i Spy , with my little eye..Spyglass 3.0

Happymagenta has announced Spyglass 3.0 available for download at the app store.

In this update :Optimized for iPhone 4, 3GS and iPad Wi-Fi + 3G* (iOS 4.x, 3.2.x and 3.1.x), Gyroscope aided compass and improved motion dampening




For those not familiar with the app, here's a demo video (ver 2.2):


As apps like this get more and more refined, there's gonna be less need for a "standalone' gps system.

Go, and see (where you're looking)

Advertising as a game metaphor

British Telecom company "o2" has released a free augmented reality app to increase it's brand awareness , following in the wake of it's Facebook game. These "niggles" are all broadband connectivity issues, personified. (Think Saatchi for Denno Coil) .
Remember, all these Seuss-like creatures are anthropomorphic representations of all the technical (and human) issues we deal with in our dail connectivity.





"Niggles are all around you. They're where you live, where you work, they're on the streets, in the parks, they're everywhere you go. By downloading the free augmented reality iPhone app, the first app of its kind, you can help O2 nobble broadband niggles wherever you are."

The iPhone game completely immerses the player in a fun, unique and unexpected way. Using the phone compass and GPS we could plot the players postion. Then when they held up their phone they could see the niggles lurking around them Augmented Reality using the phones camera. "

The AR app lets you roam around (the U.K.), interracting with these whimsical characters.

And here's the app "in play":

The Great Niggle Nobble iPhone game walkthrough from Agency Republic on Vimeo.

It seems to me that the U.K. is fast becoming the "Tokyo of Augmented Reality". More often than not, "if it's ar, it can be traced to the U.K.". Hear that, "other countries"? Step up your game.

go, and see.

MS's Bing Maps, Augmented

From Ted Talks 2010. I had almost forgot about this video, but the previous post brought it to mind. In this video, they demonstrate *real time* video overlay augmentation, an ability which is nothing to sneeze at. Microsoft Bing Augmented mapping.




Go, and see.

An Augmented Stone gathers no moss.

“You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need”...do you want it/need it in digital? Yup.

 

 

 

The Rolling Stones have a new App out. "Exile on your street"

Using the  Layar browser (quickly becoming the 'default' browser of AR) , you can now been your own Augmented Street Team, posting augmented posters, (and music tracks) from TRS, Available from both the website and via a Facebook App, for your 3Gs IPhone, iPhone4, and Droid Smartphones.

If The Stones are doing Augmented Reality, then AR just got a helluvalot 'cooler'. Now, if Aerosmith got in to counter this....sorry, just *have* to 'vote up' the Home Team.

Thanks to InventorSpot for the tip!

This is just the start, my friends. The tsunami is building.

Go, and see.

Conspiracy for Good

Brought to you by Tim Kring (of Heroes fame) , and the Nokia X6 , Conspiracy for Good looks to be one heck of an adventure, albeit limited in participation by geographic restraints.

It's an advanced experiment in interactive storytelling, with real-world implications for assisting irl causes, blurring the line between what is "real", and what is possible.




A few years ago I started thinking about an entirely new way to tell a story, far different from traditional TV. I didn’t just want to talk about “saving the world” in fiction, I wanted to create a narrative that spilled out into the streets. One that you could live inside of for a while. How cool would it be, I thought, to create a story that exists all around you all of the time? — On your laptop, your mobile phone, on your sidewalks, as a secret message hidden in your favorite song or while standing at the bus stop on your way to work.

Read more about Conspiracy For Good by http://www.conspiracyforgood.com/about

A few years ago I started thinking about an entirely new way to tell a story, far different from traditional TV. I didn’t just want to talk about “saving the world” in fiction, I wanted to create a narrative that spilled out into the streets. One that you could live inside of for a while. How cool would it be, I thought, to create a story that exists all around you all of the time? — On your laptop, your mobile phone, on your sidewalks, as a secret message hidden in your favorite song or while standing at the bus stop on your way to work.

Read more about Conspiracy For Good by http://www.conspiracyforgood.com/aboutA few years ago I started thinking about an entirely new way to tell a story, far different from traditional TV. I didn’t just want to talk about “saving the world” in fiction, I wanted to create a narrative that spilled out into the streets. One that you could live inside of for a while. How cool would it be, I thought, to create a story that exists all around you all of the time? — On your laptop, your mobile phone, on your sidewalks, as a secret message hidden in your favorite song or while standing at the bus stop on your way to work.

Read more about Conspiracy For Good by http://www.conspiracyforgood.com/aboutI personally love the idea. Ghandi  said "be the change you want to see in the world" , and by using augmented reality, and social participation, one could argue, philosophically, at least, that the adventure *is* real. It's always been my belief that our (collective) "reality" is nothing more than where our individual "realities" intersect. By  taking what is basically a flash mob, combining it with (very) interactive storytelling, (including apps ), Tim has produced an augmented story that potentially benefits the physical sphere which we all share.

Who's to say that the villain "isn't real"? Where "truth" depends on your perception, the CfG villian is no less real than you are. What will you do about it, if anything?

I will be watching this experiment with keen interest...and a burning itch to go to London.

Go, and see.
Stay Augmented

Hoopla for Hoppola!

 Now Here's an idea that will get you digital graffiti artists salivating: Hoppola! First, of course, "the vid":

Well, it certainly looks easy, huh? with no software download, Layar integration, and simple interface you can augment the actual spot where "Harry met Sally ", our "Our first Kiss", or "Joe X got dumped here" . Just imagine, the legions of Layar 'developers' could outnumber those on MySpace and Facebook..oh. wait a minute. Maybe that's a bit *too* accessible. Again, the need, in advance, for an "AR Filter"

"HOPPALA! Augmentation provides an easy way for non-technical creatives to start experimenting with augmented reality and Layar. Create your own augmented reality experiences with just some mouse clicks and publish your work at Layar, the world‘s largest augmented reality platform."

Define "non-technical creatives", plox.  "I iz l33t enuf 4 Layar.". *shudder*

Full article at Wired.

Go, and see.

Sekai Camera for Android

Tonchidot has released Sekai Camera ver 2.4.1 . and released a version for Android (v2.1) with Android-specific features.They even released a version for the (cameraless) iPad. In March, they released their "Open Air" API.

Also, there will be a series of apps designed to work within the Sekai Camera 'ecosystem', including it's premier title "Ka-Boom" (below).

The company is planning web-based access to it's air tags, and is mulling ideas for offices in Singapore and the U.S.

In-depth article at Tech Crunch.

Go, and see.