BBC coverage of Explore Engage Augmented Reality glasses and their adaption to live entertainment

From here though we found our PR extending from national media in Australia via Asher Moses in the SMH to a revealing story on BBC. The revelation of Microsofts patent submission points to a system that we worked on in Qatar and locally in Australia in 2010 and further demonstrated in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress in early 2011.

Dozens of great partners and a few curious door knockers later, we have been given a healthy round of validation. One other announcement in this time frame was a partnership deal with Crowd Optic. who are featuring at the moment in the Ticketek app for the Australia Open tennis in Melbourne. Behind the scenes we increased our web traffic 250% QoQ, 10,500 unique viewers.

We have little doubt that there is plenty of interest and commitment in augmented reality eyewear and adoption will be led by niche groups. Thanks to all who took a look and got in contact with us throught he campaign. There is definitely more to come soon in 2013 so if you are a consumer, experiential agency or have an enterprise or partnership interest in Explore Engage Augmented Reality glasses, write to us!

Tomorrow our CTO and co-founder Paul Kouppas will be starring in Charlie Brown’s http://www.cybershack.com/tv-episode – be sure to tune in if you are in Australia or look out on the site following the 18th November 2012. There are a couple of little surprises in the show as we take an active public showcase of our eyewear over the next couple of months.

The range of rewards caters to various interests and invites enthusiasts of AR, consumers, gamers, cyclists, medical fraternity, gadget lovers and others to access more effective means of overcoming problems of the past.

The major technical choice for rewards is between monocular and binocular – in some ways this is a personal choice and of course binocular may provide a more “balanced” visual experience. As it involves another optic component (we partner with Optinvent) it will add more weight to the form factor. What we have been proud to produce is a reasonably stylish pair of glasses that is side weighted, not front weighted and has a highly responsive

Huge deserved kudos and a lot of recent excitement has been around the Project Glasses by Google which achieved 18M+ views and Oculus Rift eyewear which raised $2.5M from 9,500 enthusiastic backers largely the gamer community. Both will have different uses cases as will our 2020AR glasses. Whilst Google’s “Explorer” (nice name) HMD’s enable a great locative aware visual dashboard near the eye, they do not truly mix the digital world with the real one allowing the same focal point. Explore Engage’s 2020AR Pozible project does. Whilst Oculus Rift allows for an amazing field of view, it again doesn’t act as a true augmented reality experience. Explore Engage’s 2020AR Pozible project does.

The nature of the augmented reality eyewear we have made with see through lenses means that a user can focus on the task at hand, or the task ahead and have less need to change focal distance without disturbance or deleterious effect to their performance. In the first instance we see great use cases for cycling and motorcycling HMD’s and simple CPR education however later to move towards sophisticated surgical/medical applications.

As a chance to input into the project at http://www.pozible.com/2020ar for those without the funds for the see through augmented reality glasses, there is a chance to be involved in some eyewear advancements. We have an AR game that will be developed using images of the funders faces which will be on our eyewear at first but also iOS and Android mobile devices as a fun legacy of this project. Essentially we are welcoming people to our testing pool and we look forward to the new application ideas and builds.

So if you are thinking of the most impressive present for this Christmas, for yourself, a corporate gift, or something to share with the group, or you just want to be on to the most cutting edge new opportunities in human computer interfaces, then please visit http://www.pozible.com/2020ar and pick up your reward, share, favourite, like and comment.

1. Drive Sales AR can drive sales by “placing” products in the environment before purchase. For example, customers can “try on” a product and see how it looks on them or place it in their houses. After the attachment with the product has been created, customers are more likely to buy it.
2. Enhance Print Media Advertising. Augmented reality can easily enhance commercial ads in magazines and newspapers, facilitating new interactive features that let customers buy products off the page. AR presents readers with click-to-buy icons so they can purchase items through their smartphones and tablets by scanning AR-enabled images in press or outdoor ads while they are on the go.
3. Create Shopping Lists and Do Price Comparison. M-commerce-oriented AR apps are designed to improve shopping experience and customer satisfaction, therefore, increasing sales and brand equity. For example, using the smartphone’s camera, an AR app can “read” barcodes and recognise simple objects, such as CD or DVD covers, allowing users to do basic price comparison shopping and create shopping lists. These simple but engaging features are designed to make sure that your products stand out and will stay in the customer’s shopping list, consequently, increasing the likelihood that the products will be purchased.
4. Replicate in-store experience. The e-commerce or m-commerce experience is designed to take the shopping environment to the consumer instead of the consumer physically going to the shop. AR apps replicate in-person browsing and trying-on. AR, united with a spotless mobile shopping experience, is a fascinated opportunity to bring the best of your store right into shoppers’ smartphones and tablets. Customers can digitally check the price, view a 3D model, “try on” clothes, and then seamlessly order it.
5. Social shopping. AR mobile apps engage shoppers before during and after the sale, encouraging them to instantly share products, which they have “tried on” and “placed in their houses” for peer review. These features make online shopping less lonely and purchasing decisions more instant.
6. Window Shopping Transformed with AR. AR makes storefronts interactive by bringing exclusive videos of the catwalk to smartphones and providing product information, 3D product models, pricing and the ability to purchase the product. Evidence shows that AR-enabled storefronts can lift sales up to 85% within a couple of weeks.
7. Increase in-store experience. Not only can AR bring shopping experience to consumers, it can also increase the in-store shopping experience. AR apps let in-store shoppers instantly see star ratings and feedback from other shoppers who’ve already purchased the items around them. These apps can make it easy to find additional sizes or styles online, and order them for home delivery or store pickup. There is no need to visit one retailer and then buy online from another.
8. Differentiate your business from competitors. Mobile shopping is becoming a must-have for retailers around the world. Developing mobile AR experiences will help you differentiate your business from competitors and delight customers. Interaction with real brands and real products in an AR environment converts potential interest to actual sales.
9. Call-to-action leading to fulfillment. AR allows customers to make purchasing decisions in an interactive and fun way, while they are on the go. “Add to cart” and “purchase now” buttons in AR apps and ads make shopping decisions more instant and rewarding. The service provides an opportunity to reach customers with a call-to-action just as they have seen a product.
10. Demand generation. When AR content is used in conjunction with sales and marketing content, it is very likely to ensure that the potential customer reaches the conclusion that this particular service or a product is the right solutions and is worth purchasing.
11. Increase profit. Augmented reality revenues will exceed $3 billion by 2015, while mobile commerce revenues will be doubled by 2015 with AR applications. Revenues generated from mobile phone augmented reality applications will reach $2.2 billion by 2015. Secure your business and increase sales by entering the AR world now.
12. ROI from augmented reality can manifest itself in many ways such as conversion to direct sales, dwell time, brand awareness and PR.
13. Customer Intelligence. With AR, companies can collect a new spectrum of data to further identify shopper behaviors and patterns on the path to purchase. Collected intelligence can be used to further develop products and services. AR apps can also drive store traffic and incent shoppers to buy more products and more often.
14. Mobile Devices are an Ideal Platform for AR. Smart phones and tablets are quickly becoming the new PC, and, since February 2011, more mobile devices have been sold than PCs and laptops. The expanded view and functionality that tablet devices provide make them an ideal platform for unique and immersive augmented reality experiences.

1. The screens are getting smaller

2. The screens are getting closer to the eye

3. More so, the content is becoming personalized, commonly niche driven and highly targeted

The evolution of line of sight in mass media and the inevitability of augmented reality eyewear

At Explore Engage, experimenting and designing with Augmented Reality as we do with deep consideration for user experiences, our strong conviction is that these trends will continue in the same direction and result in profound popularity of augmented reality eyewear. We do not believe this needs to wait until 2015 or perhaps even 2014… we see 2013 being a significant year for augmented reality eyewear. That is why we have been working towards creative and hardware development of see through augmented reality glasses for the last two years. Whilst we see legitimate excitement for the head mounted displays like Google and Oakley, offering a “dashboard” experience, our energies are being spent on the various use cases that benefit from see through lens head mounted display augmented reality glasses… (and won’t it be good to shortcut that name and description so the common man knows what it is without sounding or looking like a Welsh township).

There are various factors that require augmented reality eyewear to be successful and pass 1 million units per year, one of which is data speeds in mobile networks. Whilst there is an obvious pattern with the above mentioned trends, what happens when we enable greater data flows, ever shrinking complimentary componentry, more intelligent developers, greater number of developers in the developing countries and a world hungry for constant change and improvement? Hazard a guess? Perhaps the greatest limitations in some parts is merely attitudes to change. Attitudes “for” change seem to be dominating where necessary. From the New York fashion runways to the skies above San Francisco, to London, Sydney, Paris, Berlin, Mumbai, Moscow, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo – we see the enthusiasm for augmented reality eyewear across blog sites, youtube comments, Google + profiles, facebook profiles.

“The cellular industry took 20 years to reach 1 billion connections, three years to reach 2 billion connections and is on target to reach its third billion in a period of just over two years,” said Martin Glover, Director of Wireless Intelligence. Mobile World Daily published these infographics in the official newspaper of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain earlier in 2012. The figures bode well for the introduction of wearable technologies including augmented reality eyewear.

3G is an enabler of communication, commerce, equality and more sophisticated augmented reality services and experiences

What is your forecast for 2013 and 2014? What type of electronic eyewear are you more likely to indulge in? What would be your price point? Across your friends, what percentage of them would buy such a product in the next 12 months?

Source: https://wirelessintelligence.com/analysis/2012/03/infographic-2-billion-3g-connections-will-be-reached-globally-in-2012/324/

To find out more follow us @exploreengage on http://www.facebook.com/exploreengage or call +61 9690 1225

The nights most controversial marketing and branding discussion centered on the IKEA AR catalogue winning the main prize. There is no doubting the expanse of the IKEA catalogue granting the AR community a level of legitimacy however we find now that the augmented reality function has been stripped from the catalogue. Many people have argued as they did at this meetup, IKEA didn’t make best use of the technology in the first place… it is one thing to have a 3D model appear from an image and another to enable that model in scale and in situ http://www.augmentedplanet.com/2012/10/readers-choice-awards-2012-results/

There was a collective hat tip to Oakley for their head mounted display ski goggles however two commonly perceived truth stretches. 1. Calling it augmented reality 2. Buddy finder… with the device shown currently we do not see how this function is possible so it should be shown in fairness not to be a current feature. Jump analytics is cool. http://www.qrcodepress.com/augmented-reality-ski-goggles/8513623/

‘Mark Turner brought up with the audience the work of MIT Lab and questioned what effect this might have on the development and considerations of augmented reality eyewear http://gamelab.mit.edu/games/a-slower-speed-of-light/

The review of the Oculus Rift sparked conversation around how the specific use cases will inspire virtual reality gaming however for augmented reality experiences the evidence is yet to come. No doubt the impressive field of view will satisfy many punters: http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/728424/oculus-rift-virtual-reality-headset-preview-seeing-is-believing/

“What hope have we got when we are also up against apps” claims Tech Radar. http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/apple-iglass-the-augmented-reality-glasses-to-kill-casual-conversation-1108905  Citing Apple’s patent for peripheral treatment for head-mounted displays “projecting a source image in a head-mounted display apparatus for a user” to deliver “an enhanced viewing experience” for her or him, Tech Radar is concerned we are already “divorced enough from reality”. This highlights the education that will be required and the genuine challenges that may exist in proving AR eyewear improves our link to the real world and enhances our lives.

One feels Tech Radar may have been addicted to the Warner Bros series H+ which gives one of the greatest interface examples in Hollywood however does a great job of sensationalizing the dangers of adopting high end technology http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZedLgAF9aEg – you be the judge.

This dramatic eye to the future is balanced with news of today from Nuremberg where industry is using monocular displays (and it seems bullet proof vests) to pack and deliver more efficiently. The technology is so practically worthwhile there is a positive quote from the CFO, Our thoughts from Explore Engage is that this experience is brilliant for the bottom line and the employee however the kit size is not necessary. http://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/distribution-and-transportation/news/knapp-views-reality-in-an-augmented-fashion-83414

Positioning is no doubt an integral component to AR growth. This piece from the OGC was discussed and the merits of standards and what direction it takes companies was considered http://www.opengeospatial.org/pressroom/pressreleases/1721

Taking a look at the local scene in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and elsewhere in Australia, all guests were invited to the final GeoRabble for 2012 http://georabble.org/

The next Sydney Augmented Reality meetup will be held Thursday 13th December at 14 Meagher St Chippendale

Sydney Augmented Reality Meetup venue – look out for the sign for Explore Engage

Chippendale, just near Central Business District of Sydney, is the home of Sydney Augmented Reality Meetup hosted by Explore Engage. This group is to gather Augmented Reality enthusiasts of all descriptions – augmented reality app developers, enthusiasts, technical, arts, sports, industrial, commercial, investors, entrepreneurs and simply any end user.

The venue is 5 minutes walk from Sydney Central Station or 3mins walk from University of Technology Sydney. The area of Chippendale, Sydney is a creative hub that is emerging at a fast rate as exemplified by the BEAMS festival. At different times we do change the venue depending on the sponsorships and we advise to check up www.meetup.com/ar_syd for more details.

There is a lot happening in this niche technology and in particular locally in Sydney which beckons more co-ordinated face to face interactions and formal/informal meetup gatherings. For marker based AR through to location based services, jump on board with us!

If this is successful a similar augmented reality event will be held in Melbourne commencing soon.

Augmented Reality in Sydney has had a fair bit of activity and it is nice to bring together the industry into a co-ordinated event. Paul Kouppas of Explore Engage Augmented Reality usually hosts the technical talks and invitations whilst Scott OBrien hosts the campaign, conceptual and special guests.

In Australia there seems to be about 1M+ smartphone owners who have downloaded an Augmented Reality application at some stage. Explore Engage, Augmented Reality specialists, have seen a little over half of this number to date. We are looking forward to the next year where the number should increase to about 3-5 million AR downloads and from 5% awareness to 20%. So no matter what technical understanding you might have, from zero to genius, you are all welcome to join us in this new way of looking at the world.

Explore Engage Augmented Reality, address is 14 Meagher St Chippendale and if you get lost, our number is +61 2 9690 1225

This campaign dates back to last year’s Australian Open. Kia has sponsored the tournament for the past eight years and noted that 32% of the Australian TV audience used their smartphone while watching the broadcast.

During the matches, viewers were encouraged to download Kia’s AR app that linked them to digital content about the Aussie Open and the Kia Optima.

The AR app recorded 12,630 downloads and there was an increase in Optima searches of 58%. The largest recorded search volume for the Optima was January 22, the day the app went live.

As a result, Kia said that it achieved 57% more sales than expected of the new Optima in January. To see the others that made the cut check out the link below:

http://econsultancy.com/au/blog/9842-seven-awesome-augmented-reality-campaigns

We look forward to seeing more mobile to TV augmented reality applications that ensure the premium content remains premium and end users gain higher value out of their time. There is one thing for sure, people are experiencing TV with other devices on hand so why not take advantage of that instead of half losing them to something else. According to the Pew study, which surveyed 2,254 people in March and April of this year, 52 percent of all cell phone owners said they had used their mobile devices to do a variety of things while watching TV. Pew called it the “rise of the connected viewer” to explain these second screen experiences.

To ask us how, get in touch @exploreengage or call +61 2 9690 1225

According to Tech In Asia, “At a press conference earlier today, China’s biggest food e-commerce site, Yihaodian, announced plans to form 1,000 virtual supermarkets at locations across the country. These stores, to be called “Unlimited Yihaodian” will actually just be blank city spaces where Augmented Reality (AR) technology and your smartphone’s camera bring the store to life. So, yes, no actual physical products. The items that are purchased will then be delivered – just like with Yihaodian’s regular website.” Apparently some versions of this have been successful: “UK retailer Tesco in South Korea has seen success with its QR supermarkets, which boosted online sales by 130 percent”

Hybrid stores  allow online shoppers to help reduce the carbon footprint of brick-and-mortar stores by having products shipped directly from manufacturer or distributor to the consumer, skipping its trip to the storefront. No one is driving to the store, and no big trucks are making deliveries. Having a store that carries just products for you to see in person before ordering is pretty new. This will be a store where you would walk in, see virtual food items, order them, walk out, and then have them delivered to your home later.

There are some things though you may prefer to go to the store and pick out yourself to make sure you’re selecting only the best fruit, the crispest lettuce, and so on.

Tech In Asia notes that it helps to eliminate all the clicks you’d make on a computer and increase the exercise you get by walking around a store.

The question is….what will consumers think?

Tech In Asia notes, “[T]he new virtual supermarkets will be about 1,200-square meters in size. That’s about the size of 10 average urban Chinese apartments, making them larger than most convenience stores, but a lot smaller than most major supermarket/hypermarkets in large cities in China. They’ll (virtually) stock about 1,000 items.”

Tell us what you think. Would this be an intriguing option for you? Do you think this is a good example of Augmented Reality?

Let us know in the comments.

To read more about this topic click here

1. Keep it simple! Firstly, why is it an AR experience? Then proceed. Also, don’t make it difficult for the end user to juggle markers or scan a POI app for most relevant items after several menu selections. You will get more augmented reality love by giving a brief based on simplifying the world technically speaking. If the AR app experience is all about sophistication, discovering new worlds and detail, then sure thing, the modelling can go to the nth degree, however for reaching Joe Average, KISS! Bear in mind whilst Augmented Reality mobile is the main form of AR experiences, at least one hand will be occupied and usually binding the user to it.

 Audi Virtual Q3 Augmented Reality experience

2. If marker based, beware of the marker to model ratio. For example, usually anything 10cm x 10cm will have a comfortable trigger distance of 100cm given normal lighting conditions. The YourSmurf AR app is a good example of keeping the model in proportion to the marker which triggers the experience. Poor AR apps often entice the user off and away from the marker.

3. Work with environment considerations. For example, from instructions through to activation, consider light conditions, scale and standardisation. Augmented Reality is after all delivered through a camera.

4. Seamless integration. This is what makes the AR app experience believable and leads to tech challenges like occlusion with our Taronga app or the crashing through of the poster in transformers http://www.tf3ar.com)

Transformers Defend the Earth Augmented Reality by Explore Engage

5. Consider cultural differences (reference to gesture control and art direction). Interactions make sense differently in Asia, EU and America’s.

6. Consider screen size (smart phone, tablet or PC) the user is viewing from and 3D detail and interface should be created accordingly. “Real estate” is precious on phones especially.

7. Don’t over complicate the steps in the app. The initial phase/s should be very intuitive and ideally guided by an overlay suggesting where to aim and maybe even what to expect from the interaction.

8. The user interface should be careful not to detract from the AR experience. Augmented Reality best practice interfaces often have an opaque overlay through a camera view as soon as you open the app.

9. Aim for a smooth and consistent frame rate – if this means you have to remove detail then do it! 24 fps should be a minimum ideally as that is often referred to as cinema quality. Some AR apps, with least actions required are heading towards higher frame rates. Ironically they are not the ones with intense game dynamics.

10. Work hard at the transition moment when the user beings tracking. The time when the animation is first superimposed on the real world is your time to record the verbal “wow”. This opening sequence needs feel natural just like the swipe to unlock or tap to receive a call on an iPhone. Many best practice augmented reality applications are now including a sketched overlay of what you should expect.

What would you add to this?

Have you seen some AR experiences that were good but could improve?

What is your prediction with AR UX improvements?