Category: Augmented Reality Technology

12,500 products are now available to view and purchase at the online marketplace’s Australian department store, Myer.

Australian consumers can now head to the Myer department store through eBay in order to be able to enjoy a virtual reality shopping experience that has been created by the massive online marketplace.

In order to be able to take part in this VR experience, shoppers will need to wear Shopticals.

The Shopticals are special virtual reality shopping goggles, which are essentially an altered version of the cardboard viewer from Google. Over 100 products are already viewable in 3D, but the VR technology will take things to an entirely different level. In order to make sure that Australians are properly equipped to go shopping within the virtual reality environment, eBay is giving away 1,000 of the Shopticals every day until 20,000 have been distributed.

Consumers can also request a pair of their own Shopticals virtual reality shopping goggles online.

All consumers need to do is visit ebay.com.au/vr and they can request a pair of their own Shopticals. A spokesperson from eBay has explained that there is already an “incredible” demand for the VR goggles and the company is going to be broadening the ways in which it distributes them soon. Myer is among the most recent retail additions to the Australian eBay sellers.

That retailer was selected by eBay for its very first VR shopping launch partner due to the broad spectrum of products that Myer has to offer, said a spokesperson from eBay. She explained that “We wanted to make sure that the first time people shop in VR they can see a wide selection of brands and categories, and a department store felt like the best way to showcase breadth and depth of selection.”

In order to use the Shopticals for virtual reality shopping on Myer at eBay Australia, the consumer needs the eBay VR app, which is already available at Android and iOS. Once the headset is on, the shopper can move through the digital department store and look around at the large selection of various products that are available there.

A “magic mirror” device for children offers fun educational experience.

Augmented reality (AR) technology can be fun and educational and Chinese Shenzen-based company Xiaoxi Technology is combining both these aspects in its new Miraffe “all-knowing magic mirror.” Miraffe is a yellow, hand-held mirror-shaped device with a giraffe-inspired design (including a giraffe spotted handle as well as ears, knobs and eyes on top of the bezel). The AR tech has been specifically created for children and features a phone-sized screen and a front-facing camera, which recognizes objects and links animated characters with the real world, providing children with educational apps and the ability to video chat with parents.

Miraffe can do more than recognize and name objects

The device can recognize everyday objects, such as a phone and calculator, according to Variety, and it can also spell the word for each object it recognizes in both English and Chinese. According to a spokesperson from the company, presently, Miraffe has a 60 to 70% accuracy object recognition rate. While impressive to say the least, there is still room for improvement.

That being said, the device does more than simply name objects. It also comes with numerous interactive AR cards that are both fun and educational. These picture paper cards feature various animals such as tigers, fish, zebra, etc., which can be viewed by the Miraffe’s camera, and appear as 3D animated images through the screen. The user can obtain a life-like 360 degree view of the 3D animals by tapping and dragging the animals on the screen.

Miraffe offers a more affordable and less complicated approach to AR tech.

Although Miraffe’s augmented reality approach isn’t exactly unique, what makes it notable is that it is an AR device designed specifically for children and, as Variety puts it, has opened up “a middle ground between general purpose mobile phones and expensive headsets or glasses.”

Instead of requiring an expensive and complex gadget to make augmented reality work, Miraffe has shown that it can be done with a simple toy that is fun for children and easy for them to use.

Currently, Xiaoxi Technology is running a Kickstarter campaign for Miraffe, which is selling a limited number of the devices for $99. However, the company intends to sell its AR tech device for a suggested retail price of $300 later this year.