Taking next-gen augmented reality for an ARM-powered walk around the block #metaio #AR

ドイツのメタイオ社は、他の何社かのAR技術では提供されていない3Dトラッキングを今後提供する予定とのこと。技術は新しく性能が良ければ受け入れらるというものではない。いかに利用者に受け入れられる要素を持っているかという点が重要だ。ちょうど良いタイミングで提供されることに期待！

We know what you’re thinking, because we initially thought it too, but this isn’t your average AR. With the help of chip designer ARM, a number of developers are building a new type of augmented reality that is altogether more powerful than the usual sprite-on-a-surface routine. Instead of requiring well-lit, artificial and often indoor surfaces and markers, this new technology sucks every ounce of juice from a smartphone’s processor in order to recognize, track and augment real-world 3D objects like people and buildings. It’s still at an early stage and far from being practical, but the exclusive videos after the break ought to prove that this approach has potential. In fact, it’s probably what augmented reality ought to have been in the first place. Read on for more.

To be fair, traditional AR can still be entertaining. Reality Fighters on the PS Vita, Aurasma’s virtual browser and even virtual pico projectors certainly do no harm to the AR dream. But all those games and apps share the same fundamental limitation: they only work on a totally flat surface or deliberately placed marker. Since neither of these things normally exist in the real world, it’s hard to see how thereality part of the AR moniker applies. Contrast that with the video below, in which Dr. Himane from developer Metaio shows how the built environment can be augmented using “gravity descriptors.” It represents the next phase in Metaio’s work on the Augmented City, which began as a traditional 2D platform but is now being upgraded to support 3D markerless tracking in its next SDK, due by the end of this quarter.

(via http://youngrss.com/taking-next-gen-augmented-reality-for-an-arm-powered-walk-around-the-block/)