iOS 8 upcoming features: Revamped Apple Maps, with Transit Directions and Augmented Reality.

Francisco De Jesùs.

Images of iOS 8’s transit mapping feature based on descriptions (created by Michael Steeber)

Apple will update its mapping app in iOS 8 and  will feature a better data and enhanced transit guidance courtesy of recent Apple acquisitions such as BroadMap, Embark and HopStop. Apple is also working on adding some augmented reality features and indoor mapping.

Augmented reality:

Transit directions allow a person to use an iPhone to travel from one destination to another via public transportation. iOS 8 Maps will be able to tap into train, subway, and bus data and provide enhanced directions to major airports. The functionality will exist in major cities, such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York, and will expand to other locations across the United States and potentially other countries across the world around the public launch of iOS 8.

We can expect the company to debut iOS 8 during its annual WWDC conference this summer. The first iOS 8 beta will likely be released to developers at that time, and then iOS 8 will probably be released to the public sometime in the fall alongside the launch of the new iPhone 6 and its iPhone phablet counterpart.

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Video:Spread the fun: How to use Augmented Reality (AR) effect with SONY Xperia™ Z1.

Video: How to use Augmented Reality (AR) effect with SONY Xperia™ Z1.

Add more fun to your images with the augmented reality app in Xperia™ Z1 from Sony.

 

Select the AR effect app from the menu on the camera screen, choose a theme, and the camera automatically adds entertaining effects to the photo.  All you need to do next is save and share to instantly spread the fun.

Needing an Unlocked SONY Xperia Z1, you can find it here:

Telefonica Digital inked a deal with augmented reality platform Aurasma

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Telefonica Digital inked a deal with augmented reality platform company Aurasma, to integrate the technology into the digital media services the operator group offers brands and advertisers.

In a statement, Telefonica said the agreement, driven by its global advertising team, represents “the biggest deal between a global telecoms company and an augmented reality provider to date”.

The partnership will see brands able to use augmented reality in marketing campaigns, and the technology will be supported alongside other offerings such as location-based marketing and mobile coupons, to offer “new levels of interactivity and customer engagement”.

Telefonica will also look to increase the distribution of Aurasma’s app through its mobile customer base, and will use augmented reality in its own marketing campaigns.

Initial availability will be through Telefonica’s O2 UK arm, before being made available in other markets “in due course”.

Since its launch in June 2011, Aurasma has attracted “over 8,000” commercial partners to its platform, with more than four million downloads of its app.

Press Release:

Telefónica and Aurasma join forces to drive market for augmented reality.

- Telefónica Digital to integrate Aurasma’s Augmented Reality platform into its media services and distribute to mobile customer base.

- Biggest deal ever in the Augmented Reality space, with scope to reach 25 markets and 300m customers.

17 September 2012– Telefónica Digital today announces a global partnership with Aurasma, the world’s leading augmented reality platform.  Under the terms of the deal, Telefónica will integrate Aurasma’s cutting-edge technology into the range of media services Telefónica offers brands and advertisers.  The agreement, made by Telefónica Digital's global advertising team, represents the biggest deal between a global telecoms company and an augmented reality provider to date and will see Telefónica drive distribution of Aurasma's technology across its footprint, starting initially with the UK through O2.

Augmented reality (also known as AR) is already bringing traditional media to life, transforming current static forms of advertising into interactive content unlocked by mobiles and tablets. Analysts predict the total AR market will be worth $600 billion by 2016*.

Aurasma's innovative technology recognises images and objects, allowing interactive digital content such as videos, coupons, competitions and 3D animations to be unlocked from virtually any type of media, including outdoor billboards, print adverts, products, physical locations and in-store materials.  Since launch in June 2011, the company has already attracted over 8,000 commercial partners to its platform and reached more than four million downloads of its app.

Under the terms of the partnership, Telefónica will integrate Aurasma into its media offering, enabling brands to benefit from augmented reality as part of their marketing campaigns. The capability will be offered alongside other technologies including location-based marketing and mobile coupons, with Telefónica helping brands to introduce new levels of interactivity and customer engagement into their advertising campaigns.

Telefónica will also seek to increase the distribution of Aurasma’s app through its mobile customer base and also implement augmented reality in its own marketing campaigns.

The partnership will initially be rolled out in the UK through O2 and offered to brands through O2 Media. The two companies will work together to introduce new innovations around augmented reality and mobile into the UK market. The capability will be rolled out to other Telefónica markets in due course.

'Augmented reality has the potential to fundamentally change advertising, transforming current static formats and introducing new levels of interactivity,' said Shaun Gregory, Global Director of Advertising at Telefónica Digital. 'Aurasma is the undoubted leader in this space with a uniquely scalable platform approach and best in class image recognition technology.  It has already demonstrated the power of its technology in thousands of innovative campaigns across the world and we look forward to working with them to further drive the use of this technology in advertising and marketing communications.'

Matt Mills, Head of Global Partnerships at Aurasma said, 'We are delighted to be working with Telefónica – one of the world’s largest and most innovative telecoms companies.  Telefónica has a deep understanding of the whole mobile ecosystem and so immediately grasped Aurasma's potential to transform the way that people use their phones to engage with the world.  We look forward to working with the Telefónica Digital team to bring this transformation to the thousands of brands who advertise through their media services and over 300 million Telefónica customers.'

  

*Source:  Semico “Augmented Reality: Envision a More Intelligent World” Aug 2012

About Telefónica Digital

Telefónica Digital is a global business division of Telefónica. Its mission is to seize the opportunities within the digital world and deliver new growth for Telefónica through research & development, venture capital, global partnerships and digital services such as cloud computing, mobile advertising, M2M and eHealth. It is also driving innovation in over the top communications services under a new umbrella brand called Tu. Telefónica Digital will deliver these new products and services to Telefónica's 309 million customers as well as leveraging the power of the internet to enter new markets. It is headquartered in London with regional centres in Silicon Valley, Sao Paulo, Spain and Tel Aviv. Jajah, Terra, Tuenti, Media Networks Latin America, 48 and giffgaff are all managed under the Telefónica Digital umbrella.

www.telefonica.com/digital

@tefdigital

www.telefonica.com/digitalhub  

ABOUT AURASMA

Aurasma is the world’s leading augmented reality platform. Available as a free app for iPhones, iPads and high-powered Android devices or as a free kernel for developers, Aurasma uses advanced image and pattern recognition to blend the real-world with rich interactive content such as videos and animations called “Auras”.

Auras can be created for printed images, product packaging, clothing, physical places and users can even use the app to create and share their own. Since its launch in June 2011, Aurasma has had more than four million downloads, 400 Aurasma-enabled apps and over 8,000 partners in markets including retail, fashion, sport, automotive, education, advertising and publishing are using the free technology in their campaigns, on their products or embedding the technology in their own applications.  Aurasma was developed by and is part of software company Autonomy – an HP Company.

Nokia ad teases City Lens augmented reality app.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Nokia is teasing its City Lens augmented reality app.

City Lens displays nearby stores and other businesses when you point your phone in a certain direction. The phone's camera displays the view around you with an overlay of businesses in your immediate area. Tapping on a particular business drills down to reveal further details.

Users can switch the view offered by City Lens from augmented reality to a map to a standard list. The app provides directions and an estimate on how long a walk you face to reach the business. Further, you can call the business, read reviews, and share details with your contacts via e-mail or instant messaging.

Nokia's City Lens augmented reality app

CNET

Blackboard Launches Augmented Reality (AR) for Mobile Campus Apps. Adding AR for iOS,Android,BB and HP webOS.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Blackboard is adding to its  leading Blackboard Mobile(TM) Central platform Augmented Reality (AR), for iPhones, androids, BB and HP webOS.

Blackboard Mobile Central provides a suite of features within a single custom, institution-branded application that includes 14 out-of the-box modules, plus the option to develop custom applications with the Blackboard Mobile SDK. Blackboard Mobile Central is available in native applications for iOS; Android(TM); BlackBerry; and HP webOS, and through a mobile web version supporting all web-enabled devices.

However, we can see an Explorer app for AR for iPhones only, at this time.

Explore your campus in a whole new way. Augmented Reality (AR) for Maps, Tours and Places leverages your iPhone's camera, GPS and compass to identify the buildings around you in a 3D, interactive view. With a tap, view historic facts, hours of operation, walking time from your current location and other details about the places near you. Download Explorer for iPhone and experience AR today.

More information on: Blackboard

Blackboard Launches Augmented Reality for Mobile Campus Apps.

Feature Brings Latest in Mobile Technology to the Student Experience

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Continuing to bring the latest in mobile technology to the student experience, Blackboard Inc. announced today the addition of augmented reality (AR) to its leading Blackboard Mobile(TM) Central platform, currently used by hundreds of institutions worldwide. The company is also announcing the launch of Explorer for iPhone, a free standalone app that leverages the same interface to allow iPhone users anywhere to explore the world around them with augmented reality.

Blackboard Mobile's augmented reality interface leverages the iPhone's camera, GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope and compass to let users explore and learn about places around them. With a tap, students can find the nearest computer labs, navigate a dormitory complex or even see a bus blocks away moving in real time through their device camera lens. By pointing their smartphone at a campus building, users can also find out its name, significance, hours of operations and historical information.

"Blackboard has taken a truly jaw-dropping technology and brought it to life in the education environment," said Barbara Spaeth-Baum, executive director of college relations and marketing at North Dakota State College of Science. "The primary goal of our marketing group is to recruit and retain students through integrated, engaging campaigns and the launch of AR with NDSCS Mobile, fits perfectly into that strategy. We are excited to partner with Blackboard to enhance our campus experience for new and current students through an innovative mobile initiative that is reflective of our college's brand and mission."

"Our focus at Blackboard Mobile has always been to use mobile devices to make the experience of interacting with one's university as delightful as possible," said Kayvon Beykpour, General Manager of Blackboard Mobile. "We saw augmented reality as an opportunity to take one of our most used features, Maps, and make it even more useful. These updates are just another example of our dedication to making it simple for institutions to deploy powerful and sophisticated mobile applications for their campuses, and to provide an awesome user experience for students and other university constituents."

AR is currently being used on the campuses of Central Washington University, Florida Atlantic University, Marshall University, North Dakota State College of Science, Northern Illinois University, and The University of Arizona.

The company also announced an update to Blackboard Mobile Central's Campus Tours experience, enabling users to listen to recorded audio while exploring the campus map, view tour routes in both map and list views, and use augmented reality to identify buildings along the way.

Blackboard Mobile Central provides a suite of features within a single custom, institution-branded application that includes 14 out-of the-box modules, plus the option to develop custom applications with the Blackboard Mobile SDK. Blackboard Mobile Central is available in native applications for iOS; Android(TM); BlackBerry; and HP webOS, and through a mobile web version supporting all web-enabled devices.

For more information about Blackboard Mobile Central, please visit http://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Mobile/Products/Mobile-Central/Features.aspx or follow @Bb_Mobile on Twitter.

About Blackboard Inc. Blackboard Inc. is a global leader in enterprise technology and innovative solutions that improve the experience of millions of students and learners around the world every day. Blackboard's solutions allow thousands of higher education, K-12, professional, corporate, and government organizations to extend teaching and learning online, facilitate campus commerce and security, and communicate more effectively with their communities. Founded in 1997, Blackboard is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Blackboard represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release. Actual results may differ materially as a result of various important factors. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the Company's views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.

SOURCE Blackboard Inc.

Amazon augmented reality "Flow" app comes to iPhone.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

A new augmented reality iPhone app that uses barcode and image recognition technology to provide information about products and how to buy has been launched.

Made by Amazon.com subsidiary A9.com, Flow Powered by Amazon allows users to point their iPhone at products such as books, video games, CDs and videos, or the UPC barcodes on millions of other products. Once it recognises the product, the app displays the Amazon.com information for it, including multimedia content and customer reviews.

The free-to-download app includes options to share product information with friends via Twitter, Facebook or email.

“The integration of a live camera display, graphical overlays, and visual recognition technology creates a seamless experience for a customer looking to discover information about objects in their physical surroundings,” according to A9.com president Bill Stasior.

TouchPad presentation using augmented reality

WorldWideTech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

HP's Paul Donovan uses augmented reality in his a new HPworld presentation on the connected products and solutions that help power your passion.


The TouchPad is presented on 8:03. among other HP products. This presentation was made in Shangai, China this week.