AKQA serves up a real world use for augmented reality
Posted by simon@digital-campaign.com | Filed under Augmented Reality, Inspiration, YouTube
AKQA’s website for the US Postal Service (USPS) uses augmented reality to allow users to work out what size of packing they need, saving money and reducing extra packaging. Users simply print off a 3D barcode from the USPS website and position it in front of a webcam. The Flash Augmented Reality Toolkit recognises the barcode as a placeholder and renders a model on top of it. The user can place their package on the printout and adjust the options to suite. Is this the first real world implementation of augmented reality that is actually useful and beyond a simple gimmick? I believe so.
USPS Priority Mail – Virtual Box Simulator
Don’t look down!
Posted by simon@digital-campaign.com | Filed under Inspiration, YouTube
AR brings the new BMW Z4 to life
Posted by simon@digital-campaign.com | Filed under Augmented Reality, YouTube
This is probably one of the sleekest uses of Augmented reality I have seen, fitting in perfectly with the above-the-line campaign. Users can turn their desk (or in fact anywhere) into a canvas for the BMW Z4 to drive around controlled by the user’s keyboard – cool.
Volkswagen Masters the Viral Video
Posted by simon@digital-campaign.com | Filed under Advertising, Viral, YouTube
Great viral videos are hard to come by, but Volkswagen (or rather ad agency DDB Stockholm) appears to have hit the bullseye. Their new campaign “The Fun Theory” is a series of experiments, captured on video, to find out if making the world more fun can improve people’s behavior. The top video, Piano Stairs, has achieved over 1 million views on YouTube – I can’t count how many times friends have shared it this week.