We are very happy to share the great news: our technology has been used for the first time at fairs for official communication! Our Certified Developer Concepteers GmbH has developed the Drupa app based on the junaio Plugin for the Drupa fair, which serves the print and media industry. This is a great example showing that metaio‘s software is a unique tool for bringing extra content to various scenarios and usage models.
In the last year AR rapidly established an interesting and more personal connection between product and end-user. When the reader sees the advertisement via a smartphone or a tablet using the mobile application based on the junaio software, a 3D animation starts up on the screen. This directs the user to the Drupa’s website, which provides extra content to the exhibition.
Although print is still the leading medium, this digital innovation elevates the traditional, well known print to a whole new level by making it helpful and exciting. AR establishes a unique dialog between the company and the user bringing the latest information right into the customer’s hands and providing up-to-dated information just a click away.
Concepteers has many years of experience in the media industry combined with solid experience in the IT business consulting. Concepteers develop cross marketing concepts to successfully target their audience through a multi-channel strategy. They have become metaio’s Certified Developer based on exceptional quality of their work on the metaio’s Augmented Reality junaio Plugin software.
Concepteers Creative Director Michael Sommer at the annual Drupa convention
junaio is software like no other. It is smart and offers brilliant opportunities too. Using junaio developers can create interesting applications like the Drupa app. AR is a great potential for buyers, advertisers and service providers. Thanks to junaio the classic ways of communication are now upgraded to a new level, providing experiences like never before.
The year has started off with the launch of our metaio Mobile SDK 3.1 which brought the vision of an Augmented World one step closer by being the first AR SDK delivering full 3-D object tracking.
We believe that Augmented Reality will see mainstream adoption only by combining Great Technology and Useful Content. To empower our content ecosystem we have just launched our easy-to-use tool to create mobile AR Applications. The metaio Creator provides a drag-and-drop interface that makes developing and deploying your own custom AR project fast and convenient.
We will be showing our latest results in research, product dev. and end-consumer adoption at the Augmented Reality Event in Santa Clara, where I will present and discuss the process of building a delivery stack that ensures reliable, accessible AR from chipset platform to end-user.
I realize it´s early – but please be invited to join our yearly conference InsideAR on October, 1st and 2nd with the legendary visit to the Oktoberfest being part of the venue. We have recently put all information around the event online at: http://www.metaio.com/insidear/welcome/
Yesterday, Augmented Minds, one of our certified junaio developers, announced a new junaio channel for the “Computerwoche”, a renowned PC magazine here in Germany. Their work is a superb example of a growing developer network, which makes use of junaio´s open API and starts generating business on the platform. As junaio is the most advanced browser, with image recognition and indoor capabilities, we have many requests for cooperations and projects in the publishing and advertising domain at the moment and we are very happy to distribute these to certified partners in the related regions / markets. Because they are doing a great job and help us concentrate on research and development… Please see the official announcement here (in German) and find the printings of the pages below this explanatory video:
In addition of the four glue channels, they have integrated a “TOP 100 german IT companies” channel (location based)
And just in case you do not have the Computerwoche 51/52 at hand, here are the links to the print references:
junaio is part of the upcoming issues of the Connecticut Magazine, amNewYork and the global campaign promoting the Mobile World Congress 2011. GSMA places AR enhanced ads in key publications like TIME Magazine, Fortune, WSJ, The International Herald Tribune, Telecom2.0, Vanilla Plus, Wireless Week and others. Anybody with a smartphone and the free junaio AR browser can point the camera at these publications and enjoy / interact with the additional content. amNewYork presents readers with enriched editorials, such as flying balloons and the solution to a crossword puzzle. Connecticut Magazine reminds viewers of the coming holiday season with dropping snowflakes and a cocktail glass freezing over. But inside, Connecticut Magazine also brings several ads to life, showing recipes and videos. And GSM is placing a AR enhanced ads with dynamic and interactive content. Well, now you can click on real articles or ads – how does that sound to you? Would you “like” this article, if it was printed for real?
Due to the tremendous feedback and many requests in my inbox, the folks from Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin allowed me to share the augmented content with you. So below you can find an image gallery with the editorial content functioning as the optical reference for the experiences. I kindly ask you to print them and create a little dummy of the magazine. The instructions to see the magazine pages come to life are: download the free AR browser junaio to your iPhone 3GS (or higher) with an update to the iOS 4.0 or your Android smartphone. Please allow the phone to use your location. Then go to “channels” in the upper right corner and look for the “Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin” Channel in the categories “New” or “Featured”. Once you activated it, point your phone`s camera to the pages and let the magic happen…
Today I am very, very proud to present a world premiere: The entire issue No 33 of the Sueddeutsche Zeitung`s supplement magazine (hitting the news stands today) is dedicated to present its readers with a print media experience never before seen anywhere in this form. In cooperation with Augmented Reality (AR) specialist metaio the entire magazine has been enriched with multimedia content which can be enjoyed by anyone using a smartphone. This makes the SZ magazine the first publication to enhance print media with the attractions and capabilities the digital world has to offer.
If you have a copy (if not, just comment and I will send you one over) and want to try it out for yourself, please note that some old Android devices cannot process this function (image tracking) and that you have to update your iPhone (3GS or higher) to version iOS 4.0 Here´s the video for all the people too busy with calling their media partners
Europe`s leading independent music merchandising and licensing business, Firebrand Live, has teamed up with the visual rockers of metaio to promote MUSE`s Resistance Tour Europe 2010 with an augmented reality tour programme. Fans of the British rock band sent in questions to their heroes which were answered in a way never seen before: the video answers can be experienced within a fantastic 3D stage setting. The AR experience is exclusive to the proud owners of a programme. You can however catch a glimpse in the video below:
The design agency “ringzwei”, together with Integrated Media Production company “Produktionsschmiede” and our visual content partner “die bildproduktion” have created an interactive product experience for the annual report of the RTL Group. The high quality print product was connected with various multimedia content on the corporate website, the application was launched during the annual report´s press conference. I agree with creative director Dirk Linke, who states: “This is not only a fascinating and catchy technology, the medium print can be enhanced emotionally and contentwise – it´s a true added value.” Check out the video to see the magic RTL moments of 2009 the augmented way:
Finally, men and women really have something in common – even in their very own magazines: augmented reality! Our partner in Taiwan PolygonWorks has done a very nice project connecting two classic and classy print magazines by Condé Nast Taiwan to the online world. In the current issues of GQ and VOGUE there is additional, multimedia online content to be accessed on the related websites of the magazines. The benefit: awareness (the press conference has been braodcasted nationwide, check out the other videos in the youtube channel), convergence, innovation, simple and innovative user interface (you do not need to search the website, the magazine is your remote control) and last but not least a serious business model. If you want, you can get your advertising partners aboard and offer them premium 3D ads. Even more interesting, if you establish this technology as a platform and offer various content, including games or exclusive footage. For more information and qualified feedback to the hundreds of ideas you might have now, please refer to the AR web viewer company with the one and only integrated Unifeye platform!
In the last months I have seen so many AR “campaigns” that I can not list them here – anyway there might be a list with the top 10 top 50 lists out there. Quite a few gave me “kinglike content”, “a unique (gaming) interaction / sharing function” or “at least a stable and robust AR product experience”. Thus I wouldn´t have a too long list because most of them are underperforming in some or all the essential and crucial criteria a good AR marketing measure is made off. And last but not least: the optical reference is created especially for the microsite. It´s an extra piece of paper! I think, that as long there is print out there – and this will not change too soon – we can enhance existing products, flyers, books, magazines or whatever with an augmented reality experience. On top. You should use it to connect print products with websites and have elements for conversion. Well, you need a good feature tracking for that, unless you don´t want barcodes as a full page design element. (Of course I do exclude putting the print reference ALSO as a PDF on the site, for the online-only people.)
But back to the technical part, that´s more our playground… Please, and I mean, PLEASE, consider Shockwave the next time you are selling web based augmented reality to your customer! You have a brilliant, native renderer. You can create appealing, high-resolution content people are willing to see, just like a quicktime, that is clicked, although people have seen a movie before (don´t come with that novelty-only approach, AR is a medium, nothing more, but nothing less). You have all the capabilities of the Director and can get in physics engines, your own game scripts or all the other existing Xtras. And most important: the application will perform well. There´s hardware rendering for smooth and high-speed and there´s a stable tracking. The engine won´t moan, it will purr. Compare FlashAR with Shockwave AR and you will know, what I mean.
For your evaluation I can provide you with the latter technology, as a movie directly here and as the tool, right here.
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Dear metaio ecosystem,
