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Augmented Reality Brings Pop-Up Books into the 21st Century

by Terrence O'Brien on November 3, 2008 at 07:16 PM

Augmented Reality Brings Pop-Up Books into the 21st Century
Children at the Frankfurt Book Fair were treated to an unexpected surprise last week when they swung by a booth run by ArsEdition and Metaio. A book called 'Aliens & UFOs' was being shown off that uses "augmented reality" technology from Metaio.

Metaio's Unifeye software uses a standard-issue Webcam and a Windows-based PC, and the system is able to render real-time 3-D images that float above the pages on your computer screen. This 21st century update of the timeless pop-up book requires no special markings or paper to function -- instead, the software uses the camera to recognize the specific dimensions and images on a page and renders the appropriate models and animations. Moving the book around causes the 3-D rendering to follow the pages around, but only as long as they stay within the field of view of the camera. We know, it sounds kinda zany, but it makes sense immediately when you see the video after the break.

Metaio hopes to extend this technology beyond children's books to catalogs and presentations for designers. Imagine picking up an IKEA catalog and being able to see photo realistic 3-D renderings of the furniture in a room, allowing you to get a better sense of its dimensions.



There are two major limitations to the technology. First, the renderings must be programmed into the software after the printed page is completed (new books would require software updates), and second, it's pretty tough to imagine someone sitting in front of a PC holding a book while reading it on their screen.

It's still a pretty neat trick, though. The first two books available with the technology are 'Atlantica 3D Interactive,' (it appears to be an atlas), which is hitting shelves in November, and the previously mentioned 'Aliens & UFOs,' which does not yet have a concrete release date. Check out the video below to see it in action. [From: OhGizmo! and Wired]

Tags: aliens ufos, AliensUfos, altantica 3d interactive, Altantica3dInteractive, arsedition, augmented reality, AugmentedReality, books, metaio, unifeye

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