Augmented Reality (AR)

We’ve already seen how ARKit is helping developers create some impressive augmented reality apps, from virtual tape measures and navigation to fun things like games. But it’s looking increasingly like we might see film-makers employing the technology to blend virtual characters with real ones.

We got a taste of this recently with a demo app replicating an 80s music video, and now indie game developer Duncan Walker has put somewhat frighteningly realistic robot soldiers onto the streets of London …

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The headline isn’t quite fair: Google has actually reinvented Glass as an enterprise product, and I’m sure it will be successful in that field. The application shown in the video – a technician carrying out a wiring task by referring to head-up video displays rather than paper manuals – makes obvious sense. I’m confident there will be many more engineering and business applications that will prove equally successful.

But it also seems clear that Google has abandoned all hope of selling Glass as a consumer product. It wasn’t just that normal people reacted badly to the device (of which more in a moment), it was also that the geeks who so enthusiastically lined-up to buy the Explorer Edition mostly found that the novelty wore off. It wasn’t too long before most devices were gathering dust.

If the rumors are correct, and Apple is indeed planning to launch its own smartglasses, can it succeed in turning the technology into an appealing consumer gadget … ?

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Rumors that Apple is working on augmented reality glasses have been growing for some time, and a patent application published today shows how the same approach might be adapted to both a smartphone screen and smart glasses. It also describes how the two devices might be used in tandem.

This embodiment is particularly useful when using a head-mounted display comprising the camera and the screen. For example, the head-mounted display is a video-see-through head-mounted display (HMD). It is typically not possible for the user to touch the head-mounted screen in a manner like a touchscreen. However, the camera that captures an image of the real environment may also be used to detect image positions of the user’s finger in the image. The image positions of the user’s finger could be equivalent to touching points touched by the user’s finger on the touchscreen …

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When Michael Patterson and his partner Candice created the animated pencil sketch animations for A-ha’s music video Take on Me back in the 80s, they did all the drawings by hand and it took them 16 weeks, working flat out.

Video game company Trixi Studios has now used Apple’s ARKit to create an app that achieves the same thing in real-time …

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Less than two months after the announcement of ARKit with iOS 11 and we’ve seen a plethora of great uses of the tech from developers. From gaming to creative, humorous to utility, there are a lot of use cases. The latest useful example of ARKit shows off how informational augmented reality can improve navigation and Maps.

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The Clips app that Apple announced back in March and launched in April doesn’t exactly seem to have set the world on fire.

Apple’s description made it seem simple and fun to use:

Clips is a new app for making fun videos to share with friends, family, and the world. With a few taps you can create and send a video message or tell a quick story with animated text, graphics and emoji, music, and more.

The reviews, however, disagreed …

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We’ve been seeing some impressive augmented reality apps of late, but if holding your phone out in front of you feels a bit too artificial, an LA-based startup has an affordable alternative.

The Mira Prism is a $99 headset with a slot for an iPhone 7. Instead of the Google Cardboard approach of having the screen face you, it instead faces the inside of the visor. You then see the augmented elements reflected on the plastic in front of you, and the real world through the glasses …

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While I’m generally more of a hard-SF fan, I’m not above a little lighthearted fun where sci-fi is concerned – so I can enjoy a good Star Trek episode as much as the next person. And there are a couple of Star Trek toys I think most of us would like to see: replicators and holodecks.

Replicators as the kind of ultimate Amazon Prime, putting anything you might want into your hands instantly. Holodecks as a way to experience any sights and activities you could ever wish, without even having to leave the building.

But while VR might be the first stepping stone toward holodecks, I think it’s augmented reality rather than virtual reality that will be where the action – and the money – is …

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Apple may have purchased an eye tracking technology company called SensoMotoric Instruments, MacRumors believes. The report is based on legal activity discovered through a shell company and Apple attorney Gene Levoff.

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App developers have been having fun with Apple’s ARKit to put together augmented reality apps. We’ve seen a bunch of these already, and two developers have now shown how you can use an iPhone as a tape measure.

It might sound like a boring application, but just look at how much easier it is to measure things in augmented reality …

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Prior to WWDC, there were reports and analyst predictions that Apple would eventually ship its own version of Google Glass as an AR accessory. Then Apple introduced ARKit as a tool to help developers create augmented reality experiences through iOS apps starting with iOS 11. Now what was previously a rather wild rumor is starting to make more sense…

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Apple has today been granted a patent for augmented reality apps for interior design and animated movie posters. The patent award comes the day after we learned more about plans for an AR app in partnership with Swedish furniture company Ikea.

Apple recently announced ARKit as part of iOS 11, providing hands-on demos at WWDC …

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While Apple is getting serious with both AR and VR this year thanks to iOS 11 and more powerful Mac hardware, IDC has new data on the forecast for augmented and virtual reality mainstream adoption. IDC expects “dedicated AR and VR headsets collectively” to reach nearly 100 million units by 2021 compared to just under 10 million units last year.

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Tim Cook said in a recent interview that he was so excited about augmented reality that he wanted ‘to yell out and scream.’ He named furniture-buying as an example of something that can be completely changed by the use of AR, and gave a specific shout-out to Ikea – a company also briefly referenced in the iOS 11 keynote.

We’ve talked to Ikea, and they have 3D images of their furniture line. You’re talking about changing the whole experience of how you shop for, in this case, furniture and other objects that you can place around the home.

The company has now told a Swedish site a little about its plans …

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In a wide-ranging interview, Tim Cook has spoken about Steve Jobs‘ DNA as Apple’s ‘Constitution,’ why he thinks HomePod will be a success, wanting to ‘scream’ in excitement about augmented reality, how he thinks taxes should be applied to repatriated overseas earnings, his experience of working with Donald Trump and how he responds to the view that Apple is no longer an innovative company.

His comments are an excerpt from a detailed interview out next week …

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Apple has announced its augmented reality platform today, ARKit for iPhone and iPad…

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Google has been working on augmented and virtual reality for some time, through its Tango and Daydream projects. While there’s a great deal of overlap between the two, I’ve outlined before why it’s clear to me that Apple’s focus is very much on augmented reality: overlaying virtual content on the real world.

Google this week gave us a clearer steer on the type of AR functionality we can expect from its own platform, and it’s likely that we will see some similar features in the iPhone 8 …

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As Apple continues to ramp up its focus on augmented reality, the company has recently hired a specialist from NASA for its efforts. According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple has hired Jeff Norris, a specialist in new technology at NASA…

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Earlier this year it was reported that Apple is developing augmented reality features that will eventually appear in glasses after coming first to iPhones. Now a newly leaked document may have accidentally acknowledged Apple’s prototype AR glasses for the first time.

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At Facebook’s developer conference F8 today, the company announced its new software platforms that mix augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality.

The company is taking a leap into a new realm of interactions, and they’ve started by sharing a lot of them today. Some of the new software can already be seen inside of Facebook’s camera app starting today.

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KGI first reported that the iPhone 8 will be fitted with a ‘revolutionary’ 3D-sensing front camera, with multiple reports since that this will be used for augmented reality applications. More than one company has been tipped to be making components for the 3D system, with Himax Technologies the latest of these.

Barron’s notes that the company’s shares have climbed 56% this year based on expectations that it will be making ‘3D sensing components’ for the iPhone 8, with Morgan Stanley’s Charlie Chan explaining why Apple is believed to have chosen the company …

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