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Augmented reality book to launched by Crimson Publishing

| February 9, 2013

augmented reality bookThe printed business publication includes AR technology in its jacket.

Crimson Publishing has partnered up with the Aurasma app in order to add its latest publication to the growing number of books that are including augmented reality features on their covers and in their pages.

In this case, it is on the jacket cover of the business book that the advanced features can be found.

The book will be available for sale as of March 2013. It was written by technology reporter Kate Russell and is entitled Working the Cloud. In order to make the augmented reality feature work, smartphone and tablet users need to download the Aurasma application onto the device. Once it has been installed and opened, the camera of the device must be pointed at the jacket of the book. This launches a video introduction to the book and discusses its contents.

Though still relatively uncommon, the number of print books being published with augmented reality elements is on the grow.

According to the book’s author “I’ve been reporting on this kind of development for a few years and it’s very exciting to now become part of an augmented reality experience myself.” She also went on to say that “It’s like having a video teaser embedded into the cover of a physical book and I’m thrilled to have such a skilled producer as Aurasma working on this with me.”

The augmented reality video uses the technology to make it look as though Russell is crawling her way right out of the graphics and bumping the title letter graphics aside as she prepares to introduce the product.

This is a concept that is quite similar to another publication by Goosebottom Books, called “Horrible Hauntings” which was only recently released. Each of the legendary characters had an augmented reality that made them appear to come to life.

Even the Guinness Book of World Records jumped on the augmented reality bandwagon for its 2013 edition, which added around half a dozen AR elements to its pages for an enhanced experience for its readers. It is expected that as the popularity of smartphones and tablets grow, so will this type of trend.

NFC technology to be used for Wii U payments and in-game purchases

| February 8, 2013

NFC Technology Wii UThe prototypes for the devices that are enabled with these chips are expected to be released this year.

The Wii U GamePad already includes a function that is enabled with NFC technology, but most users aren’t even aware of it, as it is not extensively discussed on any level, except among developers and intense gamers who talk on the internst.

This is because it isn’t yet used for anything, at the moment.

Even Skylanders, which is shipped with its own reader for NFC technology, does not use it for any purpose. That said, even though it is coming to the forefront once again, most of the purposes for its use have not yet been finalized.

When discussing the topic with investors, Satoru Iwata, the CEO, said the NFC technology plans were not yet concrete.

Iwata said that there are two primary branches of ideas being considered by Nintendo for the use of NFC technology. The first is for toys in the style of Skylanders. The second is to be able to read credit cards so that purchases and payments can be made through the Wii U devices.

As a for instance of the first type of use for the NFC technology, Iwata said “For example, we can create cards and figurines with NFC and design our video games to work in conjunction with them.” He also stated that “Also, an increasing number of arcade games are utilizing IC cards which can read and write data in order to record users’ scores and it is possible for Wii U games to connect with them.”

There are a number of different developers who are working with Nintendo on this type of idea. Iwata said that by the end of 2013, it is likely that there will be something more finalized to show for it, and that some more solid examples will become available. As of yet, however, it appears that the company remains in the concept phase.

Other possible uses for NFC technology that have previously been mentioned by Nintendo include payment cards. In theory, this would make it possible to use an e-money card and either wave it over the device or tap it in order to make a mobile payment.