SynchroCam is not just another app. Really, it's a step toward a new age of photography: a collaborative level that is perfect for the social-media world.
SynchroCam lets you wirelessly link multiple devices (on the same wi-fi network or via Bluetooth), freeze a moment in time and save it as a 3D-like animated GIF.
Hopefully, projects like the Apollon concept will come next, allowing your camera to be physically combined with your friends’ cameras. This would let you snap images together to create things like panoramas and 3D photographs. Check out the idea below.
Hey, we can dream. In the meantime, download SynchroCam for free here.
Augmented reality games seem to be everywhere these days, and their inspiration is coming from some pretty interesting places.
Coming soon, renownded director David Cronenberg will see some of his amazing films turned into an AR game. Using GPS software, smartphone cameras, social media tools and more, developers are going to bring Cronenberg's films to life for gamers in what is being described by the Toronto International Film Festival as "stylized social-media meets psychological-thriller game play."
In fact, TIFF has created a job posting for a Project Manager on the Cronenberg AR project. Anyone interested in applying?
For my part, I'm just excited to see what movies will be included in the game, which should be released by the end of next year. eXistenZ is an obvious choice, as is Videodrome. But I wouldn't mind playing an Eastern Promises-themed game either. As long as it isn't too true to life.
If you’re familiar with augmented reality, you’ve heard of Layar, the company that’s been instrumental in bringing AR to the world of smartphones and tablets. Now, the company is rolling out Stiktu, an app that lets users combine their digital posting with real photos and share them with each other.
Although the Layar software has been downloaded millions of times already, it’s been a bit too “techie” for most users. After launching in nine European markets on Tuesday, Stiktu may be the app to change all that.
"From the very start we always wanted to give this powerful technology to people so they could use it to their own benefit. With Stiktu we created an app that does exactly that," Layar co-founder Maarten Lens-FitzGerald told Reuters. "Now everybody can publish augmented reality content on anything they care about."
Download Stiktu here, scan an object with your phone and add text, images, sketches or stickers to it. Comment on a ridiculous bumper sticker you see. Edit a book title to speak the truth. Or draw something disgusting on your spouse’s headshot.
Then, share it with other users to share your unique spin on the world. Anyone who scans that item will see your post directly on top of it, no matter where they are in the world. It works especially well with flat, well-lit items like posters, magazines and product packaging, according to Stiktu’s website.
Imagine a day when you can control your smartphone and laptop with your mind, and facial recognition on ATMs and computers is advanced enough to make passwords obsolete.
That reality may not be too far away, according to researchers at IBM. The company’s annual “5 in 5” report explores five futuristic technologies that have the potential to change the world in the next half-decade.
Topping the list are mind-reading gadgets. IBM is among several companies that are developing devices that are controlled with the user’s mind. Mind-reading tech, called bioinformatics, enables the user to call a friend by picturing him or scroll through a document without using a mouse, for example.
"Within five years, we will begin to see early applications of this technology in the gaming and entertainment industry," IBM said. "Doctors could use the technology to test brain patterns, possibly even assist in rehabilitation from strokes and to help in understanding brain disorders, such as autism."
Also awesome is IBM’s prediction that passwords will be left behind as devices instead grant you access by recognizing who you are.
"Your biological makeup is the key to your individual identity, and soon it will become the key to safeguarding it," IBM said. "Imagine you will be able to walk up to an ATM machine to securely withdraw money by simply speaking your name or looking into a tiny sensor that can recognize the unique patterns in the retina of your eye. Or by doing the same, you can check your account balance on your mobile phone or tablet."
Sure, this type of technology is already rampant in smartphones, timeclocks and the like. But one day it will be secure enough to be used in banking applications and for computer security.
My favorite five-year prediction, though, is “people-powered homes.” I’ve often thought about this while running uselessly on the treadmill: Why aren’t we capturing the kinetic energy created by humans and their homes? Apparently, IBM is setting out to do just that.
"Anything that moves or produces heat has the potential to create energy that can be captured," IBM said. "Walking. Jogging. Bicycling. The heat from your computer. Even the water flowing through your pipes."
Want to check out the other few ideas? Keep reading here.
Imagine a world in which nearly everything is a computer: your eyeglasses, that passing cab, books, chalkboards. Now, try to envision what your life would be like if all the computerized elements of your life were connected. So your glasses translate foreign languages, and your cab syncs to your smartphone to bring you up to speed on the city you're visiting.
In a new series of videos, Microsoft invites you to "watch how future technology will help people make better use of their time, focus their attention, and strengthen relationships while getting things done at work, home, and on the go."
Though the video is intriguing, the technology seems so distant that it's almost like magic. ("Hover" texting? Come on.) Of course, much of today's advanced technology would seem magical to people in the 1950s.
So maybe this future world isn't too far off. But part of me shudders at the idea of being even more reliant on computers. "Strengthen relationships"? Sure. And just think of how mushy our brains will be then.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at 6:52AM 
