14 DAY TRIAL // The hologram, technically known as augmented reality, has been nothing but a dream until a few years ago, when a group of developers led by Philip Lamb developed a C-powered library (ARToolKit) able to handle dynamic viewpoints and then redraw a 3D object accordingly. Less than a week ago, on February 24, German .NET developer Rene Schulte released the first Silverlight library capable of handling augmented reality, based on the original ARToolKit.
Even if the FLARToolKit previously ported the ARToolKit to another programming language (ActionScript 3), the hype around the release still gained some momentum, maybe to the fact that the Silverlight version came with some interesting features.
The most important was the extensive support for Silverlight's Webcam API, the CaptureSource API and for the generic WriteableBitmap detector. To prove a point, the library was used in two samples for a 3D projection test and inside the Balder 3D game engine (watch the videos below).
The results are kind of astonishing, so somebody might ask themselves why augmented reality-driven applications aren’t popping up around the tech world. The answer is simple: no business and financial support for developers. While the applications look pretty astonishing, they have absolutely no functionality attached to them, so it is hard to successfully package them as a service.
People can only view 3D graphics but cannot interact with them at all. Augmented reality will surely make a cool display medium, maybe a suitable replacement for the eye-tiring LCD screens, but physical interaction with the graphics (as seen in the movies) is not possible. Yet.
ReadWriteWeb, a renowned web-zine for tech geeks, has accurately branded augmented reality in this moment of its evolution more of a feature than a real product. Things will surely evolve after venture companies start pouring money in the domain. But for now, they are all to busy in the mobile and social media market to pay attention to the soon-to-be hot domain.
Nevertheless, some big names like Qualcomm, Volkswagen, Nokia and Intel showed some interest in this sector, sponsoring the 2009 International Symposium on Augmented and Extended Reality last September. For now, augmented reality is still too early in its development, so after ten years of being developed using academic grants, the project seems to be destined to spend one or two more years in university labs before moving in the spotlight and our homes.
Download SLARToolKit from Softpedia. Download ARToolKit from Softpedia. Download FLARToolKit from Softpedia.
Video of a Silverlight projection sample application.
Video of SLARToolKit being used with the Balder 3D game engine.