I’m proud to announce a new version of the Tweeps Around layer, with the following improvements:
The images of tweeting people are shown in 3D in space, just as they are around you
Support for the new native geotagging feature of Twitter
You can now reply and post new tweets (status updates)
Your tweets will be geotagged with your current location (optional)
Like to experience this yourself? Make sure you have the latest version of Layar installed in your iPhone (free download in App Store) or Android powered device (free download from Android Market).
You need a Twitter account with geolocation eneabled to send local tweets yourself (no worries, Tweeps Around will guide you through the process when you first log into Twitter).
I’m very grateful and proud that he took the opportunity to announce my Foursquare application for Layar, which allows you to use the most popular features of Foursquare from Layar.
What it is
Foursquare is a very popular social network game which integrates virtual social networks with the real world. Friends meet friends in cafes and bars and let each other know where they hang out. If you haven’t yet, it is definitely worth to check it out.
The Foursquare Layar app gives you access to the most frequently used features of the network.
Show venues around you, including which people are frequenting them, who is the mayor and user tips what to do.
Find nearby tips what to do and see at a glance what makes a location special.
Check in to a venue and let your friends know that you hang out there.
Open Layer with foursquare
A basic version of these views is accessible even when you’re not signed in to Foursquare, which gives you an excellent opportunity to look around before jumping in and signing up (I’m quiet sure you will eventually plunge in and sign up to connect with your friends)!
These views are greatly enhanced when you’re signed-in. Then all venues where you or your friends have checked in are prioritized and highlighted. Tips from friends stand out. And you’re able to view what users have on their profile, which “badges” they earned and so on.
How cool would it be if Second Life was not constrained to its own virtual world, but existed right here, as an overlay on the real world around you?
I tried it at least twice, but never really “got into” Second Life. Maybe because it is too “virtual” for me, too much disconnected from real people and real places. But what if the existing environment could be enhanced with – well… anything goes! Some examples:
A virtual guide telling you about the history of a building (with audio and video)
Time travel: see this place how it evolved over time
Architectural development: project 3D renderings of a future building on a construction site
Yourself with a virtual “skin”, symbolizing some character you play in a role playing game
…and then: options to connect in the real world, connect the real you with the game character somehow
Education: labeling items such as buildings, trees, traffic signs and attach quizzes about their meaning
Remember the crazy Japanese gadget called Lovegetty? Oh well…
See? really, the sky is the limit!
That was one of the dreams I had when thinking about the future possibilities of Augmented Reality applications, such as Layar, but then equipped with a real 3D rendering engine and real-time update possibilities.
It looks like this future is actually right around the corner with the announcement of Layar 3D, yesterday. Not all of this will be readily available – let alone work smooth enough on today’s mobile devices, but the start is definitely here and soon available on a handset near you.
Some videos from the announcement embedded below, be sure to check out the Layar 3D site as well!
August 25, 2009 at 15:05
· Posted in android, mobile
QR Code: link to Layar at Android Market
Update (20091119) Cyrket appears to be down, use Androlib instead.
QR codes are used in a very useful way on the Web version of the Android Market: Cyrket. Here applications are listed together with their Market link, which, in order to be useful, needs to be entered in your Android device (e.g. your G1, Hero or Galaxy phone).
Typing is annoying and error prone, so the site developers chose to encode the link in a QR image instead.
Visiting the entry in market is as simple as opening one of the excellent barcodescanner apps, point your camera on the QR code, snap an image and off you go!
There’s just one shortcoming, at least for the G1: the image is not very large and focusing can be a problem at times. However, his is easy to overcome with a small Greasemonkey script I wrote: Android Market Cyrket QR image enlarger.
With this grant comes an understandable NDA, so I can only speak about the program in very general terms. Just let me tell that the platform looks really flexible and developer friendly. I’m excited to be part of this initial community and will update my experiences as soon as I’m allowed to share them!
In the mean time, if you have an idea for a (commercial) Augmented Reality application feel free to contact me, we might be able to work something out on the short term.
About Layar
Layar overlays realtime local information on top of the real world seen through a mobile device’s camera. It locates it’s position through a combination of the phone’s built-in compass and GPS.
Layar is currently available only for the Netherlands in Android Market. In case you live elsewhere, here’s a demo video.
…nearby live tweets show up on the horizon, and you can see where they’re coming from, as well as how far away they are. It uses the compass along with the accelerometer GPS to do its location thing, so it’s restricted to the iPhone 3GS in this implementation, even if it is developed almost entirely in WebKit.
Judging by this description, there is nothing that prevents this from working on any Android powered device.
Even better, there exists this nice new Android app, called Layar, which can load augmented reality layers from a supposedly simple data file (coded in json serialization). They will be opening their API shortly by giving an initial 50 API keys for some lucky developers. I applied for one with this idea, hope to test it out soon!
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