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. FONTE: www.switched.com