Aurasma app is augmented reality, augmented

May 23, 2011 | Source: New Scientist
Aurasma VR

Aurasmsa turns static images or even objects into videos, games, and interactive experiences. Aim your phone at a building and see a video about that building. Aim it at a picture in a newspaper and launch an interactive experience (credit: Autonomy)

Aurasmsa, a new augmented reality app by Autonomy that works with smart phones and tablets, will be available on the Apple App store next week, with a version for TV stations arriving in a month.

For a fee, media companies can use Aurasma to relate printed matter (for example, street posters, newspapers, and magazines) to compelling video and online content.

For the rest of us, the service will be free; you can create your own content. A social network will be built around this, allowing users to follow people whose multimedia content they like.

Autonomy’s coders have rewritten their Bayesian algorithms for iOS (iPhone, etc.) and Android. Because their IDOL pattern recognition engine is a robust, probabilistic decision-making system, users do not have to train their phone cameras on a flat, brightly-lit subject. The printed matter can be bent away from the camera at odd 3-D angles, be dimly lit, and yet still be recognized.

The probability calculation ensures that the displayed video stays within the bounds of the matter being viewed.