Brainwave Controlled Animal Ears

The Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2012 just wrapped up here in San Francisco and while there was plenty of good game related tech to see, one thing that really stood out for me was the brainwave controlled cat ears. These motorized robotic cat ears by NeuroSky, a manufacturer of Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technologies for consumer… Read More

The World is Our Playground

Charting unknown territory is definitely nothing new for the Danes. Danish companies such as Vestas, Lego, and Unity3D are conquering their industries in a way that would make their viking ancestors proud. Now entering this group is Playingmondo, a platform for creating and interacting with location based experiences. For those not familiar with location-based services,… Read More

Unboxing the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play and augmented reality

I just received my Sony Ericsson Xperia Play smartphone. This is the first PlayStation certified Android smartphone, hence it is also known as the PlayStation phone. I won the phone from a party Qualcomm had during the Game Developers Conference 2011 for their new Snapdragon platform. I haven’t won anything like this before so I… Read More

3D Video within Live Video. Kinect my augmented reality to an iPad 2

Here is a pretty cool demonstration done by Laan Labs that takes the video and depth mapping information from a Microsoft Kinect and uses that data to create a 3D model for an augmented reality mobile application seen through the iPad 2. Basically how this works is you shoot something, like yourself, in front of… Read More

Microsoft Kinect gives a face to a 3D avatar

Here is a rather cool hack that connects a Microsoft Kinect device to a 3D avatar by German based Bitmanagement Software. Bitmanagement Software GmbH is a developer of real-time 3D rendering, augmented reality, and 2D/3D/video multimedia software and tools for interactive online capable applications on crossplatform consumer hardware, based on the international Web 3D standards… Read More

What is your deal with WebGL Microsoft?

As an advocate of web3d and those efforts to make it ubiquitous, I have questioned why Microsoft has not supported WebGL in their Internet Explorer browser when every other browser maker does. Seems the problem for Microsoft with WebGL is over security concerns. A recent set of reports by UK-based Context Information Security, WebGL –… Read More

At Google HQ for WebGL Camp #3

At Google HQ in Mountain View, California right now attending WebGL Camp #3. WebGL Camp is a full day affair of WebGL demos, presentations, and code. A nice write up by fellow attendee Ates Gursimsek. See the videos when available at the WebGL Camp Youtube Channel .… Read More

Interactive game from McDonald’s, I’m lovin’ it!

I am not a fan of the Golden Arches, but I do have to give McDonald’s props for creating Pick ‘n Play. Pick ‘n Play is a Pong arcade game for the iPhone that allows visitors to Stockholm, Sweden to compete against a computer for coupons for McDonald’s menu items. Players connect to the billboard… Read More

SVG Girl – interactive 2D anime in the browser

I was recently exposed to SVG Girl (thanks Avi) and as a fan of anime and web technology, what a treat! At first glance, SVG Girl looks like a video of an anime, in reality it is an interactive video using all Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)! SVG is a family of specifications of an XML-based file format… Read More

A meetup with no-plugin required, thanks WebGL!

April 28th was the first WebGL Meetup here in the Bay area with a great mix of industry titans to garage developers. Managed by the Khronos group, WebGL is a web-based graphics library that extends the capability of the JavaScript programming language to allow it to generate interactive 3D graphics within any compatible web browser… Read More

Augmented Reality Event 2011 video

Still recovering from an augmented reality that happened last week. The video footage below shows elements from the Augmented Reality Event (ARE) 2011 in Santa Clara, CA on May 17-18. This was the 2nd annual event of the largest conference dedicated to the business of augmented reality. Start-ups, developers, mobile and hardware companies along with… Read More

Narrative Technology, an ebook by Al Gore and 3 Dreams of Black

I had to share these 2 items that leverage innovative tools and technologies to tell better stories. First is Our Choice, an interactive e-book by Al Gore.  Our Choice is an interactive 400-page book with videos, photos, and info-graphic content that illustrates how powerful interactive story telling can be. It was developed in collaboration with… Read More

Blair MacIntyre on Argon – a standards based AR browser

Last month I got the opportunity to meet up with augmented reality veteran Blair MacIntyre. Blair directs the Augmented Environments Lab at Georgia Tech, and his research focuses on educational, entertainment and gaming applications of augmented and mixed reality environments, especially those that use personal displays (ie. ranging from see-through head-worn displays to video-mixed handheld… Read More

Terminating Reality with OLED Eyetracking head mounted displays

I think most are familiar with the scene from Terminator 2 when Arnold walks into the biker bar after going back in time and uses his ‘Terminator view’ to scan the environment. Bringing this science fiction one step closer to science fact is Fraunhofer IPMS. IPMS (Institute for Photonic Microsystems) is one of fifty six… Read More

App away your privacy

I am no stranger to apps that collect an obscene amount of information, but after reading this  post from Computer World titled ‘Snooping: It’s not a crime, it’s a feature‘, this is too much. The article highlights apps like Color and Shopkick that access the microphone in your phone to listen to ‘noise’ around you… Read More

Augmenting the Facts .. the cake is a lie

!Warning, this is a rant! With the growing interest in augmented reality, I continue to notice where presenters, bloggers, researchers, and other have misinformed their audience about the subject. To use the most generic of references, “Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or an indirect view of a physical, real-world environment… Read More

Flipped Off!

A quick moment of silence for my favorite hand cam the Flip. Yesterday Cisco announced it was closing down its division of Flip, a fun little handheld camcorder, as part of the restructuring of its consumer business unit. Cisco purchased Pure Digital, the maker of the Flip, in 2009 for $590 million when they were the… Read More

Tron light cycles in my web browser!

I have discovered my own ‘Angry Birds’ style game addiction with Cycleblob. Released earlier this week, this Tron inspired game allows the player to control a light cycle and compete against other computer controlled racers on various 3D tracks. Beyond the cool factor of being able to race a Tron light cycle, the game utilizes… Read More