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Augmented reality games (ARGs) seem to be the new wave of the future in the world of video games. The 3DS showed that it could produce AR images and constructs through the use of cards which have very specific image tags on them. However, Sony is looking to one-up Nintendo by creating its own AR tech that does everything the 3DS can do, yet without the need for these cards. The new AR tech, called SmartAR, doesn’t require the use of special image markers to generate and track AR objects. While the 3DS uses its special cards to track a virtual object’s position in relative space, SmartAR will be able to recognize an environment by analyzing the shape of background objects. They call this “natural marker technology,” as it basically chooses an everyday object in a real-life environment to act as a marker instead.  Sony’s SmartAR demo showed a company photo that had a pink bear inside it. The photo was able to be manipulated in any way, while still keeping the position of the bear perfectly aligned. The demo then proceeded to show how SmartAR will lay a grid along the entire environment from its “natural marker.” This allowed the camera to pull as far away from the marker as possible, even to a point where it was out of focus, while still keeping the bear on track. It even allowed the camera to turn away from the marker so that it wasn’t on camera at all, while still allowing the bear to move around relative to the camera position. The demo also showed an example in which bouncing balls fell in a room and held their position outside of the marker’s range. In another example, a simple four-piece wall photo became an interactive AR object. The SmartAR technology was used with a smartphone, but if you ask us, this is a shoe-in for the NGP. Don’t disappoint us Sony! |