This was ablaze on twitter today so I thought I might pass it to the rest of you. Yes, augmented reality capabilities will be introduced to the iPhone crowds in September when Apple releases its OS update 3.1.
via Gizmodo
Nearly a year ago, TechCrunch posted a nice little article on Tonchindot, a Japanese company that is producing a program similar to Sprxmobile’s Layar. Tonchidot’s Sekai Camera is an augmented reality program that takes video images taken from the camera and overlays it with data driven from within the software. The video shows more about the software specifics, so I won’t bore you with them here. Simply put, the thing is amazing!
One thing that is super cool is that the software pulls from a server actual data about products in different stores. So, for example, when you look at a camera in a store Sekai Camera will give you information about the camera; like the specs, price, rival prodects, ect.
PS – They say they will not sellout to Google … we’ll see about that.
This is a great video that shows the potential of not just augmented reality, but also the iPhone. Parallel tracking and mapping (PTAM) is extremely advanced, and what I believe to be the real application of augmented reality. Markers are cool, and seeing a baseball player spring from a piece of paper on your screen is neat. But, PTAM will soon lead out as the tech of choice for any augmented reality developer. Personally, I can’t wait!