitudine e altitudine, il sistema può elaborare l’ubicazione rispetto ai POI target visualizzando dettagli sullo schermo.
Dopo avere determinato la posizione dei POI, indicazioni grafiche con annotazioni interattive sono sovrapposte sull’immagine catturata. I sensori, inclusi quelli di profondità di future fotocamere, possono essere sfruttati per collocare marcatori in punti ben determinati. Gli indicatori sono in qualche modo ancorati alle rispettive controparti presenti nel mondo reale. Se, ad esempio, l’utente comincia a spostarsi a sinistra, gli edifici mostrati sullo schermo si spostano di conseguenza, così come i punti di interesse mostrati sul display, come se fossero “incollati” alle varie posizioni.
Nel brevetto si mostrano vari modi per interagire con i POI, tenendo ad esempio anche del modo in cui l’utente ha l’iPhone in mano (in verticale o in orizzontale). Il brevetto di Apple è un’estensione di un brevetto che era stato registrato dalla tedesca Metaio, azienda specializzata in Realtà Aumentata acquisita da Cupertino nel 2015.
La saga di ritorno al futuro ci aveva promesso che, nel 2015, avremmo avuto skateboard e macchine volanti e che la moda sarebbe stata fortemente ispirata agli anni ’80. Considerando che due promesse su tre sono state mantenute, e anche che Douglas Adams aveva profetizzato l’invenzione dell’iPad, forse possiamo ufficialmente cominciare a credere ai film di fantascienza e aspettarci di poter guardare la realtà attraverso applicazioni pensate per mediare fra noi e il mondo che ci circonda tramite lenti e dispositivi, facendoci vivere in prima persona ciò che abbiamo visto solo in produzioni cinematografiche come Minority Report, Iron Man, Terminator o la pubblicità dei Google Glasses.
La tecnologia che permetterà tutto questo si chiama Realtà Aumentata, o AR (Augmented Reality) e in Italia è ancora considerata di nicchia e relativamente poco utilizzata, ma tutti gli indizi ci portano a pensare che il suo utilizzo sia destinato a estendersi nel prossimo futuro.
Ne abbiamo parlato con Mirko Compagno, progettista, docente e responsabile di alcuni dei più interessanti progetti di realtà aumentata realizzati in Italia negli ultimi anni, nonché CTO di The Round. Questa società, nata nel 2012, riunisce programmatori, progettisti di AR, art director, copywriter, designer multimediali e formatori, impegnandoli in progetti all’avanguardia nel campo delle tecnologie integrate per la comunicazione.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
Perché la Realtà Aumentata è il medium del futuro - Intervista a Mirko Compagno
Puoi iniziare raccontandoci qualcosa del tuo background? Come sei approdato alla realtà aumentata e quale è stato il tuo primo impatto con questa tecnologia?
Lavoro nel mondo digital da vent’anni, mi sono occupato di quella che alla fine degli anni ’90 si chiamava editoria multimediale, poi sono passato anche all’e-learning, ai prodotti per il web e in generale ho lavorato con tutte le tecnologie legate alla comunicazione visiva e multimediale. Intorno al 2000 mi sono avvicinato come progettista e programmatore alla realtà virtuale, usando una serie di tool di sviluppo che permettevano di creare applicazioni 3D interattive e ho poi integrato lo studio e la progettazione di queste nuove tecnologie con le mie competenze in materia di editoria digitale.
Oltre a lavorare nei settori della comunicazione digitale e multimediale ho anche tenuto corsi, workshop e seminari e ho insegnato in istituti universitari e di alta formazione. In questi contesti ho iniziato a illustrare ai docenti il ruolo che queste nuove tecnologie possono ricoprire nei processi didattici e di apprendimento. Ho conosciuto il mondo della Realtà Aumentata verso la fine del 2008 e ho iniziato a studiare questa tecnologia e le sue applicazioni, facendo previsioni sui suoi possibili sviluppi: credo che sarà questo il medium del futuro.
Nel 2009 ho iniziato a sperimentare in questo nuovo ambiente e ne ho scoperto le tantissime applicazioni in una pluralità di settori, a cominciare proprio dall’ambito dell’insegnamento. Le prime applicazioni di Realtà Aumentata che ho sviluppato interagivano con dei libri e a partire da quelle ho creato altri prodotti che hanno avuto riconoscimenti internazionali e mi hanno permesso di incontrare altri professionisti interessati a questo settore, come per esempio Ego-Creanet, un gruppo di ricercatori che si occupano di Realtà Aumentata e Arte Quantistica.
Come spiegheresti la realtà aumentata a qualcuno che non ne ha mai sentito parlare?
La Realtà Aumentata è la possibilità di vedere, tramite la webcam di uno smartphone (e, in futuro non lontano, tramite appositi occhiali) la realtà circostante arricchita di elementi virtuali, progettati appositamente. Un esempio semplice e di grande successo è l’applicazione della Realtà Aumentata a una copertina del National Geographic che riportava l’immagine di Tutankhamen.
Se un utente scarica sul proprio smartphone l’applicazione necessaria, gli basterà puntare la fotocamera sulla copertina della rivista per vedere Tutankhamen animarsi e parlare, oppure per avere a disposizione una serie di pulsanti virtuali che gli permetteranno di accedere ad altre informazioni sulla storia del personaggio. Questi elementi virtuali non coprono la realtà, non la sostituiscono, ma la arricchiscono. Questa è la principale differenza fra Realtà Virtuale e Realtà Aumentata.
La RV è totalmente immersiva, quindi l’oggetto virtuale o il rendering 3D si sovrappone completamente alla realtà che circonda l’utente, mentre la Realtà Aumentata permette all’utente di continuare a esperire la realtà circostante in modo normale, fruendo di elementi multimediali aggiuntivi, contestualizzati all’interno della realtà stessa.
L’importante, ovviamente, sono i contenuti: bisogna progettarli in modo che siano autenticamente rilevanti, autenticamente interattivi e inseriti nel contesto circostante e fare in modo che rappresentino davvero un valore aggiunto. Agli albori di questa tecnologia, come spesso avviene, sono stati sviluppati molti progetti che erano puri esercizi di stile. Io stesso mi sono divertito, a partire da un’icona come la Gioconda, a sviluppare una serie di applicazioni che sono finite anche fra gli showreel di Aurasma – una delle compagnie più affermate del mondo nel campo della Realtà Aumentata – con lo scopo di dimostrare tutte le possibilità di questo nuovo linguaggio.
Naturalmente questo genere di prodotti non hanno una grande valenza dal punto di vista della user-experience. Questa è la nuova sfida della realtà aumentata: studiare l’esperienza dell’utente per rendere i prodotti fruibili e di successo.
Quali sono i settori (industriali o commerciali) nei quali questa tecnologia viene utilizzata con maggior successo al momento?
Molti grandi marchi hanno utilizzato la realtà aumentata tanto nella promozione quanto nei processi produttivi, dalla Coca-Cola alle Lego fino ai Rolling Stones. Uno degli aspetti di maggior impatto di questa tecnologia, secondo me, sta nel modo in cui può cambiare i processi produttivi, per esempio nell’assemblaggio di prodotti meccanici o elettronici.
Un tecnico, nell’effettuare la manutenzione o la riparazione di un impianto complesso, può ottenere informazioni aggiuntive in tempo reale sulla struttura sulla quale interviene, e può farlo indossando degli smart glasses e quindi avendo le mani libere. Questi utilizzi della Realtà Aumentata si stanno già diffondendo rapidamente nel settore automobilistico e nel campo dell’elettronica, ma sicuramente il massimo avanzamento in questo senso lo si ha nell’industria aerospaziale.
La NASA, per esempio, sta studiando la possibilità di utilizzare le hololens della Microsoft – un particolare tipo di wearable che permette di visualizzare ologrammi tridimensionali in Realtà Aumentata – nell’addestramento degli astronauti.
Quali sono i progetti che ti hanno appassionato di più fra quelli ai quali hai lavorato?
Fra i progetti che ricordo con più piacere c’è quello realizzato per il Macerata Opera Festival del 2013, in occasione del bicentenario Verdiano. All’interno di una galleria di arte moderna, in collaborazione con gli artisti, abbiamo animato alcuni quadri, rendendone la fruizione interattiva. La tecnologia era di uso semplice e intuitivo e l’esperienza aveva una forte componente ludica. In quell’occasione abbiamo raccolto il feedback degli utenti, che hanno espresso entusiasmo e curiosità per questo nuovo modo di fruire dei contenuti artistici. Mi ha particolarmente colpito il commento di un bambino di nove anni, che voleva sapere se si potesse fare la stessa cosa con i fumetti: mi ha dato lo spunto per realizzare un piccolo demo con un fumetto di Dylan Dog e poi per altri tipi di prodotti editoriali.
La Realtà Aumentata, comunque, non è basata solo sul riconoscimento delle immagini, ma può avere molte altre funzioni, come la geolocalizzazione di punti di interesse. Puntando lo smartphone su una strada, posso conoscere l’ubicazione di monumenti o esercizi commerciali, ottenere indicazioni su come arrivare al più vicino ristorante per esempio, oppure informazioni sulla storia degli edifici che mi circondano.
Un’applicazione del genere l’abbiamo realizzata per un progetto di valorizzazione delle ville romane. Avvicinandosi a Roma, l’utente viene informato della vicinanza di una serie di ville e può ottenere indicazioni su come raggiungerle. Una volta arrivato, viene “accolto” da un assistente virtuale (per esempio un gladiatore) che compare sullo smartphone, inserito nell’ambiente inquadrato, e fornisce informazioni sulla storia della villa in questione. Tutto questo (indicazioni, mappe, Realtà Aumentata) all’interno di un’unica applicazione.
Per una fiera di microelettronica, abbiamo creato una serie di totem, che riportavano i loghi delle aziende appartenenti a un certo consorzio. Puntando lo smartphone su questi totem, i loghi si animavano fornendo informazioni sulle aziende espositrici. Queste esperienze hanno permesso la nascita di una serie di collaborazioni di rilievo. L’anno scorso l’IWA (International Web Association) mi ha chiesto di stilare le linee guida per gli esperti di Realtà Aumentata in ambito europeo.
Inoltre un decano della facoltà di ingegneria elettronica di Tor Vergata ci ha chiesto di creare uno spin-off, che è stato costituito pochi giorni fa. Questo per me vuol dire poter contare su un team di grandissimo valore tecnico e scientifico, il che apre tantissime nuove possibilità alla nostra ricerca, che è sempre stata in larga parte autofinanziata.
Come vedi il futuro di questa tecnologia? Siamo destinati a fruirne su ogni dispositivo possibile nei prossimi anni o si tratterà comunque di un’esperienza confinata a contesti specifici?
Credo fortemente che questo sia un nuovo medium e che come tale vada trattato. Come il cinema, per esempio, ha una sua sintassi e un suo preciso linguaggio, così anche la Realtà Aumentata arriverà a definire le proprie modalità espressive e diventerà pervasiva quanto gli smartphone e l’utilizzo di internet: non se ne potrà fare a meno.
Questa tecnologia può arricchirci e aiutarci in tantissimi settori: gli smartglass hanno applicazioni nei settori della chirurgia, per esempio, ma anche la psicoterapia può avvalersi delle applicazioni di Realtà Aumentata.
Ho lavorato personalmente con uno psicoterapeuta che sfrutta questa tecnologia per aiutare chi soffre di aracnofobia: è possibile visualizzare, tramite un dispositivo, un ragno su una superficie vicina o sulla propria mano, imparando a controbilanciare la naturale reazione di paura con la consapevolezza che ci si trova in una situazione sulla quale si ha il controllo.
Questo tipo di sperimentazione è iniziata oltre dieci anni fa con la realtà virtuale, ma l’utilizzo di un casco può risultare molto invasivo per chi soffre di claustrofobia, mentre uno smartphone o un paio di occhiali permettono al paziente di restare immerso nella propria realtà. Sono allo studio anche applicazioni nell’ambito del trattamento di pazienti affetti da morbo di Parkinson e di Alzheimer.
In futuro questa tecnologia potrà essere utilizzata per automatizzare molte operazioni quotidiane, permettendoci di risparmiare tempo e concentrarci su altro. Personalmente sono anche convinto che la Realtà Aumentata salverà i libri. A dire il vero non credo che i libri spariranno mai: sono supporti longevi.
Possiamo ancora leggere un libro di 500 anni fa, ma abbiamo difficoltà a fruire un prodotto tecnologico vecchio di vent’anni, per esempio. In futuro, i libri di testo potranno essere più leggeri dal punto di vista dei contenuti, perché questi potranno essere integrati da un supporto in realtà aumentata e da piattaforme di e-learning.
Per studiare il funzionamento di un vulcano, per esempio, potremo leggerne una spiegazione essenziale sul libro, poi puntare il nostro smartphone sulla foto del vulcano e accedere a un contenuto multimediale che ce ne mostra il funzionamento e, infine, a una piattaforma online per testare le conoscenze apprese.
Perché un’azienda dovrebbe considerare l’impiego della realtà aumentata? Quali sono le applicazioni di questa tecnologia in un contesto professionale o commerciale?
Perché il marketing è cambiato. Pensiamo alle auto. Anni fa, per spingere il cliente ad acquistare un’auto, il venditore cercava di indurre un certo stato emotivo, suggerendo come la macchina fosse uno status symbol oppure esaltandone i pregi tecnici o stilistici. Il marketing aumentato permette, anche tramite l’integrazione con i social network, di creare un’esperienza che continua fuori dall’autosalone.
Un’app di Realtà Aumentata permette al cliente, anche mentre attende l’assistenza del venditore, di studiare le caratteristiche della macchina, cambiarne il colore, vedersi al suo interno, condividere quest’immagine con amici e familiari, creando un circolo virtuoso e stimolando un feedback prolungato importante per l’azienda.
Si tratta di una tecnologia alla portata esclusiva delle grandi aziende o è accessibile anche a realtà piccole o medie? È possibile stimare un range di costi per un progetto di AR?
Fino a tre o quattro anni fa i costi erano molto elevati, non tanto per il costo dei tool di sviluppo, quanto per le competenze richieste. Adesso le cose sono migliorate, le piattaforme e gli algoritmi sono molto più performanti, i costi di realizzazione si sono abbattuti e sono accessibili anche alle piccole aziende a partire da poche migliaia di euro. È evidente che un’app fortemente brandizzata, fortemente interattiva o con elementi interattivi in 3D può avere ancora un costo alto, ma il semplice marketing aumentato, con elementi come brochure e totem, costa poco più di un normale sito web.
Qual è, secondo te, l’aspetto più appassionante della realtà aumentata e perché dovremmo approfondirne le possibilità?
Probabilmente le infinite possibilità nell’ambito dell’infotainment, ma anche l’ottimizzazione e la velocizzazione dei processi produttivi.
To date, Augmented Reality (AR) has been referred to as “the biggest technological advancement of our lifetime” by some, a mere “gimmick” by others or, worst yet, the next iteration of the QR code. The divisive term was introduced more than 25 years ago (although elements of AR technology have been used in science labs around the world since the mid-20th century), but if there’s one thing AR proponents and its naysayers can agree on, it’s the simple fact that AR, as we know it today, has an image problem.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
Augmented Reality Has An Image Problem
Largely misconceived as an absolute technology that only lends itself to advertising and marketing opportunities, the real potential of AR is just emerging. AR is not a linear technology — it is macro. It will help objects think; it will help objects talk.
The Internet has powered remarkable new ways for us to achieve just about everything — learn, buy, book travel, connect with each other — and AR, in all its many forms, will be at the forefront of the next revolution in the way we connect with the world around us.
Even better, this future is not very far away. Already, new use cases of AR technology are disrupting the industries in most dire need of evolution, and as our mobile devices become smarter and work in harmony with increasingly sophisticated wearable devices, the power of augmented reality technology will truly reveal itself to the masses.
So, where are we today? Where are we going?
The advertising industry was a natural starting point for the value and possibility of augmented reality. From a Pepsi can to a cereal box to the promotional materials for the next big Hollywood blockbuster,
AR is already making packaging and products come alive and “talk” to consumers. Products themselves are beginning to answer the how, what, why, where. Image recognition technology coupled with artificial intelligence has begun to revitalize the marketing industry, providing just a small glimpse into the true potential of AR.
But advertising is just the beginning. Here are the four industries that AR will impact next.
Education
Education provides perhaps the most tangible example of the power of AR. Augmented Reality technology in the classrooms — from today’s tablet- and mobile device-based approach to tomorrow’s heads up displays — empower the sort of visual and contextual learning proven to improve information retention to the extent that an estimated 80 percent of visual content is retained by short-term memory compared to an estimated 25 percent for spoken content.
Our brains are image processors, not word processors. Imagine a classroom where a teacher can push lessons directly to students through a mobile device, where a student can use a tablet to access a multi-dimensional rendering of a mountain to learn the phenomena of a volcano, one step at a time. For early childhood education, apps like Quiver Education bring a child’s drawing to life, allowing the child to not only engage with their own creations, but to also learn myriad topics.
And for high school students, apps like Anatomy 4D create 3D renderings of the human body to give students a hands-on anatomy lesson directly from a tablet. Our brains are image processors, not word processors, and AR technology has the potential to bring a lesson plan to life and create digital, visual representations of the staid texts on which we’ve come to rely.
Industrial
Let’s think beyond the classroom, and look to the industrial workforce. Design, construction, manufacturing, medicine — specialized careers require employees to visualize in 3D. The practical implications of allowing workers to use tablets and wearables on-site to see how a blueprint will come to life as a building or how a prosthetic arm can improve a patient’s life speak for themselves.
Take for example APX’s Skylight that offers a hands-free, AR-powered solution to empower workers across various fields to directly connect with each other and their environments to create a more efficient workforce. Companies like Daqri and WaveOptics are creating devices to enhance visual knowledge of the work environment while keeping both hands free.
The potential to solve the problem of knowledge transfer is quite literally at our fingertips.
Even in an office setting, Augmented Reality and image recognition technology will transform the way we transfer information. What if a holographic rendering could allow a new hire to see and learn the ins and outs of their new position, as opposed to spending tens of millions of dollars to train new employees? The potential to solve the problem of knowledge transfer, while being remarkably cost-efficient, is quite literally at our fingertips.
Retail
Every year, especially around the holidays, online and brick and mortar retailers record billions of dollars in merchandise returns. Oftentimes, those returned items cannot be resold — from being pre-worn to out of season. What if all shoppers had easy access to 3D renderings of their bodies powered by Augmented Reality to see the fit of an item, without needing to actually be in-store to try on?
It’s inevitable that being able to virtually try on 20 items in three minutes will increase sales and reduce return rates. Companies like Me-ality are already powering this shift. As the technology is streamlined and mainstreamed, we’ll see AR enabling real problem solving, amounting to higher profits and overall stronger margins for the retailer.
Food and Health
Apps like Vivino are enabling customers to use their mobile devices and AR to learn more about a bottle of wine directly from the label itself, and we’ll only see more powerful ways AR can impact our relationship with food in stores and in the kitchen. We’re just around the corner from the ability to use your device to scan a food item and immediately visually learn how the product was sourced, where it came from, best recipes and nutritional information.
Beyond that, soon we’ll see kitchen appliances outfitted with cameras to alert cooks when a food’s optimum nutrition point is reached during the cooking process (or when the chef may have accidentally overcooked a product!).
AR will be at the forefront of the next revolution in the way we connect with the world around us. Ultimately, the present and future of AR quite literally means the ability to receive the right information at the right place directly from the objects we need to know more about. As devices get smarter — from cars to washing machines to microwaves — machine-based learning systems will have ambient omnipresence and will help humans get smarter and more aware of the world around us.
Deep learning systems as they stand today are a new phenomena, but as devices and technology evolve in parallel, we’ll see AR driving new behaviors and new learnings across the industries that impact our lives the most. We are teetering on the edge of a new way to interact with the world, and becoming more informed consumers than ever before.
The augmented reality future is now for workers using 3D smart glasses in healthcare, warehousing, construction, and oil and gas industries, notes Atheer Labs CEO Alberto Torres.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
"Augmented reality... will transform the global enterprise and the way work is done in the future, in nearly every imaginable way," said Atheer Labs CEO Alberto Torres in a recent email interview. "From the warehouse floor to the operating room," augmented reality "will unlock human productivity and enable faster, safer, and smarter workflows for everyone."
Augmented reality is a direct or indirect view of a physical environment whose elements are "augmented" or enhanced by computer-generated input such as audio, video, graphics, or locational data.
In the near future, added Torres, "users in the industrial workforce will leverage powerful technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, IoT (Internet of Things), and the Physical Web to enhance their capabilities well beyond those of an unconnected worker or a standalone machine."
Augmented reality (AR) pioneer Seebright, Inc. (http://www.seebright.com) has unveiled the Seebright Wave(TM) HMD (head-mounted display) system at the Consumer Electronics Show with a unique optical design supporting a new generation of mixed media applications on iOS and Android smartphones. The Seebright Wave system will be coming to Kickstarter with its companion 9-axis, 3D visually tracked motion controller, a native navigator for consumers to explore applications, the Seebright application suite and software sharing platform. Developers will be able to create completely new visual experiences borrowing from AR and VR (virtual reality) for casual gamers and consumers.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
“Our breakthrough multi-mirror optics deliver a stunning, high quality visual overlay for 3D stereoscopic smartphone driven projection,” said Dirk Kanngiesser, Seebright CEO. “With the Seebright Wave HMD system, users can see one another and the real world while experiencing a new generation of mobile AR and VR games and applications.”
Seebright is exhibiting in Eureka Park on the second level of the Sands Expo Center in booth 75480 at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show January 6th-9th and then at the Upload World Tour Kickoff in San Francisco on January 16th. Press and business inquiries will be promptly answered at info(AT)seebright.com by email.
“We have figured out how to turn your smartphone into a true see-through augmented reality display with the widest field-of-view of any see-through display out there and we will deliver it on Kickstarter with our motion controller for less than $150,” said John Murray, Seebright Co-Founder and CTO.
“The Seebright Wave HMD system is a significant refinement of prior designs and uses a revolutionary curved multi-mirror optical design resulting in low optical distortion. It projects high resolution images from a smartphone for both high quality AR and VR experiences.”
“Seebright is introducing a unique combination of advanced optics, specialized software and open standards support that demonstrate our holistic approach to solving the technology and adoption challenges that have faced augmented reality,” said Dr. Robert A. Young, who joins the Board of Directors of Seebright having recently served as the CEO of Tessera Technologies and had previously served on the Board of Directors of ATI Technologies and SanDisk.
At CES, Seebright is showing new software experiences built using the Seebright SDK with WebGL and Unity3D to demonstrate an easy, smartphone agnostic, cross-platform development environment. To encourage diversity in initial application development, Seebright will operate a cloud portal for developers to share code, assets and applications.
The Seebright Wave HMD system is coming to Kickstarter in February 2015. With its Kickstarter campaign, Seebright will fund the production of the multi-mirror HMD and the 9-axis motion controller for developers and pioneering users.
Il 2015 sarà un anno decisivo per l'industria hi-tech con alcuni nuovi gadget, dagli smartwatch ai visori per la realtà virtuale, che potrebbero decollare o, al contrario, rivelarsi un flop. C'è attesa per l'Apple Watch, per l'Oculus Rift e per Morpheus, gli occhiali di Sony per i videogiochi, ma anche smartphone e tablet arriveranno con delle novità, alcune delle quali saranno svelate in anteprima al Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in programma a Las Vegas dal 6 al 9 gennaio.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
Sul fronte degli smartwatch molte proposte sono già state lanciate sul mercato - Il Gear S di Samsung, lo ZenWatch di Asus, il Moto 360 di Motorola, il G Watch R di Lg, lo Smartwatch 3 di Sony e il Pebble - ma per alcuni analisti a far da volano al settore potrebbe essere il debutto nei primi mesi del 2015 dell'Apple Watch, un po' come accaduto agli smartphone e ai tablet con l'avvento di iPhone e iPad.
Proprio l'iPad potrebbe riservare una sorpresa: da mesi ormai si vocifera di un modello Pro, più grande, con schermo da 12,2 pollici, che potrebbe arrivare sugli scaffali entro il prossimo giugno. Sempre sul fronte dei tablet il 2015 sarà l'anno della rinascita del marchio Nokia, che farà debuttare l'N1 in Cina a febbraio e, secondo indiscrezioni, lancerà lo smartphone C1 nel primo trimestre.
E a rilanciarsi sarà anche l'ex colosso della fotografia Kodak, che presenterà uno smartphone al Ces. A Las Vegas potrebbe arrivare anche il Samsung Galaxy S6, nome in codice 'Project Zero' per sottolineare la discontinuità con i predecessori, che sarà diretto rivale dell'iPhone 6. Da Samsung, come da LG, sono poi attesi nella seconda metà dell'anno gli smartphone con diplay curvo e flessibile.
Sul fronte della realtà virtuale il 2015 segnerà il debutto dell'Oculus Rift, il visore per la realtà virtuale di Facebook che fornirà un'esperienza 3D e immersiva così come il 'Progetto Morpheus' di Sony, altro caschetto dedicato ai videogiochi per la PlayStation 4. In questo quadro si inseriscono anche il Samsung Gear VR, che si abbina agli ultimi phablet dell'azienda sudcoreana, e Cardboard, il visore low cost di Google, fatto di cartone, che funziona con app ad hoc inserendo dentro lo smartphone e di cui sono già stati venduti 500mila esemplari.
La scommessa di Big G sono però i Google Glass, gli occhialini hi-tech che dovrebbero finalmente approdare nei negozi insieme ad alcuni prodotti rivali tra cui 'SmartEyeglass Attach!', il sistema di Sony che si monta su un qualsiasi paio di occhiali e che sarà in scena al Ces.
The art of building design and construction is one that has always been dictated by the technologies available at the time. Improvements to the materials, tools, vehicles and IT available have all had a significant impact in pushing the boundaries of what it is possible to build.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
Today, increased use of smartphones and the introduction of formalised mobile strategies are delivering a host of benefits at every stage of a building project’s lifecycle. Better communications channels, as well as instant access to data, maps and cameras all have several uses when it comes to architecture and construction.
Experimenting with augmented reality
Augmented Reality (AR) is one such technology facilitated by mobile that is now delivering benefits for architects, construction workers, and even the maintenance teams responsible for looking after buildings following completion.
Once maligned as a consumer proposition with limited commercial applications, AR is providing the building design and construction industries with tools that increase agility and mobility, while simultaneously reducing inefficiencies.
At the design stage, architects are using AR to generate 3D models from 2D plans that can also demonstrate the effect that wind and other factors will have on completed buildings. In addition, some AR platforms can isolate specific elements of an overall design, allowing for closer inspection and even full scale presentation.
Using AR in this way makes sense as it removes much of the time and resource involved with producing physical models and prototypes. It also helps to more naturally represent the intended appearance of a design – end users can now take a tour of a building before a brick has been laid, as AR overlays a virtual representation at the proposed site.
Il muro di Berlino è stata certamente una delle costruzioni più affascinanti e al contempo tristi di tutta l’Europa: la divisione di una città, ma anche di due realtà inevitabilmente in contrasto tra loro.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
Per tutto ciò che ha rappresentato per la storia del nostro vecchio continente, il sito in cui sorgeva il muro è ancora meta di moltissimi turisti, che da oggi potranno vedere qualcosa in più della storia che è stata grazie alla realtà aumentata.
L’app in questione si chiama Timetraveler Berlin wall: una volta avviata, possiamo inquadrare alcune parti dei resti del muro per visualizzare automaticamente dei filmati dell’epoca.
Tra riproduzioni dell’aspetto originale del muro, video che mostrano scene di guerra e animazioni di fotografie, siamo certi che grazie a quest’applicazione saranno molti a rimanere colpiti dal triste fascino del muro e ciò che rappresentò.
In occasione del prossimo arrivo giapponese di Bayonetta 2 per Wii U è sbocciata nuovamente una passione per la strega misteriosa. È stata infatti realizzata un’app di realtà aumentata per iOS e Android che permette di far ballare “virtualmente” la protagonista del gioco in qualsiasi luogo.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
Dopo aver scaricato l’app bisogna cercare “bayonetta2″ per poter vedere la protagonista del gioco che balla la “lap dance” quando accostata a un oggetto a forma di palo.
Ma non è tutto, perchè le immagini più belle, scattate grazie all’utilizzo di questa particolare app, avranno la possibilità di vincere una card prepagata, molto utilizzata in Giappone per ristoranti, negozi, hotel o altro dal valore di 1000 yen (che corrispondo circa ai nostri 7 euro.) grazie a un concorso ufficiale.
Il catalogo Ikea 2015 sullo Store: con le nuove funzioni che sfruttano la realtà aumentata e le immagini 3D la scelta del mobile è digitale
Mirko Compagno's insight:
Scegliere il mobile dal catalogo Ikea e provare a vedere se è adatto alla nostra stanza con pochi tap ora è possibile grazie alle nuove funzioni che sfruttano la realtà aumentata dell’app del colosso svedese del faidate domestico. L’app per iOS Ikea Catalogo permette di sfogliare e usare il nuovo catalogo 2015 in una modalità tutta nuova: sarà possibile verificare se c’è abbastanza spazio per i mobili e gli accessori desiderati e se si adattano a tutto ciò che è già presente nella stanza.
Il catalogo digitale, circa 300 pagine colorate con tante novità interessanti, offre una serie di contenuti speciali (gallerie di immagini, immagini 3D, link interattivi al sito Ikea, video), ma è una piccola rivoluzione rispetto ai cataloghi digitali offerti in passato, dal 2011 in avanti, proprio grazie alle novità che riguardano la realtà aumentata.
Senza fretta di dire addio al metro per misurare pareti e spazio disponibile mobili e accessori, chi sta cercando di capire se un mobile è adatto o meno ad un ambiente, può armarsi di iPhone o iPad e provare a visualizzare il proprio mobile con pochissimi tap: basterà accedere alla funzione dell’app “Disponi i mobili nella tua stanza”, inquadrare il luogo in cui si desidera posizionare il prodotto, fare tap e aspettare che il mobile venga visualizzato sullo schermo, per poi migliorare la sua posizione, e scattare una fotografia. I prodotti si potranno ruotare e spostare e poi si potrà ricominciare da capo, con tutti i mobili che si desidera provare.
Tutte le sorprese del catalogo Ikea sono nascoste dietro al se dispone del catalogo in formato cartaceo o digitale su computer potrà avvalersi della funzione “Scannerizza e scopri”. Scannerizzando il simbolo “+” che compare sul catalogo cartaceo e su quello digitale, sarà possibile accedere ai filmati, vedere gli ambienti del catalogo a 360 gradi, conoscere la storia dei diversi prodotti e dei loro designer. L’app è gratuita ed è sullo Store. L’utente può scegliere quali cataloghi e brochure scaricare e consultare sempre anche offline.
Jaguar propone la realizzazione di un display a realtà aumentata HUD per la sua nuova berlina XE, capace di svolgere funzioni futuristiche.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
Per molti i Google Glass hanno rappresentato una svolta sotto tutti i punti di vista, qualcosa che si poteva soltanto immaginare o vedere nei film di fantascienza, ma che oggi sono una realtà che si sta affermando un po’ per volta. Jaguar sembra esserne rimasta particolarmente colpita, così tanto da arrivare a realizzare un display a realtà aumentata HUD, che funziona come i Google Glass, ma senza gli occhiali.
Quello proposto dall’azienda automobilistica non è un concetto completamente nuovo, infatti già Land Rover all’inizio di quest’anno, ha presentato a New York, il suo Discovery Concept Vision, dotato di uno “Smart Glass” capace di visualizzare immagini, indicazioni e mostrare punti di interesse ai passeggeri. Tuttavia ciò che è stato mostrato da Land Rover era solo un concept di cui essa si vantava, e purtroppo non aveva nulla di reale o utilizzabile. Al contrario Jaguar, spinta da quell’esempio, è riuscita a realizzare uno Head-Up Display per il parabrezza della sua nuova berlina XE, che si propone di essere in grado di proiettare immagini nitide ed ad alto contrasto, grazie all’impiego di un dispositivo che è più piccolo e leggero di molti proiettori laser HUD di oggi.
Secondo le affermazioni della casa automobilista inglese, il suo sistema sarà capace di rappresentare informazioni riguardo la velocità, la navigazioni e molti altri dati, direttamente sul parabrezza della XE. Le asserzioni di Jaguar non sono le voci di un folle, ma sembra che il progetto sia in lavorazione, almeno questo è quanto dice un fornitore di semiconduttori giapponese, Nichia Corp., che ha annunciato che nel mese di ottobre 2015, si occuperà dello sviluppo di una serie di diodi di laser verde e blu che dovrebbero essere utilizzati per l’HUD.
Già Pioneer al CES di qualche anno fa aveva mostrato un sistema HUD laser, che possedeva caratteristiche simili a quelle annunciate da Jaguar. Tuttavia secondo i rapporti del direttore marketing di Nvidia, Danny Saphiro, per riuscire a realizzare un sistema HUD capace di proiettare una realtà aumentata, sono necessari una serie di miglioramenti tecnici.
Church of Holy Mary of Grace - Augmented reality in cultural heritage promotion. Church of Holy Mary of Grace (Santa Maria delle Grazie - Milan, Italy): an inconspicuous church which hides a jewel inside the mural of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. Inscribed in the UNESCO list.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
"Thanks to metaio's technology (3D Markerless Tracking based on CAD model in metaio Creator) it's possible a new approach of using mobile Augmented Reality in cultural organisations, such as museums and archaeological sites, for information provision and enhancing the visiting experience." (Mirko Compagno, augmented reality architect at THE ROUND, Italy).
Il Thermal Touch aggiunge realtà aumentata a qualunque superficieLa tecnologia della tedesca Metaio trasforma la superficie degli oggetti in un touchscreen e aggiunge terza e quarta dimensione
Mirko Compagno's insight:
La strada per la realtà aumentata si fa sempre più breve. Tra qualche tempo potremo probabilmente giocare su una scacchiera proiettata su un tavolo, scoprire il prezzo di un articolo semplicemente premendoci il dito sopra, divertirci a disegnare nel vuoto oggetti che diventano veri.
Metaio, azienda tedesca specializzata in augmented reality, sta lavorando in questa direzione: i laboratori di Monaco stanno infatti perfezionando ilThermal Touch, una tecnologia che si serve di raggi infrarossi e di una fotocamera plenottica per trasformare il mondo in un touch screen a portata di mano.
L’obiettivo di Metaio è equipaggiare gli smartphone e altri wearable device del futuro con le sue innovazioni. Ma almeno per ora deve accontentarsi di lavorare sul prototipo che ha creato e che sta presentando in questi giorni all’Augmented World Expo di Santa Clara: un tablet dotato di un sistema di due fotocamere, una plenottica che sfrutta il campo luminoso per ricavare informazioni 4D, e l’altra a infrarossi. Il dispositivo registra l’impronta di calore lasciata da un individuo al contatto con una superficie, elabora il dato tramite un software apposito e fa dell’oggetto che abbiamo toccato uno schermo touch.
I prossimi sviluppi del Thermal Touch sfrutteranno non solo la pressione del dito, ma anche lo sfioramento, o ancora l’avvicinarsi o meno del corpo ai sensori, sempre basandosi sul calore come indicatore di posizione nello spazio.
Developers of Augmented Reality experiences select tools and technology for a project to match use case requirements. If the use case involves a page in a book or the side of a package, then in these cases 3D tracking is overkill. If the project accesses records in a company’s ERP, there must be plug-ins or a customization. If the customer needs reports (e.g., number of objects recognized, interaction of the user, etc.), then the platform needs to support their production. If the target is a movie poster, the security considerations are entirely different than if the target involves a proprietary industrial process.
After five years of Metaio’s dominance of the AR software provider landscape, developers’ options are changing dramatically. This post reviews the recent changes in this provider landscape, how these impact developers and suggests that those who license and purchase development tools could use this period of research and evaluation as an opportunity to communicate more clearly about their project requirements to all the tool and technology vendors.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
A Rapidly Changing Provider Landscape
In early 2015, Metaio’s ecosystem ranged from dedicated individuals producing one or two experiences, to Fortune 100 companies. Some were researchers designing prototypes; others were automotive industry giants like BMW and Audi who used Metaio’s robust tracking algorithms for precision engineering and design.
Then, in mid-May 2015, a message appeared on Metaio’s website saying that it would stop selling licenses immediately, and that support for its Augmented Reality services and software technologies would end on December 15 of the same year. The mysterious announcement took the company’s global developer ecosystem by surprise.
Many, if not most, of those developers’ authoring experiences for enterprise and industrial projects were using Metaio’s software tools. Metaio’s change in direction put developers in an uncomfortable position. Many were furious. Others expressed frustration. To this day there remain many questions about the circumstances that led to the announcement. Regardless of the changes to a company that the developer ecosystem had grown to trust, serious business issues remain:
What will happen to the channels published in a platform operated by Metaio?What will developers use in the place of Metaio’s tools?
Many developers are now doing what more could have done consistently over the previous years: investing their resources to evaluate other potential tools and technologies. The best developers will resume proposing projects to their customers once they have thoroughly tested the alternatives.
Gaps for Enterprise Augmented Reality
While there are alternate enterprise Augmented Reality technology providers with solutions and services worthy of evaluation (see table below), none offer the breadth and maturity, the professional documentation and support that Metaio provided for its SDK, Creator, Suite, Cloud and Continuous Visual Search matching system.
Metaio’s dominance wasn’t limited to breadth of offering and AR developer mind share. Among its peers, it probably also generated the greatest revenue from licensing its software tools and providing services. To deliver value to customers and drive development of its technology suite, Metaio employed over 75 of the world’s most qualified and experienced enterprise AR engineers.Table 1. Enterprise AR authoring providers and their products
Those that can have been furiously hiring engineers to write code and build out their teams and offerings but breadth and depth like what Metaio offered doesn’t happen in a matter of months.
Vuforia’s Focus on Consumer Use Cases
No one knows precisely how much of the Metaio developer ecosystem overlapped that of Qualcomm Vuforia, but anecdotal evidence suggests that developers who had use for both, leveraged their qualities for entirely different projects.
Vuforia is strongly optimized for delivery to consumers on smartphones: entertainment, cultural heritage, education and marketing use cases. For this reason, developers who explored its use for their enterprise or industrial projects did not place Vuforia’s current offerings at the top of their list of preferred enterprise-ready AR tools.
In an October 12 press release, PTC, a global provider of enterprise platforms and solutions for creating, operating, and servicing connected objects, announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire the Vuforia technology, and its developer ecosystem, from Qualcomm Connected Experiences, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated.
The acquisition of Vuforia by PTC suggests that while Metaio technology is probably being integrated into a platform and tools for consumer-facing solutions, the tools most popular for consumer-facing AR experiences (i.e., the Vuforia SDK) will evolve to better meet the needs of developers seeking to address enterprise use cases.
The Landscape Continues to Evolve
The reversal of relative positions of the two popular Augmented Reality SDKs with respect to their target markets and one another is one of several trends.
First, the list of developer options is expanding. Firms that were previously quiet have the opportunity to engage with developers who are more interested in learning of their offers. Google is getting closer to its Glass at Work 2.0 release. Microsoft is showing HoloLens and the tools it has designed for authoring (aka “Holo Lens Studio”) to more developers.
Some firms with significant experience and investments in enterprise Augmented Reality are becoming more attractive, or at least more visible. For example, Diotasoft, a French technology provider with loyal enterprise customers including Renault, PSA Peugot Citroen, Total and Dassault Aviation announced a rebranding (the company is now called “Diota”) and launched a new platform for enterprise Augmented Reality.
Another trend is a shift in positioning. PTC and Vuforia’s statements in their October 12 press release emphasize where they see the greatest potential for impact. They draw a line between Augmented Reality and the need for people to visualize data stored in and managed by PTC’s Internet of Things-oriented systems. This echoes the suggestion made by Gerry Kim, professor at Korea University, in a meeting of the AR Community on October 6: Augmented Reality is the human interface for IoT.
As the number of options increases, so does the potential cost of integration. In a highly fragmented market one large enterprise could easily end up with solutions addressing different use cases based on multiple different and incompatible SDKs.
An Opportunity to Mandate Open Solutions
A unique opportunity lies in the middle of the increasing fragmentation and investment in new technology providers.
What if, instead of accepting the status quo of many competing and incompatible AR platforms, large enterprise customers and their developers were to clearly demonstrate their need for open systems?
Developers can seize the next few weeks and months to prepare a campaign describing new or existing systems with which they would prefer to create and manage enterprise content. They can document the barriers to interoperability and mount pressure on enabling technology providers. What if, prior to a purchase or licensing decision, the provider of an AR authoring platform were required to demonstrate interoperability with content generated from Metaio’s SDK?
Openness does not mean Open Source. Openness is a condition that is based on explicit or implied agreements between vendors. Providers of technologies must agree upon common data formats, and provide interfaces and APIs that are well documented and designed for interoperability with solutions of potential competitors.
Without issuing a clear mandate for AR technology providers to support a greater level of integration and interoperability with enterprise IT systems, developers should not be surprised if their options remain highly rigid and difficult to integrate. Unless some forward thinking people don’t take action, developers and their large enterprise customers must be prepared to face many more years investing in brittle transcoding systems or other approaches to “work around” the lack of openness and interoperability.
How are you going to respond to this rapidly shifting AR technology provider landscape? Are you taking this opportunity to share your requirements with new vendors?
Tim Kring is making the most of new technology with the reboot of his hit NBC TV series, Heroes Reborn.
Heroes Reborn creator Tim Kring is embracing augmented reality and video games to allow fans to delve deeper into the show’s universe, beyond the 13-episode TV series run.
NBC partnered with V Squared Labs to create a Heroes Reborn 4D augmented reality experience, which used Xbox Kinect, interactive audio, and special effects to allow fans to experience pyro-kinetic super human abilities. It debuted at San Diego Comic Con in July and was recently used at Times Square in New York City in September to promote the Sept. 24 launch of the show.
“I feel like augmented reality is where it’s all heading,” Kring says. “Virtual reality seems like the stepping stone to augmented reality. VR is where we are now, but the augmented reality experience—especially the one that we had at Comic Con—is the future. After all these years of doing this show and living in this world, I never actually had a moment where I felt like I had a power, and that augmented reality experience was the closest thing I’ve ever had.”
Mirko Compagno's insight:
'Heroes Reborn' creator Tim Kring: Why augmented reality is the future
While only some fans were able to play through Heroes Reborn 4D, everyone can play Heroes Reborn: Enigma, a first-person perspective puzzle mobile game that launches October 8 for $5.99.
There’s also a PC and console game, Heroes Reborn: Gemini, coming this winter. Both games, which were designed by Imperative Entertainment and developer Phosphor, are set within the five year gap between the Heroes and Heroes Reborn and explore new storylines within the universe.
“I always wanted to incorporate video games into this mythology but we did not have the time,” Kring says. “A lot has changed in the five years and we’re able to do these types of things much earlier. We built it into the writers’ room so that there were extensions from the series itself onto these two games.”
Kring says both of the games help unpack some of the backstory that will become familiar in the series.
“They are a companion piece, but it was really important to me that the writers and I be involved so they’re not just crappy licensed games,” Kring says. “We really wanted them to stand alone so that the core gamers would actually find them cool. They’re going to be state-of-the-art beautiful premium games.”
And he sees potential for games moving forward within the mythology.
“Games would be a huge thing for us to be able to keep that world alive while we’re off thinking about the next version of the Heroes filmed content,” Kring says. “That’s always been a big dream of mine. Games provide an actual world that keeps the canon and mythology of the show alive for the fans when the show is on hiatus.”
The Mobile AR Market in the US 2015-2019 research reports has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects in the coming years.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
The analysts forecast mobile AR market in the US to grow at a CAGR of 99.3% over the period 2014-2019.
AR is an emerging technology that blends digital content with the physical world. It is used to display computer-generated images in a user’s field of vision to provide relevant information about objects in the real world.
It allows a user to scan the physical real world environment and provides an enhanced or augmented experience by adding virtual computer-generated information. End-users can make use of this technology through apps developed for mobile devices.
This report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the mobile AR market in the US for the period 2015-2019. It covers the overall ecosystem of the mobile AR market in the US, which includes AR engine, AR software applications, and AR hardware.
Google-funded firm Magic Leap files patent for futuristic augmented reality device The illustrated patent filed by Magic Leap shows what their augmented reality device will look like and what it will do. The patent was filed with the Unites States Patent and Trademarks Office.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
The augmented reality startup, Magic Leap— which raised $542 million in a Google-led funding three months ago — has unveiled what its device will look like and what it will do in a filed illustrated patent.
Magic Leap's patent appeared on the United States Patent and Trademark Office's website on Thursday.
The patent illustrates a lot of cool-looking features, but some of them might not make it into the final product — which is the case with most patents that are first presented with a broad scope.
Some of the ideas illustrated seem plausible with the technology that exists now. Others seem a bit farfetched and similar to something seen in a "Star Trek" movie.
The Magic Leap device will be head worn and it looks similar to the Google Glass and Vizux eyewear.
The patent begins by illustrating the head worn device, which is similar to a Google Glass or a Vuzix smart eyewear.
The device will allow users to download different sceneries, maps and objects from the cloud and turn them into 3-D virtual objects they can interact with. Users would also be able to transfer what they see to another user so they can virtually recreate it.
Some of the illustrations feature users interacting with virtual screens that can take snapshots of things like football games then making those snapshots wall posters. The illustrations also show a mother and her daughter interacting with products at the store while grocery shopping to learn about their nutritional value.
The Magic Leap patent shows how users will be able to virtually chop cucumbers.The Magic Leap patent shows how users will be able to virtually chop cucumbers.
PreviousNextThe Magic Leap patent shows how users will be able to virtually chop cucumbers. Doctors would be able to provide patients with a closer look at their organs and internal anatomy. Magic Leap will also be able to virtually recreate outdoor settings and make users feel like they are somewhere else.
Other futuristic-looking drawings illustrate how doctors can show patients their internal anatomy by virtually recreating organs in 3-D.
Although some of these ideas seem very "Black Mirror," Magic Leap has potential to grow with augmented reality and virtual reality hitting the market this year. Magic Leap has not released a date for a product release, but founder Rony Abovitz has said in previous interviews that it'll be "relatively soon."
For the past six years, low-key Osterhout Design Group has been building heavy duty smart glasses for the military. But after seeing the kind attention heaped onto gadgets like Google Glass, the small San Francisco-based company is looking towards the consumer market and thinks it has something better to offer the world.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
For less than $1,000, ODG plans on releasing a more consumer-friendly version of its glasses in 2015. The glasses can do everything its military-grade specs can do—display high-definition video, record video, lay visuals over the real world—but will be 30 percent smaller and 20 percent lighter, and they’ll look a little less awkward. The most recent version of ODG’s smart glasses, released last year, are bulkier and more rugged to fit with military equipment specification, and cost around $5,000 a piece.
ODG’s augmented reality glasses come packed with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor; Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a global navigation satellite system; and sensors for figuring out where you’re looking. The operating system ODG uses is a modified version of Android to make sure, for example, an Android update button doesn’t pop up while you’re driving down a freeway with the glasses on. Battery life is variable depending on how they’re being used but can range from an hour or two to nearly all day on a single charge.
The glasses can do pretty much anything a tablet can do. Watching a movie on the glasses is something akin to watching a high-def movie on a 65-inch TV from across the room. The glasses also track your head movement, so you can be placed into a 3D picture or video feed like you would with a pair of virtual reality goggles. When I tried out a pair of ODG’s glasses in its South of Market office, the virtual reality felt less disorienting than the Oculus Rift, which detached me too much from my surroundings–you can still see your surroundings on ODG’s glasses.
ODG thinks its glasses fall somewhere in between Google Glass and Oculus’ virtual reality headset. Said ODG vice president Nima Shams: “You can’t watch a movie or browse the Internet on Google Glass. Even developing for it, it’s not standard Android, you have to do pages methodology. And on the other end of the spectrum is Oculus. It’s immersive, you get lost, but you’re not able to see through and it’s not mobile. You need a hefty PC. ODG falls in the middle.”
ODG will be releasing its own developer kit for third-party players to start building applications for the glasses. Although ODG is expecting a developer community interested in augmented reality to start building software for it, ODG already has some experience in that area. One of its first apps was a piece of facial recognition software for military forces to scan a crowd and get alerts if there’s anyone they might interested in.
In the industrial and military space, the biggest competitor to ODG’s glasses so far has been Epson Moverio smart glasses. Epson’s glasses are designed for industrial usage and are certainly bulky enough to keep them from being used by most consumers–though the Japanese company claims it’s been getting some traction with everyday consumers.
Although the market for gadgets for your eyes is still clearly early, ODG thinks there’ll be plenty of opportunity with consumers that it will far exceed its current military contract business.
“The adoption of technology is faster in the consumer world,” said ODG executive vice president Pete Jameson. “When I sell a tool to an enterprise, it has to have a proven return on investment. The adoption is longer. With consumers, it’s about if this is cool. Investment decisions take 30 seconds.”
Gadgets for your eyes for both augmented reality and virtual reality have been getting a lot of attention the past year. Google Glass and the Oculus Rift have been on the forefront of all of this. Google Glass garnered plenty of attention, but as a consumer item, it’s fallen flat as worries about privacy and surreptitious surveillance prevailed. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion on the pretense that virtual reality is the next big platform after mobile. Then there’s the stealth startup Magic Leap, which received $542 million from Google and Qualcomm, and looks like it includes some sort of headworn device for augmented reality.
Still, it’s hard to imagine people casually wearing these computers attached to your head around in the world. Google Glass and other augmented reality glasses seem more destined for enterprise at this point. Big companies like Boeing have already begun adopting this technology for their workforce. There’s plenty of ways this technology could used for building or fixing complex machinery. Manuals can be pulled up in front of your eyes without you having to look away and use your hands. ODG has started selling its glasses into these kinds of industrial settings recently.
“Today, we’re very focused, and have been focused, on government applications and are now expanding into enterprise and industry,” said Jameson. “This is a tool that helps change workflows and keep people safe.”
Since its founding in 1999, ODG hasn’t been a very public-facing company. ODG is primarily a technology incubation company that has managed to get by with no external funding. Up to this point, the company has relied almost entirely on military contracts, building everything from augmented reality glasses to high-tech scuba gear—the kind of gadgetry you might find in a James Bond flick.
And Microsoft paid up to $150 million for some of ODG’s wearable computing patents, TechCrunch reported earlier this year. Its eponymous founder, Ralph Osterhout, has founded 14 other companies and has even built equipment that’s appeared in at least two James Bond films.
THE ROUND has developed AR apps for "UHP spin off" (you can see, for example, James Clerk Maxwell recites a short poem) and a location based AR app for visitors and congress participants in Rome for European Microwave Conference 2014 EuMW 2014 .(http://www.eumweek.com/archive/eumweek2014/www.eumweek.com/index.html). Augmented reality apps are available to both smartphones and smart glasses (Epson Moverio BT-200) thanks to Metaio technology.
The UHP spin-off is based on the skills and knowledge (know-how) of the University Staff in Electromagnetics and High Frequency Power Amplification to generate intellectual products and develop products for both domestic and international with its own technology of Microelectronics and precision Mechanics and provides services with case studies of prototypes and industrial products related to both active and passive components.
EuMW 2014 will be held in the extraordinary and beautiful ‘Eternal City’ of Rome. Bringing industry, academia and commerce together, European Microwave Week 2014 is a SIX day event, including three cutting edge conferences and ONE exciting trade and technology exhibition featuring leading players from across the globe.
Introducing “Guide to Rome: EuMW 2014” , a Location Based Augmented Reality application by THE ROUND for visitors and congress participants in Rome for European Microwave Conference 2014 (Fiera di Roma, Rome, Italy: 5-10 October 2014).
This AR app gets information about “Restaurants” (a selection of restaurants for casual and smart dining), “Eat & Walk” (enjoy food and explore Rome's best attractions), “Monuments” (find out unmissable places), “Museums” (discover some of the world's best museums), “Things to do” (enjoy Events, Exhibitions, Festivals, Music and things to do in the capital), Social Events (planned events for EuMW 2014).
Metaio Unveils 3D Depth Sensor Support for Augmented Reality
MUNICH AND SAN FRANCISCO - A leader in Augmented Reality (AR) technology and software, Metaio, unveils support for new 3D depth sensing camera systems due to hit mobile devices this year.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
According to Metaio CTO and Co-Founder Peter Meier: “Smartphones and tablets have historically made use of single, “2D” cameras primarily intended for image capture, but as smart devices have become more powerful, we are demanding more and more from the optics of these devices.”
Recent announcements from the likes of Google and Intel indicate new devices are hitting the market that can “see” the world in 3D via what are known as RGB-D (red, green, blue + depth) sensors. “With the ability to understand depth information, mobile devices will become significantly more powerful when it comes to Augmented Reality and computer vision tasks”.
The company released a video demonstrating the advanced Augmented Reality capabilities of two devices enhanced with depth-sensing cameras: A windows PC tablet, and an iPad featuring the new Structure Sensor from Occipital.
The video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D999bYtzXM - illustrates how added 3D sensors make Augmented Reality much more powerful by virtually eliminating the need for markers in many use cases, and even more importantly, solving the “occlusion” problem where virtual data is not correctly rendered into the real environment in a natural way.
Use cases include Augmented Reality gaming where digital objects react and interact with the physical environment, accurate indoor navigation that does not require a GPS signal and scanners that can extract 3D models from the environment as easily as shooting traditional video.
Occipital’s Structure Sensor is one of the first devices to be supported in the Metaio SDK. According to Occipital CEO and Co-Founder Jeff Powers: “We share a common goal with Metaio of allowing developers to create powerful and convincing 3D and AR experiences. It's why we created the Structure Sensor. Metaio’s support of the Structure Sensor and SDK will bring added realism to AR experiences with real world scale and occlusion."
Metaio’s flagship SDK will be updated to version 6.0 this month and will support depth sensor input from devices including the Occipital Structure sensor and other devices expected to hit the market early 2015. “Knowing that the likes of Google, and Intel are heavily investing in depth-sensing camera devices, we made sure our SDK is prepared for the next big surge of innovation that this hardware provides developers” says Peter Meier.
Allowing for development on iOS, Android and Windows PC, the Metaio SDK is the most powerful Augmented Reality developer tool on the market, featuring the most advanced object tracking technology available.
Chris Kluwe wants the NFL to adapt emerging technologies and add augmented reality to the football watching experience. In his TED Talk "How augmented reality will change sports... and build empathy" Kluwe outlines steps that he feels the league should take in the near future.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
The talk begins with the idea that an augmented reality will happen soon, and the Google Glass that Chris wears on his head throughout the talk punctuates that point. The glass when placed under a helmet will give fans a better idea of the player's experience.
Footage is shown of Kluwe with a teammate during tackling practice, and some game play at the University of Washington. Visual feedback that tells you about someone else's experience is good, but Kluwe says we can go further.
Oculus Rift can bring a more immersive experience. The idea of being a football running back, or a soccer player, or a downhill skier is the next step.
Still, virtual reality isn't the same as augmented reality.
When coaches and managers start to use this technology to gain a competitive advantage, then augmented reality can see a wider exposure. Kluwe outlines previous technology upgrades in NFL history, and for each of them tells us that the game got more exciting and the league grew.
In 2023 Kluwe predicts that the plastic visors already worn by players will display coverage assignments and playbook information. He says that cameras in each corner of the stadium, along with accelerometers placed in the players' helmets can feed a continuous stream of information to the players.
Bayonetta 2 is coming soon and a promotion just started with the augmented reality app called Junaio.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
If you download it right now you will be able to put a dancing Bayonetta anywhere you take a photo. The app is avalible for iOS and Android. If you download the fan, hit the search and type ‘bayonetta2′ to get what your looking for. What’s cool is if you put her next to a pole shaped object she’ll do a little pole dancing.
Like most people I spend much of the day digitally connected, gazing at screens that make my life and work more interesting and productive. Yet for all the positives that connectivity provides us there’s also a downside lurking in those glowing pixels.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
Like most people I spend much of the day digitally connected, gazing at screens that make my life and work more interesting and productive. Yet for all the positives that connectivity provides us there’s also a downside lurking in those glowing pixels.
They’re just not real. So as we extend our Internet time, we risk getting sucked into an isolated virtual reality that lacks the richness, emotional relevance and real experiences engendered by the analog world.
Facebook made a big bet on the virtual reality vision of the future with its recent $2 billion acquisition of Occulus RV, developer of the powerful new virtual reality headset Rift. Rift directly stimulates parts of the brain’s visual cortex, immersing users in an engineered hyper-reality.
Great for gamers, to be sure, but Facebook’s ultimate goal is for this technology to become the next big computing platform after smartphones and tablets, for applications in schools, healthcare and entertainment. In this troubling scenario, the only reality we might experience will be artificial simulations inside helmets or goggles that prevent us from touching, seeing, feeling or interacting with a real person or object.
SmartReality, a construction application and product of JBKnowledge, Inc. is now joining the Epson Moverio BT-200 Smart Glasses Developer Program.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
Epson America today announced that JBKnowledge, Inc. a technology consultant and solutions provider to the construction, insurance and risk management industries, has joined its Moverio Developer Program to bring an immersive augmented reality viewing experience of its SmartReality application to the Moverio™ BT-200 smart glasses.
SmartReality is JBKnowledge’s latest application developed for commercial builders that combines 2D plans and 3D project models for an enhanced, mobile visualization of construction projects. Utilizing the full Android operating system on the Epson Moverio BT-200 smart glasses, SmartReality allows builders, developers, project owners and others to simply look at 2D plain paper construction plans through the smart glasses and view 3D interactive Building Information Modeling (BIM) files of the structure, offering an unobstructed, real-world perspective of projects for planning, design and construction management.
So wouldn’t it be wonderful if our mobile phone see and recognize the world as we do. Like walking and seeing the object and able to recognize information about the object in the same way our brain does. Such things may seem like you as science fiction but now this can actually possible with Augmented Reality.
Mirko Compagno's insight:
What is Augmented Reality?
Augmented Reality is a kind of computer-generated reality that intent to duplicate the world's atmosphere in a computer system. An augmented reality technology creates a combined view for the user. This composite view consists of real scene viewed and a computer-generated scene with additional information about the object or a place.
How Does Augmented Reality Work?
Generally augmented reality (AR) works on two methodologies:
Marker-based Location-based
Marker-Based: Markers based AR works on software recognize in a specific pattern, like a symbol or barcode. In this, when a camera points on an object, it creates a digital image on the screen.
Location-Based: Location-based app utilized the capability of a specific device to record the object’s position in the globe. It is then provide data about the object that is appropriate to the location. You can use location-based AR to find your way around in an unknown city, recalling where you have parked your car, finding the name of stores, places, mountains, stars in the sky or anything anywhere.
Augmented Reality in Education
It may seems to be little surprising but in present scenario around 71 percent of people aged between 16 to 24 years old possess smartphone. So why aren't teachers using AR technology for engaging their students; I think they should. Augmented reality helps teachers to add digital contents with lot of information as well as geographic locations about a place or object. Digital information appears on the screen when you scan any object or place using your tablet, phone or smart devices with AR technology. This digital information is gathered from 3D models, various website, video, etc.
How to Use Augmented Reality in the Classroom
Augmented reality can be best used in the classroom for creating interactive assignments that includes moving through the campus as well as nearby place. Here are some of the possible uses of augmented reality in the classroom.
Homework: When scan the student homework page; they can see the video of their teachers assisting them in solving a problem.
Photo Wall: Display the photographs of the faculty or teacher at the display board. Students can scan the image and get all the information related to their teacher. It helps them to know about their teachers well.
Book Review: By scanning the cover image of a particular book, students can get the overview of that particular book.
Deaf Students: Using AR technology flashcard of vocabulary, students can see the video of that demonstrates how to sign a phrase or word.
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