It’s that time of year again, as the Augmented World Expo has renewed and expanded the annual award for the best of the best in the augmented reality industry, the “Auggies”. Previously consisting of only a single award, the competition now has 6 categories, and Metaio and its partners are competing in 4 of them!
For the next two weeks, awards will be open to public voting in order to narrow down the entries for each category to just 5 finalists. We’re competing against some of the best and most creative apps in the world- we’d love your support. Please take a moment to vote for our entries- individual links are listed below, or just click on one of the category buttons below to go straight to the entry.
As promised last week on our junaio Blog, we decided to provide you with more information on the incredible application ‘Find Brutus’ created by Bradley A. Henry, Software Developer/Engineer at Ohio State University. The app helps students to explore the Ohio State Campus through their mobile Android devices. Named after the school’s mascot, Brutus Buckeye, the augmented reality application cleverly uses voice recognition, geolocation, artificial intelligence as well as intelligent tutoring systems to provide the service to the campus community.
In an interview given exclusively for metaio, Bradley A. Henry is speaking about the idea behind, the technical facts and the ongoing working processes.
What actually is ‘Find Brutus’?
In technical terms: Find Brutus is an Intelligent Mixed Reality (IMR) application using a Virtual Tour Agent (VTA – patent pending) framework. An Intelligent Mixed Reality (IMR) application is the inclusion of Augmented Reality (AR), voice-recognition (VR), geolocation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) into a mobile accessible user experience.
In broader terms: Find Brutus is a Mobile Virtual Tour Guide designed for incoming students and visitors to the Ohio State University designed specifically as a graduate research project. A user will explore campus through pre-defined target locations on campus. As the user approaches the location 3D Brutus will appear in mobile view as the indicator that they are approaching the first target. When the user identifies the location, as seen through their mobile device, the user will prompted with a few questions, including hints, about the target to answer. As the user answers each question they will then move to the next target. Version 2 is where VTA gets really exciting, see below.
Is it already a working application and in which context did you create it?
Yes, the beta version is complete. We used the free version of the Metaio SDK for Android. We are going to begin working on the iOS application over the summer as well as for Google Glass. Because the most exciting news is that this project is also part of the Google Glass Explorer pilot. We will be using Google Glass with the application to study student interactions and cognitive processing. The design of this version is study the affect of an incoming student to the university. The goal is to increase the students knowledge of the university campus and resources while acclimating them to their surroundings. If successful this should increase the students experience their first year attending The Ohio State University.
How many people were involved in the development on the application?
‘Find Brutus’ is the framework for my PhD thesis. But nevertheless a lot of players are involved: It is truly a community of engineers working on this application. I have counted over 80 people that have touched this project to some degree, currently over 8 of the Colleges and 6 departments at the university. To me this is what it looks like when organizations and people work together.
Included was also the College of Engineering Capstone project, which just won the CETI best in class project. This was a pretty extraordinary surprise, considering the level of competition. I have been blessed to work with some of the most amazing individuals. I was overwhelmed that the project was selected.
Virtual Tour Guiding has been a dream of metaio for a long time now and we are sure to bring the concept of the ‘Augmented City’ into real life. In which fields do you feel a real value for VTG?
Long-term objectives for it is to use the framework as a mechanism for navigation of locations, and buildings and as an educational device that will include simulations that work within real-world environments. Example, educate professionals or students, such as nurses or doctors in their work environment. How this would work, using an emergency room, fully equipped, a learner would wearing a pair of Google Glasses and would be required to resolve simulated problem-based scenarios that interact with the environment. A doctor would interact with a virtual nurse using to perform surgical procedures.
Could you think about other examples of using AR and Virtual-Tour-Guiding in educational environment?
Another example could be the Thompson Library Foundation Stones Tour (Submitted idea in the OSU AR Hackathon): A student would view the foundation stones through their mobile device. The stones would provide information, such as origin, ethnicity, world regions, and text and voice translation capability. The student could tour the stones, seek information on specific origins, request information such as publications, videos, research that is available through the OSU library or tour the library. An additional concept idea submitted by the University Archives includes a historical view of the campus through time. Using AR a user can explore the campus in any given decade using Glass. Example, you can be on the oval wearing Glass and prompt the VTA to view the campus in 1850. As your line of site moves images, and information, of the campus in 1850 would appear in the glasses.
What future projects are already in the line?
We are also putting on a one day display at the Columbus Museum of Art, fellow students, the Ohio Film Commission and Columbus Fashion Week will are also participating. We are currently discussing a fall project. In addition, we are also discussing a live DJ event with augmented reality later in the year. I work with a very creative group of people.
Version 1 capabilities:
• Mobile accessible
• Augmented reality
• Geo-location notifications
• Includes the first approved 3D Brutus Buckeye through OSU licensing. Version 2
• Voice activation (Siri type functions)
• AI/Intelligent computer interactions (Collaboration with the University of Memphis FedEx Institute of Technology)
• Geo-location direction service (ask for specific outdoor directions from your current location)
• First scanned 3D Human Agent
• Web Accessible Agents (Collaboration with the University of Memphis FedEx Institute of Technology)
Naomi Kawase has a pretty cool job: as NGRAIN’s UX (User Experience) Designer, she’s focused on industrial augmented reality interaction design and production management. We recently picked her brain about industry challenges, upcoming trends, and the ins-and-outs of the job. Read on to find out what a day in the life of an AR UX designer is like and why she thinks collaboration is so important in this emerging market:
Great to see companies like NGRAIN utilizing the Metaio SDK for complex industrial augmented reality experiences. Like Metaio, NGRAIN will be showcasing their projects at this year's Augmented World Expo. If you plan on attending, use code AWE3META at registration to receive a 200.00 discount courtesy of Metaio.
If you'd like to learn more about industrial augmented reality solutions from Metaio, please visit http://metaio.com/products/engineer
From 6th till 8th of May the re:publica – Europe’s biggest conference on digital and social media – took place in Berlin. More than 5.000 attendees discussed three days about internet policy, network neutrality and the future of social media campaigns. The most controversial topic at the moment in Germany are the plans of the Deutsche Telekom, which announced already in the beginning of May, that they will choke the speed of the internet in the nearest future. The hosts of the re:publica, Markus Beckedahl, Johnny (@spreeblick) and Tanja Häusler (@elektrotanja) as well as Andreas Gebhard, called up the participants to appeal to their government to anticipate these plans: “Avoid that the Telekom introduces a 2nd class internet!” Tanja Häusler said: “If we can now afford limitations for the sake of commercial interests, if there are no more protests against these limitations, we have to realize, in fact, that the digital society is growing continously, but still, has no power to public opinion. “
IN/SIDE/OUT – The link between online and offline
The motto of this year reminds of the difficulty to connect people from the online and the offline world: “With this in mind, the motto IN/SIDE/OUT can be read as an upending of the digital society: Facebook is reaching one billion users, established newspapers are folding to the net-based competition, and Twitter, which was once the tool for alternative civilian war correspondence, is being utilised by militaries to communicate their combat targets. While we were always sure that at some point everyone would use the mechanisms offered by Web2.0, the question remains: Who profits in the end? Will citizens embrace obligations of governments and businesses to become more transparent, while at the same time tolerate the non-transparency of those companies which form the structures of the internet? Or will we soon pull the plug and return to a place where privacy is tangible again? Will we replace the INternet with an OUTernet?”
Sascha Lobo: Who’s afraid of Augmented Reality?
Lobo is one of Germany’s most established digital avantgardists, working as an author, columnist and speaker on digitial issues and net politics. He held his keynote on Monday not without mentioning an amazing technology such as augmented reality is. He is fascinated in AR, but honestly understands the fear of people, who don’t know what to expect about it: “It’s like the radioactivity of Internet. There has to come up a lot of awareness training on augmented reality in the future. At the moment it provokes fear on this invisible, unknown power. There is still an anxiety for the merge of the digital and real life.” He himself is enthusiatic about Ingress, an augmented reality game produced by NinanticLabs, which he played passionately in the last weeks: “It’s the most ‘nerdy’ game one can imagine.” Unfortunately, Ingress “guzzles” a lot of energy, but is lot of fun, he said.
Francesco Lapenta: A Critical look on Augmented Reality
Yesterday I’ve visited Francesco Lapenta‘s presentation with the amazing title “Mediated Life after Virtualization. A Critical Look at the Scenarios Forecast by New Wearable Augmented Reality Visualization Technologies.” He agreed so far with Lobo, that there is still a huge insecurity according to new wearable devices which are visualizing information. People usually have six senses and he imagines that all these senses should be combined in one mobile (augmenting) device such as for example Google Glass and giving real added value to people: “Our Augmented Reality device could interact with these machines, and there could be competetional power of different senses which could interact with your vision and offers you help to learn more.” But what does it really mean for us? He asked: “What will follow the inevitable technological peak and demise of old communication technologies such as the mobile and the screen? If the mobile embodied the newly acquired freedom from the constrained spaces of earlier mediated communications? New “seamless” and “immersive” technological evolutions will acquire social, cultural and market dominance while cannibalizing previous technological milestones very much like television did with photography, radio and cinema, and the computer did with them all. what are the consequences of a technology that does not pretend anymore to “simulate” reality or its visualization but now “naturally” creates the way we see the world and experience it?”
If you want to see the whole presentation, please watch the video:
I still feel overwhelmed by all these very great sessions at the re:publica and would like to recommend the #rp14 to you taking place on the May 5 – 7, 2014 in Berlin.
There was not enough time for me to attend in all events and if you are interested as well, we can also follow the re:publica YouTube channel with all presentations and keynotes.
We are thrilled to welcome Alexander Oser, the newest member of Metaio’s Business Development Team to the San Francisco office. In the tradition of those who have gone before him, we’re subjecting “Xan” to the same brief interview to learn more about our company’s culture and to get to know the man behind the Xan.
Interested in joining the best augmented reality company in the world? Check out our company page and our job listings today!
Xan, How did you get here (Metaio)?
I was born and raised in beautiful Minneapolis, spent time in stunning Detroit, went to school at Augsburg and moved to crazy San Francisco about 18 months ago. Since graduating, I have spent my time working in retail for Target Corp. in Minneapolis and Gap, Inc. here in San Francisco. I first heard about Augmented Reality and Metaio through meeting Brendan Scully. After talking with people from Metaio, I quickly realized the potential AR has in the retail space. I became interested in AR immediately. After following Metaio for the past 18 months, I heard about an opening in the SF office and applied. A month later, I started my first day.
What do you like most about working for Metaio?
After working for two larger companies, it has been a great experience and change coming to work in an environment where everyone wears many hats. The energy coming into the office every day has been motivating and fun. It has been a big change from my past experiences in how every day poses new challenges. This, along with the belief that we are truly working on the future, makes work very exciting.
What do you do when you’re not Augmenting Reality?
I love exploring San Francisco & the Bay Area – the food, music, hikes, views. Living here has been an incredible experience. Other than that, my passion is golf – I have been playing for 14 years and love the game. I just had my first hole in one this past year in Ireland at a course called Ballybunion.
Tell us a secret.
I have a French twin.
Photographic evidence:
French Xan (left) with Brendan Scully in San Francisco’s Union Square
French Xan & Trak Lord (right) pose with a mutual friend at a charity event in San Francisco
Metaio and Junaio partner Concepteers GmbH has released yet another very cool project. This time, they worked with Toshiba Germany to place Toshiba products directly into the mobile user’s living room using augmented reality. Or office, or car, or basically anywhere you could use a phone!
The Toshiba Digital Living Room app works together with Toshiba’s Product Catalog to allow mobile users in the DACH region to visualize reduced-scale products like L4, M6, L7, M8 and M9 Televisons or the Qosmio X870, Satellite P870 and Satellite U920t notebooks.
Michael Mathieu, Managing Director of Concepteers, says: “We went with Metaio as the AR provider since it is widespread and offers an advanced AR feature set that allows us to develop the best possible AR experience for our customers.”
Concepteers is a valued partner of Metaio, and continues to deliver amazing augmented reality projects with our technology. Check them out on Facebook or visit their website to learn more about the company and the projects they release.
The app is available today for both Google Play and iOS devices. You can visit Toshiba’s website to learn more about the augmented reality app at http://toshiba.de/ar or just scan this convenient QR code with your device (hopefully using Junaio!) to be directed automatically to the experience.
3-D Measurement technology provider, and longtime Metaio partners FARO recently wrote a post on their experiences with Metaio’s vertical solution software for the Industrial sector, the Metaio Engineer. We thought we’d share it with our readers as well, just in case any of you missed it.
In case some of you didn’t know (or forgot), Metaio began as an enterprise to provide industrial solutions to manufacturing and automotive firms, and it’s really only since the dawn of the smartphone that Metaio has seriously pursued marketing and advertising use-cases for AR.
For greater insight on Metaio’s industrial history, you can watch this Industrial AR video playlist, read the Metaio Engineer Whitepaper or scan past blog articles featuring industrial augmented reality. In the meantime, enjoy FARO’s post, and make sure to visit their website for more information on state-of-the-art 3-D precision and measurement technology. And if you want to see FARO first-hand, don’t miss the 2013 InsideAR Conference in Munich, October 10-11.
Thanks again to FARO, and enjoy the post!
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Augmented Realitymeans to enrich and enhance the user’s view of the real world with additional digital information, e.g. a virtual 3D-model that originates from CAD.
This content is made visible on a monitor, a tablet PC, within the user’s field of view using a head-mounted display or projected onto the respective area. Virtual and actual realities merge in the most natural manner that is possible.
metaio Engineer is software that brings Augmented Reality to the industrial field. And it is a perfect complement to an existing measuring arm. The best of both worlds is combined: a quick and direct visualization with the precision of a measuring arm.
With the new release of metaio Engineer 5.0, an interface to support FARO measuring arms is already built-in. All necessary features are integrated by default, from calibration to functions that support your daily tasks.
Previously, in case of quality control every relevant point had to be measured to discover deviations between the CAD model and the related assembly part. metaio Engineer and Augmented Reality accelerate this process by identifying errors and selectively measuring deviations.
These are the basic steps to set up an Augmented Reality system based on the FARO Edge:
1. Mount an industry camera with available adapters onto the grip of the measuring arm 2. Calibrate camera and spatial relation between camera and measuring arm 3. Determine position of the arm in relation to the subject of analysis 4. Visualize a CAD model onto the existing model, part or product 5. Compare planned vs. actual state, measurements and more features
If you haven’t already heard, Metaio has expanded its US operation to Dallas, Texas, longtime technology hub and host to companies like AT&T, RIM, Ericsson and of course, Texas Instruments.
It’s from the latter that we welcome our newest member, Rajesh Narasimha. Before joining Metaio, Rajesh was a member of TI’s Video, Imaging and Vision Lab in the System and Applications R&D Center. There he authored and co-authored more than 35 publications while filing more than 10 patents.
Holding both a Masters and PhD in Electrical & Computer Engineering, the +7 years of computer vision experience Rajesh brings to the Metaio US team will be invaluable as we continue our efforts to create hardware that will accelerate augmented reality experiences current and future mobile devices.
From Rajesh: “Metaio is the industry leader in AR technology and I feel that with my background and experience I can contribute to the existing and emerging areas of embedded augmented and vision technology.”
Metaio has a long history of working with mobile and semiconductor platforms all over the world. We hope to both continue and bolster new and existing relationships in our pursuit of introducing the AREngine into mobile devices, just as we announced at the 2013 Mobile World Congress. The new office in Dallas is a huge step towards making that happen
As the span of Metaio grows, so too does the company- Metaio is hiring for nearly all development and business roles! Interested in joining the team? Check out our Career page and learn more about the company.
Registration is open for the Augmented World Expo, June 4-5 (formerly ARE). Use code AWE3META to get a special discount, courtesy of Metaio [registration]
Meet Metaio at the Augmented Reality Summit, June 20th in London [event site]
Interested in speaking, sponsoring or attending InsideAR, the most exciting event in the augmented reality industry? Contact us! [event site]
pick of the week: Oblivion
You’ve probably already seen the trailer, but we’re just tickled to see yet another Tom Cruise movie that features egregious exposure of CGI Augmented Reality.
InsideAR, the most exciting augmented reality event in the world, will be October 10-11 this year. Not familiar? Check out some photos from last year! [event site]
Ever wonder what Metaio gets up to On The Road? [photo album]
Registration is open for the Augmented World Expo, June 4-5 (formerly ARE). Get in with Early Bird discounts before it’s too late! [registration] (If you read this after April 9, use code AWE3META to get a special discount)
Want to meet Metaio? Make sure to check out our Events page as we update it through the year [events site]
pick of the week: the internet of 1995
Recorded nearly 10 years ago, right here in San Francisco. Fascinating as it is cringe-worthy.
Posted by Trak 
