24 Augusty 2009

New Augmented Reality App
For S60 3rd and 5th Edition Devices

Mobile Augmented Reality, is a combination of Augmented Reality and mobile computing technology on mobile phones. Augmented Reality applications can use both fiduciary marker and markerless video tracking for image registration and insertion of 3d or 2d virtual objects into camera frame.

Typical augmented reality application uses the main camera to capture the real world and to put user in the middle of the action with an unlimited and intuitive freedom of movement. The core technology is based on the image processing and algorithms that utilize the phone camera together with user movements and translate them to commands that control the User Interface.

Although it is not the first of its kind, Sequence Point Software's project aims to bring Augmented reality to S60 users by providing a free prototype application featuring the use of sensors, camera and location based services!

I have already written about demo Augmented reality applications that brings first taste of Augmented Reality to 3rd Ed devices and the Mirage Money game that is based on similar idea but as far a I know this is the first Augmented reality application for 5th Edition of the S60 platform and the first one that intensively uses advanced sensors technology and the GPS system.

Screenshot

The application overlays the image stream generated from the camera with markers of "Points of Interest" around the user enabling the player to interact with objects in the real world and offers new experience of realism and gameplay to mobile phones.

It has been developed for the Nokia N97 and Nokia Navigator devices but it also works on 5800 as well as on most of the 3rd FP2 devices. Making use of plugins allows third-party developers to customize the application at different levels.

This is a basic diagram of the application's functionality

The overall scene is dictated by the position and orientation determined by the sensors, which combined with the data retrieved from the source form the overall frame.

Features

• Use of Data Source plugins, which allows third-party developers to add their ow n sources of information.
• Display different details of each point of interest, including hiperlinks to external resources.
• Being a pluggable component makes it possible for third-party developers to include it as a customized view into their applications.