Google Goggles What This Means For Augmented Reality

Posted by augmentedplanet under General

Now the dust and the wow factor has settle from the Google Goggles announcement a few days back I thought it would be interesting to take a more in-depth look at what this means to the augmented reality industry.

Multi Search Topics

There are demos a plenty of taking photos of book covers to retrieve reviews and online prices. If you are new to augmented reality then it’s actually not that new. SnapTell have both an iPhone and Android application that provides this functionality. Just take a picture of the cover of a DVD, CD, Book, or Video Game and the software uploads the image to the SnapTell server and runs image recognition to compare the picture against likely matches. Once a match is found you get the usual mix of online reviews and cheaper prices.

Recognising a barcode image I would assume is a lot less complex than recognising a book cover since there are less colours and shapes to contend with. Barcode shopping is another feature of Google Goggles and again there are various products available that provide the same functionality, ShopSavvy on the Android or RedLaser on the iPhone are just a few examples. I use RedLaser from time to time to see just how obscure the product range is. GoCat Tuna and Herring cat crunchies is the most obscure product I have managed to have recognised so far. To compete with Goggle’s logo recognition there’s GetFugu for the Android, iPhone and the Blackberry so again nothing new there. Goggles will search on wine bottle logos which as far I as know is unique as I don’t know any other application that does that today, but I’m sure it’s only a small leap from recognising a book cover to recognising a wine label.

You might think that I’m having a dig at Google but far from it, just becuase they are not first does not make the application any less cool. There are some really fantastic features in Google Goggles that make me drool. I’m no art buff but Goggles will enable me to become an art critic and give me relevant information about major pieces of art, all I need to do is sneak a crafty picture when the security guard isn’t looking and Goggles will tell me the name of the picture and the artist. Fantastic if you are walking around a museum but again it’s probably not a huge step in recognising the Mona Lisa or a paperback copy of C++ for dummies, ultimately it’s a blob of shapes and colours that are compared. Nether the less it is a fantastic use of image recognition.

My personal favourite and the piece de resistance of Google Goggles is a feature that must have the CEOs of the various augmented reality browser companies laying awake at night as Google are about to change the way location aware augmented reality browsers work.

The way augmented reality browsers work today is they use LBS to figure out your current location and the compass to see which way you are facing. With that information they can determine what points of interest you might be facing. Most of the time it works pretty well but I’m sure you know that GPS is not accurate, sometimes my tests have been accurate to 30 meters and sometimes it strays to up to a mile. If you are facing a landmark the visual indicator provided by the augmented reality browser may or may not be shown near by the object you are looking to locate. The second problem is there could be a building between you and the point of interest; the application has no way of actually knowing what is in front of you and what you are really looking at.

Google Goggles however uses image recognition on the landmark. If you are standing at Big Ben in London it sends a copy of the image to the database, performs an image match and then tells you precisely what you are looking at, not what might be around you and in that general direction. The accuracy is so good you can sit at home in California and look at your holiday snaps of Big Ben and it will still recognise the landmark. Fantastic when you get back from a trip and wonder just what all those photo’s are actually of.

Google’s strength is obviously search and the vast array of seemingly endless images that have that their disposal. Properly indexed there would seem to be no limit to what can recognise, particularly if they open up the API for developers to produce our own plug-ins. What breed of cat is that? Cat recognition plug-in tells me is a British Short hair and it’s favourite food is fish. That’s a nice car what is it? Car recognition plug-in tells me it’s an Aston Martin DB7, insurance group is a 31 and it has a top speed of 186mph, but I can’t afford it because my bank plug-in is warning me based on my current salary I would have to save for 30 years.

You can’t help think that terminator vision has just got a step closer. Some six or seven months ago we got our first augmented reality browser, now at the end of the year it seems like we are about to take a huge step forward in augmented reality with Google’s arrival. It will be interesting to see how the current crop of augmented reality browser providers respond to the Google play and what is up their sleeve for the future..

The video walk-through below well worth a look at some of the features of Google Goggles.

Excellent overview of Google Goggles.

Augmented Reality Christmas Cards

Posted by augmentedplanet under General

When I was about 12 years old, I gave my mother a blank card and wrote “Happy Christmas, Happy Birthday, valid until 2010”. That was probably the last greetings card I sent. It’s true to say I am not known as someone who sends cards, except of course the wife on Valentines Day, you don’t ignore that one twice.

Ingloble Technologies have released the first ever augmented reality greetings card service which is a dream come true to people like me. Now we can send a free greetings card that uses augmented reality and send a greetings card that will be remembered. It’s actually a really cool service and works really well, it’s bound to be sure fire hit this Christmas. Just visit www.arwishes.com to design your card, select the image and a music track, enter the recipients name and a message then hit send and you’re done.

Your recipient gets an email with clear instructions on how to view the card, eg print and hold in front of the webcam and they’ll love you forever.

If Christmas is not your thing they have cards for Birthdays and New Year.

AR Wishes Video

Google Enter The Augmented Reality World

Posted by augmentedplanet under General

Google have just announced their first augmented reality application for the Android device. Google Googles for the Android allows users to search by taking pictures of real world objects and having Google provide related information. However unlike existing augmented reality browsers that rely on a compass and location based services to provide search data, Goggles uses a visual recognition engine and location based services to provide results. In theory that would mean that if you take a picture of a well know landmark, eg Big Ben in London it would check the image against buildings in the local area to provide a better match.

Multi Search Topics

Aside from landmarks, Google Goggles supports other searches, if you are in a museum and see a famous picture and want to know the artist, just take a picture and it will search Google for the picture and artist name. In your local supermarket and see a bottle of wine and wonder is it a good year? Just take a picture of the label and Google Goggles will tell you.

A good year?

It looks pretty exciting. Google Goggles has been released as a Google Labs product so it’s very much in a beta phase. iPhone owners don’t panic. Google plans on releasing a version for the Apple iPhone once the application is out of beta.

Google Goggles offical video

Augmented Realty On Symbian – Wikitude Arrives

Posted by augmentedplanet under General

It’s funny sometimes how life works out. Only a few days ago a reader (Primaklima) posted a comment asking for more news on augmented reality applications for Symbian devices. My mission this morning was to have a dig around and see just what was available. I sat down with a coffee, turned on my pc, opened my browse and 2 seconds later my phone rings to alert me to the fact that Mobilizy have just released Wikitude for the Nokia N97.

Until today, Symbian users have had very little to shout about, the only augmented reality browser I can think of has been ARound by Sequence Point Software. All other augmented reality browsers have been targeted towards the iPhone and Android, but the good news is if you are a Nokia 97 owner you can now download Wikitude from OVI.

Augment your world with the WIKITUDE World Browser, the acclaimed Android and iPhone application is now available on Symbian! See the world through your phone’s camera view overlaid with Wikipedia content, Qype reviews and user-generated content from Wikitude.me (www.wikitude.me). The WIKITUDE World Browser presents the user with data about their surroundings, nearby landmarks, and other points of interest by overlaying information on the phone’s screen.

Welcome abord Nokian’s, you can download from here:

2009 Readers Choice Awards
The readers choice awards ended on Friday and the lucky winner of the Chumby is Freek Bodemeijer. Freek check your inbox as you should have an email from me.

The next question is what are the top applications as voted by you in 2009? We’ll have an announcement about that shortly.

Layar Now In 3D

Posted by augmentedplanet under General

Layar 3.0 was released yesterday to the Android Marketplace. I don’t have a Google Android device so my blog is based on the information I have pieced together rather than a physical test. The good news however is Augmented Planet is expanding and we’ll soon be joined by a former colleague of mine, Nitin Samani who is going to be our Android correspondent.

The big change with 3.0 is the 3D engine. Developers can now build rich 3D content to make your augmented reality viewing even better. Lets’ imagine you are on holiday in London and you are a Beatles fan. If you already use an augmented reality browser, chances are there is a tourist attraction database where you’d be able to find out find where The Beatles played. As you walk around London you could use your augmented reality browser to find Beatles related POI’s and you’ll get useful information like directions and a link to a website where you can read more, or using Layar 3.0 you could take The Beatles Tour.

The Beatles Tour developed by a London based company and fellow augmented reality blogger is one of the most exciting launch layers available. Start the tour, and you are guided to the first location where you have a unique picture opportunity with Ringo, Paul, John and George on the famous zebra crossing in Abbey Road. As soon as you’re done, the tour guide directs you to the next location and photo opportunity. All in all the tour has 42 locations for you to visit.

Tours sound like a great way to engage users, thinking out loud you could create a tour and generate revenue by having restaurants sign up to be part of the tour. If you were taking The Jack The Ripper Tour, after 28 stops you could be directed to stop off for a bite to eat. How much would a restaurant pay to be included?

At the moment there are 6 layer’s available (list here) but there are lots more planned.  I’m looking forward to the iPhone version so I can run a proper test.

Layar v3.0 can now be downloaded free of charge from the Android Market and is available for all Android 1.5 and 1.6 devices. Layar will release a compatible version for the Droid as soon as possible. Layar have almost finished testing for Android 2.0, and good news for iPhone owners, a version for the iPhone 3GS is to follow as soon as Apples approves

Twitter 360 Augmented Reality Application

Posted by augmentedplanet under General

Pesselite today announced their latest augmented reality application for the iPhone. If you are a Twitter fan and  wonder where all the people you follow are tweeting from, then Presselite latest application titled Twitter 360 will show you their location on a map.  The application also has 2 augmented realtiy modes, point the device down it switches to show you arrows that show the distance of the tweet, when you hold the device in front of you the applications switches to focus on the tweets by placing them in circles.

If you have used any previous Presselite product to help you find tube (metro/subway etc) stations then you’ll find this application looks very similar as it shares the same augmented realty engine. Personally I am not a huge Twitter user, I just don’t seem to have the time to keep up so I tend to read more than take part, but I know it will appeal to many Twitter addicts.

Since I had a rant about privacy the other day I should refer you to this post. Augmented reality and geotagging is fantastic combination when you are at an event and want to see who is around you and what they are saying. But remember to turn off the feature when you don’t want to be found, unless of course you want everyone to know where you live.

Watch it in action

iTunes Link: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=330158239&mt=8

Pandemica Augmented Reality Game

Posted by augmentedplanet under General

Pandemica from XMG Studios is the latest augmented reality iPhone game that uses the camera and accelerometer to produce an entertaining arcade style shooter that you can experience with full 360 degrees of movement. Pandemica transforms your iPhone into a sub-field bio-scanner that can detect the invisible alien organisms that are around you, and like all alien organisms they are not friendly. Armed with your sub-field bio-scanner your mission is to eliminate the alien threat before they have the chance to get you and cover you in goo.

Like most arcade games, as you progress you’ll have the opportunity to unlock better weapons to help you fight off the alien hordes, weapons such as Missiles, Continuous Electron Beam and the Bosnoic Field Bomb produce the necessary firepower to survive some of the games harder levels. As with the other augmented reality games that fall in to this new genre, the game requires you to be active, it’s not the type of game you’ll be playing while sitting on the sofa or the train to work. As the game takes place in reality you’ll constantly be looking behind you for the next wave of alien attacks.

If your worried about what the neighbours will think of you running around screaming incoherently about aliens fear not, Pandemica also has two multi-player modes where you can team up with a friend and fight cooperatively against the threat, or you can compete for the highest score. Pandemica is the first multi-player game of this type and it adds a new twist on the game play. If you can get a few friends together I think there is endless fun to be had with these modes.

Pandemica costs $1.99 or £1.19 and is available from the app store.

MMORPG Augmented Reality Game

Posted by augmentedplanet under General

In my daily scan of the iPhone application store I noticed that Parallel Kingdom -- Age of Emergence has arrived. It’s has also hit the the Google Android.

Parallel Kingdom is a massively multi-player online role playing game that takes place around you. The game uses GPS to figure out your location and places the character directly in your neighbourhood where you can explore, declare war on other players or just fight the many creatures that live there. It’s interesting to see your surroundings plotted with monsters, trees, caves and other exotic items. I had never noticed that there was a castle at the end of my street before.

I have only just installed the game and it seems to be pretty complex and loaded with options so it is going to take a while for me to figure out what the hell I am doing, but like all MMORPG’s the object is to kill, collect gold and build up your level.

Given it’s complexity it’s hard to give a full review but I guess the question is, is it really an augmented reality application? Well that depends on your point of view.

If you are a traditionalist who believes that augmented reality is defined by using the camera and blending computer graphics in the camera feed then you probably won’t see Parallel Kingdom as a true augmented reality game. If however you take the wider view and believe that augmented reality is being aware of you surroundings and enhancing them then you’ll see Parallel Kingdom as the first true augmented reality MMORPG. Either way, Parallel Kingdom is free so worth an install and making up your own mind.

Game Trailer

Augmented Reality In One Hour

Posted by augmentedplanet under General

A couple of weeks back O’Reilly hosted a webcast on augmented reality. The speaker was Chetan Damani CEO and Founder of acrossair who gave his take on what mobile augmented reality is and the future of acrossair including an update on new products.

Chetan also talks about the choices in selecting a platform and his plans for porting applications over to Android. It’s an interesting talk, the Q&A at the end has lots of questions on where the data comes from and how to manage the presentation of lots of data on the screen. So if you are planning on building an augmented reality application and want some tips from a company that have 10 augmented reality apps already in the iPhone store,  or if you are just generally interested in learning more about the technology then its well worth a listen.

Watch the webcast

The Thursday blues

Posted by Lester Madden under General, Smartphones

It’s been a bit of a crap week this week. My cat has been ill for some time now and we had to make that painful decision to have her put down on Monday. That was a real gut rencher I can tell you.