Mar 2011 14

Augmented (hyper)reality – 3D City 2

Posted In Augmented Reality,Blog

A film produced for his final year Masters in Architecture, Keiichi Matsuda projected about the social and architectural consequences of new media and augmented reality. In this second installment of his hyper0reality, Keiichi digs deeper into his creativity to give a better idea to the direction we are likely to see AR go in the near future. An environment merged with media space, and architecture taking on new roles related to branding, image and consumerism. You may have seen his earlier installment visualization of AR (hyper)reality “Domestic Robocop“

Keiichi Matsuda (BSc. MArch) is a designer and film-maker. He began working with video during his Masters of Architecture at the Bartlett school (UCL) as a critical tool to understand, construct and represent space. Keiichi’s research examines the implications of emerging technologies for human perception and the built environment, focusing on the integration of media into everyday life. He has a multi-disciplinary approach to his work, using a mixture of video, motion graphics, interaction design, and architecture to create vibrant “hyper-real” environments where the distinctions between physical and virtual start to dissolve.

He has presented his films and research internationally, winning awards for design, drawing and filmmaking, and graduated from his MArch with distinction in summer 2010. He is currently self employed, working on commissions and research projects in London and Tokyo.

Jan 2011 15

Microsoft claims Kinect left open by design (with bonus hacked vids)2

Posted In Augmented Reality,Blog

[via: arstechnica]

Microsoft claims Kinect left open by design (with bonus hacked vids)

By Ben Kuchera | Last updated about a month ago

kinect hack Microsoft claims Kinect left open by design (with bonus hacked vids) The Kinect’s open-source PC drivers allow coders to have their way with the hardware, and we’ve already begun to see interesting things coming from the community. On NPR last Friday, a company spokesman said that wasn’t an accident: Microsoft left the USB connection open by design.That could be a retcon—or it could be the truth—but it’s nice to hear Microsoft be so welcoming of third-party drivers on the hardware, especially since the announcement was made in such a public forum. And we already have a real-time lightsaber demo… and that’s pretty much wicked.

Also, the hardware has not been hacked

Microsoft is adamant that, until the proprietary software has been compromised or the hardware itself has changed, the Kinect has not been hacked. “What has happened is someone wrote an open-source driver for PCs that essentially opens the USB connection, which we didn’t protect by design, and reads the inputs from the sensor,” Alex Kipman, director of incubation at Microsoft, said on NPR. “The sensor, again, as I talked earlier, has eyes and ears and that’s a whole bunch of, you know, noise that someone needs to take and turn into signal.”

Just to make the point clear, host Ira Flatow asked specifically if the USB connection was left open on purpose. Kipman repeated that yes, that was a conscious decision.

He also made it clear that no one was going to get in trouble for writing their own programs for the Kinect. “We will, sooner rather than later—and we’re already doing a lot of this—continue to partner with academic places to make sure that this innovation does make it into academic circles, right? So we started this already with places like USC and other universities some time ago.”

So what’s being done?

Real time lightsaber

Coders have hit the ground running, creating interesting new ways of using the hardware. Here we have a program that tracks what appears to be a wooden dowel and replaces it with a lightsaber on the computer screen. A mirror in the video helpfully shows the action in real time while the screen shows the augmented reality lightsaber.

Don’t you know about the word?

This next video is also a fascinating use of the technology. Using the Kinect and a projector, you can use your arm to control a virtual bird-like puppet. This was created in a single day, but it already shows a lot of promise. Take a look.

Augmented reality with Doom 3 character

We’ve already seen the Kinect used to show a real-time 3D image, but this takes it a step forward by introducing a virtual element with the Doom 3 character model. Wait until the camera pans around the 3D image that’s being recorded in real time, controlled by the user. Amazing stuff.

These projects were created with readily available programs, and they’re impressive considering the limited amount of time people have had to play with the drivers. If you bought a Kinect, you have a lot to look forward to—there’s no telling what people will create next. While they may not have Microsoft’s complete blessing, it seems the company has softened its stance on these third-party projects, and that’s good news for everyone.

AR in 2010 – How Did the Predictions Fare?1

Posted In Augmented Reality,Blog

source: Augmented Times

AR2010prediction AR in 2010 How Did the Predictions Fare? Last year Augmented Times asked a group of AR bloggers and the readers of Games Alfresco and Augmented Times to guess what 2010 holds for augmented reality. You can see them all here. A year has passed, and now its 2011, it’s time to confront reality and check how prescient were we. Remember, this post is not about making fun of some or praise others. Actually, most of our predictions were incorrect, but at least we are not shy about them.

Top three accurate predictions

“The first cross-browser cross-platform AR content will start to appear” – Thomas Wrobel was spot on with this prediction.

“Commercial AR will continue to be dominated by startups and small companies.” – There’s a reason why is now Layar’s AR strategist

“10x total investments in AR start ups over 2009” (Ori Inbar). Well, close enough, thanks to Layar and Tonchidot.

Top three inaccurate predictions

“Apple’s tablet will take AR to the next level with object recognition and a wider screen to view the world. ” – Tom Carpenter would later pen one of the most read posts on Games Alfresco – “Apple’s iPad Camera Fail“.

“A big social discussion will be triggered when google launches their HMD device connected to Android. People will form strikes and rallies against technology addiction.” (Toby Kammann) – I must have missed that. To be fair, Toby did preface his predictions saying he’s pessimistic about HMD going on sale this year.

“I see either Layar buying Wikitude or Wikitude buying Layar. Either way I don’t see their being 2 main browsers at the end of 2010.” (Lester Madden) – Though many AR browsers have come and gone, Wikitude, Layar, Junaio and Sekai Camera are still playing strong. Anyhow, it’s not like I was much more accurate, guessing that Microsoft will buy Wikitude.

So, what are your predictions for 2011?

Jan 2011 02

AR – Space Controller 1

Posted In Augmented Reality,Blog

What better way to kick off 2011 than a blog post on one of our favorite Derooted topics; Augmented Reality.

This video was produced for the module “Digital Studio” at the Bartlett’s Adaptive Architecture and Computation Msc. An Android based phone sends OSC data to a processing sketch, controlling a “Manipulator” that interacts with a cloud of agents and modifies its configuration. The result is finally exported and rendered.

The Adaptive Architecture and Computation programme at UCL offers a unique perspective on the application of technology to the built environment.They see technology not only as a means to create emergent form, but as a means to create an architecture that adapts to its occupation; one in which design is embodied within our experience of place, and the components of design are transparently embedded within the environment; one in which society and space are combined as a unitary entity, brought together through a knowledge and understanding of computation as applied to our presence in the world.

To achieve this synergy, they aim to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the practical skills required to create generative, emergent and responsive form, through exposure to real programming environments, alongside a solid grounding in analytic and synthetic techniques and the creation of physical systems engendering interaction and adaptation. A set of complementary modules provide a more cohesive experience for students, with a clear focus on the skills to be learnt within each module.