4 technical concerns that must be overcome in augmented reality

In order for augmented reality to be successful, there are 4 main technical concerns we must consider in computer vision terms.
Here is a list:

1. Projection
2. Rendering
3. Location
4. Recognition

Here is some more information about those topics above.

In order to increase the array of virtual objects and real objects, we need good (fast) performance in recognition while the augmented really application is operating.

Here is an application which is using face recognition technology.

Augmented reality in the 2010 Vencouver winter olympics

Yahoo! and Total Immersion are bringing augmented reality to the Winter Olympics. Augmenting virtual objects on moving real objects requires very advanced rendering technology. If the rendering is too slow, it will often miss the virtual objects when real objects are moving. This application seems to be quite precise in its rendering, even when the real object is moving.

A New Android Application : Google Shopper

Google has launched a new Android application called Google Shopper which can lead you to a new way to buy goods. Google Shopper gives you information about a product that is displayed on the screen of your Android-platform mobile phone. The application can read a 2-D bar code or the front page of a book. In addition, the application recognizes your voice and searches for products that you are looking for.


Google has already launched an application called Google Goggles which uses image processing technology (namely image extraction and recognition). Google also already has an application called Google voice search.

10 Web Tech Innovations That Have Improved Our Lives

While I was wandering around on the internet, I found a very interesting article called "10 Web Tech Innovations That Have Improved Our Lives"

Here is the full article.

1. Web Browsers
2. Search Engines
3. VoIP
4. RSS
5. The Real-Time Stream
6. Peer-to-Peer
7. AJAX
8. Software as a service
9. E-commerce
10. Wi-Fi

worksnug: find free wifi hotspots using augmented reality

Here is an application that suits for people who work normally outside with their laptop.
The way of work is same as the application called nearest tube station.

A New Augmented Reality (AR) Application in Korea : Ovjet

Korean mobile network provider SK Telecom has revealed a new augmented reality application called “Ovjet” for Android-platform mobile phones.

It seems like quite similar to the concept of Google Goggles. When you point your camera at a building using your Android phone, the relevant information about the building is superimposed on the camera image on your mobile’s screen. For example, when you point your camera at a movie theatre, the application provides information about the movies being shown, and if you point at a book centre you can buy books through Ovjet.

Exellent Review of Windows Phone 7 Series for mobiles

Microsoft lauched a new mobile phone operating system called Windows Phone 7 Series.
I think Microsoft have paved their way for a comeback in the mobile OS market which until now has been occupied by Apple, Android and RIM.

Here is an excellent review of MS Windows Mobile series.

And one more article about lunching Windows Phone 7 Series is here from BBC.

Metaio : Unifeye® Mobile Augmented Reality SDK

Metaio released a new mobile augmented reality SDK, called Unifeye® Mobile Augmented Reality SDK at Mobile World Congress 2010.
According to the press release document the professional toolbox in Unifeye® Mobile Augmented Reality SDK is supporting all major mobile platforms and features the latest image recognition technologies, 3D rendering for animations with real time interaction and optimized components for mobile hardware. With the Unifeye® Mobile SDK software it is possible to create fascinating marketing experiences, intuitive information design, mobile augmented reality games or innovative retail solutions. Based on the proven AR platform Unifeye® by metaio it is possible to easily develop and deploy solutions at the interface between the real and virtual world.

Can Microsoft Bing maps takeover Google maps?

Recently Microsoft launched the new Bing Maps. It seems like they are really trying hard to takeover Google maps. They did an especially great job using crowd-sourced photos to create 3-D virtual worlds in their Maps.
Here are a couple of video clips about Microsoft’s Bing maps.

Microsoft Adds "Augmented Reality" to Bing Maps

At the TED conference this week, Microsoft announced a new, AR mapping feature.

The full article is here.

Sat-nav devices face big errors as solar activity rises : BBC

BBC : Sat-nav devices face big errors as solar activity rises

The picture from the BBC.

Google jumps into the SNS (Social Network Serviece) Market : Google Buzz

Google launched a new Social Network Service (SNS) which is called Google Buzz.
Google has been observing the huge success of Twitter and Facebook. Now google tries to claim part of the success of Twitter and Facebook in the SNS market

A new mobile appl : GeoVector’s World Surfer 2

A company called GeoVector launched a new version (2.0) of its World Surfer app for the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iPhone and Android-powered devices.
They categorized some themes such as coffee shops, resturants, historical places and so on, which they call "Channel". The application simply gives information on the direction you are heading.
As for as I understood their application, the application does not provide augmented reality display but they use digital compass and GPS.

Augmented reality game : Sky Siege

Here is a augmented reality game which is called Sky Siege.
It looks a very interesting game.

GIS and Augmented Reality in 2015

The last 12 months has seen a turning point in terms of bringing geographically aware augmented reality to mobile devices. Significant developments in locational technology such as the inclusion of a built-in digital compass, GPS (Global Positioning System) and accelerometers into mobile phones have allowed not only location but also heading, and pitch to be detected and therefore incorporated into data display systems. These built-in technologies have brought augmented reality to the hands of the masses, and the phones themselves have sparked a market driven boom in fusing augmented reality with location-based services (LBS). Currently applications are in their infancy and mainly focused on specific topics such as ‘show me where the closest x is’. This however represents the tip of the iceberg with the addition of a GIS into the mix there is notable potential for the industry.

This paper is a part of works from the Association of Geographic Information (AGI) Foresight Study in 2009.
The authors are Andrew Hudson-Smith and Sung Hyun Jang at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) at UCL.

Mobile augmented reality to see $732 million market by 2014

Juniper research predicts mobile augmented reality market will reach $732 million by 2014.
The full article is here.

High Capacity Color Bar Code : Smart Tag - Microsoft

Here is a video clip about the Microsoft 2D colour tag.
Actually 2D colour tag is not a new technology. However, it seems like Microsoft tries to boom up this service.
Advantage : It can contain more information than just normal bar code or B/W 2D tag.
Disadvantage : Need a high resolution printer, Not a standard format.



The picture from Microsoft.