The company has already achieved successes with customers over smartphones, and now it is moving into glasses.
After having successfully accumulated a massive audience of smartphone users to use augmented reality apps in order to engage with products in the real world, Blippar has now released a platform designed for Google Glass.
The Blippar platform for Google Glass was created with developers in mind in mobile game creation.
This platform is meant to provide developers with a new way to create their own augmented reality mobile games. Blippar’s chief executive, Ambarisha Mitra, first revealed the Games for Glass platform at an AR trade show in Santa Clara, California, called the Augmented World Expo. The games would activate when looking at something in the real world while using Glass to be able to interact with it. The example that was given was in the form of a can of Pepsi.
The platform allows an ad on a real world product to provide an augmented reality game experience.
When the Glass was aimed at the soda can with a soccer ad that was Blippar enabled, an app activated and then the wearer could use his or her eyes to aim the soccer ball at the goal and then kick it. The idea is to use an ad created in the physical world to provide the device user with an interactive digital AR experience.
Blippar intends to release its Games for Glass software development kit (SDK) in just under a month and a half. Then, developers will be able to use it to create a larger number of games that will take advantage of the Google Glass experience and its unique ability to use virtual image overlays on the view of the real world.
For example, it could allow someone to add virtual paint to a real world object. Then, when another Glass wearer who uses the Blippar augmented reality app happens to see that object, they would also be able to spot the new color or design that was added by the original person. Mitra explained that through this technology “we can become the bridge from physical to digital.”
Denny |
February 25, 2014
AR is the next step that the major Canadian bank is doing to compete within its market.
Royal Bank is updating its mobile application to help to incorporate a number of new state of the art features to appeal to customers who enjoy location based mobile services, but with a unique twist in the form of an augmented reality app element.
All a user needs to do is to open the map in the application and the AR feature will display the results of the query.
The augmented reality app is meant to help to make it easier for customers to be able to find the nearest Royal Bank (RBC) ATM or bank branch. The AR function provides a live streetscape that uses icons to guide the customer to the nearest location, including the distance to get there. The key to this update is to make the location feature easier and more convenient for the customer to use.
The bank’s augmented reality app is only the latest in its many smartphone friendly options.
According to the head of the emerging payments division at RBC, Jeremy Bornstein, “Making continuous improvements to our mobile app to allow our customers a smooth user experience is a priority for us.” The tool that allows customers to locate branches and ATMs is among the most commonly used in the existing mobile app from the bank, he added.
The bank believes that by combining this popular feature with a live street view that incorporates various location based elements, it has enhanced the usability and effectiveness of this tool in a very practical and appealing way.
In order to use the augmented reality feature, the latest version of the mobile app is required. The “Find a Location” function needs to be opened and the icon the icon can be tapped to turn the smartphone’s camera feature on . The application then links the compass in the device with the live image and its location based service with the RBC location database in order to guide the customer to the nearest branch or ATM location.
That location is presented on the screen and then the augmented reality app provides on screen directions to bring the customer from his or her present location to that of the desired ATM or branch.
