At AR Immersion 2010, Total Immersion Showcases Apps and Partnerships That Are Defining the Era of Augmented Reality

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--We’ve seen the future of AR, and it’s all over the map -- literally.

“We conceived of AR Immersion 2010 as a way to showcase AR’s versatility, illuminating a diverse range of applications and verticals, best practices, and how to optimally leverage AR as a platform, whatever the app”

That’s the takeaway from AR Immersion 2010 (http://ar-immersion.t-immersion.com/), Total Immersion’s day-long tour of the world of augmented reality, held in Los Angeles in mid-November. Much of the content from that day is now online, including a full complement of visuals (http://blog.t-immersion.com/2010/11/12/ar-immersion-2010-photos/) and videos (http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C40E9317C19DED90).

AR Immersion 2010 featured a stellar lineup of experts from a cross-section of market segments, from the role of AR in printed communications to themed entertainment and museums, to retail and e-commerce, medical and experiential AR (http://blog.t-immersion.com/2010/11/09/ar-immersion-2010-event-agenda/).

Total Immersion kicked off the day by unveiling a breakthrough mobile commerce application that uses AR face-tracking to enable consumers to try – and buy – eyeglass frames directly from an iPhone 4. The app pulls from the frames inventory of an eyeglasses retailer, enables consumers to try various styles, send photos to friends through social networks, connect to a map pinpointing the nearest store to buy offline, or complete the transaction online, on the spot. Attendees were able to sample this groundbreaking AR experience, seeing firsthand how AR can enhance mobile interaction.

Also at AR Immersion 2010, Total Immersion announced a strategic alliance with Adobe, designed to accelerate market penetration of augmented reality applications. The partnership will foster optimization of Total Immersion’s D’Fusion software platform with Adobe Flash, and will extend to joint efforts to integrate AR into Adobe-branded platforms in ways that will enhance these solutions.

A Lineup as Diverse as AR Itself

Keynoting the event was Dr. Ronald Azuma, Research Leader at Nokia Research Center and an accomplished scholar in the field of augmented reality. Joining Azuma on the program were senior representatives from Adobe (http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C40E9317C19DED90), Google, Procter & Gamble, Mattel, Interpublic Group and a host of innovators in AR application deployment – such companies as 3D California, Helios Interactive, Glu Mobile, YOUReality, ImmediaC, Leovation Ltd., Vantage Surgical Systems, Merlan Creative, De Lapp Design and Development, Perfect Prototype and Credelis Media Group.

Exhibits and workshops from Total Immersion partners underscored the power of AR to not only engage but to create entirely new classes of experience. Among the highlights:

Virtual dressing room AR platform by ImmediaC (www.immediac.com) – features include virtual buttons on the x and y axis so the user can virtually select, size and move around in a 3D garment
Retail visualization by YOUReality (www.youreality.com) – innovative solutions that provide a composited view of virtual home furnishings in a consumer’s real environment
Event solutions by Helios Interactive (www.heliosinteractive.com)
Retail marketing solutions by 3D California (www.3dcalifornia.com)
Themed entertainment solutions by Perfect Prototype (www.perfectprototype.com)
Total Immersion itself demonstrated a variety of projects(http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=299763&id=59324529186), among them face-tracking applications for Allergan’s Restasis dry-eye drug (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=294387&id=59324529186) and for the New York Mets at CitiField (http://www.erwinpenland.com/work/campaign_details/163), 3D product demos (http://blog.t-immersion.com/2010/06/30/get-the-picture-total-immersion-teams-with-olympus-for-breakthrough-augmented-reality-camera/), AR games (http://blog.t-immersion.com/2010/10/20/video-release-of-lg-iron-man-2-augmented-reality-event/), and interactive marketing applications (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=222660&id=59324529186).

“We conceived of AR Immersion 2010 as a way to showcase AR’s versatility, illuminating a diverse range of applications and verticals, best practices, and how to optimally leverage AR as a platform, whatever the app,” said Bruno Uzzan, CEO and co-founder, Total Immersion. “Along with our clients, we brought together partners and others keenly interested in this emerging industry – to learn, to interact, and to help shape a future vision of augmented reality.”

For more information, explore AR Immersion 2010 on Twitter http://twitter.com/totalimmersion #ARim.

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About Total Immersion

Leading the augmented reality industry since 1999, Total Immersion (www.t-immersion.com) provides the world’s most widely used commercial augmented reality platform. Through its patented D’Fusion® software solution, Total Immersion blurs the line between the virtual world and the real world by integrating real time interactive 3D graphics into a live video stream. The company maintains offices in Europe (France and UK), North America and Asia. Total Immersion supports the world’s largest augmented reality partner network, with a diversified portfolio of more than 80 best-of-breed solution providers worldwide. Find the latest news about Total Immersion at: http://blog.t-immersion.com.