Have you ever seen an advertisement in a magazine that asks you to visit a website, open your webcam and hold the logo in front of the webcam in such a way that you see a virtual product? If yes, are you familiar with the technology involved? The technology used in the advertisement is Augmented Reality (AR).
AR is a technology that allows the users to interact with the computer generated virtual objects in the real world by various means. AR is one of the variations of Virtual Reality (VR). VR is a technology that completely immerses a user inside a synthetic environment where they are not able to see and interact with the real world around them; whereas AR allows the users to see the real world with the virtual objects superimposed with the real world. This technology has been used in advertising, medicine, product design, gaming, entertainment and so on. Although there are several areas where AR has been applied, my focus is more towards the advertisement.
The technology conscious marketing firms are getting ready to attract their tech-savvy customers with the use of 3-D images of products. For example, companies like GE have already introduced their Plug Into the Grid, a marketing campaign intended to promote the benefits of improved power-meter technology using an interactive 3-D animation as an AR component . Best Buy’s 3-D ad also shows a 3-D image of Toshiba notebook that can be explored in different angles once a user faces the front page of the circular on the webcam.
AR advertising requires the users to download a software application or print-off a specific graphic symbol from a given site and hold the print out in front of the webcam. As soon as the user holds the print out in front of the webcam, the camera picks up on the printed graphic symbol and displays an AR image on the printed paper which is an interactive 3-D image or animation. The users then can interact with the image by rotating, tilting and further examine the virtual image.
What does the season of spring mean to you? Well, it means “no snow” to me . I think it is the time when nature rejuvenates itself with bed of flowers, green grass and fresh air. Spring signifies the emergence of new life.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you can give a new life to your closet this spring? I can just imagine the colors of spring enter my closet and give it a new feel. Although I am a sweatshirt and jeans type of girl, I do love to follow the current trends and appreciate the world of fashion.
So if you have been following the news from New York Fashion week, the trends seem to be so unique this year. The older trends from 60s and 70s are coming back. The trend of high-waisted wide-leg trousers, long skirts, military style, old-school halter neck are being introduced. Vertical and horizontal stripes and bold colors are also the newest trends. I am more into flowery prints, laces, ruffles, cardigans and skinny jeans. Flowery prints are embodiment of freshness. I am only going to bring this freshness in my closet this spring.
I appreciate the newness designers have brought into the fashion industry, but my unsophisticated style will always embrace the beautiful colors of spring.
I am trying to be multidimensional here. I thought I should share my experience as a student of Human Computer Interaction. It feels good to be an educated person .
Usability experts are pretty familiar with eye tracking. For those who are not familiar with the field of usability, I would like to introduce you to this field.
Usability simply means making an interface, system or a product user friendly and easier to use. Have you ever bought a product from a website that has a really bad design? Probably not. Why do you leave a website immediately if it does not meet your expectations? Do the use of font, size of font, use of background color, naming of menus, categorization of products in a website bother you sometimes? Thus, it is very important for a web designer to consider user needs and meet their expectations. Usability can be applied on a website, software, product or any other kind of interface.
There are several tools and methods available in the market to perform usability testing. One of the tools that Missouri University of Science and Technology is proud to be an owner of is an eye tracker. And, I am one of the lucky students that gets to use this awesome device.
Eye tracker is basically a device that captures and measures your eye movements. This device provides several interesting results. You can see your gaze replay or playback after the experiment is over. The gaze replay shows you how a user shifts focus from one point to the other. The other interesting result provided by an eye tracker is the gaze plot. Gaze plot provides you the sequence of eye movements, order and also the duration of focus. The other frequently used result is a heat map. Heat map provides you the intensity of focus. There are other several statistical results provided by the eye tracker.
Eye tracker is not only limited to usability testing. The technology of eye tracking has been used to help disabled control a computer with the help of their eyes. There are several other applications of eye tracker that I will share later.
The video below explains everything that I have written above. Check this out.
I am really excited to enter the world of blog. It’s not that I have never heard about blogging or read someone’s blog. I guess I just needed an inspiration to enter this world. Alright! There are so many things to write about. I can write about the “eye-tracking” demo I prepared this morning. Yes! eye-tracking demo. This is what I do, educate myself and educate others. Or, I could talk about my victory over “angry birds” on my ipod touch . I can even talk about my favorite you tubers. Options, options, and options.
I hear lot of people talking about fashion. Some people say, it is about being comfortable with yourself. Some people associate it with what you are wearing today, whether it is a skirt you match with your top, or accessorize yourself with a cute bag or pair of shoes. Does this necessarily mean that you are into fashion? Does the definition of your cuteness match with the definition of others? My question here is: What is fashion?
. I think it is the time when nature rejuvenates itself with bed of flowers, green grass and fresh air. Spring signifies the emergence of new life.
