What a video the original Neurosciences video was (bottom). And damn I wish I’d done it. When it came out we’d just completed a project for Bacardi using Beardyman and it could have been a great alternative way to approach the campaign.

Now, and with even more ‘I wish I’d done it’, (and rather weirdly using Beardyman as well), director Chris Cairns has teamed up with holographic projection experts Musion to create a live performance based on his Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs film, which features a number of disembodied rapping heads…

The film above shows live footage from an initial test performance of the holographic heads, with no post-production added.

The original:

Rayban harnesses Augmented Reality to enable people to try their shades on before purchase. It’s difficult to drive online sales of sunglasses as we all like to try them on before making the decision. I’d imagine this app will help solve that issue for some people.

Try for yourself here (PC only)

Last year there was a trend for brands to use augmented reality to mainly showcase product using CGI (probably as a result of it being a new technology and there being a lack of insight about how people would want to use it). Whilst some were good they were very much disposable pieces of content. This year I hope to see more considered applications like this Ray Ban one that actually serve a purpose.

Via.

N Building is a commercial structure located near Tachikawa station amidst a shopping district. Being a commercial building signs or billboards are typically attached to its facade which we feel undermines the structures’ identity. As a solution we thought to use a QR Code as the facade itself. By reading the QR Code with your mobile device you will be taken to a site which includes up to date shop information. In this manner we envision a cityscape unhindered by ubiquitous signage and also an improvement to the quality and accuracy of the information itself.

I like this, but it strikes me that QR codes are a computer readable bridge between media and content, but are unreadable to the human eye. Seems like a bit of a waste of space to me. Wouldn’t it be better to visualise signage we can all interpret immediately, that’s also computer readable and and leads to deeper content? Image recognition isn’t there yet, but soon….

Via Stu

This looks fun: A radio controlled Quadracopter controlled via an iPhone, which has cameras built into either end and which relay the live footage back to the iPhone controller in real time, which in turn overlays augmented reality gameplay. Single and multi-player. Mouthful?? Here’s a demo:

More here.

Via Frazbot.

Pamela Reed and Matthew Rader created these Augmented Reality Avatars gifs for Spiral Mag. Via.

Avatar Machine is a wearable system which replicates the aesthetics and visuals of third person gaming, allowing the user to view themselves as a virtual character in real space via a head mounted interface. The system potentially allows for a diminished sense of social responsibility, and could lead the user to demonstrate behaviors normally reserved for the gaming environment.

It’s that last bit, “The system potentially allows for a diminished sense of social responsibility, and could lead the user to demonstrate behaviors normally reserved for the gaming environment“, that I find WTF. Or am I just not getting it?

Interesting stuff though. More here.

Via.

Viewable here without registration for next few days, but password’d after that so you’ll have to youtube it (no clip up yet)

Nice use of AR. Good that there’s no need to download / print. Looks like they’re detecting a rectangle rather than a specific $ bill so I’d imagine it would work with any piece of paper at that scale as well – but it would be good to test.

The better examples of AR don’t need the printed out code to work. Here’s one for lego from a year or so ago showing what’s in the box before you open it:

Means you can add deeper engagement using the existing manufacture process – good for any brand with a physical product.

This hologram is created by projecting onto a spinning mirror, but it also mimics the sensation of touch by combining an ultrasound device which squirts air onto the users hand:

Or how about this One-to-many realtime time holography for teleconferencing using the same spinning mirror technique:

This research project at the University of California, Santa Barbara presents markerless camera tracking and user interface methodology for readily inspecting augmented reality (AR) objects using a user’s outstretched hand. Just use a webcam and your bare hand and you’re good to go.