Layar Stream UI

Yesterday was a very significant day for the AR world, as Layar released their 3.5 release with a new functionality called Stream. While this can be viewed as a UI change and yet another way of presenting AR information, this is in fact a huge step in the direction of AR as a first class medium.

In that sense this is no less significant than the first consumer version of the web browser was (say Mosaic 1.03 or Netscape 0.9 so you will).

Let me explain why.

Until now, AR content has been served and displayed as yet another domain specific application, in many senses:

• brand specific (for branding and PR purposes)
• region specific (one app or layer per region, e.g. a local hamburger joint)
• application specific (literally: stand alone AR apps are still out there)

Within the Layar platform, a single AR browser for multiple platforms and targeted at the global market was already a fact. But each AR content item (the Point of Interest, POI in short) was still confined to it’s defining layer, which is of course the under control of one publisher per individual layer. So even if a publisher would want to publish the richest possible AR content for a domain, they would be limited by the availability of accurate AR content to them.

For a example (and this is real): there might be several branches of banks who publish their own, branded version of a “ATM finder” layer. They might not have accurate data about all available ATM’s or leave the competing branches out because of better brand recognition. Which is inevitable or even fine as a business decision. For the end user, who just wants to find the nearest ATM, this is very awkward; they have to first find all available ATM finder layers ad then open them, one by one. In Stream everything is combined and accessible by just the single search term “ATM”.

Now don’t get me wrong, I do recognize the importance of having the Single Layer concept for branding, ownership and even paid business models. Even more, this is one of the enablers four our business model behind TAB worldmedia. Even more, it benefits the end user as well, as this is a way to communicate the source and thus trustworthyness for specific content. I do trust the branch owner of a certain ATM brand more than just a generic publisher regarding location and availability.

So this is where Layar steps in and created a really smart compromise. Stream combines the best of two worlds in a very elegant way: it makes the most relevant AR content available to the end user, while still providing context and branding when a user “dives in” and opens the POI, as this is still displayed in its own context and branded layer.

The whole stream approach is exciting for yet another reason: it means that we have a significant and diverse offering of AR content in many regions already, which justifies a unified and categorized or searchable, well, stream of AR data. In other words, there’s so much content out there that a simple Layer catalog approach is not sufficient any more for discovery. And thus, it signifies the emancipation of AR as a first class content medium, as stated above.

I’m really excited to see this happen within a year after the launch of the first open AR browsers, yet another signal about the high pace at which AR is evolving right now!

Read the original announcement here: Layar revolutionizes Mobile Content Discovery with new Stream Technology powered browser.

Note: Layar Stream is available for Android right now from the Android Market, iPhone users have to wait a little as the approval process needs to be completed before they can update their version through the AppStore.

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Image via Wikipedia

Using Tweeps Around a lot in Layar? Want to have a nice clean app icon or shortcut to place on your Android’s home screen?

Now you can: today the TweepsAround launch app has been released in the Android market.

TweepsAround Launcher is a real Android application, so you can place it anywhere on you Android phone. When activated, it opens Layar with the TweepsAround layer in Reality View, no more browsing in the catalog.

The app also checks if you have Layar installed. When not, you get a button which takes you directly to Layar in the Android Market where you can download it for free.

Want to give it a spin? The QR code below links to the app in the Android store, ready to install. Or you could search for “tweepsaround”.

Of course all feedback, hints and tips are welcome!

Update: you can find Tweeps Around in Androlib now.

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More about Layar and Tweepsaround.

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Image via CrunchBase

Today Dennis Crowley from Foursquare gave an excellent presentation at  Mobile Monday, Amsterdam edition (#momoams on Twitter).

If you were there, you now know everything about the city as playground (pacmanhattan.com) and personal metrics.

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.

Give it a spin: open the Foursquare Layer on your mobile device.

Short FAQ

A few words about the options illustrated with screenshots.

Filter Options

Select your list from the filters menu (presented at application launch or from the menu). For now Venues and Tips are available. The range slider lets you adjust the distance within results are looked up and displayed, up to a maximum of 50 items.

Venue list

Venues in Reality View

Venues are shown in the Reality View as an overlay over your current surrounding (as seen through the mobile device’s camera). Different icons are applied depending on wheter you or your friends have signed in at a venue, or if the venue is considered a favorite.

Alternative views are map view and list view (see below).

Tips

Tips presented on the map view

Just like venues, Tips are looked up such that friends and popular venues are prioritized. With each tip the user is shown who contributed the tip. This enables you at the same time to get some more info about this user.

User view

Mobile view of user dashoard

Quickly shows user info, e.g. at which venues they are mayor, what badges they earned and such. Links to venues are clickable and take you to the venue with all Foursquare related data. You need to be logged in to see user data.

Venue view

Detail view of Venue

The baseic venue information, including address, phone and Twitter link if available. The big blue checking button lets you quickly check in at the venue (provided you are logged in of course). User tips and the mayor are shown, their avatars link to the user detail page.

Login / connect

Connect / login screen

You will be taken to a friendly “connect” dialog ss soon as you access an action for which you need to be signed in. Then you are securely connected to the Foursquare service, the same way as modern Twitter applications do. This means that you can break the connection from either side, the Layar app or Foursquare, whichever you happen to be at. For geeks: this is called OAuth and the current best practice standard way to connect social applications.

Beta version

The current implementation is to be considered an early beta version. The feature list above is not complete yet.
Emphasis has been put on those services which revolve around your current location. In other words, they present the view of your social network with your location at the center. This means that searches are done by proximity rather than name or some other property.

Also, some quirks between the Layar app and the Foursquare API are likely to pop up from time to time.
These will be fixed and smoothed out during the coming months. Then a new version of the Layar app is in the works, which will provide a much nicer integration at the User Interaction level.

I’m really excited to have this basic version up and running and I’m looking forward to your comments. Please share them in the feedback box below, or drop me a line.

Update 2009-11-20: the Foursquare layer was mentioned on the Layar website today, nice!

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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 tour through an ancient Roman settlement which existed once around the 3rd age
• 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!

Raimo van der Klein about Layar 3D movie by MarketingFacts.

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Bandsintown is a really nice service which lists upcoming music events all around the world. They focus on providing the best matches to your musical taste and near your location. If you sign up and give them your last.fm or pandora account name, the magic starts working.

But wait, how would this information work out for you if you could view upcoming concerts on your mobile phone, overlaid on the camera video as Reality View?

Here a storyboard of a soon to release layer for your Layar app, called, not surprisingly, bandsintown.

Select the Bandsintown layer and let the fun begin

Continued after the jump…

Search options

Select filter preferences (how long in the future, at what distance)

Search results

Here, the search results are displayed in “Reality View”, also known as Augmented Reality.

Found some concerts near me, yeah!

Actions for the result

Now I can choose what to do: buy tickets or find out more information first...

Action: buy tickets (right from my mobile phone)

Action: more about the venue

Action: get info about the artist first

Action: get me there (starts Google Maps)

Alternate result views

Alternate view for results: list view

Alternate view for results: map view

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Some highlights:

• Approx. 600 developers
• Approx. 100 published layers
• 75k downloads for the Android platfrom
• Still not clear when iPhone version will launch, waiting on OS version 3.1

Watch the interview below.

Source: Dutch Cowboys.

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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 barcode scanner 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.

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Tweeps Around Reality View

Earlier today Layar announced the next all new version of their Reality Browser Application for mobile devices (also known as Augmented Reality application).

This finally lifts the embargo on my work for this platform: Tweeps Around, which adds an overlay of what people on Twitter are saying, right here and now!

Update: I added a short FAQ for Tweeps Around, be sure to check it out for more detailed information.

Basic principle

Suppose you have the all new Layar 2.0 app installed on a supported device (Android, iPhone awaiting Apple’s aprovement). You open the application and search layers for tweeps around (or just tweeps). Activate the layer and look around on the phone’s screen. You’ll see circles popping up, each representing a Twitter user (Twitterers also known as a “Tweeps”, hence the name), selecting it gives you all the details of their message and links to relevant references.

The Layar promise

While the Layar app in itself is already quiet exciting, the most important promise lays in its tiered distribution approach. In fact, the Layar app is indeed a browser which does not contain, nor limit reality content to display. This way, responsibilities are distributed over various parties in the industry.

Some roles include:

• Content owners: make sure the content is marked up with accurate geolocation information.
• Independent developers (such as me): build a wrapping API to interface between content (e.g. a geo database) and the Layar service.
• Layar: negotiate distribution deals with platform owners (Apple, Google, …) and Mobile operators (to have Layar pre-installed on devices).

I strongly believe in this strategy, where domain knowledge, marketing + distribution and development each are in the hands of the respective experts.

Branding and monetization opportunities

Layar allows for a quiet some customization of graphic elements, e.g. company logo and banner on top, custom icons for points of interest (POI’s) and action links to call a phone number, send a text message or go to any conceivable web URL. Here are some opportunities for monetization as well, e.g. by inserting advertisements, call premium phone numbers of have users sign up for additional web services and revenue shares with destination sites.

The future

Of course, this is just the beginning. The beginning of Reality Overlays on mobile devices becoming ubiquitous. The beginning of Layar as platform for easy access of geo information. Many exciting new applications are around the corner to be discovered and become “best practice” in less than no time. Distribution and localization can be local as well as worldwide (e.g. Twitter is a global phenomenon, while your data may well be focused on a single city or country). Any type of data can be visualized, as long as it is somehow relevant to a specific location.

I’m ready to dive into this exciting world with lots and lots ideas waiting to be tested and implemented. The Twitter overlay serves as a test case which was in fact surprisingly easy to implement for the Layar platform.

Please let me know when you have geo data waiting to be explored as reality overlay and we will work something out!

Note that there is no sign up fee for Layar until the second half of September, 2009. After September 15th a one time sign up fee is required (depending on company turnover).

Quick link

Open layar/tweepsaround

Use one of the barcode scanners from your Android phone to open the Tweeps Around layer in Layar: point your camera to this QR code (image to the right) and select “open in browser”.

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Layar Developer

Only a few days ago I mentioned Layar as the ideal platform for rapid development of Augmented Reality applications. I applied for a developer key and was granted one of the limited 50 available keys for the initial launch phase (thanks SPRXmobile!).

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

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