junaio Redefining Interactive TV

Posted by augmentedplanet under iphone

I have to admit that that it’s not very often someone throws me a complete and utter curve ball and I see something that I never even considered before. After a while you start to think you have seen it all, but the junaio browser wins the January prize for the most innovative use of augmented reality.

The new junaio channel works in conjunction with a popular German TV show called ‘Galileo’. Viewers watching the show are able to interact with the program by using the junaio client and by pointing their smartphone at the TV screen.

During the Galileo program questions are displayed on the screen. Unlike most interactive programs that require you to SMS an expensive number and wait several hours for the result, when the junaio enabled program asks the viewer a question the viewer simply points their smartphone at the screen. The junaio channel which uses natural feature tracking recognises the question; it is then transferred to the viewer’s smartphone. Once on the smartphone the viewer can select the answer without having to send an expensive text. In addition real-time feedback can be provided so it’s great for interactive TV quiz shows. For example, play along to who wants to be a millionaire at home and get instant feedback, even compete with other players watching the same show.

As Peter Meier, CTO of metaio points out, it’s not just about quizzes. The same technology could be used to enable viewers to receive recipes as the chief is making a dish. It’s definitely an interesting idea to enable views to interact with the TV. Take a look at the video of the solution in action. (Video Link)

What TV program would you like to see made interactive this way?

mtrip Augmented Reality City Guides

Posted by augmentedplanet under Augmented Reality

Over the last month, mtrip augmented reality city guides have been appearing in the iPhone appstore. So last week was a good a time as ever to take the London guide out on a road trip.

Firstly, the mtrip applications are packed with functionality, they are not simple augmented reality browsers but have a variety of useful features. Rather nifty is the itinerary feature which will plan your day by giving you nearby sights that you should see. The itinerary takes into account the length of your stay and breaks down the important sights into days and mornings / afternoons. Ideal if you are a real travel looking to explore the city. Even better, at the click of a button you can send a virtual postcard from the sights either by email or by posting to Facebook. I’m not really the postcard kind of guy but even I would use that feature.

Of course being a city guide you’ll expect the application to come with a list of attractions, shops, bars, restaurants and you wont be disappointed because they are all present, but a rather nice feature is the fact that they all have pictures and ratings so you’ll know if they are worth the effort. If you do decide to visit you can see the entry fee and the local train station so you’ll have no difficultly in finding it.

You can’t doubt the applications pedigree as a travel guide as it does everything you’ll need and more. But since this is a blog about augmented reality, let’s talk about the augmented reality functionality.

The augmented reality view does everything you’d expect but one huge positive is it just works. Press the AR button and your POIs are shown immediately, no messing around wondering what database to select. To give you an example, I got to Downing Street in London, apart from being the address where the British Prime Minister lives; it’s a tiny little street. I used mtrip to see what was around me and I was impressed that the application not only found it in a few seconds, but pin pointed it. I tried several other augmented reality browsers but I needed to select which databases I wanted to use, after 10 minutes I still had no luck.

One thing drove me crazy about the AR functionality however. The AR view is designed to work in landscape which is fine, but hold it the wrong way in landscape and all the POIs disappear, rotate it 180 degrees and they all come back. It took me 20 minutes to figure that out and when I did my finger was constantly over the camera. I’m sure it’s a relatively simple bug to address but it annoyed the hell out of me.

mtrip will set you back $5.99 (about £3.50), which when compared to a free augmented reality browser is a sizeable investment, however compare it to the cost of a guide book and it’s amazingly cheap . The question is, if I was travelling to a new city would I buy an mtrip guide? I think the answer is yes I would.

Even if you are not in the slightest bit interested in augmented reality there is enough functionality to the application to make it extremely useful, it’s a city guide that happens to have augmented reality functionality not the other way around. Coupled with the fact that the augmented reality functionality just works and the application doesn’t rely on network connectivity so you’ll save yourself expensive roaming charges it can only be a winner.

New mtrip city guides are being added so keep an eye on their website for the latest support.

mtrip augmented reality in action

Tagwhat Video

Posted by augmentedplanet under General

Interesting video from David Elchoness, CEO/Co Founder of Tagwhat. In the video David talks about their augmented reality browser and:

• Why augmented reality is important
• Tagwhat as a location-based social experience
• How he used Tagwhat to plan a tip
• Future plans for the Tagwhat browser

Tagwhat is an interesting augmented reality browser able to hold it’s head up against the big boys. Interesting take away from the video is the content engine that will allow users to purchase 3D models that can be used in the browser.