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Microsoft's Augmented Reality, Video Photosynth
Al writes "Microsoft demonstrated new augmented-reality software for cell-phones at the 2009 TechFest conference, which was held this week in Redmond. Instead of using GPS or WiFi triangulation, the prototype system relies entirely on scene-recognition to identify its position and add virtual objects to a video picture of the real world. TechFest is a showcase for lots of projects at Microsoft's various research labs. Other technologies on show included Photosynth for video, an image-tracking system for handwriting, a way of refining image searches using colors, and a 3-D version of Microsoft Surface."
Microsoft speeds too much money on research that they fail to turn into products.
How we know is more important than what we know.
When you see it with their cell phones, sometimes it suddently display a text with that background. Is like magic!
Too bad that text starts saying "A problem has been detected and Window has been shut down"
Steve Jobs demonstrated the Reality Distortion Field as far back as 1982, when he took over the Macintosh project.
Simple. Images load in the background and fade in once loaded. They use DHTML. With proper coding, DHTML is a lot more powerful than people give it credit for being.
Reminds me of a book I read last month, Rainbows End.
People run around with 3d goggles on that overlays 3d graphics over the real world, for work and fun.
The author lives here in San Diego, so it was fun to hear him talking about people overlaying Terry Pratchett-style graphics over the interstates I drive on all the time.
i think you did more research than gp.
Wealth is the gift that keeps on giving.
My concern, as Luddite as it sounds, is that it takes us further and further from reality. It augments our perception of what reality really is. Nothing will be satisfying enough unless it has an overlay on it, apparently adding "value", but in reality, detracting from it. Sure there will be benefits from such technology, but everything is a two-edged sword.
I have always wondered whether Google Maps uses similar technology.
Image stitching has been around for a long time, and Photosynth is based on a lot of technology and research developed elsewhere.
Photosynth caught on because (1) there are lots of images to stitch now, (2) because they did a good engineering job stitching images that were taken under different conditions, and (3) they did a good engineering job on the UI.
The point of your parent is that crediting Microsoft with pioneering these algorithms is sort of akin to saying Al Gore invented the Internet.
While Microsoft may have in fact taken augmented reality into the domain of cellphones and made the tech more accessible and mainstream, they should not be credited with inventing the technology.
None of this is to say that the grandparent (TubeSteak's post) suggests Microsoft invented this technology. I'm only pointing out that all of this defensive and aggressiveness over Microsoft is really unhealthy and, more importantly, unnecessary.
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