Augmented Reality News

News: Target Taps YouCam for Augmented Reality Cosmetics Web App

Department store chain Target is the latest retailer to offer an augmented reality cosmetics app for customers to virtually try on lipstick.

News: Google Updates AR App to Help Muslims Observe Ramadan When Offline

Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and prayer, is underway, and Google has rolled out several tools to help Muslims commemorate the event, including an augmented reality app.

News: Create & Explore Floating Orbs of Sound in AR with Fields App

When it comes to augmented reality apps, visually immersive experiences are plentiful, but audio experiences are somewhat underrepresented. A new app for iPhones and iPads seeks to shift the AR paradigm toward the latter.

ARKit 101: How to Place Grass on the Ground Using Plane Detection

Ever notice how some augmented reality apps can pin specific 3D objects on the ground? Many AR games and apps can accurately plant various 3D characters and objects on the ground in such a way that, when we look down upon them, the objects appear to be entirely pinned to the ground in the real world. If we move our smartphone around and come back to those spots, they're still there.

ARKit 101: How to Pilot Your 3D Plane to a Location Using 'hitTest' in ARKit

Hello, budding augmented reality developers! My name is Ambuj, and I'll be introducing all of you Next Reality readers to the world ARKit, as I'm developing an ARKit 101 series on using ARKit to create augmented reality apps for iPad and iPhone. My background is in software engineering, and I've been working on iOS apps for the past three years.

News: ANTVR Goes Modular to Shrink the Size & Expand the Field of View of Its AR Headset

China-based virtual reality headset maker ANTVR has decided to enter the augmented reality space, and to do so it's launching its headset on Kickstarter. The company claims that its new Mix AR device has a field of view that surpasses the Meta 2, the HoloLens, and others within a smaller form factor and at a fraction of the price. But there's a catch.

News: Samsung's Galaxy S9 & S9+ Finally Get ARCore Support

Google's Pixel smartphone had a decent head start as one of the first devices to offer ARCore, but that early exclusivity has been frustrating for some Android device owners. Some of that frustration was relieved when Google added more Android devices to the ARCore list in February.

News: Tech Toothbrush from Samsung Incubator Graduate Uses AR to Help Kids Improve Brushing Habits

Kitten Planet, a spin-off company that grew up in Samsung's C-Lab incubator, has developed a connected toothbrush that teaches and motivates children to brush their teeth better via augmented reality while tracking their performance.

News: Coors & KFC Court Consumers for Memorial Day Weekend via Snapchat AR

Many Americans will celebrate the start of the summer this Memorial Day weekend with backyard cookouts, and two brands hope to solidify their invites to those parties through augmented reality experiences in Snapchat.

News: Microsoft Japan Helps Godzilla Invade Real World Tokyo via HoloLens

The company behind Japan's beloved Gozilla, Japan's Toho Studios, has for years tried to give fans the sense of what a giant, nuclear-powered lizard invading Tokyo might feel like. Until now, those attempts have been limited to the movie theater, but now, with the help of the Microsoft HoloLens, Godzilla is finally getting its chance to invade the actual city, with terrified fans looking on from a safe distance.

News: Liverpool Soccer Fans Can Try on the Team's Uniform in Augmented Reality with New Balance Snapchat Lens

New Balance is helping Liverpool Football Club (FC) fans see how they look in the team's new kits with an augmented reality experience in Snapchat.

ARCore 101: How to Create a Mobile AR Application in Unity, Part 4 (Enabling Surface Detection)

One of the primary factors that separates an augmented reality device from a standard heads-up display such as Google Glass is dimensional depth perception. This can be created by either RGB cameras, infrared depth cameras, or both, depending on the level of accuracy you're aiming for.

News: ABC News Seeks Audience with Royal Wedding Onlookers via AR App

If you have yet to receive your invitation to next weekend's royal wedding in the UK, then you can still experience part of the pomp and circumstance in augmented reality courtesy of ABC News.

News: First Images Captured by Microsoft's Project Kinect for Azure Surface Online

Images captured by Microsoft's next generation Kinect depth-sensing camera that will facilitate augmented reality experiences in the next version of the HoloLens and give computer vision to untold multitudes of connected devices in enterprise facilities, have made their way into the wild.

News: Google Lens Gets Smarter with Text Selection, Style Recommendations, & Real-Time Search

During Tuesday's keynote at the I/O developer conference, Google unveiled new capabilities for its Lens visual search engine and expanded the availability of the platform in smartphone camera apps.

News: Google's ARCore Moves Past Apple's ARKit in the Race for Shared Augmented Reality Experiences

On Tuesday, at Google's I/O developer conference, the company announced a huge update to its ARCore augmented reality toolkit that matches the latest features of ARKit, and surpasses Apple's AR platform via support for shared experiences.

News: Google Working on AR Walking Navigation Mode for Maps

At Google's I/O developer conference keynote on Tuesday, ARCore may have been absent, but Google did preview a potentially trailblazing augmented reality feature for Google Maps.

News: Kinect Graduates from Gaming to Enterprise with Project Kinect for Azure

Microsoft's Monday keynote introduced the fourth generation of the company's Kinect sensor during Build 2018 in Seattle.

News: Microsoft Unveils Remote Assist & Layout, New HoloLens Apps Aimed at Workforce Productivity

On Monday, at its annual Build developer conference, Microsoft revealed two new apps for the HoloLens apps.

News: 7-Eleven Joins Forces with 'Deadpool 2' for Augmented Reality App & In-Store Experience

With the theatrical premiere of Deadpool 2 less than two weeks away, the hype train for the sequel to 2016's surprise R-rated hit is gaining steam, and augmented reality is on board for the ride.

News: Lenovo's Star Wars — Jedi Challenges Now Lets You Battle Other Lightsaber Users in Augmented Reality

On this, the most cherished day for Star Wars fans, May the fourth, Lenovo has released a significant new update to its Star Wars: Jedi Challenges app: real person versus person lightsaber battles.

News: Follow in the Footsteps of Forensic Detectives & Solve Crimes with Oxygen's Augmented Reality App

The crime procedural show is the perhaps the most direct path to the average TV viewer's heart. Could the same hold true for augmented reality games?

News: Marvel's 'Avengers — Infinity War' Gets a Full Range of New AR Treats on Facebook

Like Marvel's Avengers, Facebook's Camera AR platform now has a number of new AR superpowers at its disposal, so it is fitting that Earth's Mightiest Heroes have the distinction of displaying them.

News: Magic Leap's First Twitch Video Show Had Toys, Philosophy, but No New Peeks at the Headset

We watched the first piece of public-facing content Magic Leap has released so you don't have to, and, well, you didn't miss much.

News: Snapchat Rides AR Ads to Boost in Revenue Despite Redesign Hiccups

During Snap Inc.'s quarterly earnings report, released on Tuesday, the company disclosed that it snagged a revenue total of $230.8 million for the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 54% compared to last year, largely fueled by its augmented reality offerings and other advertising products.

News: New York Times Hitchhikes on NASA's Mission to Mars via Augmented Reality

In the latest installment in its burgeoning augmented reality journalism practice, The New York Times is bringing its readers closer to Mars and NASA's latest spacecraft set to travel to the red planet.

News: Facebook Brings Its AR Camera Effects to Instagram & Messenger Apps

On Tuesday, on the one-year anniversary of the announcement of its AR Camera platform, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerburg revealed at the company's F8 developers conference that the platform will be extended to the company's Instagram and Messenger apps.

News: We May Finally Know How Many HoloLens Devices Microsoft Sold, & It's a Revealing Peek at the Future of AR

Last week, we told you about Microsoft's Alex Kipman and his nomination for the annual European Inventor Award, presented by the European Patent Office (EPO). And while that's big news in and of itself, it turns out we overlooked a very important detail buried in the EPO's video presentation. What was it? Only one of the most sought-after data points related to the HoloLens since its launch: how many have been sold.

News: Marvel's 'Avengers — Infinity War' Leads Debut Issue of Moviebill's AR Magazine at Regal Movie Theaters

Riding the coattails of one of the biggest movies this year, the first edition of the new Moviebill augmented reality magazine will be available at Regal Cinema theaters nationwide this weekend alongside the release Avengers: Infinity War.

News: Saatchi Art Adds the Power of AR to Its Mobile App, Letting You See High-Priced Art in Your Home Before You Buy It

It appears we're in the midst of an augmented reality art boom, because in the same month that the famed Christie's auction house launched its mobile AR app, leading art gallery and art seller Saatchi Art has also announced its entry into the AR space.

News: Sherwin-Williams Uses Augmented Reality to Take the Guesswork Out of Paint Color Selection

Do you see a red door and wonder if it might be a good idea to paint it black? You could "ask Ask Sherwin-Williams," or, better yet, you could just ask the new augmented reality features in the retailer's mobile app.

News: Snapchat Tilts Its AR Lenses Toward Casual Gaming with Snappables

As if its users weren't already having enough fun with dancing hot dogs and face effects, Snapchat is upping the ante with a new kind of shared augmented reality content.

News: Magic Leap to Launch Twitch Channel Featuring Developer Tutorials, Updates & Interviews

Although Magic Leap's founder Rony Abovitz has a lot to say about his product, what people really want are visuals, and it looks like we're about to get a lot more of those in the coming weeks. In a post on Magic Leap's official announcements forum page, the company revealed that it plans to begin a monthly livestream series on Twitch.

News: European Inventor Award Profiles Microsoft's Alex Kipman as Finalist for HoloLens

Usually, when the public gets to see and hear Microsoft's Alex Kipman expound on the future of immersive computing, it's because the company has a new product to show off. But on Tuesday, April 24, Kipman was in the spotlight for an entirely different reason: an award nomination.

News: Microsoft Video Shows Off BAE Systems' HoloLens-Powered Manufacturing Training Solution

While some in the augmented reality space are tweeting about future amazing immersive experiences and others are showing off cool experiments, Microsoft continues to move forward with tangible business solutions right now that show how the HoloLens can improve business.

ARCore 101: How to Create a Mobile AR Application in Unity, Part 3 (Setting Up the App Controller)

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of programming languages and variations of those languages that exist. Currently, in the augmented reality space, it seems the Microsoft-created C# has won out as the overall top language of choice. While there are other options like JavaScript and C++, to name a few, C# seems to be the most worthwhile place to invest one's time and effort.

ARCore 101: How to Create a Mobile AR Application in Unity, Part 2 (Setting Up the Framework)

With the software installation out of the way, it's time to build the framework within which to work when building an augmented reality app for Android devices.

News: View the Lands You'll Conquer in 'God of War' with Mimir's Vision AR App

With the heavily anticipated installment of the God of War game series arriving on April 20, PlayStation has taken the opportunity to make its first foray into mobile augmented reality with a companion app.

News: Star Wars Holochess Comes to ARKit-Friendly iPhones & iPads

Part of the Star Wars: Jedi Challenges experience that was once exclusive to users of Lenovo's Mirage AR headset is now available to anyone with an ARKit-compatible iOS device.

News: Coachella & Eminem Hit High Notes with Augmented Reality Mobile Apps

The annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is one of those events that everyone talks about, so an augmented reality experience in the festival's mobile app and from one of its headlining acts, Eminem, basically means the technology is officially cool.