My Augmented Reality: Project AR2

As most of you are very probably aware, I am extremely excited about Augmented Reality (AR). In fact, I have been so excited about AR that I came full circle to not caring about it at all for the last 3 years.

Then, last weekend at the Lego store [flickr.com], when a crowd of enthused onlookers were enjoying the augmented reality "Digital Boxes" on the shelves, I realized that I simply could not ignore AR any more. If the mall has this technology, so too then shall I.



So I put together Project AR2 and am hosting it on my research site for all to enjoy. Pictured above, my two boys playing around with the Project AR2 UI, which (in a nutshell) projects a digital R2D2* onto a marker in video captured by your average run-of-the-mill webcam. (In this case, my bargain basement ColorMangle DistortionCam 5000.)

The Project AR2 Augmented Reality Marker:
(Note: This is not narcissistic, just amazingly good branding.)


PDF | DOCX | PNG

If you want to try it you will need to print out the marker and (for best results) stick it to a piece of cardboard. (It works best if the marker is flat.) Then mosey over to the Project AR2 Webpage and let it access your webcam when it asks for permission. Lighting makes all the difference. Webcams generally don't have the best image quality, so your mileage may vary.

Oh, and speaking of old technology that I have been ignoring; here is the QR code and the Microsoft Tag for this blog post:



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* Until George Lucas sues me.