AR Application for London Cycle Hire

London Tube

London Tube is an iPhone application that allows you to search for the nearest London Underground stations in augmented reality.

London Tube also lets you download (for a small fee) other points of interest databases to the application. These include Food & Drink, Leisure, Attractions and Accommodation. Using London Tube you can then locate all the nearby points of interest that you have downloaded on Google Maps and through the Augmented Reality view.

The London Cycle Hire (TfL) docking stations have just been added to the Leisure point of information database. Now if you download the Leisure POI's you can locate the nearest Cycle Hire docking stations to your present location. You can either view the nearest docking stations on Google Maps or view them in augmented reality.

In the augmented reality view the iPhone vertical position will give you a 360-degree view of all docking stations near your location, updated in real time as you walk the streets. The iPhone horizontal position will display a list of all the nearest docking stations. When a docking station is selected, a red arrow (compass) is displayed to show the direction and the distance to that point.

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Time Travelling with Google Maps

Museum of London - Street Museum

The Museum of London have created a great iPhone application to showcase hundreds of images from its collections.

You can use the included Google Map or use the iPhone's GPS to pinpoint your current location. You can then view images from the museum's collection that are in your vicinity. If you hold your iPhone up you can then look through the screen and see the historical image superimposed on the present day view.

The Creative Review have been testing the applications' augmented reality function. They have some truly astonishing screenshots of historical photographs overlaid on the modern view as seen through an iPhone.

This is probably the closest you will get to real time travelling until Dr Who drops in.

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GeoCoded Art on Your Mobile Phone

GeoCoded Art
Geocoded Art is a great website that is busy mapping the world's fine art paintings. When I first reviewed the site back in February I said I'd like to see the site available as a mobile phone application. Geocoded Art have contacted me to tell me that they are now available as a layer in the augmented reality platform Wikitude.

Currently only the 'Paintings of the Netherlands' is available but if you live in the Netherlands then you should definitely check this out. As I don't live in the Netherlands I can't get a screenshot of Geocoded Art in Action on Wikitude. However if you check out the video below and imagine the text on the phone is replaced with a painting you should have a good idea of what the Geocoded Art layer achieves.



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The Chinese New Year on Google Maps

Tiger Beer iPhone App

Tiger Beer have released an iPhone app that lets Londoners discover entertainment and activities in the city to do with the Chinese New Year. Of course, the app also lets you find nearby restaurants and bars that serve Tiger Beer.

The app includes a game and an augmented reality feature. The AR feature allows you to view points of interest around you through the phone's screen.The game invloves guiding a vehicle around the streets of China Town delivering DJ decks, fireworks, and Tiger beer.

Via: Mashable

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AR + Wii + Google Maps = Cool!

Midair 30cm
I'll bet you'll want this. I know I do.



The Midair 30cm site has a download link, which might just be the code to create your own Augmented Reality & Wii controller Google Map - just don't blame me if it isn't!

Other Wii & Google Maps goodness

Wii Jogging with Street View - Wii jogging game using Street View
MapWii.com - a Google Maps mashup of worldwide Nintendo Wii numbers (a identifier unique to each Wii system).

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Create Your Own Augmented Reality App

Junaio

Junaio has announced the opening of the Junaio API to developers. Junaio is a mobile and online platform that lets users create, explore and share information using augmented reality and location-based content. Users can place 3D objects, twitter messages or websites into the real world and then share their creations with friends through social networks.

Developers can use the new API to build their own applications with the Junaio
platform. The open API will include features that allow users to select multiple categories of information at once and see all results in a 360 degree view. For example, a user can select multiple areas of interest, such as Japanese restaurants, manga shops, or pictures posted by other Junaio members, and see all the results in a single view.

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Twitter & Augmented Reality Application

Twitter 360

Twitter 360, for the iPhone 3GS, is a new application that enables you to visualise your Twitter friends via an augmented reality view using the iPhone camera.

When you look through your iPhone camera with Twitter 360 you can view information windows superimposed on the screen showing the direction and distance away of your Twitter friends. Twitter 360 also shows arrows on the screen that, as you move around, uses the iPhone's in built compass to point you in the direction of a chosen Twitter friend.

Twitter 360 is one of the first iPhone applications to use the new Twitter’s Geotagging feature to geotag your tweets. The application includes a Google Map view, that geotags your Twitter friends and shows their location using their Twitter avatars.

Download from the iTunes Store

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Augmented Reality on Google Maps

Junaio

Junaio is a mobile and online platform that lets users create, explore and share information using augmented reality and location-based content. Users can
place 3D objects, twitter messages or websites into the real world and then share their creations with friends through social networks.

In the video above you can see an augmented 3D T-Rex placed on the Golden Gate Bridge. These 3D objects can then be discovered by others who come across the same location. Or you can search for restaurants, cafes, museums, bars or shops etc. in Google Maps and see the results in a 360° augmented live-view of the camera.

Junaio has partnered with film company Focus Features to licence memorable 3D characters from its hit animated movies '9' and 'Coraline' on the platform.

Junaio is currently available on the i-Phone. Download from the App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/junaio/id337415615

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Create Your Own Augmented Reality

AugmentThis!

AugmentThis! is a new website that will let you create your own Android Phone Augmented Reality application. Once you install and start the AugmentThis! app for Android you can then view a KML or KMZ file that you have created in an augmented reality view.

The application works with placemarks and paths. You are therefore able to see your created markers and polylines superimposed upon a view of the real world through your phone's screen.

AugmentThis! uses a Google Map as its home screen. Your uploads, and the shared uploads of other users for the area, can be accessed by tapping the map. Call "My uploads" from the menu to get a list of your personal uploads.

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Augmented Reality in London

London Bus iPhone Application

Presselite, the company that earlier this week released an augmented reality application for the Paris Metro, has today released a London tube and bus iPhone application.

Using the application it is possible to find nearby points of interest, wi-fi zones and cafes on a Google Map. It is also possible to locate the nearest stations from your position on a Google Map within the application. Each station is represented by a red pin, a popup shows you the distance of localisation for each station, and it is updated live via GPS as you walk.

The eye-grabbing feature however is the augmented reality view that lets you find the nearest bus-stops and POI's. Unfortunately the presentation video (below) has some serious reflection problems but it is just about possible to see the augmented reality feature in action.



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Outstanding Paris Metro Map

ParisMetro
Paris Metro is an augmented reality and mapping application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The application is a guide to the Paris metro, a route finder and a hell of a lot more.

The video below (in French) shows how the augmented reality function can be used to find the nearest Metro station and other points of interest.



The application is fully integrated with Google Maps. It is possible to locate the nearest stations at any time directly from the Google Map. Each station is represented by red map markers and distances are updated in real time via GPS.

There is a lot more to this application, such as Paris bus routes, nearest restaurants POI, cafes, bakeries etc but I guess it is the augmented reality function that really catches the eye.

Via: GeoinWeb

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More Augmented Reality on Google Maps

Acrossair Browser
Acrossair is another augmented reality application for the iPhone. If you don't know what augmented reality is yet then check out the video below demonstrating Acrossair.



The Acrossair Browser switches to a Google Maps view when you hold the iPhone flat. The map stays oriented to your current view as you move the phone around.

The usefulness of augmented reality applications for mobile phones depend on the quality of geo-data that they hold. Watching the video for the Acrossair browser it looks like they already have lots of data from a number of different sources.

Also See

Augmented Reality Roundup

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Augmented Reality Round-Up

Augmented Reality is a technology that blends computer data with real-time footage. I won't bother with a fuller description, if you don't know what AR is yet you can just watch any of the videos below.

We first reviewed an Augmented Reality application on Google Maps Mania early last year but with the recent release of Layar it seems that Augmented Reality is finally beginning to gain some momentum in the market place.

So it's time for a round-up:

Enkin.net
Enkin was the first augmented reality application (that I know of) to use the GPS and orientation sensors of a mobile phone to present an augmented view of the world through the phone's screen.

In essence Enkin seems to take place-marks that were created in Google Maps and overlay them on the view of the same location. The application was demoed (in the video below) early last year but unfortunately it seems that the product hasn't made it to the market.

Enkin from Enkin on Vimeo.

ARSights
ARSights is a cool tool that will allow users to visualize Google Earth 3D models using augmented reality. The site uses the Google Earth Browser plug-in to allow users to search for and download Google Earth 3D models.

Once you have downloaded a model all you need to do is run the ARSights application, set up your webcam and go. You will then be able to create awesome augmented reality videos like this:



Wikitude - AR Travel Guide
Wikitude, a mobile travel guide for Android phones based on location-based Wikipedia content, allows users to view 350,000 world-wide points of interest on a mobile phone. The application has been offering an augmented reality cam view since last year. Here's the video:



Layar Augmented Reality Application
Layar claim to be the world's first augmented reality browser (a claim that Wikitude might debate). Layar is available for the Android in the Netherlands. The company say they will also launch in Germany, the UK and the United States this year. For now you can check out the video,



TwitARound
What do you get if you combine the hottest website with the hottest new tech? The answer is TwitARound. TwitARound is an augmented reality Twitter viewer on the iPhone 3GS. It shows live tweets around your location on the iPhone's screen. You can see where the tweet comes from and how far away it is.



Nearest Tube AR
The latest AR application for the iPhone is this nearest tube finder for London. Using the application it is possible to see the nearest tube stations to your location, what direction they are in and how far away they are.


Hat-tip: I think I probably saw all of these AR applications reviewed first on the excellent Digital Urban.

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