a video by metaio and ARM digital visualizer producers demonstrates the present-day feasibility of realtime seamless augmented reality using 3D optical processing

a teaser for the upcoming inside AR 2011 augmented reality conference in munich demonstrates the technical feasibility of realtime seamless AR, using junaio, an augmented reality browser designed by metaio, to explore a miniature city, relying on 3D optical tracking.

the technological hurdles to convincing augmented reality through the present day has been the processing power required by mobile phones to simultaneously recognize the position of a viewer and overlay it with images and information. with emerging hardware like the tegra 2 processors used in recent android devices, however, all-visual processing offers a feasible (and better aligned) alternative to the processing-heavy combination of GPS localization and accelerometers that would normally be required to determine a user’s position in space. in the ‘augmented city’ demo, the smartphone has stored a complete 3D representation of the environment, so that once GPS and orientation sensors narrow down the viewer’s location, only a limited number of scenes need to be searched before the proper view is identified and overlain with AR.

the seamless quality of the overlay offers a convincing demonstration of the usefulness of AR. the demo imagines billboards that show clips of a movie and may be clicked to offer instant AR navigation to the nearest cinema playing that film. buildings may be skinned with artistic facades for special events, or overlain with sales information. the junaio app prevents virtual overcluttering by offering menus that show only particular kinds of AR– for example, a ‘near me’ section that will highlight AR data for nearby apartments, shops, or friends only when enabled.

video demo of the ‘augmented city’

augmented city: realtime AR demo with junaio app view of ‘augmented city’

augmented city: realtime AR demo with junaio app screen view with walking directions shown in green

augmented city: realtime AR demo with junaio app AR view of interactive billboard, which users can click to play a movie clip

augmented city: realtime AR demo with junaio app the interactive billboard then switches to a screen inviting users to click for instant AR navigation to the nearest cinema playing that film

augmented city: realtime AR demo with junaio app closer view of the ‘augmented city’ structure used in the demo

via technology review