Augmented Reality - Layar
So this to me, actually doesn't seem too new. I mean it's different in that it combines a bunch of different technologies but there are mobile applications that do similar things - primarily via a location based system in your phone. LBS applications in phones were super popular when the first iPhone came out in 2007. One that comes to my mind particularly is Loopt http://www.loopt.com/ which (I'm pretty sure) was created by an NYU grad. Loopt and other apps like it (dodge ball, limbo) use LBS in a really warped way (albeit again, different than Layar, more simplistic one might say) to locate individuals with the service at any time in a certain radius of you. This allows for communication and connection (like social networks allow) with strangers, and friends. For example apps like Loopt will show you where your friends are (bars, gym etc) based on where they physically are in NYC (or other metropolitan area) at the given moment you request the data or even open the app.
I think Layar is similar to this, and its use of high quality photography remind me of the iphone. I'm sure that with the iPhone you can accomplish the same things, just with a variety of apps, so I guess what's unique about Layar is the ability to aggregate all of that content into one application. I don't have an iPhone but I'm sure there are kids in class who do...do you think Augmented Reality technology is already present on the iPhone or is this something completely different?
Project Natal
Ok so I have heard buzzing in the press about the upcoming launch of this new Microsoft product since (I think) last June and the video made me more skeptical than I already was. I guess hearing about it and conceptualizing about a kind of product that streamlines media in a compact way sounds great but when I saw it on that YouTube link I was really creeped out by it. The video made it look uber corporate and a little too "big brother" for my liking.
I am usually super responsive and interested in this stuff.
I think that Microsoft went about it's demonstrative ad campaign in the wrong way. It's aggressively eager and the video seems overacted and a desperate move by Microsoft to keep up with Nintendo Wii sales. Personally, I'm not a fan. I think if they want the product to sell they need to find a different way to position it to the consumer.
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I agree with your thoughts on Project Natal and I liked how you assessed the product in relation to its ad campaign. You're right, the video made the product seem creepy and ridiculous. It wasn't friendly or appealing and it seemed like Microsoft was trying to emphasize the product's groundbreaking nature. It was like they wanted points for a technological milestone.
ReplyDeleteDefintely agree with you about conceptualizing a kind of a product and then seeing it. For Project Natal it just does not translate well. The video was beyond creepy, and I think most of our class agrees on that one which is saying a lot!
ReplyDeleteI agree that that promo video had a very bizzare and misdirected tone to it. It did feel very corporate and the interactions of that family were eerily stepford-like. I can understand trying to appeal with expanding markets, including making gaming a more "family friendly" experience, but it felt like it was completely ignoring the core audience of gamers who would be most interested in the product.
ReplyDeleteAnd how does this kind of product affect our interactions with human beings? Here, Microsoft has created a character who is startlingly human. He recognizes emotion on our faces and in our voices?! I understand the beauty of interactivity, but if games already keep people inside, what's going to happen if we find ourselves more satisfied with communicating with a virtual person as opposed to a real one?
ReplyDeleteThe technologies of Augmented Reality may have been around for a while, but they haven't seen widespread popularity. I think that by marketing live-stream video access, Augmented Reality could create a new phenomenon.
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