Bing working on developing new augmented reality platforms
Microsoft’s search division Bing has been hard at work developing an augmented reality platform and applications that could gain traction with consumers. Microsoft has been showing a great deal of support in augmented reality recently. The company has plans to incorporate the technology into its next generation gaming platform, tentatively dubbed the Xbox 720. Bing is another sector in which Microsoft is looking to flex its developing augmented reality muscles.
AR team aims to develop new technologies
Bing has established an augmented reality team, which has been tasked with building a platform that acts as a place for users to find information in a natural way. The augmented reality team is working on camera tracking, visual and audio recognition, optical character tracking, translation, and vision-based technologies. These technologies will be used in mobile applications as well as the basic structure of the Bing search engine and its various services, such as Bing Maps.
Google may finally see some competition in the search space
Though Google continues to dominate the online search engine space, Bing is becoming a more popular platform. If augmented reality can be successful introduced, Google may have its first real competitor in the search sector. Bing is basing its augmented reality efforts around “naturalism,” that is, Bing aims to present its augmented reality services in a way that seem wholly natural to consumers. The user interface of the applications and platforms Bing is working on will be intuitive to consumers, no matter what their experience with augmented reality may be.
Companies have yet to show they can deliver with augmented reality
Bing’s augmented reality endeavors may find significant success if its applications and new augmented reality platform can appeal to consumers. Many consumers have already shown interest in the technology because of its dynamic nature, but there are few augmented reality platforms available from major companies like Microsoft and Google. Whether these companies can successfully develop platforms that can attract and keep consumers engaged has yet to be seen.
Denny |
December 17, 2012
Metaio Cloud introduces cloud-based services
Metaio, a leading developer of augmented reality technology, has been working on a way to make it easier for companies to develop augmented reality campaigns. Earlier this year, the company introduced the Metaio Creator, which simplified the process significantly. Now, Metaio has introduced the Metaio Cloud, which aims to streamline management of augmented reality content across a vast network of mobile applications, ideal for businesses that have a wide reach when it comes to consumers.
Augmented reality gaining ground as a marketing and entertainment tool
Augmented reality is quickly becoming a very popular and powerful marketing tool. Tech-savvy consumers have praised the technology because of its ability to provide them with dynamic content. Mobile applications that incorporate augmented reality in some way often manage to attract aggressive attention from consumers. In the past, it has been difficult for businesses to keep track of the wide range of augmented reality content they provide to consumers. The Metaio Cloud aims to solve this problem by making management much simpler.
Metaio Cloud could be a boon for less-experienced programmers
Metaio is well aware than not everyone is a professional programmer. This does not stop some companies from adopting augmented reality, however, and Metaio is keen to ensure that consumers have a positive experience with the technology no matter which company is making use of it. The Metaio Cloud allows businesses to take advantage of a cloud computing network, which can be quickly accessed to pull resources into an application or other type of platform. The Metaio Cloud allows augmented reality content to be changed and pushed to consumers in real-time without having to submit updates to existing applications to various app stores.
Qualcomm also introduces features to make development simpler
Metaio is not the only player in the augmented reality space that is working on making the technology more accessible to businesses. Qualcomm also has a platform called Vuforia that helps simplify augmented reality content for businesses and consumers. Qualcomm recently introduced a new update to its Vuforia SDK that allows for cloud-based image recognition features for mobile applications developed using the platform.
