First out is a nice website promoting the Polish beer Lech. The site gives you that summer feeling browsing through it (even if you don’t understand Polish )and includes some cool features as well - one of them is augmented reality. Check it out at http://lech.pl/nowakaledonia/
Also found this great use of augmented reality over at Adverblog: In the US Best Buy has just launched Best Buy in 3D, an augmented reality application that allows users to see in 3D the products advertised on the retailer weekly publication.
This brings a whole new dimension to augmented reality - e-shopping using this technology enables people to actually “feel” and “touch” the products - cool stuff!
Last but not least, a couple of really cool Flashmob’s promoting bounce.nu - enjoy:
Online media may soon be forced to comply with disclosure rules under the Federal Trade Commission’s truth-in-advertising guidelines. As a NY Times story reveals, the opportunities and challenges for bloggers who earn income (or just free stuff) from sponsored blogs are growing. But how do bloggers maintain their authenticity? And how do brands engage bloggers in a transparent manner? The FTC’s proposed ground rules might help answer some of these questions….
Mobile augmented reality
For anyone watching the space, it’s clear that one day Augmented Reality will be huge in mobile. The implementation is still clunky, and will likely remain clunky for the near future, but things like the Augmented Reality ID system point to the potent capabilities augmented reality systems will one day present.
Swedish software and design company The Astonishing Tribe are currently developing Augmented ID, an augmented reality concept for mobile phones. This utilizes facial recognition software (supplied by Polar Rose) to visualize the digital identities of those around you.
By simply aiming your mobile device at someone, you would be able to access that individual’s pre-selected information through floating icons that would appear around their image. These could contain anything from a phone number and email address to links to their favorite content or social networking platforms.
If it wasn’t for Twitter and social media as a whole grabbing all the headlines Augmented Reality would be the most talked about “technology” of 2008/2009.
While the roots of the technology have been around since as early as the 1990’s (remember VR games!) it’s only in the last 12 months has the interactive industry taken to it like moths to a flame. Below you will find some of the worlds biggest brands dipping their toe into “Augmented Reality”. Some are in it for the PR aspect others trying to find a useful application. Many just to satisfy their need to do something new.
The technology has it’s limitations though. Not only do you need a web cam but also a printer to activate it. Add to that one requires a download and installation of an application you cut your potential audience down considerably.
Follow this link and have a look at 35 great examples of Augmented Reality over at Bannerblog.
Also have a look at http://www.metaio.com/ - a pioneer company in the area of augmented reality technology, that develops software products for systems driven by visual interaction in both real and virtual worlds. They produced this cool in-store installation for LEGO in Disneyland Orlando:
Also have a look at this cool Mobile augmented reality case from Fanta:
Just talked to one of my collegaues, who are working on a digital project using augmented reality (AR). So surfed the Internet for some more info on AR… AR deals with the combination of real-world and computer-generated data (virtual reality), where computer graphics objects are blended into real footage in real time.
AR could of course be used in many ways in connection with digital campaigns. I found one great example by GE, using AR to engage viewers and encourage them to interact directly with the message: GE’s Plug Into The Smart Grid
Furthermore GE does do a few unique and innovative things with it:
You have to ‘open the door’ - By twisting and turning the Smart Grid marker, you are actually activating it, so that right from the start you feel like a part of the experience.
You can interact with the model – By blowing into the microphone, you actually cause the wind turbines to spin, which encourages you to interact with the experience and experiment with what’s possible. You can also tilt the Solar Energy model back and forth to move the sun and cause the solar panels to follow.
You can see through the page – By turning the marker into a ‘window’, GE has added an extra dimension to the experience. Instead of looking at a semi-3D model that pops off the page, it actually looks like it has become a part of the page, and that you’re holding a whole little world in your hands.
In addition to the details of the model, there are a couple of interesting ways that GE has extended the campaign to reach an even larger audience.
GE used a YouTube video to demonstrate the technology - By taping into the YouTube community, they opened up the experience to a whole new audience. Plus, it’s such a new and interesting idea that people want to watch and pass along the video demo all on its own, leading to more than a million views in less than a month! You can see the video here:
)and includes some cool features as well - one of them is augmented reality. Check it out at http://lech.pl/nowakaledonia/
