Hello world,
Thanks for joining me in our discussion about augmented reality and Gestural
Interface.
Just to
reiterate, we have defined Augmented Reality (AR) as a type of virtual reality
that aims to duplicate the world's environment in a computer. If you’d remember
we also defined Gestural
Interfaces as the goal of interpreting human gestures with
mathematical algorithms into a computer. In combination, these things enable
humans to interface with the machines and interact naturally without any uses a
remote or any kind of mechanical devices.
Today,
I will be showing some examples or experiences of how Augmented Reality and Gestural Interface have been integrated
into our lives; especially some applications, and also how
you can create your very own augmented reality!
According to an
article written by Aden Hepburn, he stated ten different augmented
reality examples naming the Layar browser as the number one medium of
experiencing AR in our world. This Browser enables you to select multiple
layers of content to automatically find detailed content based of your
location. To further understand the Layar browser, I went to the Layar website to dig further. This
browser enables the enhancement of real world
objects using digital information with the goal to interpret interactive and
immersive features like 3D objects and animation. So if you were to be walking
around and you see a poster or advertisement with AR within, you could just pop
out your phone and with this browser you’d be able to see the goodies that’s
behind the poster.
Another example
is called Nearest Tube.
This Application based in the busy streets of London helps them to navigate the confusing local underground
and the various stations. Instead of trying to use maps that don’t show you
your exact position or your relative closeness to your next point of transport.
The Nearest Tube shows all of the 13 lines of the London Underground stations,
their locations and also how many miles or Kilometers from their current point
of location. If you’d like to see more or a demo, click here.
Another Application like Nearest Tube is called the New York Nearest Subway. This application also displays the New York
Subway lines and all of its 33 lines that run underground as well.
A
good example that I found relative to business people was the AR
Business Cards. These cards enable you to present yourself in a more personal
way than a regular business card, which most people don’t tend to keep and even forget about them after a day or so.
To create one, with the link below, you’d have to create your
presentation file, which would include all the information you’d like to get
across, using a frontend tool you’d have to generate a QR-code
which will basically aid in the flash application, thus helping to export the presentation as a XML file. Personally, I am interested in creating one because
I believe I would be able to show my personality in a favorable way and also
considering the fact that most people don’t know
about or use AR business Cards, this would be a way to keep the interest of the
person you handed your card. If you’d like to get one, check out the link here.
Not
leaving out Gestural Interfaces, in an article called Gestural interfaces make touch screens look so ‘last year’
written by Jeff Salton, he explains that the gestural interface used in the famous movie
Minority Report was based on
work by MIT Media Lab’s Hiroshi Ishii. The lab has been trying to
commercialize the gestural interface systems. The article explains that touch
screens are using capacitive sensing, which require a finger to touch the
screen, thereby sending an electrical connection between the sensors, which
determines the location of the touch. On the other hand, Salton explains that Gestural
interfaces have embedded optical sensors to track the movement of the fingers
without having to come into contact with the display. Pretty cool huh?
Now
lets get into the exciting aspect of todays topic, creating your own augmented
reality.
Today,
there are a lot of different ways for anyone to create an AR environment
without having to worry about learning how to code.
The
first one is Google Sketchup, which a
free download that aids in helping you create a picture in 3D and also lets you
share the model. After the model has been created you’d need an AR Media
Plugin, which can be found here.
Also, a webcam would be needed to show the AR over the platform of your
choosing.
Another source or medium of creating your own AR is through a
company called Hoppala. For any non-technical
person, this is the best option to take because their graphical web interface helps
to build geo referenced content by simply clicking, there is no software
installation required and no coding needed. After its created, it could be
published anywhere. To find out more on this, check it out here!
In conclusion, searching for another way to make an AR, I discovered
Onvert. This is a company that has managed to combine the use of QR codes and
Augmented Reality helping their users to get information on a website
without typing and by using Augmented Reality to allow users to interact with
the worldview from their mobile devices. Their codes are readable by any QR code application
showing the compressed artwork and also displaying your Augmented Reality developments
on top of your target image. Be sure to visit their website.
Thanks for visiting today, I hope I was able to quench your thirst for Augmented Reality and Gestural Interfaces... Till next time, be safe out there!