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MINOR PROJECT

On

REALITY BEHIND AUGMENTED REALITY IN CONTEXT OF ADSTUCK

By PANKHOURI GARG

(MBA – Class of 2014)

Under the Supervision of Dr. Mrs Anita Venaik

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Business Administration

At

AMITY BUSINESS SCHOOL AMITY UNIVERSITY UTTAR PRADESH

SECTOR 125, NOIDA - 201303, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA 2014

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DECLARATION Title of Project Report REALITY BEHIND AUGMENTED REALITY IN CONTEXT OF ADSTUCK I declare

(a) That the work presented for assessment in this Minor Project Report is my own, that it has not previously been presented for another assessment and that my debts (for words, data, arguments and ideas) have been appropriately acknowledged.

(b) That this paper consists of 5 % plagiarism.

(c) That the work confirms to the guidelines for presentation and style set out in the relevant documentation.

Date:…………… PANKHOURI GARG

MBA –Class of 2014

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DECLARATION

Title of Project Report REALITY BEHIND AUGMENTED REALITY IN CONTEXT OF ADSTUCK

I declare

(d) That the work presented for assessment in this Minor Project Report by Ms. Pankhouri Garg, is my own, that it has not previously been presented for another assessment and that my debts (for words, data, arguments and ideas) have been appropriately acknowledged.

(e) That this paper consists of 5 % plagiarism.

(f) That the work confirms to the guidelines for presentation and style set out in the relevant documentation.

Date: …………… Dr. Mrs.Anita Venaik

Assistant Professor Information Technology

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I owe a great many thanks to a great many people who helped and supported me during the making of this project report. I would like to thank my faculty guide Dr. Mrs. Anita Venaik, Amity Business School, for her guidance throughout the project. I would like to thank her for guiding me with some examples that are related to the topic of the project, for suggesting alternative solutions & sharing her valuable experience & knowledge with me, and also for facilitating me in gaining practical knowledge.

I would also like to thank the Company ADSTUCK which inspired me greatly to work on this project. This project has been made possible through the direct and indirect co-operation of various staff members of ADSTUCK. Without their co-operation & help the completion of this project was not possible.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS TOPIC PAGE Chapter 1 Introduction – Overview Affect on Business AR on CELL PHONES AR APPS

1 10 11 12

Chapter 2 Company Profile AR at ADSTUCK

17 18

Chapter 3 Research Methodology

Chapter 4 4.1 Findings : Technology behind ALIVE APP – concept GOLIVE APP – concept AREAL APP – concept AFAQS Bridge Offline and Online Switch from TELI-brahma AR softwares – open and proprietary

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4.2 Analysis and Interpretations AR in Games AR in military SWOT for Adstuck

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Chapter 5 Limitations Future

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References 39

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TABLE OF FIGURES

DETAILS PAGE

Fig 1 : Areal App Fig 2 : FitYour Fig 3 : AllMeet Fig 4 : Hear Fig 5 : Spark Fig 6 : iCodAR Fig 7 : Adstuck Fig 8 : value chain at Adstuck Fig  9  :  Alive  app  in  Times  Of  India  Fig 10 : first alive app in ‘Bahrain week’ Fig 11 : Areal App at Adstuck Fig 12 : Afaqs and Adstuck Fig 13 : Alive App in TOI Fig 14 : SWOT analysis

 

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

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Augmented reality is changing the way we view the world -- or at least the way its users see the world. Picture yourself walking or driving down the street. With augmented-reality displays, which will eventually look much like a normal pair of glasses, informative graphics will appear in your field of view, and audio will coincide with whatever you see. These enhancements will be refreshed continually to reflect the movements of your head. Similar devices and applications already exist, particularly on smartphones like the iPhone.

The basic idea of augmented reality is to superimpose graphics, audio and other sensory enhancements over a real-world environment in real time. Sounds pretty simple. However, augmented reality is more advanced than any technology you've seen in television broadcasts, although some new TV effects come close. But these systems display graphics for only one point of view. Next-generation augmented-reality systems will display graphics for each viewer's perspective. Augmented reality is a technology that wipes out the difference between the real and the digital. This technology resonates with the customers in such a way that lets brands actually interact with them. Be it, taking a test drive of latest car model, playing a game or learning new recipe. It is now the big thing in the mobile world and has the capacity to amaze people with its possibilities. The main concept of Augmented Reality is to superimpose graphics, audio or any other sense enhancements in a real-time manner. The technology incorporates three components which include head-mounted display, tracking system and mobile computing power into one unit.

SIXTH SENSE

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Some of the most exciting augmented-reality work is taking place in research labs at universities around the world. In February 2009, at the TED conference, Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry presented their augmented-reality system, which they developed as part of MIT Media Lab's Fluid Interfaces Group. They call it SixthSense, and it relies on some basic components that are found in many augmented reality systems:

• Camera • Small projector • Smartphone • Mirror

These components are strung together in a lanyard like apparatus that the user wears around his neck. The user also wears four colored caps on the fingers, and these caps are used to manipulate the images that the projector emits.

SixthSense essentially turns any surface into an interactive screen. Essentially, the device works by using the camera and mirror to examine the surrounding world, feeding that image to the phone (which processes the image, gathers GPS coordinates and pulls data from the Internet), and then projecting information from the projector onto the surface in front of the user, whether it's a wrist, a wall, or even a person. Because the user is wearing the camera on his chest, SixthSense will augment whatever he looks at; for example, if he picks up a can of soup in a grocery store, SixthSense can find and project onto the soup information about its ingredients, price, nutritional value.

By using his capped fingers -- Pattie Maes says even fingers with different colors of nail polish would work -- a user can perform actions on the projected information, which are then picked up by the camera and processed by the phone. If he wants to know more about that can of soup than is projected on it, he can use his fingers to interact with the projected image and learn about, say, competing brands. SixthSense can also recognize complex gestures -- draw a circle on your wrist and SixthSense projects a watch with the current time.

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Video games have been entertaining us for nearly 30 years, ever since Pong was introduced to arcades in the early 1970s.Computer graphics have become much more sophisticated since then, and game graphics are pushing the barriers of photorealism. Now, researchers and engineers are pulling graphics out of yourtelevision screen or computer display and integrating them into real-world environments. This new technology, called augmented reality, blurs the line between what's real and what's computer-generated by enhancing what we see, hear, feel and smell.

On the spectrum between virtual reality, which creates immersive, computer-generated environments, and the real world, augmented reality is closer to the real world. Augmented reality adds graphics, sounds, haptic feedback and smell to the natural world as it exists. Both video games and cell phones are driving the development of augmented reality. Everyone from tourists, to soldiers, to someone looking for the closest subway stop can now benefit from the ability to place computer-generated graphics in their field of vision. 1.2 AFFECT on BUSINESS This technology is soon going to be a big deal for business. When it comes to getting a good customer experience, brands need to be more creative. See, how it

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can affect your business: 1. Marketing tool: For brands to make a real impact on customers, marketers need to be more thoughtful and creative. In today’s world, there are two types of organizations – those who understand and have utilized mobile AR as a definitive marketing tool and those who have not. It can prove to be a great tool for brands to market themselves and help them stand out of the crowd. 2. Advertising: If you want your organization to be seen as innovative, augmented reality, if pulled off correctly, is the technology for you. You brands being the first one will have a good impact in the market. Augmented Reality helps customers an enhanced view of the product prior to any purchase. 3. Social Media: To get an unpaid word-of-mouth marketing, social media combined with augmented reality would be the best option in today’s technical environment. If the users are impressed with the product, it will enhance their desire to share with the extended networks. 4. Presenting information: AR presents an innovative way to present the information about the company or product in a surprising and contemporary manner. User-interaction control and feedback: Once you have served the consumers, it is important to gather their feedback about the product. This is one crucial factor in determining the success of the business. Use of AR for this will make the job easier for you and the customers as well. 5. Geographical data: Augmented reality can help to get the geographic distribution of customer using your location. This can be very helpful for good tuning of marketing campaigns run by brands. They can get an idea about the geo difference and tastes into your services.

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1.3 AUGMENTED REALITY on CELL PHONES

While it may be some time before you buy a device like SixthSense, more primitive versions of augmented reality are already here on some cell phones, particularly in applications for the iPhone and phones with the Android operating system. In the Netherlands, cell phone owners can download an application called Layar that uses the phone's camera and GPS capabilities to gather information about the surrounding area. Layar then shows information about restaurants or other sites in the area, overlaying this information on the phone's screen. You can even point the phone at a building, and Layar will tell you if any companies in that building are hiring, or it might be able to find photos of the building on Flickr or to locate its history on Wikipedia.

Layar isn't the only application of its type. In August 2009, some iPhone users were surprised to find an augmented-reality "easter egg" hidden within the Yelp application. Yelp is known for its user reviews of restaurants and other businesses, but its hidden augmented-reality component, called Monocle, takes things one step further. Just start up the Yelp app, shake your iPhone 3GS three times and Monocle activates. Using your phone's GPS and compass, Monocle will display information about local restaurants, including ratings and reviews, on your cell phone screen. You can touch one of the listings to find out more about a particular restaurant.

There are other augmented reality apps out there for the iPhone and other similar phones -- and many more in development. Urbanspoon has much of the same functionality as Yelp's Monocle. Then there's Wikitude, which finds information from Wikipedia about sites in the area. Underlying most of these applications are a phone's GPS and compass; by knowing where you are, these applications can make sure to offer information relevant to you. We're still not quite at the stage of full-on image recognition, but trust us, people are working on it.

We've looked at some of the existing forms of augmented reality. On the next page, we'll examine some of the other applications of the technology, such as in video games and military hardware.

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1.4 AUGMENTED REALITY APPS

• Areal App

Fig 1 : Areal App World's most powerful Augmented reality Engine AReal is one of the leading Augmented Reality browsers globally with a unique user interface that enables enhancement of real world objects by embedding the digital information about the object. Areal includes the power of overlaying 2D views and 3D objects with the best possible engagement. AReal lets users plays games in their environment and submit/share their scores online. Using AReal users can browse clothes and other objects with its 360 degree view and place an order with just a click to be delivered right at their doorstep. AReal can detects paintings and overlays the live painting scenario on top of camera feed. AReal location based services help user to locate stores, bars, restaurants, bus/train stations near the user’s current location.

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• Fit your - A Virtual Fitting Room

Fig 2 : FitYour FitYour is a customized web application developed with the intention of pampering your fashion-conscious customer with the facility to view themselves in different attires. For shoppers, FitYour works with a computer and a regular webcam. FitYour is very easy and user friendly application for both the retailers and the shoppers. It is the latest marker less technology which uses face recognition technique of Augmented Reality. The application can also provide the MIS report. The application acts as a Virtual Trial Room / Virtual Fitting Room while extending the facility of showing the customer how they would look on wearing the attire they plan to purchase. It engages online shoppers (especially digital natives) like never before, turning what’s currently a shopping process, into an actual shopping experience. FitYour can be used in your showroom / store / shop that offers ready-made attire along with accessories like Tie, Necklace, etc. It allows your prospective customer to view before-hand how they would appear on wearing the selected attire.

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• All Meet Proximity market's

Fig 3 : AllMeet Location based engagements like multiplayer games, chat, LED based interaction are happenning where people are present when they are out to spend their leisure time. We catch them at these locations. All Meet is the best way to engage people in near proximity. User's using All Meet app can engage in gaming, collaborative work, ordering things in restaurants or even answering a poll on LED in front of them. This is the fastest and the most exicting way to ask your brand communicators to get in touch with the world. Every mobile becomes a controller and bridge between your brand and the user. So lets start building this interesting bridge.

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• Hear

Fig 4 : Hear Lets teach your brand to sing !! Beyond wifi, sound is one thing which you can make use to share photo's, web pages, contacts, pdf's and what not. This althrough with your build-in speaker, anything is possible, so what will you hear today. Hear is an incredible new way to share or to have a 2 way communication using sound. Hear sings, information and stuff from one phone to another and it doesnt depend on wifi. If you want to broadcast anything that uses sound, which may be TV or uses radio or is happening in an event or you be present in retail store then this section is for you. Overlay your broadcast with content or interaction you want to send to your users or use it to get the data of who is turning in.

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• Spark

Fig 5 : Spark Every brand has a spark! Every brand has a spark! We help you recognize it What is the most contagious phenomenon on our planet? it is a Spark. Everyday is a barrage of suggestions, concepts and proposals. Most get lost in the scuffle of life. But one remarkable spark is going to spread, line people up and change the world. Will that spark be yours? From inspiration to concept development till spreading the story of a lifetime, Spark is about creativity, Individualization of path in motion and happening ground for conversations which helps you tell stories which get embraced. It is only through sharing, evolution and acceptance of an idea by others that its impact can be measured. Spark are made of dreams, imagination, inspirations, or whim or pure passion.

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CHAPTER 2 : ADSTUCK – COMPANY PROFILE

Introducing magic in our daily lives by creating immersive technologies Since 2008 Adstuck has developed apps and softwares on augmented reality, motion sensing, 3-D mapping, Since 2008 Adstuck has developed apps and softwares on augmented reality, motion sensing, 3-D mapping, online products availability has helped around 1000 brands reach to 100 million users worldwide which has helped around 1000 brands reach to 100 million users world wide. We help you in brand’s Spark recognition. Download the free Areal app or become a partner and start recognizing sparks which produces tremendous innovative interactions for your brand.

Fig 7 : Adstuck

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Adstuck is a part of Vishesh Infotechnics, a listed company that was declared as a winner in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 and Fast 500 Asia Pacific for the year 2007. Adstuck has global investors and partners from Bahrain. Together, MediaMantra and Adstuck are partnering to provide cutting edge Advertising and Marketing Solutions through superior Technology in the MENA region(GCC). TheHindu, The Times of India, SPH(Singapore Press Honding) etc are a few accounts to name in Print Media. AUGMENTED REALITY AT ADSTUCK Adstuck is the biggest and the most innovative firm working on augmented reality in India. Our browser which is available on all major platforms including Android, iPhone, Windows, Blackberry and Symbian, is the fastest delivery platform currently available. We have been designingAugmented Reality applications in various fields including advertising, marketing, utility, education, entertainment and others. With hundreds of brand activations and almost all print companies of India onboard, we have proudly created a lot of digital magic throughout the world. As a leading Augmented Reality company, Adstuck has developed several augmented reality applications compatible with most of the smartphone platforms like Android, IPhone, Windows and Symbian. After years of research and development, Adstuck has established international presence in the Augmented Reality industry. We craft premium 3D experiences for a growing network of digital organizations. Adstuck has delivered services to leading brands like Maruti Suzuki, Times of India and others.

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Fig 8 : value chain at Adstuck With the dedicated team effort and tireless work of technocrats Adstuck is spreading the Augmented Reality technology to each and every corner of the world. Our AR experts are dedicated to the development of not only fast, easy and useful Augmented Reality applications, but also to make it elegant and effective that enables user to gain detailed information within shortest time-duration.

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TOI as a Partner The Times of India (TOI) is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. It has the largest circulation among all English-language newspapers in the world, across all formats (broadsheet, tabloid, compact, Berliner and online). It is the 3rd largest selling newspaper in any language in the world. Alive is a mobile augmented reality software which was developed by the Adstuck Consulting in partnership with Times Internet Ltd and published in December 2012 as freeware. It has been developed for The Times of India and Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. other publications and properties. Times of India has launched Alive app that allows you to view videos, photos, and polls related to a news just by pointing the app at a newspaper item with Alive logo. This app is available for Android, iPhone, BlackBerry and Nokia Symbian Smartphones and would offer a captivating experience for the users than just reading a newspaper.

Fig 9 : Alive app in Times Of India  

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Chapter 3 Research Methodology

Objectives

The main objectives of the study are -

• Understand the Augmented Reality concept

• Check and study various AR APPS

• Study the company ADSTUCK

• Examine the limitations and future of AR Research Design : Explorative Exploratory research often relies on secondary research such as reviewing available literature and/or data, or qualitative approaches such as informal discussions with consumers, employees, management or competitors, and more formal approaches through in-depth interviews with the client. Data Source : Secondary The main sources of the information were:

- Company Websites

- Company records

- Times of India

- The Economic times  

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CHAPTER 4 : FINDINGS Technology Behind Hardware Hardware components for augmented reality are: processor, display, sensors and input devices. Modern mobile computing devices like smartphones and tablet computers contain these elements which often include a camera and MEMS sensors such as accelerometer, GPS, and solid state compass, making them suitable AR platforms. Display

Fig 6 : iCodAR Icodar code sample2 Various technologies are used in Augmented Reality rendering including optical projection systems, monitors, hand held devices, and display systems worn on one's person.

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Head-mounted A head-mounted display (HMD) is a display device paired to a headset such as a harness or helmet. HMDs place images of both the physical world and virtual objects over the user's field of view. Modern HMDs often employ sensors for six degrees of freedom monitoring that allow the system to align virtual information to the physical world and adjust accordingly with the user's head movements. HMDs can provide users immersive, mobile and collaborative AR experiences. Eyeglasses AR displays can be rendered on devices resembling eyeglasses. Versions include eye wear that employ cameras to intercept the real world view and re-display its augmented view through the eye pieces and devices in which the AR imagery is projected through or reflected off the surfaces of the eye wear lens pieces. Google Glass is not intended for an AR experience, but third-party developers are pushing the device toward a mainstream AR experience. CrowdOptic, an existing app for smartphones, applies algorithms and triangulation techniques to photo metadata including GPS position, compass heading, and a time stamp to arrive at a relative significance value for photo objects. CrowdOptic technology can be used by Google Glass users to learn where to look at a given point in time. Contact lenses Contact lenses that display AR imaging are in development. These bionic contact lenses might contain the elements for display embedded into the lens including integrated circuitry, LEDs and an antenna for wireless communication. Another version of contact lenses, in development for the U.S. Military, is designed to function with AR spectacles, allowing soldiers to focus on close-to-the-eye AR images on the spectacles and distant real world objects at the same time.

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Virtual retinal display A virtual retinal display (VRD) is a personal display device under development at the University of Washington's Human Interface Technology Laboratory. With this technology, a display is scanned directly onto the retina of a viewer's eye. The viewer sees what appears to be a conventional display floating in space in front of them. EyeTap The EyeTap (also known as Generation-2 Glass) captures rays of light that would otherwise pass through the center of a lens of an eye of the wearer, and substituted each ray of light for synthetic computer-controlled light. The Generation-4 Glass (Laser EyeTap) is similar to the VRD (i.e. it uses a computer controlled laser light source) except that it also has infinite depth of focus and causes the eye itself to, in effect, function as both a camera and a display, by way of exact alignment with the eye, and resynthesis (in laser light) of rays of light entering the eye. Handheld Handheld displays employ a small display that fits in a user's hand. All handheld AR solutions to date opt for video see-through. Initially handheld AR employed fiduciary markers, and later GPS units and MEMS sensors such as digital compasses and six degrees of freedom accelerometer–gyroscope. Today SLAM markerless trackers such as PTAM are starting to come into use. Handheld display AR promises to be the first commercial success for AR technologies. The two main advantages of handheld AR is the portable nature of handheld devices and ubiquitous nature of camera phones. The disadvantages are the physical constraints of the user having to hold the handheld device out in front of them at all times as well as distorting effect of classically wide-angled mobile phone cameras when compared to the real world as viewed through the eye.

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Spatial Spatial Augmented Reality (SAR) augments real world objects and scenes without the use of special displays such as monitors, head mounted displays or hand-held devices. SAR makes use of digital projectors to display graphical information onto physical objects. The key difference in SAR is that the display is separated from the users of the system. Because the displays are not associated with each user, SAR scales naturally up to groups of users, thus allowing for collocated collaboration between users. Examples include shader lamps, mobile projectors, virtual tables, and smart projectors. Shader lamps mimic and augment reality by projecting imagery onto neutral objects, providing the opportunity to enhance the object’s appearance with materials of a simple unit- a projector, camera, and sensor. Other tangible applications include table and wall projections. One such innovation, the Extended Virtual Table, separates the virtual from the real by including beam-splitter mirrors attached to the ceiling at an adjustable angle. Virtual showcases, which employ beam-splitter mirrors together with multiple graphics displays, provide an interactive means of simultaneously engaging with the virtual and the real.Many more implementations and configurations make spatial augmented reality display an increasingly attractive interactive alternative. Spatial AR does not suffer from the limited display resolution of current head-mounted displays and portable devices. A projector based display system can simply incorporate more projectors to expand the display area. Where portable devices have a small window into the world for drawing, a SAR system can display on any number of surfaces of an indoor setting at once. The drawbacks, however, are that SAR systems of projectors do not work so well in sunlight and also require a surface on which to project the computer-generated graphics. Augmentations cannot simply hang in the air as they do with handheld and HMD-based AR. The tangible nature of SAR, though, makes this an ideal technology to support design, as SAR supports both a graphical visualisation and passive haptic sensation for the end users. People are able to touch physical objects, and it is this process that provides the passive haptic sensation.

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Tracking Modern mobile augmented reality systems use one or more of the following tracking technologies: digital cameras and/or other optical sensors, accelerometers, GPS, gyroscopes, solid state compasses, RFID and wireless sensors. These technologies offer varying levels of accuracy and precision. Most important is the position and orientation of the user's head. Tracking the user's hand(s) or a handheld input device can provide a 6DOF interaction technique. Input devices- Techniques include speech recognition systems that translate a user's spoken words into computer instructions and gesture recognition systems that can interpret a user's body movements by visual detection or from sensors embedded in a peripheral device such as a wand, stylus, pointer, glove or other body wear. Computer The computer analyzes the sensed visual and other data to synthesize and position augmentations.

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ALIVE APP Alive is a mobile augmented reality software which uses the mobile device's video camera to recognise pre-trained images and overlay an image,video or 3D content on the recognition of image. Aliveapp is the only augmented reality application in the world to be available on the four major platforms(Android, iOS, Blackberry and Symbian) and is augmenting the complete newspaper. It is the first publicly available application designed for a Newspaper Giant that used a location-basedapproach to Augmented Reality along with the image based Augmented Reality. Alive app is one of the continuous chart buster(top 20) in iOS app store free app category. Alive offers a new age digital medium for publishers to present their content in the most interactive manner. Alive is a revolutionary Augmented Reality application that transforms the Static print image into a Dynamic digital world filled with rich multimedia content such as Video, Audio, Weblinks and much more It is an innovative collaboration model of print and digital medium that brings a new and creative way of offering content to the users. - India’s first augmented reality app available on five major platforms: Android, Ios, Blackberry, Windows and Symbian. - Offers services without any investment in hardware - Lets you explore new revenue opportunities with brands Features of Alive app

• Transforms text, image, symbols, patterns or objects into a virtual experience

• View videos and picture gallery of the actual news items in the newspaper • Voice your opinion immediately and make the newspaper more interactive. • Share the newspaper news item on the go View history of the news items

you have viewed past • Save the multimedia content for future viewing

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How Alive app works? This concept is obviously not new – About couple of years back, Mid-day as well as couple of other newspapers had used QR code to bring the newspaper content on mobile. The article carried a QR code and when the user scanned it, related videos, images would get downloaded on mobile for viewing. Here is a demonstration of how that worked. Alive has incorporated both forms of Augmented Reality genres. This means it works as image recognition based augmented reality browser as well as the location-based Augmented Reality. For location-based Augmented Reality the position of objects on the screen of the mobile device is calculated using the user's position (by GPS orWifi or GPRS), the direction in which the user is facing (by using the compass) and accelerometer. In contrast, in marker-based Augmented Reality a marker (marker(news headline), e.g. QR code) is used for tracking. One can experience the augmented reality application by downloading the application from respective app stores or by going to official app site. CONCEPT The concept of alive app is similar, but it works within the framework of Alive app, which has to be first downloaded to users mobile. Alive app is available for download on nearly all mobile platforms including Android, iOS, Windows as well as Symbian. Because Alive app has its own framework and AR engine, the content can be showed to use in much more pleasing manner. So for example if a user has downloaded the alive app on their mobile and scan the image shown above, a video will start streaming exactly from the point where the image is frozen in the newspaper. This makes alive app an extension of the news the user is reading. QR code on the other hand worked by just pointing user to related content, which necessarily did not add to consumers news reading experience. That was probably the main reason why QR Code in newspaper did not really take off, while alive app may!

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Limca Book of Records As digital becomes mainline, companies are trying novel ways to exploit the medium and increase consumer engagement. On its part, The Times of India has launched its first augmented reality service with an app called 'Alive'. To its surprise, on the launch day of December 16th, the app was downloaded 250,000 times, leading to 300,000 augmentation views on a single day. This significantly surpassed internal estimates of about 15,000 downloads on day one. Augmented Reality is a technology that bridges the online and offline worlds using the mobile phone. It allows readers of the newspaper to interact with a print medium, and get access to rich media content, such as videos, photos, and polls. The Times of India’s Alive App boasts of being the first augmented reality service launched in India by a media company. ADSTUCK goes International with GOLIVE GoLive app is a unique mobile technology, enables newsreaders to seamlessly visualize content and upgrade the experience on the fly. It provides fine grained user interaction tracking, reporting, analytic and campaign optimization for your apps. The app, goLive is the first fully Augmented Reality app in Middle East. The app is built to boost the need of print media like magazines and newspaper. Adstuck, Augmented Reality Firm in partnership with Bahrain Week, leading newspaper in Bahrain made a mobile application for news reader to visualize events, object on your phone by simply pointing your phone camera at the goLive logo printed in the newspaper with the respective article. The app will scan the logo and present the real picture of the event, interview, concert or any other gathering. Golive mobile app provides a cutting-edge technology solution in the area of mobile application. The App uniquely enables customers to change ongoing content and design without rebuilding or upgrading iPhone Apps. No other Augmented Reality Company can match our creativity, flexibility and technology expertise. The app will work with any surface, advertisement, label, packaging, sticker, signage, hoarding, with goLive logo.

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The software, which is currently in use by hundreds of small businesses, brands, and other newsreader in Bahrain, provides powerful, web-based tools for the management of mobile marketing and premium SMS campaigns. GoLive! Mobile provides integrated mobile marketing software and carrier- grade SMS, WAP, and MMS gateway services to a clientele ranging from small businesses to leading global brands. The internet age brought with it the decline in print media popularity. Internet seems to be more interactive and intuitive to actions, thus making the media unique for every individual. As human beings, we wish to remain in control of our reality, to be able to mold and change it as we please. GOLive, an Augmented Reality app combines the best of both worlds, blurs the line between real and virtual and present an amazing experience of real world on your handy digital device like smartphone.

Fig 10 : first alive app in ‘Bahrain week’

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CONCEPT They Middle East market with the best of the marketing tools such as image recognition, sound technologies etc. Go Live is a robust Augmented Reality platform for brand managers of the MENA (GCC) region. Go Live works by using a smartphone or tablet’s built-in camera to recognize things in the real world and instantaneously provide users with digital connections, information or interactive entertainment on their device’s screen. Users simply open the GOLIVE app in their smartphone scan the image or surface with “Golive” for an instant response, such as a web link, video, coupon, a 3D product experience, an augmented reality game and can be supported for the event and product Launch. Most of our advertisers are augmenting their adverts and bringing their print ad to life through the interactive Golive technology.

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ADSTUCK and VARIOUS MAGAZINES The most popular Augmented Reality Company in India, Adstuck has integrated its Areal app with a new magazine published by Realty & More, company dealing in real estate services. Realty & More has launched a new magazine by the name "realty & more magazine" providing real estate and related industries news. The magazine has been launched in the month of September 2013. The magazine features latest and exclusive news from the real estate industries and helps you to update with the coming policies and agenda related to real estate industry. AREAL APP at ADSTUCK Areal app, the most versatile app in augmented reality apps industry can let you visualize magazine content on your smartphone. As the app has been incorporated with the magazine, here one can visualize the two stories from the magazine on your smartphone using Areal app. One of stories include Union minister for housing Smt Girija Vyas's interview on the importance of upcoming real estate bill. While augmented story include V P Baligar, Chairman and Managing-Director, Housing & Urban Development Corporation Ltd (Hudco), interview on Hudco's integrated township plan. After downloading the amazing areal app, you can see the separate interviews conducted by Palash Roy, Editor, Realty & More with Smt. Girija Vyas and V P Baligar. The simultaneous effort by two companies is really appreciating, as their approach has helped the readers to enjoy content in a more interesting and understandable manner. Adstuck) always keep a close look over the latest news in the world and engages user in a more interesting way. The augmented reality company creates customer engagement involving less time at less expense.

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Fig 11 : Areal App at Adstuck The newly launched magazine augmented with Areal app cost only 100 rupees per magazine. You won't have to spend much to see Girija Vyas's interview, you can watch her answering question on upcoming real estate bill and listen her view on how to provide shelter for all. The augmented reality app has introduced a new dimension to print media, and made it more interesting and interacting with readers. The Augmented Reality Companies has been dedicatedly working towards the development of more versatile app to create customer engagement and make it available for all. Incorporation of Areal app in the realty & more magazine is just the beginning, it has long way to go.

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ADSTUCK and AFAQS- online portal Recently, afaqs, an online portal company in partnership with Adstuck Consulting Pvt. Ltd., an Augmented Reality firm has launched a new augmented reality app by the name of afaqs areal. The magic app was launched on 5th of July 2013 after the collective effort of Adstuck and afaqs. The app afaqs areal is a cloud based magical app with unlimited recognition capability and augmentation. It enables visual search with the help of smartphone. The afaqs areal app is available for all smartphone users at free of cost.

Fig 12 : Afaqs and Adstuck Just on a single click you can enjoy the magical augmented reality app on your smartphone. afaqs deliver all types of news from entertainment, government, marketing and professional media sectors in India. The company website delivers extensive latest news for Indian public. The company aims at delivering quality news in user interactive manner. To target the general audience afaqs areal app has been launched to deliver the content in user interactive and understandable manner. The AR app - afaqs areal is an important step in digital technology. As digitization is growing among reader, they prefer online media to gather news. Simultaneously can gather companies are exploiting media to any type of information in one go via internet. Reading text has become quite boring among news reader they prefer to hear or see the news other than reading the text. The app creates customer engagement and let you experience the spectacular 3D world. Before launching afaqs areal app, Adstuck has also developed a popular augmented reality app named - Alive for news reader in partnership with Times of India.

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BRIDGES the OFFLINE and ONLINE worlds The Times Group seems to have learnt this well. Today’s The Times of India has 2 instances where they bridge the print medium with interactive medium. No, not with a conventional QR code (which would have worked too, I’m sure), but with a native app developed by Indiatimes – called Alive. The content that one gets to see once you instal the app and scan the relevant portion seems straight out of Arnab’s show on Times Now, bt I see that the publication has chosen two extremes to demonstrate their new app.

Fig 13 : Alive App in TOI

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The front page one goes for the heart – a rather obvious and sentimental video clip showing the family of Jacinta Saldanha in mourning. It seems a bit manipulative, but if news television channels can do this, day in and day out, I see no reason why this app can’t ‘utilize’ this moment too. Considering we’re talking about The Times of India here, I’m not going to waste a perfectly juicy outrage on something so obvious. The content is in bad taste, but that does not mean it is boring – I’m sure the Times sees value in adding the Alive slot for such a story – the app version of their (and most other news channel’s) TV stories. Page 11 has a less manipulative, more practical news piece to bridge print and interactivity – Rehman Malik making a <unmentionable> of himself. It seemed more like a video recap of Mr.Malik’s notoriety and was completely in context of the article that had this Alive box. In fact, this one actually extends the value of what is in print, with an interactive clip. The app worked smoothly and in wi-fi, the video loaded mighty fast too. This is an interesting and commendable move by the Times Group. They’d have excellent traction for the app install and video plays given that they have listed it on page 1 on a Sunday! The opportunities with this seems massive – imagine, something that is added as an exclusive. Or, a contest for a brand. Times Group is putting its muscle behind something like this, such interactive tactics may become more mainstream and offer more tantalizing ways to connect the offline and online. Satyan Gajwani, chief executive officer, Times Internet, says, "The idea is to bridge the gap of the offline and online worlds. Most people are still comfortable interacting with the mediums they are used to, like the newspaper. We wanted to make the medium more interactive and bring higher value to our readers, so we came up with this initiative." The app is available for free download. Once downloaded, a user can use it to scan across any article in the newspaper for the related video. Alive searches for the video in the TOI servers and eventually plays it on the phone. The streaming of the video, of course, attracts data charges.

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The technology has been built and designed by Times Internet in partnership with Adstuck Consulting. "In the afternoon, we have a cross-media editorial sync up, where we discuss the biggest news issues across every category. We sync up our editorial teams across every medium in the Times Group. The output of the call is to identify the biggest potential cases where an augmentation would add value for our consumers. Over the next few hours, we produce exclusive content which features in Alive, and we develop the call-to-action within the paper. By evening, our tech team, our print team and our Alive production team finish their deliverables, and we integrate them for the next day's paper offering," explains Gajwani. The group has invested a significant amount into the app's development via technology and design, and aims to ensure compelling content around Alive. Currently, the group has integrated the application with ToI, Bombay Times, Delhi Times and a few others. It also plans to integrate it with The Economic Times, along with several language editions. The content for the application will be sourced from Times Television Network (Times Now, ETNow, Zoom and others). The group also plans to expand to a lot of different types of content from multiple providers as the activity is scaled up. Gajwani says, "We are looking at different ways to monetize it, but right now we are just focused on giving our users a really curated, high-value experience."

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Switched From TELI - Brahma Alive has been launched by Times Internet in partnership with Adstuck Consulting, which has deployed its image recognition technology, but MediaNama readers might recall that, in June, Times Internet had also launched Times Intaract, an Augmented Reality app, in partnership with TELIBrahma. We noticed that the Times Intaract application has been pulled from the Android Store. In response to our query, Times Internet CEO Satyan Gajwani said that the earlier implementation of augmented reality was a pilot for advertisers only and not editorial teams, and “it was a smaller implementation with a simpler product. Since then we have invested into building a full editorial oriented platform with better functionality. ” Using The App Once an user downloads the app on their smartphone, s/he can hold it up in camera mode to the image with the alive logo from any print media. Once the app recognizes the content that needs to pull in, it loads the multimedia content on the screen. Users can share the multimedia content to social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook or email it their friends and family. The content scanned can be saved for future views. Views Via Apps Don’t Count? The app tries to promote online medium to its existing large base of print media readers, but at the same time, providing interactivity to offline users. However, when we analysed TimesAlive’s YouTube page, we noticed that the videos uploaded by them have hardly received any user views. The Ranbir-Anushka video uploaded about 21 hours ago has managed to get only 12 views. And this does not include the YouTube’s flawed views count logic as it does not occur before the view count hits 301. Gajwani claims that the YouTube view count increases only when someone shares it and it is viewed on the web, and when someone views a video from within the app, the views aren’t counted.

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AUGMENTED REALITY SOFTWARES

The following is a list of augmented reality software including programs for application development, content management, gaming and integrated AR solutions.

Open source

• Argon, augmented reality browser by Georgia Tech's GVU Center that uses a mix of KML and HTML/JavaScript/CSS to allow developing AR applications; any web content (with appropriate meta-data and properly formatted) can be converted into AR content; as of November 2011, available for iPhone only.

• ARToolKit, an open source (dual-license: GPL, commercial) C-library to create augmented reality applications; was ported to many different languages and platforms like Android, Flash or Silverlight; very widely used in augmented reality related projects.

• ArUco, a minimal library for augmented reality applications based on OpenCV; licenses: BSD, Linux, Windows.

• ATOMIC Authoring Tool, a multi-platform authoring for creating AR applications on Microsoft Windows, Linux and Mac OS X operating systems.

• Goblin XNA, a platform for researching 3D user interfaces, including mobile augmented reality and virtual reality, emphasizing games; written in C#, based on Microsoft XNA Game Studio 4.0, BSD license.

• GRATF, open-source (GPLv3) project, which includes C# library for detection, recognition and 3D pose estimation of optical glyphs. The project includes application, which does 2D and 3D augmented reality.

• mixare (mix Augmented Reality Engine), open-source (GPLv3) augmented reality engine for Android and iPhone; works as an autonomous application and for developing other implementations.

• PTAM, non-commercial use only. • DroidAR, open source (dual-license: GPLv3 or commercial) augmented reality

framework for Android, featuring location based and marker based AR.

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Proprietary AR development toolkits  

• ARPA SDK & ARPA Plugin Unity[ allow you to develop your own desktop, web and mobile augmented reality projects

• Xloudia is the fastest image recognition and image tracking solution based on cloud and video frame analysis (less than 200 ms on a 4G LTE network). Xloudia targets the B2B market with large scale capabilities and rich features namely statistics, natural feature recognition, 3D tracking, face and colour identification for Android, and iOS. Xloudia also comes as a white brand or for "operators" under their own brand.

• Catchoom SDK allows users to integrate award-winning 2-D image & 3-D object recognition into all native third-party applications for Android and iOS.

• metaio SDK offers free natural features tracking and 3D tracking that is available for Android, iOS and Microsoft Windows.

• Vuforia Augmented Reality SDK, formerly known as QCAR, is a Software Development Kit for creating augmented reality applications for mobile devices.

• VYZAR is a cross-platform SDK for iOS and Android, with both an Augmented Reality and 3D engine

• Wikitude The Wikitude SDK is a library which can be embedded in native third party application Android, BlackBerry 10 and iOS, which uses web technologies to create the Augmented Reality content.

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AR content management systems  

• metaio Creator, a desktop tool to create and publish AR scenarios. • buildAR.com, a web based content platform for building geolocation and

natural feature tracking based mobile augmented reality. • Hoppala Augmentation, a web based content platform for creating geolocation

based mobile augmented reality. • Webcam Social Shopper, web based software for integrating apparel

visualization on e-commerce sites. • Fityour.com, A website for trying out wearable apparels visualization on e-

commerce sites. • PLAKAR,web based platform for the augmentation of printed materials and

Out of Home Media. • Zapcode Creator, web based software for building and creating zapcodes with

augmented reality content.

End-to-end branded app solutions

• Alive app • Aurasma • Daqri • PendAR • Google Goggles • Junaio • Layar • Nokia City Lens • VYZAR • Wikitude • XARMEX • Zappar

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Augmented Reality in Video Games and the Military  

 

Video game companies are quickly hopping aboard the augmented-reality locomotive. A company called Total Immersion makes software that applies augmented reality to baseball cards. Simply go online, download the Total Immersion software and then hold up your baseball card to a webcam. The software recognizes the card (and the player on it) and then displays related video on yourcomputer screen. Move the card in your hands -- make sure to keep it in view of the camera -- and the 3-D figure on your screen will perform actions, such as throwing a ball at a target.

Total Immersion's efforts are just the beginning. In the next couple of years, we'll see games that take augmented reality out into the streets. Consider a scavenger-hunt game that uses virtual objects. You could use your phone to "place" tokens around town, and participants would then use their phones (or augmented-reality enabled goggles) to find these invisible objects.

Demos of many games of this order already exist. There's a "human Pac-Man" game that allows users to chase after each other in real life while wearing goggles that make them look like characters in Pac-Man.

Arcane Technologies, a Canadian company, has sold augmented-reality devices to the U.S. military. The company produces a head-mounted display -- the sort of device that was supposed to bring us virtual reality-- that superimposes information on your world. Consider a squad of soldiers in Afghanistan, performing reconnaissance on an opposition hideout. An AR-enabled head-mounted display could overlay blueprints or a view from a satellite or overheard drone directly onto the soldiers' field of vision.

Certain gaming devices, such as the PlayStation Eye, Kinect, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita and some mobile devices, use cameras to augment computer graphics onto live footage. The majority of AR software uses

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special cards which are read by the device to pinpoint where the graphics will form.

LIST OF GAMES

• AR Games, a pre-loaded app on the Nintendo 3DS gaming console consisting of numerous AR games.

• Batman: Arkham City • Cybergeneration, a table top role-playing game by R. Talsorian, includes

"virtuality", an augmented reality created through v-trodes, cheap, widely available devices people wear at their temples.

• Dead Space, a video game in which a RIG worn by Isaac Clarke is thoroughly equipped with augmented reality technology, including a navigation system that projects a line along the best route to his destination, and a system that displays images, video and text in front of him. In conjunction with the game, an augmented-reality website called No Known Survivors was released in 2008.

• Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F, a video game in which an option named AR Mode allows the console to project Hatsune Miku onto a Fiduciary marker. This enable her to sing as an Augmented Reality Vocaloid

• Hydrophobia a survival-adventure video game from Dark Energy Digital features the MAVI (Mobile Automated Visual Interface), which is a tool used to enhance environmental geometry among other purposes.

• Ingress a game on Android devices where two teams (Resistance and Enlightened) battle for control of regions and landmarks

• Raving Rabbids: Alive & Kicking • Shadow Cities a game on the iPhone, pitting Animators against Architects. • Shadowrun, the table top role-playing game, introduced AR into its game

world. Most of the characters in the game use viewing devices to interact with the AR world most of the time.

• Spectrek, an augmented reality ghost hunting game. • Tuttuki Bako, a minigame system form Bandai is described as featuring

augmented reality. • Lumpeeks, a 3D game for Android, which uses orientation sensor without need

for markers.

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ADSTUCK SWOT

Fig 14 : SWOT analysis    

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LIMITATIONS and the FUTURE of Augmented Reality

Augmented reality still has some challenges to overcome. For example, GPS is only accurate to within 30 feet (9 meters) and doesn't work as well indoors, although improved image recognition technology may be able to help.

People may not want to rely on their cell phones, which have small screens on which to superimpose information. For that reason, wearable devices like SixthSense or augmented-reality capable contact lenses and glasses will provide users with more convenient, expansive views of the world around them. Screen real estate will no longer be an issue. In the near future, you may be able to play a real-time strategy game on your computer, or you can invite a friend over, put on your AR glasses, and play on the tabletop in front of you.

There is such a thing as too much information. Just as the "CrackBerry" phenomenon and Internet addiction are concerns, an overreliance on augmented reality could mean that people are missing out on what's right in front of them. Some people may prefer to use their AR iPhone applications rather than an experienced tour guide, even though a tour guide may be able to offer a level of interaction, an experience and a personal touch unavailable in a computer program. And there are times when a real plaque on a building is preferable to a virtual one, which would be accessible only by people with certain technologies.

There are also privacy concerns. Image-recognition software coupled with AR will, quite soon, allow us to point our phones at people, even strangers, and instantly see information from their Facebook, Twitter,Amazon, LinkedIn or other online profiles. With most of these services people willingly put information about themselves online, but it may be an unwelcome shock to meet someone, only to have him instantly know so much about your life and background.

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Augmented Reality: It is Changing Your World Safety This is something I wouldn’t be quick to associate with the use of augmented reality, but the Moscow Ministry of Internal Affairs has created an app and accompanying website which uses augmented reality to remind drivers and pedestrians of the danger present on Russian streets. The campaign is made up of QR codes placed around Moscow and other large cities in Russia, which, when scanned, show videos, photos and detailed information about traffic accidents that have occurred at that particular location. Using augmented reality, the app overlays symbols on the user’s surroundings, pointing out where accidents have occurred, and offering graphic details to warn us about safety. Politics This seems to be an industry that is trying to jump on board with new technologies, and augmented reality is no exception. The Green Party of Berlin recently released a mobile app in conjunction with its election campaign. The app has two main features, the first being interactive billboards. When scanned with the app, videos of Green Party speeches appear on your mobile device, laid over the real-world billboards. The second feature gives the user more input, allowing conversations to be conducted around Berlin, using virtual points of interest (POIs). With the app, you can actively participate in the real public space by posting or interacting with others on topics of interest, such as payable living space, education, energy consumption or production and public transport.

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FUTURE

Despite these concerns, imagine the possibilities: you may learn things about the city you've lived in for years just by pointing your AR-enabled phone at a nearby park or building. If you work in construction, you can save on materials by using virtual markers to designate where a beam should go or which structural support to inspect. Paleontologists working in shifts to assemble a dinosaur skeleton could leave virtual "notes" to team members on the bones themselves, artists could produce virtual graffiti and doctors could overlay a digital image of a patient's X-rays onto a mannequin for added realism.

The future of augmented reality is clearly bright, even as it already has found its way into our cell phones and video game systems. For more information about the subject and where it's headed, take a look at the links on the next page. Virtual Traffic Inspection We wont need physical presence of traffic inspectors on road. With the technology which we use we can easily detect rule violations such as speeding; crossing a red light; not fastenning of seat belt. By tagging the car number the complaint will be forwarded to the mail addresses of the concerned. This will make sure that people fasten seat belts or not cross red lights when they feel absence of a physical inspector. The technology has the ability to detect accidents and emergencies. The KINECTS can decode an accident or a physical injury to a person and can immediately transfer this information to the nearest hospital and thus can send an ambulance without any human intimidation.

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FOOD NUTRITIONS AR app which can identify edible substances and can give detailed nutritional information on scanning. A team of IT developers, who will develop the Beta version of the app. Starting with dry and raw edible foods which are universal throughout the world. Example- Dry fruits, raw vegetables, uncut fruits, pulses and basically all the raw foods around the world. From their we will launch nutritional information for packed FMCG. Ranging from chips to other edible packed FMCG’s. Then the most tedious process of the app will start, and that is scanning of the cooked food. We will have a system in which our servers will be fed with infinite number of data regarding the area of our release of the app. Example, For Delhi Rajma Chawal, Curry Chawal, Rajma, Curry as a dish. Rice etc. Mind-blowing research on this will be required and we will try to get a patent if possible. The idea is to first identify and then have a quatitative analysis of the scanned food. And then multiple scanning of substances. This will be the most challenging part. Augmentation of the Fast Food segment Tie up’s with Fast Food conglomerates such as McDonald, Subway, YoChina! Etc. These corporates have a limited menu; thus it will be easy for us to accommodate the menu on our server or we can have a burger pack logo augmentation. Then we will go for augmentation of the food items such as burgers, pizza’s and wraps.

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REFERENCES http://www.zimbio.com/Bahrain/articles/4nDnQej5ZOr/GoLive+Bahrain+Week+First+Augmented+Reality

http://www.prlog.org/12216835-adstuck-launched-areal-app-as-an-augmented-reality-platform-for-realty-and-more-magazine.html

http://www.prlog.org/12187190-adstuck-and-afaqs-launch-their-augmented-reality-product-afaqs-areal.html

http://augmentedworldexpo.com/organizations/adstuck/

https://www.rebelmouse.com/TechChannels/adstuck_launched_areal_app_as_-268963015.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alive_app

http://news.silobreaker.com/adstuck-launched-areal-app-as-an-augmented-reality-platform-for-realty-and-more-magazine-5_2267129837233635473

http://website.informer.com/adstuck.com

http://www.adstuck.com/products

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http://goalivemedia.com/index.html