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 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.

My 3 favorite mobile augmented reality applications

Since the iPhone 3GS and Android platform mobile phones have appeared, a lot of mobile augmented reality application have launched. These include LBS (Location-Based Service) mobile augmented reality applications, games and so on.

I have tried some of these applications and here are my three favorite mobile augmented reality applications so far. This is only my personal opinion, and I only chose applications which are related to GIS or LBS.


1. Layar
Layar is a platform for mobile augmented reality. The great thing about this platform you can make your own augmented reality application on your Android phone and your iPhone.
In order to do this you need to get a developerID and a developer Key from Layar. I think Layar will help to diffuse the usage of augmented reality in the mobile world.
The video clip is here


2. Acrossair's Nearest tube
Acrossair's Nearest tube is one of the first augmented reality applications on the iPhone. The reason I like this application is that the user interface is very simple and easy. I think that is the most important factor if an application is to become widely used. In addition, this application has showed how we can use augmented reality with GIS (or LBS) in the first stage of mobile augmented reality.
However, producing only directions and distance is not enough for real-life usage. I have used this application only once since I downloaded it several months ago, but it does a great job of showing us what the future can hold when we combine augmented reality with GIS and LBS.
The video clip is here


3.WIKITUDE Drive - AR Navigation
AR Navigation is the best application when it comes to combining GIS with augmented reality. It also features world-wide coverage. In order to improve this application in the future, it could be fused with other technologies. For example, as display technology has improved there have been several attempts to use a car's windshield as a display material. If we can use this transparent display to provide information to a driver, we can have a significantly safer driving environment. And in order to enhance the accuracy of figure information, image recognition and detection technology should be improved.
The video clip is here

UrbanDiary on Layar

Another cool video clip made by Fabian Neuhaus who is a Ph.D. student at CASA (Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis) at UCL.
This is a part of his research on "Urban Diary - The Spatial Narrative of Everyday Life" Urban Diary focuses on the cycles and rhythms in the urban environment.
In this video he shows people's tracks using Layar which is an augmented reality platform.

Junaio - New augmented reality platfrom for iPhone

One of augmented reality companies, Metaio is going to launch a new augmented reality platform for iPhone, Junaio on 2nd November.
According to their press information, Junaio will allow users to see location-based content through the display of a mobile device, which is most mobile augmented reality applications' basic concept. The expect contents on Junaio will be trace, messages or objects and visually interact with user's friends or anyone else in the world. More features will be released soon after, including capabilities on the Android and Symbian platforms.

London Bus 3.0 Augmented Reality app for iPhone 3GS

This is the bus version of augmented reality application which leads you to the nearest bus stops in London. This application called the London Bus 3.0 app for iPhone provides the nearest bus stops and POI(Point Of Interest) Elements located at a distance less than 1km (0,621miles). This application will be very useful not only londoners but also travelers from overseas. Becuase of this application provides multi languages such as English, French, Spanish, Deutsch and Japanese.
More information of this applicaton is here.

SREngine : Augmented Reality Engine for iPhone

SREngine is a software engine which recognizes static scenes of architecture, such as streets, posters, rooms, and so on. SREengine stands for Scene Recognition Engine. Here is how this engine works:
while your iPhone camera is facing a builing as an SRengine client or user, SREngine recognizes the image and gives you information about the building from the Server. The engine can recognize static scenes only and it cannot recognize simple scenes such as a solid white wall. But it looks like it works very well on iPhone.

SREngine for iPhone Prototype from Sein on Vimeo.

GraffitiGeo : iPhone Augmented Reality app for restaurant reputations.

These days, people rely on reputation websites, or something like the Michelin guide, when they choose a restaurant. Especially, when you go somewhere on vacation, reputation websites can help you a lot to choose a decent restaurant for your perfect holliday. Now you can be helped to find a good restaurant through an iPhone AR application.
A company called GraffitiGeo is going to launch a new AR application for iPhone. This application can tell you the reputation of the restaurant your iPhone is displaying.

Acrossair browser - AR for your local restaurants, estate agents etc.

Acrossair, the UK Augmented Reality application company which launched the nearest tube station augmented reality application has released a new AR application.

This application shows your local restaurants, properties, theatres and so on in AR view. In addition, you can find the places that you choose from this application through Google maps. This application works only on iPhone.

Introducing Augmented Reality from BBC

This video clip is about introducing Augmented Reality and how Augmented Reality Application works on mobile device. BBC interviewed the person who is the founder of the UK based AR application company which launched "The nearest tube station AR application" few weeks ago. According to this interview we can expect more AR applications before the Christmas.

The original BBC article is here .

Nearest Tube iPhone App Adds Digital Directions to Your Surroundings [IPhone Apps]

iPhone 3GS only: The Nearest Tube iPhone app uses the iPhone 3GS's newly-adequate camera to show the direction of the nearest tube station by adding directional arrows to a real-time "video" you take of your surroundings. Seriously, check this out.

AcrossAir, the makers of the app, claim it as one of the first "augmented reality" apps for the iPhone, meaning it adds digital signs to a real-time video. It only supports the London Underground for now, and is currently being approved by Apple, but we could definitely see this coming in handy for most any major city. Can we humbly request a version for Chicago, city of the miles-apart subway stations? We'll let you know when it's eventually approved and released into the App Store. (From Gizmodo.com)