For computer based Augmented Reality to work, people need webcams. The question is, how many people actually have them? We searched the interwebs for reliable data, but everything we found was several years old. So, that’s where you come in. Please answer the question below and circulate it (that last part’s important) OR visit this link to vote: bit.ly/cVC85
Also, feel free to post any reliable data that you’ve found in the comment sections below. Thanks in advance for your help!
Having issues seeing the latest and greatest Augmented Reality works on your Macbook Pro? Join the crowd. As we’ve been developing more and more Augmented Reality executions, we’ve been encountering this issue with Flash and webcams – specific to the Macbook Pro. For some reason, the Macbook Pro webcam is not set to a default to work with Flash so we had to look around for a solution. Here’s what worked for us:
Control Click the Flash Object and select Settings
Go to the Camera Tab and Use the drop down menu to select USB Video Class Video
Close the Settings window and everything should work ok.
That should do it. If that doesn’t work for you, please reply in the comments or send us an email at ar@zugara.com. Or better yet, email Apple and ask why they haven’t created a fix for this yet!
June 23, 2009, Los Angeles – Here at Zugara, we’re proud to announce the launch of our newest application, The Webcam Social Shopper. Coupling the functionality of both Augmented Reality and Motion Capture, this application will allow anyone with a webcam to shop online right from within their video feed. We like to think of it as “Augmented Reality meets Utility”. This app allows you to seemingly hold articles of clothing up in front of yourself to see “how they look”. And the Motion Capture allows the app to track your movements so you can interact with the site (e.g. cycle through a product’s various colors/styles or take a picture of yourself so you can get immediate feedback from friends on Facebook) while standing several feet away from your computer’s controls. No extra downloads, no new plug-in, no consumer headache.
To see the application in action, check out our video below.
Now that you’ve seen the application in its “Alpha State”, think about the potential an app like this has as we partner with brands to allow their consumers to do things like:
Livestream their webcam’s feed to friends and loved ones, and get comments and feedback right next to the application in real time.
Receive “clothing care packages” from loved ones who might be somewhere else in the country and set up times to “shop together”… online.
Enter their measurements into the app and get a “fitted image”.
Match entire outfits at the same time, both top and bottom.
Shop right within a branded Facebook application.
It’s not a secret that friends/family recommendations influence a consumer’s purchase decision and beat any other “consumer touchpoint”. Now, we can help brands empower their consumers to integrate their friends and family into their online shopping process like never before. The thinking is that this application will help bridge the gap between how people like to shop offline and how they are forced to shop online, subsequently providing an enhanced interactive shopping experience for the consumer and increased sales for the brand. So, what do you think? Please, feel free to share this post with anyone and everyone, or embed the video above in your own blog. And, as always, we’d love to know your thoughts below…
(UPDATE: We’ve partnered with RichRelevance to integrate their recommendation engine into WSS and create a completely unique application dubbed Fashionista. Fashionista is currently live on Tobi.com and you can read more about that launch on Fast Company.)
About Zugara
Zugara is an interactive marketing agency with a passion for emerging media and technologies. Unlike most agencies, we don’t claim to do everything: Interactive Video, Social Media, Mobile Marketing, and Website & Application Development are our core competencies. Since our doors opened in 2001, we’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the world’s best brands such as Reebok, Sony Computer Entertainment Of America, Toyota, Activision, Jelly Belly, Casio, The Air Force, and Lexus to create strategic interactive campaigns that focus on accomplishing their business objectives. Based in Los Angeles, we’re currently in the process of expanding, and opening our second office in New York (www.zugara.com) (www.zugarastudios.com).
For more information on The Webcam Social Shopper or ZugMo Technology, please contact ar@zugara.com. For all other inquiries, please contact info@zugara.com.
Copyright 2009 ZugMo Technology
Copyright 2009 Webcam Social Shopper
Copyright 2009 Zugara Inc.
Patent Pending
There have already been reports surfacing that the next iteration of the iPhone – version 3.0 – will have the ability to both record and edit video on the handset. As reported by CHRON’s Tech Blog, the 3.0 update to be announced in June, will reveal a new handset capable of video.
There’s no doubt that video on the iPhone will be huge. With the release of the iPhone 3G last year, it was assumed (prior to release) that video would be a major feature. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be and for the last year you had to jailbreak your iPhone to use unauthorized video recorders. It’s assumed that the iPhone will use the current optical lens which will be great for short form video and MMS. Maybe this is the year that MMS finally is ‘the next big thing’ in mobile. (Note: Italics are meant for sarcasm as MMS has been the next big thing in the mobile industry for 6 years now…faster network speeds and popularity of the iPhone should finally make 2010 ‘that year’.)
However, should the iPhone have an optical lens both on the front and back of the handset, you’ve now tapped into a nerve center for Corporate America, Advertisers & Marketers and most importantly, Gen Y.
Corporate America? Easy. Video Conferencing. People do business with People and given the continued economic downturn, being able to interface long distance with a business contact face to face (virtually and mobile) will have a bigger impact than people think. Skype is already in a prime position with an app out for iPhone and due out soon for Blackberry. Actually this will be huge for Corporate AND America.
Gen Y? Another easy one. Webcam broadcasts whenever and wherever. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know I’m pretty bullish on UStream being the next big thing in terms of real-time interactive video. If the iPhone does in fact include a screen side optical unit, then this will help usher in this new era of interactive mobile video that much sooner.
Advertiser & Marketers? Tons of potential opportunities. Could a company like Admob integrate smartphone ads into a consumers MMS message (for a loyalty or rewards based program) or even integrate ads into someone’s own mobile webcam broadcast. You could look at contextual ads or even location based serviced ads depending on the location of the broadcast.
This would also raise the bar for ARG’s or other marketing based initiatives that utilize UGC.
The only downside? How long until AT&T or another carrier network decides to pass along the cost to the consumer for sending larger video files or using video conferencing on their network…
We Are Organized Chaos (WAOC) is Zugara’s (www.zugara.com) interactive marketing and advertising blog where we’ll be featuring some great projects and discussing upcoming trends in the digital world. Work — good and bad — will be critiqued. Hope you’ll enjoy reading our insights and thoughts on interactive.
