LIVING SASQUATCH
This one really blows people away. You can completely animate the sasquatch while still being able to control it in 3D space. You really need to play with it yourself to believe it. Check it out on http://www.livingsasquatch.com/
RONALD CHEVALIER
This one is very funny to demo. You stick the black and white pattern on your forehead and when you launch the application, your face is replaced with the one from Ronald Chevalier. Good fun! ;-) Check it out on http://ronaldchevalier.com/mindportal/
GE SMARTGRID
This was the first augmented reality Flash application that I saw and you’ve probably seen it as well. But if you haven’t, go check it out on http://ge.ecomagination.com/smartgrid/#/augmented_reality
MICROSOFT SQL SERVER
I think this is the first augmented reality campaign in Belgium. Obviously the agency and the client chose the best platform to do this. The Flash Platform is also the only cross OS and cross browser platform that allows you to bring AR to the widest possible audience. Check it out on http://sqlug.be/augmentedreality/activate/activate/
I’m sure you’ll agree that augmented reality is pretty cool but what do you do with it? In Brazil, Doritos actually put the black and white pattern on the Doritos bag. When you go to their site and show the bag, you get access to exclusive content. (via http://kiss-the-future.blogspot.com/2009/04/augmented-reality-in-doritos-sweet.html)
Lego even created an in-store display with augmented reality. Just hold up the box to the camera and the display shows you what the finished project looks like. See http://www.notcot.com/archives/2009/01/legos_digital_b.php for more.
I’m sure there are more AR cases out there. If you know of any or are building one yourself, please leave a comment.
I’m writing a thesis about connecting the virtual and physical world and augmented reality is a big part of that. Especially using Flash since it has a broad developer base and is widely spread among internet users. The only limitation currently faced with Flash is performance. You can not do extensive AR on 640×480 resolution. I’m using Flex to create an AR interface to be seen through a HMD but when I am searching for 5+ markers things get slow. So it has great advantage towards C++ or Java but not on performance. Too bad because that would totally rock! :-)
However it is extremely nice that Flash enables developers to explore new technologies like Augmented Reality so easily!