The Wall Has Fallen: 3 Augmented Reality Apps Now Live in iPhone App Store
First Paris Metro, then Yelp, now London Buses. The newest is even selling database layers through in-app purchases.
It has been widely reported that the API required to display Augmented Reality (AR) layers of data on top of the camera view of a non-jailbroken iPhone 3Gs would not be publicly exposed until the launch of the next version of the iPhone Operating System, expected this Fall. Many developers are patiently waiting, but some have now found a way around the restriction. We just received word of the 3rd AR-enabled app hitting the iTunes store.
Earlier this week we reported on Paris Metro Subway as being apparently the first AR-enabled app to be accepted into iTunes. Then, this afternoon Robert Scoble discovered that the new Yelp app includes an AR easter egg that any 3Gs owner can turn on by shaking their phone. Now we've received an email from Presselite, the same company that made Paris Metro Subway, letting us know that its London Bus app has been updated to include AR overlays and is also live in the App Store.
The London Bus app is even selling data sets through in-app purchases. From its iTunes description:
It is now possible to add new Point of Interest (POI) databases to London Bus application via in-app purchase. These options allow you to activate Food & Drink POI, Leisure POI, Attractions POI and Accommodation POI all over the UK.
This AR economy is moving faster than we expected.
All three of these were existing established apps that received AR capabilities in an update, not dedicated AR apps seeking admission for the first time. We've been unable to determine how this was achieved technically (Presselite of course won't say), but rumor has it that the apps may be leveraging a third-party code base called ARToolkit (or iPhoneARToolkit). Others point to software called ChromelessImagePickerController.
Can Apple now fairly deny other apps that seek to bring AR to the iPhone? We can't imagine that they would shut down Yelp's wildly successful app.
Presumably many developers will continue to wait, hoping that the software they've already built will be enabled as soon as next month. Others will probably try to get their apps in ahead of the official announcement of AR support from Apple. That's got to take some wind out of the sails of those companies that have been waiting patiently.
They may only be the beginning and they may not be high-profile or officially supported by Apple yet, but it couldn't be clearer: Augmented Reality apps have come to the iPhone.
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"This will all end in tears".
Violating the terms of the iPhone developer agreement using ARToolkit will be dealt with in the, now common, Dracionian Apple style.
Marshall, I would have gotten Phil Schiller on the phone before christening this post "The Wall Has Fallen".
Todd, I hear ya.
Marshall,
How long do you think it's going to take before retailers and business in the US get on board with POI and AR. I remember talking about wireless mobile commerce 6 years ago when many European and Asian countries were using mobile commerce technology in a more static sms basis.
AR really enhances the user experience and the marketing capabilities for companies but, actually being able to use this as a consumer I would hope is not far off but it sure feels like it is.
Thoughts???
Jason, I imagine that 3rd party service providers will be the ones that advance retail use more than most retail outlets themselves. Except the big ones. That's my guess. What's yours?
The Wall Has Fallen: 3 Augmented Reality Apps Now Live in iPhone App Store http://bit.ly/cZcPk [from http://twitter.com/marshallk/statuses/3587466777]
Posted by: Marshall Kirkpatrick
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August 27, 2009 2:47 PM
So ...
The AR lays over the camera view ...
which can see anything that you can see ...
and points out businesses with signs ...
that you can already see.
(If you can't see the sign, that business is probably not contributing to the GPS data pool, either.)
And the magic is ... ?
I'm seeing this as an interesting, very basic demo of what is, for most people, a cool new technology (not actually that new). However, in the Yelp implementation it seems redundant ... unless a person prefers waving a camera-phone around instead of simply looking around.
I hope it doesn't make people think that augmented reality is all about this little trick. It's capable of supporting MUCH more intense activity, and will undoubtedly develop into a technology that has much to offer (remote surgery, education, military, etc.) ... as long as it doesn't become a silly throw-away marketing tactic.
I am in awe of this. I can't believe it's finally coming true.
The thing I keep seeing is the Terminator's view, where he has that digital overlay on the world.
James, if they had demoed the app a block away from the station, where you can't see it, the app would have been useful but the demo wouldn't have been clear.
Posted by: http://gonze.com/about/
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August 27, 2009 4:32 PM
Who holds the patents on AR? I have yet to see any mention of this, but fully expect to see a 200 million dollar lawsuit against Apple after enough time has gone by to claim losses.
Thanks for this very good article. Just like you, I am very excited by AR, but...
...as an iPhone owner, I think these 2 companies did it in a very very bad way. In fact, they successfully went through the App Store Approval process by hiding AR functions to Apple validation process.
Even if is good for technology, the consquences are very bad for iPhone. As far as I know, iPhone is still owned by Apple (and they make the rules) and it is still a privilège for people to develop for this device (otherwise they can switch).
Of course, AR is already available on Android. Of course, iPhone can perfectly run AR. But AR is currently not allowed by Apple on current version of the OS. Great apps like Layar.com aren't available yet for good reason, not because the above mentioned apps are better.
In fact, these apps are using Private elements of the iPhone SDK and this is absolutely forbidden by Apple. These apps are clearly breaking the Dev Agreement (that dev jhave to sign with Apple).
By hiding forbidden tools, these companies are forcing Apple to react fast:
- Apple will have to remove these apps from the app store because otherwise 30’000 developers will not understand how they can accept such privilege. It will of course make a lot of noise: good marketing for Yelp that is giving its app for free (and I suppose they did it on purpose), but what about the french company that is selling its apps (and POI are very expensive regarding the quality of the information you buy, trust me).
- As if the current approval process was not difficult enough, Apple could make it even harder and longer for developers to submit apps. Apple will have to be sure that submited apps are not containing forbidden Easter Eggs or hidden functions. They will have to do it everytime and before allowing it to be published. They could also by example ask developers to send them the sources.
- Apple could immediately release a new OS v3.0.2 (like they did for SMS hack). But I am not sure they will do that for 2-3 apps using AR.
So, anyway, we are in a loose-loose situation.
I am one of those devs with an AR app impatiently waiting for the officially sanctioned way of getting into the app store. Yes, it is a bit disheartening to see others who manage to jump the queue somehow, but OTOH maybe they have managed to find ways of implementing these techniques without breaching Apple guidelines. After all, there are also a number of existing photography apps that use camera overlays, and Apple has let them all through too. Never-the-less, it remains a very grey area, and it would behoove Apple to be more forthcoming about it all. But its very unlikely that they will, based on their record to date... so the love/hate relationship just continues.
AR apps in iPhone App Store. Sure this would enhance the marketing world. That too getting point to point information about our surrounding and tracking the famous spots is now easy with these reality browsers.
Perhaps a demo where the on-screen graphics can be seen would be more effective? I'm talking about the bakground being mirrored in the device screen.
James writes: The AR lays over the camera view ...
which can see anything that you can see ...
and points out businesses with signs ...
that you can already see.
(If you can't see the sign, that business is probably not contributing to the GPS data pool, either.)
So you haven't tried it obviously, but are willing to dismiss it based on your completely faulty understanding of it.
1) You don't need to see it with the camera.
2) You don't always see the si...
Forget it. It isn't even worth trying to explain to someone like you.
It seems these AR apps all have one thing in common - they all use (probably) Apple's latest public approved SDK:
1) Where is the phone located? Use Core Location to get a fix.
2) Where is the phone pointing? Again, Core Location with the digital compass on the iPhone 3GS.
3) Then based on 1) and 2), just overlay some POIs on the camera view using UIImagePickerController.cameraOverlayView (see http://bit.ly/iphone-camera-customization for an example)
Quite frankly, this "location-based AR" stuff just does not excite me. They are not much more than Google Maps Local Search overlaid on a camera image. What really gets me fired up is the work involved with feature detection in the environment and augmenting those features with mobile rendered content. Unfortunately, these types of apps require image processing of live video feeds, something which requires the use of undocumented APIs, which currently violates Apple's terms.
Regg
I can't believe there are developers here ignorant enough to suggest these apps have somehow taken a back door to getting AR on the app store.
Apple quite publicly stated AR would be possible come September, September came and OS 3.1 was released with UIImagePickerController.cameraOverlayView
If you are using this method there should be nothing holding back your app from approval.
However there is still a way to go, there is still no officially sanctioned method for getting image data from the camera into your app, so doing any kind of image detection is still not possible.