augmented-reality

The TripAdvisor app for the iPad 2, iPhone, and iPod Touch added a new feature this week, introducing a touch of "augmented reality" via the devices' cameras.

Live View lets travelers explore the travel site's more than 45 million user reviews of restaurants, attractions, hotels, and such superimposed over what app users see through the mobile device's camera.

As its designers describe "...if a traveler is standing outside a restaurant, they can simply point their mobile device's camera at it and TripAdvisor ratings and reviews of that establishment will automatically be displayed on the screen."

I tried it out after downloading the update from the App Store and discovered a poorly reviewed nail salon and Thai massage joint near me here in Los Angeles that might be a seedy brothel. I doubt that's what the app designers had in mind for most travelers to discover, but all the bangs and whistles work. … Read more

Imagine aiming a smartphone or a tablet at a cereal box and, instead of seeing the static image printed on the box, you see an animated feature appear as if it's playing on the front of the box. The same technology could be used to turn a picture in a printed newspaper into a video or--if pointed toward a product--it could launch a game featuring animated characters interacting with that product.

That's the aim of a new technology being introduced by Autonomy, the London-based company best known for its enterprise software.

Aurasma, which is a core technology designed … Read more

So, I got a Nintendo 3DS roughly three weeks ago, ahead of the officially released one that's now in stores everywhere. Nintendo's handheld is in the wild, and while I've used mine a fair amount, I'm curious how those not in tech journalism feel about the product.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the 3D effect on the 3DS, but I wondered whether 3D would be a gimmick whose appeal faded quickly. Much like any shiny new gadget, there's a quick fascination period that tapers off pretty fast, especially if you're the type (as I happen to be) who plays with a lot of gadgets over the course of any given month.

Several weeks in, here are my observations.

I (almost) never use the stylus. The DS' chief appeal, along with dual screens, was its touch element. The 3DS still has a stylus and a lower touch screen, but the stylus is tucked away in the back behind the display, instead of easily accessible on the side. Maybe this was a wink of acknowledgement on Nintendo's part, because so far I've barely used touch. Why? Because I'm too busy staring at that big 3D screen, that's why.

The addition of a great analog pad also means I'm far more likely to use physical buttons. The 3DS is an immersive portable experience, and I'm far less interested in pulling back and tapping away with a stylus. I think most 3DS games will make little to no use of that touch capability, except in cases like Super Street Fighter IV, where virtual lower-screen buttons are simply pressed with a finger.

… Read more

If you weren't sitting in front of your computer watching YouTube videos on March 12, you may have missed one of the most ambitious mobile promotions to date. Volvo released an augmented reality driving game for iPhone and Android devices to promote the S60 sports sedan, but it was only available for one day. Even with the limited run time, Volvo hit this one out of the park.

The S60 promotion involved a lot of moving parts. To download the S60 driving game, I needed to scan an online QR code using my iPhone camera (although I later found … Read more

My hands-on impressions of the Nintendo 3DS at this morning's New York press event were largely positive, at least from a hardware standpoint. I'd never seen 3D on the device before, and it's undeniably crisp and sharp. Unfortunately, it also requires your eyes and the device to be held in a relatively stable position to work.

All of this makes me wonder about a potential Achilles' heel in the design of the 3DS, one so obvious yet difficult to solve that I'm curious to see what will become of it. Namely, this: the 3DS is a … Read more

Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner is one of the most surprising iPhone games ever. It combines seemingly traditional space combat with augmented reality (AR) for a decidedly unique "Star Wars" experience. It's like the PC classic "TIE Fighter" mixed with the ingenious UFO on Tape mixed with the Layar Reality Browser.

Falcon Gunner is priced at $4.99 and compatible with only the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPod Touch 4G. It casts you as none other than Luke Skywalker and plops you in the Millennium Falcon's gunner turret.

To control the turret, you … Read more

A couple weeks ago, I showed you a sneak preview of one of the most surprising iPhone games ever, Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner, which combines seemingly traditional space combat with augmented reality (AR) for a decidedly unique "Star Wars" experience.

As I said then, "It's like the PC classic 'TIE Fighter' mixed with the ingenious UFO on Tape mixed with the Layar Reality Browser."

But would the AR gimmick work? Or would the entire game feel like some weird novelty? Well, Falcon Gunner just hit the App Store, so I'm ready to give … Read more

Think "Star Wars" games have been done to death? I guarantee you've never seen anything like Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner. It's like the PC classic "TIE Fighter" mixed with the ingenious UFO on Tape mixed with the Layar Reality Browser.

Confused? This video might help:

Millennium Falcon AR Test from Josh Shabtai on Vimeo.

As you can see, the game overlays itself on whatever appears in your iPhone camera lens. Point it at the night sky and, presto, you're blasting TIE fighters in outer space. Point it at the dog and, um, … Read more

How do you increase the odds that a shirt you bought online will fit just right? Well, you could cross your fingers--or enlist the help of a new shape-shifting robot mannequin that shows you how clothes hang on your frame.

The headless robot is part of a virtual fitting room service for retailers created by Estonian start-up Fits.me. Customers shopping at a participating site enter their body measurements online (height, chest, arm length, torso, type, and so on), then see photos of a mannequin shaped just like them "trying on" the item they're eyeing in different sizes and styles.

For now, the robo-mannequin can only step in for male shoppers. Created using scientific algorithms based on more than 30,000 3D human body scans, it can shift into 2,000 different male body shapes (wait, are there really that many male body shapes?!), gaining or losing pecs and biceps with the adjustment of a scroll bar.

The virtual fitting room, which launched earlier this year, is currently being tested by several retailers, including Germany's Quelle and U.K.-based Hawes & Curtis, which makes and sells shirts and other apparel items.

"Not only do we expect it to increase sales," Hawes & Curtis' e-commerce director, Antony Comyns, told the BBC, "but it should also cut down on returns, because customers should be receiving a product that fits perfectly on their bodies." … Read more