SuperHeroes has worked AR technology into a new mobile marketing strategy for the consumer electronics company.
The creative agency known as SuperHeroes has now worked a new augmented reality features into a mobile marketing campaign for the Asus electronics company, featuring a talking bird named Edward.
The app was created through different partnerships with SuperHeroes, including with MiniVegas and Magic Bullet.
Together, the companies developed an augmented reality app in order to be able to create a talking bird named Edward who will sit on the shoulder of the mobile device user. The app has become one component of a broader mobile marketing campaign for the 2 in 1 Transformer book by Asus. This AR tech based app uses the front facing camera on smartphones in order to be able to allow their users to both view and interact with Edward.
When looking at the phone’s display, the augmented reality image of Edward is viewed on the device user’s shoulder.
According to a statement from SuperHeroes, a company based in Amsterdam, “Using the phone’s front camera we developed a face and shoulder detection algorithm that determines the location of the shoulder, allowing us to perfectly position everyone’s favorite bird with arms right on your shoulder.”
Edward then acts as a spokesbird for Asus and provides the mobile device user with an explanation of the Asus Transformer Book T100HA and his vision of its use. Throughout the interaction with Edward, the user can watch him fly his jetpack, juggle, dance, and can even take selfies with the user. The hope is that this interactivity will draw the attention of the user and make him or her not only more willing to hear what Edward has to say, but also to retain it and act upon it due to the positive experience they’ve enjoyed throughout the use of the app.
The augmented reality app is already available for both Android and Windows smartphone users and is available in their official app stores. That said, according to Superheroes, Apple has boycotted the app and will not sell it on iTunes due to a conflict of interests.
The HoloLens is now being sent into space for NASA employees to test while weightless.
Even though virtual and augmented reality technology based gadgets haven’t really done much in mainstream life down here on Earth, when it comes to people who are living in space, a different situation is underway.
The Microsoft HoloLens is now being sent up to the residents of the International Space Station.
The resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) has included 2 Microsoft HoloLens devices that are meant to be used by NASA astronauts. This will allow them to test out the augmented reality technology for uses in weightless scenarios. The astronauts living on the ISS will be given devices that are meant to function as instruction manuals that offer relevant information in real time. This is a component of an existing NASA project that is called Project Sidekick.
The idea of this use of augmented reality is to boost the communication between the ISS and ground control.
In this way, a tech on Earth located in Houston would be able to see exactly what an astronaut wearing the HoloLens AR headset is viewing, and they will see it in real time. That would then make it possible for that individual on the ground to be able to draw a circle around a specific button or hardware on the view of the space station so that the astronaut’s attention can be drawn to it quickly and easily without lengthy descriptions and directions to find it. The idea is to make it easier to offer instructions for conducting experiments and repairs in a more efficient and effective way than written or verbal instructions.
According to the ISS program director, Sam Scimemi, “HoloLens and other virtual and mixed reality devices are cutting edge technologies that could help drive future exploration and provide new capabilities to the men and women conducting critical science on the International Space Station.” He added that the use of this new augmented reality tech could improve opportunities for explorers in the future who require heightened autonomy, such as on a journey to Mars.
