Thinks

Morph-osaurs: How shape-shifting dinosaurs deceived us DINOSAURS...

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:11:59 +0100

Morph-osaurs: How shape-shifting dinosaurs deceived us

DINOSAURS were shape-shifters. Their skulls underwent extreme changes throughout their lives, growing larger, sprouting horns then reabsorbing them, and changing shape so radically that different stages look to us like different species.

The implication is that the dinosaurs around the late Cretaceous/early Jurassic may not have been as diverse as originally thought (and possibly earlier periods too)

New Scientist

71-Gigapixel Photo Sets New Record

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:43:31 +0100

71-Gigapixel Photo Sets New Record

Microsoft Street Slide provides an intuitive way to navigate...

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:20:11 +0100

Microsoft Street Slide provides an intuitive way to navigate between panoramic bubbles (such as in Google’s Street View). In Street View you jump between bubbles and when you are in a bubble you loose detail as you zoom. In Street Slide zooming out from the bubble presents you with a side-on view of the whole street that you can slide along.This video does not demonstrate zooming but I assume you could zoom within a bubble and retain some level of detail by selecting slices of image from other bubbles up the street. Their paper is here.

Interestingly, they appear to be developing a version for the iPhone rather than a Windows Mobile device.

(via Engadget)

Why does this demo seem so good? Obviously the stability of the...

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:56:37 +0100

Why does this demo seem so good? Obviously the stability of the markerless tracking is important but I think the most significant component in this example is the lighting and shadow; these are key to embedding the virtual into the real without it looking too virtual.

(via Games Alfresco)

AR! Pirates Sets Sail! This augmented-reality mobile game by...

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:16:48 +0100

AR! Pirates Sets Sail!

This augmented-reality mobile game by Opticks Media cleverly uses coins for markerless tracking. Appropriate given you are trying to save your captain’s treasure from being plundered by pirates and the Queen’s fleet!

Get the free trial for Symbian 5th Edition smartphones from AR! Pirates. The iPhone version is in development and will be out soon.

Ballet with 2D tracking using IR LEDS to augment the dance....

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 10:55:09 +0100

Ballet with 2D tracking using IR LEDS to augment the dance. Nice.

(via Games Alfresco)

iPhone users prepare for a deluge of mediocre to awful examples...

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 10:50:00 +0100

iPhone users prepare for a deluge of mediocre to awful examples of AR being used as a gimmick without good reason or creativity. There will be gems but don’t expect to see them to come from bargain basement development that many digital agencies commission. I’m not suggesting that this AR app was done on the cheap, there’s certainly some nice markerless tracking going on here, but it certainly seems to lack much point or creativity.

To be fair, this is just the dawn of AR 2.0 in the iPhone; I’m looking forward to AR 3.0.

Games Alfresco

Qualcomm demos augmented reality with Mattel They’ve...

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 11:15:00 +0100

Qualcomm demos augmented reality with Mattel

They’ve licensed Graz University’s tech from Imagination and it looks like a beta version is going be available in autumn; with integration into Unity for Android too. Here are some choice lines from their press release (follow link above for more info):

“Qualcomm’s SDK is based on world-class computer vision technology recently acquired from Imagination Computer Services GmbH [supporters of Graz University’s Christian Doppler Lab who produce the Studierstube AR library].”
“By offering a no-charge SDK with state-of-the-art image detection and tracking technology, we help developers create the new generation of applications that are richer and more compelling than anything seen on the market today.”
“By adding Qualcomm’s augmented reality platform to Unity for Android, new and existing Unity developers will be able to quickly and easily create augmented reality games for Android.”
“A beta version of the SDK will be available to developers this fall. Additional information is available on Qualcomm’s developer portal at www.qdevnet.com/ar”

Chris O’Shea uses cunning moving object-tracking and...

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:44:20 +0100

Chris O’Shea uses cunning moving object-tracking and manipulation to make this interesting exhibit Hand from Above

Uses openFrameworks & openCV.

Was sure I’d posted this up before but can’t find it on thinks.2ne1.

The first discovered immortal animal? soupsoup: Scientists...

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 22:40:11 +0100

The first discovered immortal animal?

soupsoup:

Scientists discover animal that lives forever. (via @ranajune)

"Violent video games are like peanut butter"

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 10:56:38 +0100

“Violent video games are like peanut butter”

- Christopher J. Ferguson, PhD, of Texas A&M International University and guest editor of the Review of General Psychology special issue which examines positive uses of computer games for healthcare, mental development and mental healthcare; one article looked at whether video game violence can increase violence in individuals (concluding that they are harmless for the vast majority of kids but are harmful to a small minority with pre-existing personality or mental health problems. Like peanut butter.)

Read more at Science Daily

Autonomous flying quadrotor pulls off some deft stunts. Requires...

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:44:48 +0100

Autonomous flying quadrotor pulls off some deft stunts. Requires 20 fixed cameras to perform high resolution 3D location so not something you could easily deploy in the real world just yet.

(via Engadget)

Very good use of web camera AR to demo the Olympus PEN E-PL1...

Fri, 21 May 2010 13:55:00 +0100

Very good use of web camera AR to demo the Olympus PEN E-PL1 camera. Previewing the camera effects and showing the live image in the camera’s preview screen is pretty clever. Uses Total Immersion’s plug-in; try it at GetOlympus.

(via openAR)

Rapid Projection Mapping System written in vvvv, a visual...

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 09:44:54 +0100

Rapid Projection Mapping System written in vvvv, a visual programming interface for real time video synthesis. Designed to facilitate the handling of large media environments with physical interfaces, real-time motion graphics, audio and video that can interact with many users simultaneously.

Other visual media processing languages I’ve come across are Java-based processing (e.g. in GRL’s LASER Tag) and C++-based OpenFrameworks (e.g. in the Digital Graffiti Wall)

(via create digital motion)

The application of a bit of head (or baby) tracking a al Johnny...

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:56:47 +0100

The application of a bit of head (or baby) tracking a al Johnny Chung Lee to a couple of 46” plasma screens and some HD video and you have the most excellent virtual windows that are Winscape (via Augmented Reality Blog)

Has Augmented Reality Peaked? Or are we on the Plateau of...

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:26:10 +0100

Has Augmented Reality Peaked? Or are we on the Plateau of Immature Technology? Or about to dive through the Trough of Disillusionment of Garnter’s Hype Cycle? Or is Google Trends not the best measure? Watch this space… (in the meantime read more analysis at Games Alfresco)

HoloToy shifts perspective using (I assume) accelerometer...

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 12:00:11 +0100

HoloToy shifts perspective using (I assume) accelerometer information (rather than head/eye-tracking for perspective as seen on the DS and Android) giving a levelhead-like experience. Looks particularly good on the iPad. (via Games Alfresco)

Bonfire augments your laptop experience using mounted cameras +...

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 11:03:23 +0100

Bonfire augments your laptop experience using mounted cameras + pico projectors. Good ideas here from Intel Future Technologies Research and The Information School, University of Washington. (via Procrastineering)

Twinkle from the University of Tokyo uses a portable projector...

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:44:22 +0100

Twinkle from the University of Tokyo uses a portable projector with piggybacked camera to provide interactive animations on physical surfaces. More info in the New Scientist article.

Nokia’s Mixed Reality Future The real future may be...

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 11:55:41 +0100

Nokia’s Mixed Reality Future

The real future may be somewhat different (I sincerely hope so).

Comparing Nokia’s N97 promo to the reality that followed might help predict how they may eventually realise their vision. Check out this comparison by a (very unhappy) N97 customer.