Spotselfie wants to encourage social interaction and real-world engagement with their new AR-powered social network.
Also, Google adds raw depth API to ARCore, and Hyundai's new Ioniq car features an AR HUD.
Spotselfie, an augmented reality (AR) social application, has announced the launch of its beta on the App Store and Google Play. The social engagement platform encourages users to interact with digital content within the app and physically visit locations and meet people they've already engaged with online. This allows users to discover new local spots such as cafes, restaurants, and parks.
The company also stated that Spotselfie has the potential to stimulate local economies. Businesses can post AR objects representing their company at locations around the community they operate in, and brands can place AR advertisements at GPS locations targeted to their core audience or specific location-based audiences, such as event attendees.
How does the app work, then? When users open the app, they will see other people's tagged virtual objects, or Spotselfies, floating around the physical space. Users can then engage by commenting on and rating a Spotselfie or following its original poster. The company hopes this will encourage virtual connections and lead to real-world interaction around shared interests and pastimes.
In this week's Google I/O event, Google announced ARCore 1.24. It brings two new AR capabilities, Raw Depth API and Recording and Playback API.
The Raw Depth API builds on the existing Depth API by capturing additional depth data. "The new ARCore Raw Depth API provides more detailed representations of objects by generating 'raw' depth maps with corresponding confidence images. These raw depth maps include unsmoothed data points," said Google AR product managers Ian Zhang and Zeina Oweis. The result is improved geometry recognition, which means greater precision on depth measurement and better environmental understanding for anchoring AR content realistically into physical environments.
The Recording and Playback API gives apps the ability to capture inertial measurement units (IMU) and depth data in video footage. This means that developers can test AR content without leaving their desks every now and then. The Recording and Playback API also creates a new AR experience for end-users, allowing them to add virtual content to videos.
Hyundai is kicking off its new electric sub-brand, the Ioniq 5. It is a mid-size crossover with hot hatch proportions. It comes with a wide range of cool features, such as room for activities (sure, we all need to be hassling around in our cars), convenient charging technology, and eco-friendly interior materials.
But, what caught our attention was the augmented reality head-up display. Very much like in the Mercedes' AR windshield, Hyundai's AR HUD projects relevant information, such as navigation, advanced safety, and the car's surroundings. The drivers can decide whether or not they want to turn the AR features on. This allows drivers to process information quickly while keeping their attention on the road ahead.
This is the first time Hyundai IONIQ 5 features an AR HUD, turning the windshield into a display screen.
That's all for now, see you next time!