Tag: technology news

Mobile games attract the attention of the BBFC

Mobile games are becoming a more prominent part of British society and have even become the preferred medium of entertainment for some. As mobile games continue to grow in popularity, they are beginning to attract the attention of influential organizations, namely the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). The BBFC is a non-governmental agency that is funded by the film industry and responsible for the classification and appropriate censorship of video content both online and off.

BBFC will take over Classification Framework this year

The BBFC has announced that it will begin managing the “Classification Framework” that allows mobile network operators to handle access to commercial content. This framework imposes restrictions on content for consumers that are under the age of 18. Currently, the framework is only responsible for video content that is produced, but will soon cover mobile games as well. Beginning in September of this year, the BBFC is expected to begin imposing classification and censorship standards on various kinds of mobile games.

Organization will work to address privacy issues with mobile games

The move from the BBFC comes as consumers begin to consume more content through their mobile devices than through traditional mediums. As consumption trends change, so to must the regulatory infrastructure in order to better serve a new generation of people and their shifting interests. Notably, the connection that mobile games have with children has become an area of concern within the United Kingdom as well as other countries. Many of these games are designed with children in mind, but they collect personal information from mobile devices upon which they are played. This has created a great deal of controversy, much of which is focused on the potential of mobile games violating the privacy rights of young people.

Mobile games may soon be regulated in the same way as film

The Classification Framework was initially managed by the Mobile Classification Board, but the organization has yielded control of the framework to the BBFC due to that organization’s extensive experience in the film industry. The BBFC is likely to help resolve some of the privacy issues that currently exist with mobile games in the United Kingdom as well as work to restrict access to mobile content involving drug use, ethnic discrimination, and nudity.

Developers from the company have now revealed the latest AR tech for cars instead of mobile gaming.

Though augmented reality is rapidly finding its place in areas such as mobile marketing, gaming, and other forms of entertainment, Pioneer has just unveiled a display that uses the technology which would be used in vehicles.

This technology mounts an LCD screen right onto the dash of a vehicle, where its navigation and stereo are traditionally located.

The augmented reality technology also uses a camera that would be located behind the vehicle’s rearview mirror. This allows an augmented reality effect to be created, where an image is projected onto the windshield overtop of the actual view.

This augmented reality display also relies on lasers to create “floating” images over the real view.

The images look as though they are floating a few feet in front of the vehicle’s position, even though they are actually simply projected onto the windshield’s screen. This trick gives the viewer the feeling that they are seeing graphics that are outside the vehicle, even though they are simply projections on screens above, where the sun visors would typically be positioned.

This trick is not only interesting and fascinating to many, Pioneer is saying that the augmented reality may actually help the driver in his or her experience behind the wheel. The display provides a great deal of information that all moves and interacts with the view of the road through the windshield. Arrows displayed on the screen help to make use of GPS guidance in order to lead a driver to his or her destination.

Furthermore, small balloons help to identify important areas that are approaching in the distance, such as restaurants, gas stations, and other locations. The camera can even allow the augmented reality technology to reinforce various other forms of information already visible, such as stop signs, traffic lights, yield signs and various other important forms of signage. The technology helps to provide these alerts in real time along with the view of what can actually be seen through the front window of the vehicle as it moves.