Augmented Reality (AR)

When thinking of augmented reality (AR) applications, the first thing that comes to mind is probably Pokemon Go. With time and the maturity of AR technology, the scope of AR applications has expanded to other industries such as medicine, education, film, animation, and so on. ARPlanet compiled a series of related articles, allowing you to have a grasp on current AR trends.

#010

AR Glasses – A look into Snapchat Spectacles 3

Record AR videos from a first-person POV through dual HD camera lenses

(Image Source: Spectacles.com)

Spectacles 3 | Snapchat's venture into the AR world

Despite Snapchat being popularised as a social media site, it has always positioned itself as more of a photography company, putting more emphasis on the development of emerging technology such as augmented reality. Snapchat also introduced its new and revamped Lens Studio 2.0 in April 2019, showcasing a series of interesting use cases for the studio, followed by the announcement of its Spectacles 3 AR glasses which eventually launched in November 2019.

Snapchat’s first generation of Spectacles was launched in 2016, and a mismatched launch event resulted in an inventory of around USD 40 million worth of Spectacles left in the warehouse, incurring huge losses for the company. However, this small hiccup did not deter Snapchat from continuing to pursue the AR sector. CEO Evan Spiegel said in an 2018 interview, that Snapchat differs from competitors like Magic Leap and Microsoft, where these companies are trying to build the next generation of technological platform in a comprehensive package covering software, hardware, and all its content. Snapchat is taking a different approach, developing each sector independently from scratch, until they can be integrated into a suitable platform.

According to Spiegel, the focus on developing AR hardware that are less likely to be replicated by competitors (such as Instagram and Facebook), to be up against similar platforms such as TikTok, requires a hardware advantage to create a deeper and more comprehensive user experience. Spiegel believes that AR glasses are unlikely to be a mainstream phenomenon for another decade or so, due to the multitude of hardware limitations. However, he sees a day where these problems are resolved, with Spectacles, positioned as a pillar of the company, with Snapchat spearheading and accelerating the development of AR technology.

Spectacles 3 | Key features of AR glasses

The Spectacles 3 AR glasses are essentially sunglasses, with emphasis on the camera that sits comfortably on the wearer’s face, allowing users to take pictures and record videos.

Not one, but two HD cameras sit discreetly on each side of the frame, allowing users to capture snaps in 3D, creating a sense of depth. Different from its two predecessors, the frame of the Spectacles 3 is made of lightweight stainless steel, and the lenses used are small and round, creating an overall lighter and sleeker appearance. The Spectacles 3 is also available in two colours: “Carbon” black, and “Mineral” rose gold hues.   

(Image Source: Spectacles.com)

Unlike the Spectacles 2, the Spectacles 3 is not waterproof. However, you can add a 3D filter to the real world you see through the lenses, and take a picture or video of the surrounding with the filters. Recorded videos can be as long as 1 minute, which is a big upgrade compared to the previous 10 seconds videos. The internal storage of the Spectacles 3 is 4GB, which can hold up to 100 videos or 1,200 snaps.

The battery life, however, remains similar to the previous versions. You can snap and sync around 70 videos and 200 snaps with each charge. The glasses are then stored in the charging case, taking around 75 minutes to fully charge. The charging case is charged using the USB-C cable, and can charge the device four times before the battery is depleted.

Photos are stored at a resolution of 1,642 x 1,642 pixels; and videos stored at 1,216 × 1,216 pixels. This time, Snapchat offers a new way to view snaps taken through the Spectacles 3 – a cardboard stereoscopic 3D viewer that allows viewers to view the snaps from the perspective of wearing the Spectacles 3, similar to the Google Cardboard concept.  

Unfortunately, there are still certain technical limitations, as the files taken by the Spectacles 3 cannot automatically be synced to the user’s Snapchat account, only syncing when connected to the phone via Bluetooth or WiFi.

The Spectacles 3 retails at USD 360, more than double the price of its predecessors. It is clear that this new generation of Spectacles are not targeted at the majority of high school and college-aged students, which make up a huge percentage of Snapchat’s core users. The design of the glasses is trendier and more avant-garde, targeting a more affluent social class that put more emphasis on fashion and new technology.

The future of AR glasses

If AR really is the focus of emerging technology development, as we previously talked about in our article on AR glasses, more and more major technology manufacturers, as well as new start-ups are investing time and money into the development of AR technology, with many more upcoming competitions for Snapchat. With Google, one of the pioneers in AR glasses also released their third-generation AR glasses – the Glass Enterprise Edition 2 – in May 2019, and Nreal, a Beijing-based manufacturer that developed their own brand of AR glasses – the Nreal Light Devkit.

According to Spiegel, “Spectacle 3 brings forth a new step for Snapchat,” who elaborates that AR technology is another step to integrate real and virtual spaces, so that two worlds are merged into one. The general public’s feelings about the integration of real and virtual spaces are also reflected in the figures, showing that there is still some ways to go before a total integration.

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#009

AR Theme Park Experience: Shenzhen Happy Valley

Happy Valley theme park brought in 2,000 AR glasses to create a comprehensive immersive experience

AR theme park
(Image source: Shenzhen Happy Valley)

In 2019, from 11th October – 17th November, Happy Valley Shenzhen brought augmented reality (AR) to their theme park. Introducing 7 AR themed areas, 9 thriller experience halls, 2 trendy AR play areas, and 10 performances, integrated with elements and characters from popular movies and mobile games such as Identity V, Eudemons Online, and New Ghost Story, to attract visitors. A large-scale EDM festival “Reality + AR” (真人+AR) was held for 4 weeks, from 18th October – 17th November, giving visitors a chance to experience two worlds coming together in one stage.

The AR experience had a total of 2,000 tickets for sale, retailing at RMB199 (~SGD39), which sold out within half an hour after the park opened up its ticket sales.  

The Shenzhen Happy Valley AR Experience

(Introduction to the park map. Image Source: Shenzhen Happy Valley)

The AR glasses that players are wearing can detect their current location, triggering the corresponding AR experiences in these particular locations. For examples, players may see Sadako and the Headless Man at the Chaowan Campus, and they can see the Chainsaw Killer and bony skeletons in the Western World. In addition to that, there are various actors dressed as these monsters, scattered all around the theme park, creating a mixed reality experience of virtual and real-world “monsters”, creating more thrill and excitement for the players.

(Booths to collect the AR glasses. Image Source: Shenzhen Happy Valley)

(Image as seen through the AR glasses. Image source: Shenzhen Happy Valley)

The two most popular features of this immersive AR experience are the “AR Orphanage Ghost Story” and the “AR New Ghost Story” experiences. The AR Orphanage Ghost Story unfolds in an immersive 4D cinema, where bizarre events occur, and it is up to the players to solve the mystery and complete the story. The AR New Ghost Story recreates scenes from the original movie, incorporating hidden surprises to discover, transporting players into a new world where the virtual and real-world items are intertwined and indistinguishable.

(AR New Ghost Story. Image Source: Shenzhen Happy Valley)

The AR Doomsday Battlefield creates an immersive AR interactive shooting experience. Players take on the role of sharpshooters, tasked with shooting virtual zombies in front of them. Players use ultimate skills to attack a large surrounding area, or call out shields to protect themselves from incoming attacks, constantly moving, dodging, and attacking, to destroy all enemies.

(AR Doomsday Battlefield. Image Source: Shenzhen Happy Valley)

When fully charged, these type of AR devices can be experienced for around an hour. When the battery is almost depleted, an automatic reminder pops up. In addition to the service booth for the redemption and return of the AR glasses, Happy Valley Shenzhen has also set up 5 charging stations across the park, which is a short 10-minute walk between each charging station. Using a concept similar to the GOGORO electric scooter charging station, players simply need to replace the depleted battery for a new one, and continue enjoying their AR experience.

(AR glasses battery station. Image Source: Shenzhen Happy Valley)

The Shenzhen Happy Valley AR Experience: Behind the AR Glasses

This AR experience was a collaboration between Shenzhen Happy Valley and Pacific Future. The CEO of Pacific Future, Li Jianyi said that there are more AR experiences to be launched in the future, and they are working on incorporating more interactive content.

According to VR Tuolo, the AR glasses launched by Pacific Future have an official Field-of-Vision (FOV) of 52 degrees, a screen resolution of Full HD 1920X1080, and supports gesture recognition, object recognition, AI, 3D human motion capture and other functions. This processor uses Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, with a RAM of 4GB, 64GB storage capacity, battery capacity of 4700mAh, and runs on the AMglass SDK developed internally by Pacific Future. As one of the first large-scale commercial applications of AR glasses, the specifications of the hardware were good, and the event was a running success.

(AR glasses used in Shenzhen Happy Valley. Image source: VR Tuoluo)

AR Theme Park Experience: AR Ghost Ship for E-DA Theme Park

(Image Source: E-DA Theme Park)

There are also examples of amusement parks in Taiwan that have upgraded the theme park experience through the integration of AR. E-DA theme park in Kaohsiung upgraded their 5D Ghost Ship into an AR Ghost Ship, where visitors use the marq+ app to scan the QR code prior to boarding. The mobile is transformed into a radar detector, which help during the exploration of the ghost ship. As they are exploring, visitors receive calls from ghosts, and discover the hidden stories and secrets as they pass through the different cabins.

AR Theme Park Experience: Creating a New Experience

There are many benefits of integrating AR technology in theme parks, these include:

  1. Creating new scenes within existing areas

Through the use of AR glasses or even AR interactions on visitors’ own mobile devices, the existing surrounding areas of the theme parks can become an entirely new world through AR lenses, seamlessly linking real people and objects with virtual ones, achieving a combination of virtual and real-world interaction.

 

  1. Simplifies the navigation process

As theme parks generally occupy large areas of land, there are many indoors and outdoors facilities, where visitors sometimes find it hard to navigate. This is where AR comes in, integrating with Location-Based Services (LBS), not only accurately determining the location of visitors, but also allows visitors to figure out the location and direction of different attractions in a simple and intuitive way – no more getting lost while trying to navigate across the theme park! Visitors can also communicate with the information desk, who can provide real-time answers to any questions they may have.

 

  1. Exclusive events generate hype and interest

The rides in theme parks don’t normally change, and sometimes visitors may be hesitant to return because they have already experienced it before. The launch of exclusive, limited-time events, especially one combined with AR, provides an incentive for return visits to gain a new experience. This also catches the eyes of new visitors, creating new business opportunities.

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AR Museum Guide

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Augmented reality for museum navigation and to provide an extra layer of information

Partnering with the Taiwan National Museum, Arplanet created the “Museum in your Palm” exhibition – an innovative indoor AR navigation and positioning system. Explore the mystery of the museum through the marq+ app. Visitors can watch the physical fossil exhibits and interact with the restored extinct creatures in a fun and informative way. Visitor follow the AR landmarks floating in front of the object and interact with the AR content.

The interactive contents are designed and presented according to the content of different objects. Including 2D video introduction, 3D animation interaction, 360 panorama restoration, and fun AR games.

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Taichung flower festival

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"Mouse Gets Married".

Taiwan Lantern Festival 2020 combines augmented reality (AR) and location-based services (LBS) – a real-time location service system to bring forth the experience of science and technology with the classic folk tale of “The Rat Gets Married” (老鼠娶亲).

The rat groom leads the way for visitors to find the rat bride in the festival area. Watch the AR fireworks show together and get the Taiwan Lantern Festival theme AR photo frame.

Visitors arrive at the lantern festival with AR navigation, you can find the coordinates of the top 10 beautiful tapping points. At the same time, don’t forget to pick up your phone to complete the task of catching the treasure chapter and log in to the lottery data to have a chance to draw a gift.

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#007

AR Makeup – An Interactive New Advertising Experience

AR Beauty Try-On campaign – an innovative makeup campaign in collaboration with YouTube 

Google is one of few brands that are the key driving force behind AR innovation, only recently introducing AR makeup functions in their search results, allowing users to view and interact with 3D models of certain animals when they search via Google. One of their more interesting additions is AR Beauty Try-On which launched on YouTube around 2019, which aimed to tap on the well-known beauty gurus and their vast audience on the platform, creating an attractive experience that is also practical to them.

Before making a makeup or skincare purchase, many consumers often search on YouTube and see what the influencers and beauty gurus say about these products. Thus there is an influx of brands collaborating with these YouTubers, as an effective communication channel, to reach their targeted consumer groups. With the AR Beauty Try-On function, consumers can try AR cosmetics while watching videos on YouTube, with the ultimate aim of creating a new type of interactive advertising through this experience. As consumers watch the YouTubers unpacking specific brands of cosmetics, there is a “virtual makeup” function which allows them to see how the lipstick, for example, looks on their face.

(Image Source: VRSCOUT)

Compared with regular, non-interactive advertising videos, AR Beauty Try-On taps on artificial intelligence (AI) and AR to provide different products for consumers to try on, so they see how these colours reflect on their different skin tones, creating a more realistic experience for the consumers. Around 30% of target consumers tested the “virtual makeup” AR function during its trial period, spending an average of 80 seconds trying on different lipstick colours. However, it is undetermined whether the interest and attention is due to the products experience, or because this advertising experience is something new and never-before seen.

Compared with non-interactive advertising videos, AR Beauty Try-On relies on AI and AR augmented reality technology to provide products for trial use in different skin tones, making the consumer experience more realistic. Youtube iSO has 30% in the test process Of people used the AR interaction of “virtual makeup try-on” and spent an average of 80 seconds trying lipstick colors. However, it is still unclear whether such attention is due to this application is still a new way.

Despite its Alpha launch, it can still be accessed on Famebit by YouTube, and MAC Cosmetics is the first brand to be partnered with the AR Beauty Try-On. As the future is moving towards a virtual, contactless direction, we foresee that more brands will start using AR integration in their makeup and skincare offerings in the coming future.  

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#006

How is AR used in shopping?

Breaking free from the gaming industry, AR is widely used to enhance the e-commerce experience

(Image Source: IKEA Place) 

Augmented Reality applications in our everyday lives is becoming more and more well-rounded. No longer limited to the gaming industry, it has now expanded and integrated into various other industries, especially with the adaptation of AR shopping. 

Sometimes we daydream about redecorating our bedroom, living room, or a particular corner in the house, reflecting our personal style and creativity in these rooms. However, the convenience of e-commerce now means that people don’t normally get to physically see the items that they are intending to purchase, unless they go down to the stores. Seeing a physical item is important, especially if it is furniture, to properly determine whether the design, size, and placement is appropriate for the interior of the room. This problem is easily solved using AR technology.

IKEA Place | AR Shopping

Take IKEA for example, launching their IKEA Place app for Android phones during the fall of 2017. Developed using Apple and Google’s augmented reality development tool – ARKit and ARCore – making IKEA one of the pioneers of AR furniture shopping.

IKEA Place is relatively easy to use – simply make your selection of furniture on the app, then the selected furniture shows up on the screen, and you can “view” it directly in your room. You can also zoom in to clearly see what kind of fabric and colours are used. This feature is best used with larger furniture types such as sofas, coffee tables, and dining tables, and to date there are around 2,200 pieces of furniture available from IKEA’s catalogue.

GrokStyle | AR Shopping

GrokStyle, which was acquired by Facebook early last year, is a website that uses artificial intelligence and visual search technology to help users shop for furniture. A similar form of technology is adopted by IKEA and used in the IKEA Place.

GrokStyle works with other retailers, allowing users to identify and search for similar products by pointing their mobile cameras at the furniture, or search by uploading an image. Similar products are shown, and users can directly be taken to the site to make a purchase. 

Shopify AR | AR Shopping

(Image Source: Shopify) 

Shopify opened its retail platform to the world, launching Shopify AR which can be run on the Safari browser on iOS 12, allowing users to view products in augmented reality, and see an accurate depiction of the size, proportions, and details of the products. Sellers on Shopify can use the 3D Warehouse app to create 3D models of the products, which they can then link to the stores, which is then easily accessed by users, giving them a unique AR shopping experience.

Houzz | AR Shopping

(Image Source: Houzz) 

Houzz is a platform for home decoration and design, seamlessly connecting users, interior designers and contractors. Users can directly reach out and communicate with designers and contractors using this easy-to-use platform. In addition to that, they can also review and share their experiences with these vendors, as well as exhibit the final results of the renovations.

Taking it one step further, Houzz launched their AR “View in My Room” 3D tool, which allows users to browse and select floor tiles that catch their eyes, and see how it looks in real-life according to scale and direction. At the same time, users can find out how many tiles are needed to fully cover the entire floor area without need for manual measuring. After the overlay is done, users can directly place an order to purchase – hassle free home renovation!

From IKEA to Houzz, the addition of AR services into this e-commerce shopping experience is essentially the same as the “try and buy” system that we are so used to. This reduces the fear of getting a different item from what you saw online; reduces the gap of trust and understanding between the seller and consumer; and strengthens the convenience of communication between both parties. Even without someone to assist with the shopping process, consumers can easily and accurately determine whether or not the product suits their needs.

This technology is applied not only to home furnishing e-commerce sector, but many other industries have adopted this tried and tested way to bring a convenient, new shopping experience to consumers.

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Sport Singapore - AR Dance Challenge

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Get active and dance with an AR mascot

In preparation for National Day 2020, Arplanet partnered with Teadent Space to bring dance to your homes through fun AR filters. Our cute mascot, all dressed in red and white for NDP, will guide you to dance to the beat of 9 different songs. Let’s celebrate and dance together! 

Pick a song, and access the filters here: 

  1. Here We Go: Facebook | Instagram
  2. You And I (Against The World): Facebook | Instagram
  3. Through Your Eyes: Facebook | Instagram
  4. One Of These Days: Facebook | Instagram
  5. You Are The One: Facebook | Instagram
  6. 不怕擊敗: Facebook | Instagram
  7. 爱不爱: Facebook | Instagram
  8. 生命火焰: Facebook | Instagram
  9. 起点: Facebook | Instagram

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#005

Immersive Reality Marketing: 7-Eleven’s Fall Football AR Campaign

A central part of their strategy is the concept of ‘always-on’ AR, designed to delight customers and deliver continued high-quality value-added immersive experiences for users by maximising their impressive range of brand partnerships. The consistency of activations establishes a strong relationship with customers, rewarding regular app usage as well as store visits and, crucially, ensuring it is never considered a novelty feature.

7 Eleven AR Campaign

Goals of AR Campaign

For the Fall Football campaign, the goal has remained the same: to drive interest towards 7-Eleven’s partners’ products via engaging experiences, as well as driving sales in-store via 7Rewards points.

Strategy of AR Campaign

The Fall Football activity continued the ongoing success of their ‘always-on’ AR campaign, which included activations for Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Doritos, Red Bull, Reese’s, BODYARMOR and the Deadpool 2 franchise, all having a major impact on app downloads. By June 2019, the app had over ten million engagements across 30+ mini-games. The key was to continue this success, by ensuring that users kept returning to the app whilst also attracting new customers by targeting different markets – in this case football fans.

Strategy-wise, the team wanted to create a timely experience that capitalised on a major social event, to draw interested users to the 7Rewards app. The retailer wanted to keep users engaged with the app, thus incentivising customers to visit their retail locations to spend their 7Rewards points.

Fall Football launched to celebrate the start of the NFLs sporting season, under the theme ‘Get Game Day Ready.’ The campaign featured a virtual avatar of Dallas Cowboys quarterback and 7-Eleven brand ambassador Dak Prescott, created via an innovative digital full-body scan. The virtual Dak featured in many of the mini-games as well as guiding customers through the experiences. By using immersive technology and the notion of football celebrity, the app was able to tap into an emotive time for fans of the game.

The campaign included several AR activations that rolled out between September and November, including:

— A re-design of the app menu to incorporate AR elements, where Dak Prescott speaks to the player;
— An AR field goal challenge, where players kick footballs through goal posts placed in the real world;
— A photo feature, where fans can take a selfie with virtual Dak.
— A mini-game where fans customise the look and end zone dance moves of their avatar
— A trick-shot game where players help Dak Prescott shoot and knock over branded bottles.

AR Campaign Execution

To encourage gameplay, a virtual Dak Prescott appeared in the app to introduce the new games, activities, and awesome selfie features available throughout the season. Along with Dak’s celebrity, mini-games that allowed photos or videos to be shared on social media also helped to drive additional interest in the app, resulting in more users over time. It also incentivised players to keep returning to the app to discover new mini-games as they were released.

The app benefitted from the AR implementation, immersing customers in the 7Rewards app as they engaged with the games and collected 7Reward points. Innovation-wise, AR kept users interested and playing consistently. By making the content fun and engaging, users were incentivised to return to the app and collect further points that could be spent in 7-Eleven stores.

Campaign Results

The Fall Football Campaign successfully brought new customers to the 7Rewards app and converted users into retail footfall. Across all five mini-games, the app had:

— More than 2,700,000 scans over six months
— More than two minutes dwell time on the app
— More than 600,000 videos and photos shared
— More than 117,000,000 7Reward points generated that were spendable in-store

The key takeaway from is that consistent updates via engaging immersive AR experiences helps to form a tight bond with customers, creating a positive relationship that works over multiple years to drive trips and transactions.

“7-Eleven is customer-obsessed, constantly delivering unique and exciting experiences for customers,” said Sr. Director of Digital Product Management, Sajjad Khan, “We wanted to push what’s possible with AR, creating a timely campaign that surprised and delighted our consumer base. Our Fall Football promotion has been one of our most popular campaigns ever, and over 35 million 7Rewards members can take advantage of the fun and value the AR games offer. We look forward to providing customers with even more experiences of the future as we continue to innovate, research and develop.”

#003

Augmented Reality Smart Glasses – Are they the Future?

What’s the deal with AR Glasses?

Our first impressions of AR glasses are probably from the first generation of Google Glass, announced way back in 2013. It generated an uproar of interest before going public, but was quickly dismissed by the general public after its launch. However, after Google launched their AR glasses, many other companies picked up on this trend, and began development of their own version of the AR glasses. Google can be considered as the pioneer of this technology.

Google Glass (Image Source: Wikipedia)  

Why are corporations investing in the development of AR glasses?

After Google, there have been a multitude of corporations that launched their version of AR glasses. Among them include Microsoft with Hololens, Snapchat with Spectacles, Magic Leap with Magic Leap One, and many more. Apple mentioned that they are working on two AR project, including an AR headset to be released in 2022, as well as a sleeker pair of AR glasses in 2023. Google Glass also launched their second-gen Enterprise Edition 2 in May 2019, and opened it up for direct purchase early 2020. Google also recently bought North, a company focused on building AR glasses, leveraging on North’s technical expertise to continue improving Google’s Glass. According to Google Glass project lead, Jay Kothari, there was “strong demand from developers and businesses who are interested in building new, helpful enterprise solutions for Glass.” It is safe to say that AR glasses are being reviewed in a new light since its introduction and lukewarm reception in 2013.

We predict a future where AR glasses and visual search engines become seamlessly integrated, with AR glasses tapping on to Google’s image search in its seemingly infinite database of information, to provide another convenient method of information search. See an item of clothing you like, and immediately search and compare similar styles, without having to manually search using keywords and descriptions. A visual search may also provide a more accurate search result compared to a manual search.

As we’ve noticed, mobile phones are becoming thinner and more borderless over the years. One reason for this is to reduce the boundary between the virtual and real world. Mobile phone manufacturers strive to make phones borderless, to fulfil our subconscious need to merge the best of both worlds, allowing users to better experience this new, augmented reality outside of the screen of their mobile devices. With this trend, we believe that AR glasses may one day even surpass smartphones in the sense that it allows the user to be directly transported into this virtual environment without being limited to the screens of our mobile devices. AR glasses give users a wider field of information, with the freedom to view and interact with information directly overlaid on real-world items. In the future, we might even be able access AR, switching from virtual reality back to the real world with just a simple click of a button, like how we take a break from our phones by putting it aside. Our smartphones may even be used to control the AR devices, as technology becomes more integrated.

Nreal Light AR glasses (Image Source: engadget)

Current Issues with AR Glasses

1. Privacy

After Snapchat announced the launch of Spectacles – their camera-equipped sunglasses that can easily take photos or videos and seamlessly upload them on Snapchat, YouGov reported that almost 50% of people surveyed worry about being around someone wearing the Spectacles, as they were worried about privacy concerns. Which was partially what the first-gen of Google Glass struggled with, where some corporations have even prohibited the use of Google Glass in their offices.

British TV series Black Mirror touched on this irrational fear in their episode The Entire History of You (S01E03), featuring augmented reality “eyes”, where fragments of their daily lives and people in their surrounding areas are consistently recorded and stored away, ready to rewatch at any time.

2. Price

The first-gen Google Glass cost around US$150 to manufacture, but their market price is almost ten times the cost, at a whooping US$1,500. Although the manpower and hours put in its development is undeniably expensive, the price is too steep, becoming a major deterrent for consumers to purchase the gear to try at their leisure. Now, the second-gen Google Glass retails at around US$999 onwards, which is still a little over budget for leisure use. Perhaps in the future, as smartphones and AR glasses become more heavily integrated, AR glasses may become more widespread, leading to more developers investing in its research and development.

3. Security

When you wear AR glasses, virtual information is overlaid onto the real world, which may cause users’ attention to be distracted. Similar to when you play Pokemon Go, there are constant pop-ups which remind users to pay attention to the safety of your surroundings. AR glasses also have safety concerns in this regard. How AR glasses can prioritize and highlight dangers in the real world is an important question that developers need to answer.

With that being said, many companies are working on development and research in AR glasses now. We are hopeful that these tools will push AR to an even bigger platform, and make it as mainstream as smartphones and smart watches.

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#002

How is AR Used in Our Lives?

Showcasing 3 examples of how AR enhances our lives through virtual doodles, art, and photography.

Living in the golden age of the Internet, most of us are heavily dependent on technology to work, socialize, and receive all sorts of information and entertainment. In recent years, immersive reality technology has developed rapidly, with many industrial applications of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) technology becoming more and more extensive. It is becoming increasingly difficult to separate the reality from the virtual, especially when the integration of immersive reality technology is ever-evolving, seamlessly fusing the real and virtual worlds, creating a new future that lies beyond your wildest imagination. 

AR technology is becoming more prevalent in our communities today, as AR brings about benefits to everyone that uses it. We introduce 3 apps that can brighten up your life using AR technology. 

1. Just a Line

Just a Line lets you inject some fun and make your daily lives more whimsical through adding little doodles in augmented reality. Share your creativity with your friends and family anytime, anywhere, and record your creations with a short video.

The world is your canvas!

2. Google Arts & Culture

Google Art Selfie - AR

(Image Source: Google Art & Culture) 

Google Arts & Culture features content from over 2,000 leading museums across the world, bringing the almost comprehensive online art gallery directly to your fingertips, letting you browse famous collections anywhere.

Two applications in particular feature the use of AR: Art Projector, and Art Selfie.  

(Image Source: Google Art & Culture) 

Art Projector lets you display any painting, true-to-size, right in front of your eyes. Simply allow the camera to map the position of your room, then select where to display the painting. Decorate your living room with Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, or display Van Gogh’s Irises in your bedroom!

All the artwork in the database are high-resolution, so freely zoom in and out to appreciate every little detail. 

(Image Source: Google Art & Culture)

Snap a selfie, and launch Art Selfie from the Google Arts & Culture app. The app will search for similar artworks in the vast directory. See how you look in different portraits and styles from different artists across the times.

3. Beauty Cameras

(Image Source: Meitu) 

Everyone should be familiar with beauty cameras, especially in recent years. Meitu offers dozens of built-in filters and makeup functions that are applied through augmented reality technology. Enhance your natural beauty through lovely filters.

As augmented reality becomes increasingly integrated into our lives, we are expecting the introduction of more AR apps in the near future, creating new experiences for everyone. We look forward to what’s to come next.

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