Tag: augmented reality app

Augmented reality app makes drawings come alive

| December 17, 2013

AR is becoming increasingly popular, with more invested into this tech than ever before.

There are many forms of technology that are taking off in the mobile sphere, and among them, a great deal of attention is being focused on the augmented reality app and the potential it has for a range of different purposes.

From real time guides for mechanics and surgeons to digital consumer products, it has potentially limitless uses.

This year, there will be an estimated investment of $670 million into the development of an augmented reality app of one form or another. These applications can be as serious as those providing guidance to heart surgeons who need to be able to track the location of various circulatory pathways, to jet engine repair instructions, to entertainment as seemingly simple as telling children’s bedtime stories or bringing a child’s drawings to life.

These two categories of augmented reality app forms are considered to have equally lucrative potential.

Augmented Reality App for drawingThe Colorapp, for instance allows a child to be able to color in printable drawings that appear to then spring to life when they are viewed through a smartphone or tablet that is running the application. Of course, this is far from the only digital toy that uses this tech for kids. Tocaboca provides another range of AR options, including the Toca Hair Salon Me, the Toca Doctor, and Toca Builder, all aimed at entertaining children.

This is quite appealing to parents, as well, who enjoy the fact that their children have a highly appealing and entertaining option that is non-competitive, open-ended, and that does not include violence – an achievement that is increasingly rare in today’s children’s toy marketplace.

For adults in business, on the other hand, there are also some applications that can help to bring back appeal in areas that could otherwise be rather drab. A traditional line of slides can be dressed up for the audience using eMaze, which provides a range of professional looking templates that enhance a presentation.

It is expected that this type of augmented reality app, as futuristic as it seems today, will be nearly commonplace by the end of next year as a growing number of companies discover ways that they can use it to appeal to customers and clients.

Augmented reality iPad repair app launched by Volkswagen

| October 7, 2013

The automaker’s supercar is not only advanced on the road, but also in its mobile compatibility.

The Volkswagen XL1 is already being seen as one of the most advanced vehicles in the world, as well as being among the most fuel efficient, but now the auto manufacturer is taking the additional step of adding augmented reality to its repair manual in order to ensure that this automobile keeps itself on the cutting edge right down to the finest detail.

This additional mobile feature is available to iPad users for extensive ownership and maintenance information.

Through a partnership with Mataio, Volkswagen created an augmented reality iPad app that gives the device user the ability to view step by step instructions for the repair, replacement, dismantling, and reassembling of each of the 261-mpg supercar components. Although this is not the first time that an auto maker has added AR to its manual, this is by far the most extensive use of the technology as it has been applied for every intricate component and not just general information about basic maintenance.

The automotive environment lends itself very well to the use of augmented reality technology.

Metaio was selected for the augmented reality repair manual as the company is currently a leader in AR apps, from printer repairs to catalogs. Auto repair fit right into the type or project that they create.

Audi, corporate cousins of VW, have already released an augmented reality app that allows owners of the A3 to better get to know their vehicles and their features. This technology can also be very helpful in guiding mechanics around the complex component systems located under the hood of the vehicles, and that is just the additional step that Volkswagen has taken.

Before beginning any work on the Volskswagen XL1, mechanics now receive a set of instructions regarding the use of the augmented reality app so that it can be initialized for the specific task that must be accomplished. The mechanic is provided with a virtual silhouette of the vehicle which, when viewed through the iPad screen as a kind of viewfinder, overlays the image on the actual vehicle.

Once the augmented reality image is aligned, the mechanic is provided with a number of steps, including the tools that are required, tolerances, double checking real and virtual parts (in 3D relation to one another).