Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Shop Virtually And Try On Items Via Webcam?

Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are merged with or augmented by virtual computer-generated imagery - creating a mixed reality. The augmentation is conventionally in real-time and in semantic context with environmental elements, like for example sports scores on TV during a match. With the help of advanced AR technology (e.g. adding computer vision and object recognition) the information about the surrounding real world of the user becomes interactive and digitally usable. Artificial information about the environment and the objects in it can be stored and retrieved as an information layer on top of the real world view. Looks pretty interesting, yet kind of still in infancy stages. Will definitely keep eyes open on how this evolves over the years.

5 comments:

Simon said...

Nice post. I think done well these can and will be very successful within a few years. Webcam augmentation technology has already become mainstream (see comic effects like putting on glasses onto your face) so it's the next step to apply costumes and dresses.

Will be interesting to see how this evolves compared with the other approach of your virtual avatar modeling items, which is becoming more easier and widespread. My guess is that they will coexist?

Scarlett Niven said...

Hi Simon! Yes, I think definitely there are similarities that can be properly meshed with 3D avatar/webcam augmentation and the next step of integrating into a static website that and other features to merge RL/VR as a shopping/fashion experience. I am actually working on something like this now, so we will see how it goes! :-)

Simon said...

Actually when we began Frenzoo we had real world fashion in mind, but quickly discovered the limitations of that approach - cost of converting real items into 3d, how fast real life fashions go out of date and managing production leadtimes, the cycles needed to manage real life.

So we switched over to purely virtual creators, which is turning out great.. but I think somehow if that can be made easier to integrate RL brands via new technology, it's great.

For now, sites like Polyvore and simple 2D drag and drop modeling remain pretty compelling

Project sounds great, if you want any feedback or a beta tester just shout :)

Scarlett Niven said...

Absolutely! :-). Frenzoo is progressing nicely so congrats to you on that. Definitely sites like Polyvore and Lookit have huge traffic and is a fantastic way to explore fashion and purchase those items at a click of a button. I'm looking at a few different ways to do this as well as how to integrate the features and technology I want for cost effectiveness and stability. Anyway, not too much on here..lol..but I will definitely give you a shout moving forward to chat.:-)

Josue Habana said...

Augmented reality really is going to completely revolutionise shopping for almost everything.

I've done some reading around a few projects in the pipeline with some big development agencies and it's really exciting stuff.

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