Augmented Reality

Earlier this month, Edgybees was the first game developer out of the gate with an augmented reality racing game for DJI drones called Drone Prix AR. Now, as the month closes, they are crossing the finish line with the first gaming app for Epson Moverio BT-300 Drone Edition sma ...more

What happens if you unknowingly connect a malicious USB drive and it starts infecting your entire office network? Instead of having a panic attack and working all night to find a fix, you can just put on a mixed reality headset like Microsoft's HoloLens and point. Don't Miss: ...more

The Microsoft HoloLens mixes the digital world with the physical one, allowing you to coexist with holograms of your choosing. But those worlds won't fully blend until we can experience it all together and create for each other. Vuforia could make that possible in the near fut ...more

One of the leading chipmakers for smartphones is getting ready to announce a new processor made specifically for augmented and virtual reality headsets. According to a report from Bloomberg, Qualcomm is likely to announce the Snapdragon XR1 around the same time as the Augment ...more

While Apple launched ARKit to enable developers to build augmented into mobile apps, Mozilla, the company behind the Firefox browser, is taking advantage of the platform to advocate for browser-based AR experiences. On Friday, the software maker made the WebXR Viewer app avai ...more

After publishing two batches of videos from its L.E.A.P. developer conference, Magic Leap has made the session on Seedling from Insomniac Games available to the public. Featuring Joel Bartley, lead gameplay programmer for Insomniac Games, and Michael Liebenow, lead software e ...more

Honeywell recently completed successful testing of virtual window technology that enabled drivers to maneuver an otherwise windowless combat vehicle on rough terrain at speeds exceeding 35 miles per hour. The testing was conducted under contract with the Defense Advanced Rese ...more

What began as a highly successful Kickstarter campaign has all but ended, according to an updated report by Polygon. CastAR, comprised of a few people from Valve's former research and hacking arm, has released a large portion of their team. Only a small core of the group remai ...more

Apple announced their new iPhones today, and the 7 Plus features two camera lenses on its backside. That could push smartphone photography ahead in a major way. It may also serve as the basis for their foray into virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. HTC Vive Lighthouses. A l ...more

With a fresh series of videos and a new webpage, Snapchat has composed an answer to its own question, "What is Snapchat?" In short, its answer is that "Snapchat is a camera." In an extended commercial (below) accompanying the new webpage, it's evident that the camera does qui ...more

HBO is only a couple of episodes into the second season of Westworld, the television version of the classic science fiction movie about a robot resort gone awry, and the fan theories about the show are already reaching Season 1 levels of weirdness. But while you were obsessed ...more

The conversation around augmented reality has largely been focused on apps and gaming, and how AR can be used as a marketing tool. However, a new exhibit at France's Scène Nationale Albi is using AR for more artistic expression. The exhibit, entitled Mirages & Miracles, combi ...more

Microsoft has informed HoloLens users that the company will begin rolling out a mandatory update for HoloLens as part of its Windows 10 October 2018 release that brings a number of new features and quality-of-life improvements to the headset. The update's new features are hea ...more

Players of Pokémon GO on Android now have a reason to turn on AR mode with the release of AR+ support via ARCore. Pokémon GO enthusiasts on iOS have had access to AR+ mode on ARKit-compatible iPhones and iPads (yes, I can attest to playing the game on a tablet, don't @ me) si ...more

To commemorate the rollout of the AR+ update for Pokémon Go, Apple CEO Tim Cook took to Twitter to promote and celebrate the moment his company's ARKit platform made possible. "You never know who you'll run into on the Apple campus," Cook tweeted. "The power of ARKit is comin ...more

The end of year surprises keep on flowing from the Plantation, Florida offices of Magic Leap. This time, it's yet another game from the company's old partner Insomniac Games, and it's called Strangelets. Don't Miss: Magic Leap & Weta Workshop Launch Boosters Game from Dr. Gr ...more

This week's news that Magic Leap's patents had entered collateral limbo, now in the hands of JPMorgan Chase, threw a dark cloud over the company. Well, that cloud got a bit darker on Friday with the news that two of the company's top executives are exiting the startup. Don't ...more

A major software tool first promised during the reveal of the HoloLens 2 earlier this year is finally available. Native support for Unreal Engine 4 has arrived for the HoloLens 2 via early access on GitHub (login required). Don't Miss: Microsoft's Live HoloLens 2 Apollo 11 D ...more

Have you ever wondered where you'd come out if you drilled to the other side of the world? Now, if you have an Android device and Chrome web browser, you can find out. On its Experiments with Google hub, Google has aggregated a collection of AR experiences built on the WebXR ...more

Wish your dull room was a little more refreshing? Through the power of mixed reality and the Microsoft HoloLens, one app can transform your space into a relaxing tropical island. Video: . We generally look at virtual reality as the escapist technology and mixed/augmented reali ...more

After Apple unveiled ARKit 3 at WWDC on Monday, Unity Technologies wasted little time on ensuring its developers can take advantage of it. Earlier this week, Unity announced that AR Foundation, its cross-platform framework for building AR mobile apps that are compatible with ...more

While the 49th Annual Gay Pride Parade and Festival will take place on Santa Monica Boulevard and West Hollywood Park, revelers will also be able venture Northeast to the TCL Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard to continue celebrating via Snapchat. On Thursday, Snapchat la ...more

One of the latest demos made with Apple's ARKit is a new way of checking out maps, more specifically ski trail maps. When looking at possible ski trails to ride on, it can be difficult to tell what a trail is actually like. However, thanks to ARKit, you can view a 3D, detailed ...more

Now even muggles can see how they'd look chasing the Golden Snitch on a Nimbus 2000. That's because Snapchat is gifting Harry Potter fans with a 3D Bitmoji Lens that adorns their digital doppelgängers in the robes of the houses of Hogwarts. To cast this AR spell with your Sn ...more

Just in time for the release of Pixar's highly anticipated sequel, AR Emoji based on characters from The Incredibles 2 have arrived for Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+. Originally announced at the launch of Samsung's latest flagship devices, Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, Violet, Dash ...more

People love emojis, it's a scientific fact. So an app that places poops, smileys, and ghosts into social media videos should, in theory, be the most popular app ever. That's likely the reasoning behind the new Holocam app, which is available for $0.99 in the iOS App Store. Sur ...more

When we think of augmented reality, we usually think of it as adding things to our reality. A new demo has shown that using Apple's ARKit, we can not only add to reality but subtract from reality as well. The demo was posted by Laan Labs who just yesterday created a demo that ...more

Two salsa dancers who also happen to be programmers are soon releasing an app called Dance Reality, made with Apple's ARKit. Through this app, you will be able to practice your dancing with augmented reality as your teacher right from your iPhone. Update: Next Reality origina ...more

Sony's Ghost Corps, the caretaker of the Ghostbusters franchise, just released some pre-alpha gameplay footage from the upcoming Ghostbusters World location-based AR game to whet the appetites of would-be hunters of the paranormal. Built on the new Google Maps API, the game l ...more

The experience of actually using the HoloLens 2 can be difficult to describe to anyone who hasn't had a chance to directly interact with the device in person and be blown away by its immersive capabilities. That's why any new exploration into exposing the augmented reality ma ...more

Walking, talking, life-size holograms aren't just for staging Hatsune Miku concerts and reviving Tupac, Michael Jackson, and other fallen stars. Holographic technology company VNTANA hacked the Microsoft Kinect to simplify the creation of life-size, 3D projections. For exampl ...more

When Snap CEO Evan Spiegel pulled off the surprise debut of the augmented reality version of Spectacles last week, it was one of the biggest moments in the company's history. In one move, Snap moved from a primarily software-driven social media company to a legitimate hardwar ...more

At the opening of its virtual Lens Fest, taking place Dec. 8-10 and open to the public, Snap is furthering its facilitation of AR development with new tools for Lens Studio version 3.3 and a planned investment into its AR creator community. The unifying theme for Lens Studio ...more

The hype train that left the station years ago has reached its first stop, and now we finally have access to the Magic Leap One, the device many have claimed would revolutionize the augmented reality space at launch. But is that really true? On Wednesday morning, as Next Real ...more

At the risk of breaking a few rules, we're going to talk about Fight Club. More specifically, digital artist Mateusz "Marpi" Marcinowski has mimicked a scene from the movie using Apple's ARKit. In the "IKEA Nesting Instinct" scene, while the narrator ruminates about his consu ...more

It isn't too hard to see John Hanke's bias towards augmented reality. His company, Niantic, created the astronomically profitable game Pokémon GO, which revolves around AR technology. However, Hanke has a case against virtual reality—he believes it just won't be healthy, in mo ...more

Pokémon GO has had an incredible impact on gamers in a way we've never seen before, but you can only do so much in augmented reality on a smartphone. It's clear we're headed for more immersive experiences, but the Amsterdam-based development studio Capitola VR already created ...more

Card games like Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon, and the like have offered engaging fantasy worlds for players—but not without significant help from their imaginations. Video games and cartoons may have helped build these worlds, but mixed reality finally offers an opportunity t ...more

From Time Machine to Cartoon 3D Style, Snapchat has strung together a run of viral AR Lenses as consistently as Beyoncé drops hits songs. The latest example is Smile, an AR Lens that, according to a Snap spokesperson, uses a machine-learning algorithm to morph a person's like ...more

Facebook Reality Labs chief Andrew "Boz" Bosworth does a lot of hinting and teasing of what's coming next at Oculus, often with only a vague timeline on the horizon. However, on Friday, Boz finally delivered on a big tease he last highlighted back in April, and it has everyth ...more

The legal battle between Epic Games and augmented reality startup Nreal isn't cooling off anytime soon. In a new twist, the Chinese startup, while defending itself against Epic's lawsuit, has decided to file its own lawsuit against the games and software platform maker. • Do ...more

Snapchat parent company Snap has opened up its war chest to acquire yet another company that will play a role in its augmented reality ecosystem. This week, Snap confirmed its acquisition of Vertebrae, an AR and 3D e-commerce startup with offices in Los Angeles and Austin, fo ...more

With the release of Object Capture this fall, Apple is giving everyone with a Mac and a camera the means to create their own 3D objects. But what about volumetric video, which currently requires multi-camera rigs like those at Microsoft's Mixed Reality Capture studios? One de ...more

The herd of augmented reality cloud startups that emerged in 2018 have been hunted to near extinction, with Google-backed Ubiquity6 the latest to move from an independent entity to a wholly-owned asset. On Monday, the company revealed that it has been acquired by Discord, the ...more

The Apple rumor mill never stops churning and when it comes to augmented reality smartglasses, the chatter has been particularly hot in recent months. Now Apple CEO Tim Cook has made a new appearance where he makes a few comments that may stoke even more excitement for what's ...more

With the tagline "More Than Meets the Eye," the Transformers franchise was pretty much preordained to have its own augmented reality game, and AR gaming pioneer Niantic has stepped up to fulfill that destiny. Niantic will now join forces with toymakers Hasbro and Tomy and dev ...more

Just when everything seemed settled over at Magic Leap, it turns out that the internal tumult is still in play. Now, just as newly minted CEO Peggy Johnson has managed to fully position herself publicly as the new leader of the struggling augmented reality startup, more execu ...more

One of the more exciting augmented reality announcements Apple made during its WWDC keynote on Monday came in the form of Object Capture, a new 3D scanning feature coming to macOS Monterey. That cry you just heard in the distance came from the chorus of companies who have pub ...more

As brands and content makers create more augmented reality experiences, the demand for tools to create 3D content grows in kind. And Apple may have just leveled the playing field for 3D content creation. Don't Miss: Apple Delivers Competitor to Google Lens & Google Maps AR F ...more

After introducing a pair of new Spark AR capabilities last week, Facebook had one more trick up its sleeve to unveil at its virtual F8 Refresh developer conference. On Wednesday, Facebook gave its audience a sneak peek at its new Multipeer API, which will enable Spark AR crea ...more

In the great smartglasses race, component makers, such as those that supply the crucial waveguide displays that make visualization of virtual content possible, have a vested interest in pushing the industry forward in order to ship units. On Tuesday, waveguide maker DigiLens ...more

Facebook Reality Labs just experienced its first major executive exit since the pandemic began. Hugo Barra has announced that he's stepping down from his position as vice president of VR at Facebook. Barra's move comes as a bit of a surprise as Facebook and its Oculus brand h ...more

Niantic first unveiled its AR cloud back in 2018, using it to enhance the immersive capabilities of its gaming portfolio. Now, the company is expanding access to the system, allowing third-party developers to take advantage of next-generation augmented reality features for th ...more

Angry Birds, one of the first franchises to find success in mobile gaming, continues to shoot its shot at new life in augmented reality gaming. After adapting its slingshot gameplay for Magic Leap with Angry Birds FPS: First Person Slingshot and mobile with Isle of Pigs, Rovi ...more

The future of the HoloLens 2, according to Microsoft, is all about enterprise use cases. But that doesn't mean some of the more creative-minded HoloLens developers won't bend the top-tier augmented reality device to their own designs. The latest example of this trend comes fr ...more

The Chicago Bulls may not be very relevant in the current NBA standings, but they do lead the league in one other area. With an assist from Nexus Studios, AT&T has debuted StatsZone, an augmented reality experience that presents game statistics in an immersive format, in the ...more

The augmented reality space is no longer about if but when every company and creator will use some kind of immersive device and software to produce and distribute 3D content. Now, a surprise new contender has entered the AR arena and it's called Campire. • Don't Miss: Lookin ...more

After integrating Snapchat into its latest Galaxy A Series smartphones, Samsung is trying out a new AR camera app for its army of mobile devices. The company recently released a beta version of AR Canvas, an experimental app for its Galaxy smartphones that gives users the abi ...more

When most people think of Los Angeles they think of Hollywood and the movie industry, but in the last 10 years the city has rapidly transformed into a thriving new hub for visual artists. In recognition of this phenomenon, LA-based Snapchat has embraced the community by teami ...more

With NFTs taking the art world by storm, it's a bit refreshing to know that you can enjoy world famous masterpieces in the comfort of your own home via augmented reality without emptying your cryptocurrency wallet. And that's what you get with the Google Arts & Culture app, w ...more