While I was at PAX, Sony Playstation had an amazing demonstration of a new game for their new EyeToy camera accessory. The game was simply known as EyePet, and it was pretty much the coolest thing that I saw all that day.
Eyepet allows the user to play with a virtual pet that will only appear on the screen. The eyepet is simply a lovable furry creature that is often found in most “pet” games. What makes it interesting is how the player interacts with the pet.
The player holds up a plastic rectangle the size of a piece of paper, and it has a paw print in the center of it. This serves as sort of an odd sort of controller to this game that really thinks outside the box. With this controller, I was able to wash the virtual pet by moving the rectangular controller to change the angle of spraying. As you can see from the video above, that rectangle comes in handy for a lot of other fun things like an x-ray. You can read more about the EyePet here.
I see the EyePet as a trend in augmented reality. In case don’t know what it is, its when a user puts a specially made object in front of a camera, and the image on video will display something in 3D. For example, Best Buy put an Augmented Reality ad in the August 2nd Sunday paper. The reader had the option of putting that ad in front of their webcam, and the image jumps right out at the user.
Not more than a week later, Criss Angel gives us another Mindfreak with an augmented reality game that the user can print out, and then play by placing it in front of his or her webcam.
Doritos has got into the act with this new flavor with an augmented reality patch on the back of the package. You put it in front of the camera, and you can see a rock group perform. If you turn the package slowly, you can see the band from different angles.
It seems like everywhere I go, I see augmented reality in some form. All it takes is a camera and some special software, and you will see something new. If you haven’t seen it yet, then you will, trust me. This is the age of augmented reality.
You know what I want to see next? Augmented reality bibles. Can you imagine that? Just open up the Bible to 1 Samuel 17 and see a three-dimensional scene of David slaying Goliath. Of course, that is assuming you don’t see that already.
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