3D California

The men’s magazine Esquire, dedicated its cover of the December edition to the actor Robert Downey Jr.,on this occasion the magazine propose an AR (Augmented Reality) Issue including several AR experiences for the reader.

Choice was made for big black & white markers on each targeted page of the magazine, and for exe download with no clear information of the Publisher in the Windows dialog box. (download from Esquire website) So far, the interaction with the content is very simple and having celebrities involved in these kind of initiatives is always exciting.

Another style of AR experience, with www.instyle.com (belongs to Time Inc) and still involving celebrities … This time, we have marker less technology – your webcam will track nice images directly from the magazine – and you download a well identified pluggin (ActiveX in a browser).

Who will be next ? Which magazine ? Which celebrity ? Let me know your thoughts …

Universal Music France with the help of Total Immersion, has just  launched the SINIK’s new Audio CD “Ballon d’Or”), SINIK, alias Thomas Gérard, is one of the pretty good French rappers.

The main innovation is in the musical object which is the physical Album (CD and Jacket Cover).

The idea is to turn the Audio CD into an object enriched  by augmented reality. You need both the CD, a computer and a Webcam to live these new digital experience.

Music consumer may interact with a virtual projection displayed, and create his own musical experience, for example using an application to create your virtual musical mix.

This way, the physical object becomes a kind of dynamic open work, with an endless potential.

Considering the physical CD object is no more a finite and static object, the music buyer, and especially digital natives, will probably come back in the store to buy CD.

Bonuses and additional tracks like a  ”Making-Off”, are a common feature on most DVDs. With augmented reality, the physical support gets an additional value by itself: objects turn into concepts, a world where  bits and atoms may co-exist.

Just have a look at the following french video…:

Thanks to”Avatar“, James Camaron’s next movie, augmented reality gained un incredible buzz lately. There’s no day without magazines telling stories about the next big thing: how augmented reality’s going to change our lives. Even Variety, the famous movies and actors magazine, explains how Coca-Cola Co., Mattel and McDonald’s partner to integrate technology for promotion.

“Hollywood and Madison Avenue have been quick to embrace the technology — which launches movable 3D images or games on computer screens when an item is held up to a webcam — as the newest must-have marketing tool to connect with consumers.”

Coca-Cola Co., Mattel and McDonald’s have invested millions in order to not only educate people about what can be done, but also associate themselves to Avatar in unique ways.

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James Cameron’s Avatar is probably one of the most exciting almost-real movie (in theaters in december). Cameron’s previous movies – Abyss, Terminator 2 or Titanic – already explored very innovative 3D possibilities. Here, the concept is deeply correlated to 3D and virtual reality: a program named Avatar connects human beings to a distant avatar, a remotely-controled biological body that can survive in lethal atmosphere…

A couple of weeks before the movies rolls out, several advertisers started to show augmented reality ads with features from the movie, like controlling an helicopter with a Coke zero bottle, or moving a toy with a card. Here are some examples of what this technology can offer advertisers or film maker.

The Coke zero throttle…

Check out the augmented reality toy that Mattel recently launched in the US, develpped by Total Immersion!

We live in a 3D world.  No matter who you are, where you live, what you do, 3D is what your life context is made of. Let’s try to imagine what you, my reader, are IRL (in real life).

Are you a teacher? Come one, everybody knows classrooms have 3 dimensions. Mathematics, sports, physis, are all domains where 3 dimensions are generally required. And even students can differentiate depth from the two other dimensions.

Are you a pilot?  For sure you would explain your plane to move in all 3 dimensions!

A furniture designer? No need to ask, you know more than anyone what dimensions are related toour vision of space and decoration.

And so on…

Jus becuase 3D is in our everyday life, more and more companies are moving to 3D in their own processes, or in the way they deal with their customers. The misture of 3D virtual worlds with the real world, the possibility that recente technologies offer, make this challenge even more affordable.

3D California is devoted to help companies embrace this all new 3D world. With the help of modern way of communication, I am going to take you on a long, very long trip, with wonderful stuff to watch, experience and feel.

Are you ready for this trip?