Augmented Reality News Features
ARCore 101: How to Create a Mobile AR Application in Unity
Now that ARCore is out of its developer preview, it's time to get cracking on building augmented reality apps for the supported selection of Android phones available. Since Google's ARCore 1.0 is fairly new, there's not a lot of information out there for developers yet — but we're about to alleviate that.
News: 5 Magic Leap Apps You're Probably Missing, Including Star Wars, the Magicverse Matrix, AR Jenga, & More
Whenever the name Magic Leap comes up, the talk inevitably seems to turn to the company's big-name backers and "unicorn-level" amounts of cash poured into the venture. And if it's not that, observers tend to focus on the company's market strategy and overall prospects.
News: Zappar Pitches Baseball AR Mini-Game for Wise Snacks
Wise Snacks wants baseball fans to reach for potato chips instead of peanuts and Cracker Jacks, and it's calling augmented reality out of the bullpen to close the deal.
News: New York Times App Lets You See a Higgs Particle Reaction from the Large Hadron Collider in Augmented Reality
Although it's impossible (at least for now) to travel back in time to see the Big Bang, The New York Times has provided its readers the closest simulation of the experience via its latest augmented reality feature.
News: Mobile App Like Gives Music Video Auteurs Body-Morphing AR Effects
Usually, the camera adds 10 pounds, but with a new augmented reality effect in Like's mobile app, the camera can actually make you look slimmer.
News: Microsoft Unveils How-To Videos for Dynamics 365 Guides App Ahead of HoloLens 2 Arrival
With the imminent arrival of the HoloLens 2 expected any day now, Microsoft is preparing new users to take advantage of its software from day one.
News: Futuristic Flavor-Changing Meta Cookie
Like a scene from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, this high-tech cookie offers 7 different flavors. The University of Tokyo's Tajuki Narumi and team presented the Wonka inspired augmented reality flavor-changing cookie at this year's SIGGRAPH computer graphics and animation conference in Los Angeles.
News: 'Detective Pikachu' Pokémon Pop Up in Augmented Reality via Google's Playground App for Pixel Devices
The Avengers aren't the only shiny new toys available to Pixel handset owners, as the animated stars of the upcoming Pokémon Detective Pikachu movie have arrived in the Google Playground app.
News: Nike's Newest App Uses AR to Sell Momofuku Sneakers
Nike's newest app is changing the way we shop. Called SNKRS, it uses augmented reality to sell the limited edition Nike SB Dunk High Pro "Momofuku" sneakers.
News: Aircraft Explorer on the HoloLens Takes You Inside a 3D Model Airplane
Sure, sites like SeatGuru can show you which seats are the best—but in a 2D graphical form that doesn't really show you what the plane actually looks like inside and out. Aircraft Explorer contains 3D models you can peer inside of to check out what the next plane you catch will actually look like.
News: Mastercard Develops Mobile AR App to Explain Rewards & Benefits to Cardholders
It's a good sign for any emerging technology when one of the leaders of an industry adopts it. So when Mastercard, a brand so recognizable that it dropped its name from its logo at CES last year, decides to develop a mobile augmented reality app, the moment is a milestone for the AR industry.
News: Future Homeowners Can Walk Through House Before It's Built with VeriCon's HoloLens App
In the past, to see a pre-constructed state of the house that you would one day live in, you had to be able to read blueprints or hire an artist to sketch it out. Later came the ability to have a 3D rendering of that house on a screen, but you'd still have to work hard to envision it in real life.
News: AT&T TV New Beta Streaming App for Magic Leap One Delivers Live Sports, News, HBO, TV & Movies via Video On Demand
The streaming content vision from Magic Leap recently underwent a quiet but major update, courtesy of AT&T.
News: Augmented Reality Startup Phiar Paves Path to $3 Million in Seed Funding for AI-Powered Navigation Solution
Another contestant has emerged in the race to deliver a mainstream augmented reality car navigation system, with Silicon Valley-based Phiar picking up $3 million in seed funding to launch its own artificial intelligence-based mobile app by mid-2019.
News: Google Lens Delivers AR Try-On for L'Oreal's Garnier Products at Walmart
Sure, it's the giving season, but sometimes you've just got to treat yourself to some cosmetics. If you're shopping at Walmart, L'Oreal just made that a shade easier when shopping for Garnier hair color products with an assist from Google Lens and the Modiface AR platform.
News: Travelocity Transports Roaming Gnome into Augmented Reality with Its Mobile App
In the latest example of non-tech companies taking on augmented reality marketing, online travel site Travelocity has added an AR version of its Roaming Gnome mascot to its mobile app.
Apple AR: Play Beer Pong Anytime with Augmented Reality Game
Beer pong is a classic game created by college kids to drink and have a good time. However, the process of setting it up is messy and takes a while. Luckily, a demo has introduced an app coming soon where you can play an augmented reality version of beer pong using Apple's ARKit.
News: Caltech Researchers Use HoloLens to Give Directions & Object Identification to the Visually Impaired
When computers have vision but people don't, why not have the former help the latter? That's the gist behind the Cognitive Augmented Reality Assistant (CARA), a new HoloLens app developed by the California Institute of Technology.
News: Apple Adds Multiplayer AR Spy Game 'Secret Oops' to Arcade Subscription Service
With No Time to Die, the 25th installment in the James Bond saga, arriving in April and Black Widow, the first solo film for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's own secret agent, following a month later, what better way to get in the espionage mood than some augmented reality spy gaming?
News: Magic Leap Pivots to Enterprise, Announces New Business-Focused Services, Slightly Modified Name
As we predicted this time last year, Magic Leap is finally moving from consumer entertainment hype to making a firm commitment to enterprise customers.
News: Magic Leap & Andy Serkis Reveal Lord of the Rings-Inspired Character for Upcoming AR Experience
We already know that Magic Leap is working with Hollywood motion capture legend Andy Serkis on a new immersive content experience but, so far, all we've heard are descriptions of the work. Well, now the mystery is over, and the character of Grishneck, who Magic Leap mentioned just last month, has finally been revealed.
News: Epson Boosts Display Specs, Adds Optional Android Controller in Moverio BT-40 Series Smartglasses
The average business person likely recognizes Epson for its printers or even its projectors, not the futuristic AR wearables.
News: HoloLens Assists in Live Surgery
Numerous examples exist of doctors and surgeons using HoloLens to plan surgeries. The device has even been used to view reference images during a procedure and stream it to a remote audience. Until recently, it has not been used to augment the surgeon's view of the patient during a live surgery.
ARKit 101: How to Detect & Measure Vertical Planes with ARKit 1.5
In a previous tutorial, we were able to measure horizontal surfaces such as the ground, tables, etc., all using ARKit. With ARKit 1.5, we're now able to measure vertical surfaces like walls!
News: HoloTube Brings YouTube to the HoloLens, but It Needs to Be Way Better
HoloTube, a new unofficial YouTube app for the Microsoft HoloLens, brings a whole bunch of new content to the mixed reality headset. While it's nice to have, the experience feels focused on quantity, not quality. HoloTube has a simple interface most people will recognize. You get a page of video categories, and as you drill down through each option you're presented with videos to watch. You can view regular, flat videos on the wall (or wherever you like)—which has its merits.
How To: Set Up Your Phone with the Lenovo Mirage AR Headset for 'Star Wars: Jedi Challenges'
Just in time for the holiday season, Lenovo has released its Mirage AR head-mounted display with the Star Wars: Jedi Challenges game and accessories. Unfortunately, while its price point is a fraction of most other AR headsets, at the moment, it does have a few issues with the setup process.
News: Intel Takes Us Inside to Reveal How HoloLens 2 Is Transforming Computer Chip Production
The enterprise applications powering the adoption of the HoloLens 2 are only just ramping up as developers continue to work with the still relatively new hardware.
News: Google Adds Famous Monuments & Iconic Buildings to Augmented Reality Search Feature
Even with unlimited resources and a serious case of wanderlust, it's unlikely that you or I will be able to see all of the most famous structures in the world in person.
News: Warner Bros. Conjures 'The Nun' Snapchat AR Lens to Scare Up Ticket Sales
The latest sponsored augmented reality experience on Snapchat from a movie studio might be its scariest — and perhaps most popular — yet.
HoloLens Feature: Spatial Mapping
Once you've designed some holograms with HoloLens, you'll need to get them to interact with the environment. That's where Spatial Mapping comes in. There are five basic purposes for using HoloLens's Spatial Mapping with your app:
News: Walmart Shoppers Can Now Use Their Smartphones to Become Marvel's Black Panther via Augmented Reality
Marvel and Walmart are looking to capitalize on the uber-successful Black Panther film with a mobile augmented reality app designed to push the franchise's merchandise.
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: This App Streams Custom Holograms from a Computer to the HoloLens
The Microsoft HoloLens has a good amount of content available, but it's fairly limited in terms of what you can customize. You can access a built-in library of holograms, but if you want to create your own you have to do that with code.
News: Create Your Own Holograms at Home with the Volu iPhone App
With the release of Object Capture this fall, Apple is giving everyone with a Mac and a camera the means to create their own 3D objects.
News: You Can Now Try-On & Test Samsung Galaxy Smartwatches in AR via Snapchat
Now that Snapchat has extended its virtual try-on powers from the face and feet to the wrist, Samsung is leveraging the new capability, along with an interactive twist, to sell its smartwatches.
Apple AR: This App Uses the iPhone X's TrueDepth Camera to Conjure 3D Illusions
A Swedish digital artist has developed an app for the iPhone X that creates mind-bending 3D illusions that correlate to the user's point of view.
How To: What Do the Leaves Mean in Pokémon GO?
While wandering around in Pokémon GO, you'll occasionally see what appears to be leaves fluttering around nearby. This is actually meant to be Pokémon "rustling in the grass," but whatever the intention, it means that there may be a wild Pokémon in that area. While there's no use in tapping on the leaves (it does nothing), they can be helpful in your search for Pokémon to catch.
How To: Add Full Body Motion Tracking to the HoloLens with a Kinect
Thanks to Project-Infrared, there's now a pretty straightforward way to add motion tracking to the HoloLens: Connect it to a Kinect.
HoloLens Dev 102: How to Create an ImageTarget with Vuforia & Set Up the Camera System
Now that we've set up Vuforia in Unity, we can work on the more exciting aspects of making physical objects come to life on the HoloLens. In this guide, we will choose an image (something that you physically have in your home), build our ImageTarget database, and then set up our Unity camera to be able to recognize the chosen image so that it can overlay the 3D holographic effect on top of it.
News: HoloLens 2, All the Specs — These Are the Technical Details Driving Microsoft's Next Foray into Augmented Reality
Now that we've officially seen the HoloLens 2 and Microsoft has shown off the improvements and new superpowers of the augmented reality headset, what about the specs?