Using Printable Augmented Reality Marker Tags

Fun AR Demos to Print at Home for Computers and Cell Phones

Oct 11, 2009 Bridget Coila

Augmented reality demos are sprouting up all over the web. Printed marker tags and a webcam-enabled computer allow anyone to experience the fun of AR.

Printing small black and white symbols and using them to view 3-D models through a computer camera sounds like science fiction. But the future is now, and augmented reality demos are popping up everywhere.

How Augmented Reality Marker Tags Work

Augmented reality marker tags are small printable shapes that interact with software downloaded to a computer equipped with a webcam or a smart phone with camera to create 3-D images overlaid on the real-world image seen on screen.

Individuals can create their own graphics to show up on these tags using AR creation software, but for those who aren't so technically inclined, there are plenty of apps already available that can be used to play with and explore this new technology.

Free AR Printable Tags and Demos

Here are a few Augmented reality Demos with AR marker tags and associated plug-ins that users can easily download to show off to their friends:

GE's Ecomagination Augmented Reality Application - The energy giant GE has created an AR app that allows visitors to their website to download a small piece of software and print out a small marker tag that, when held up to a computer camera, shows a hologram of the GE Smart Grid wind turbine or solar power generator.

ARSights provides 3-D models of famous sites around the world, like the Eiffel Tower or Empire State Building, that pop up from a printed marker tag when a computer camera spots it. The application also works with Google Earth, allowing users to find their favorite 3-D landmarks on the map.

Adoptme.com is the place for 3-D pets, and their new AR application works with a tag printed from their website. Users can view their chosen pet walking around on the marker placed in front of a webcam.

Toyota also has an augmented reality demo of their iQ car. When the tag from the Toyota website is printed and placed in front of a webcam, it transforms into a road with the car driving on top of it. The viewer can tilt and move the road to "drive" the 3-D vehicle and can also cause the vehicle to spread apart into its component parts, allowing a view of the interior and engine.

The augmented reality music mixer at 5gum is AR for people who want to create their own music. The site has printable tags that produce different sounds when moved around in view of a camera-enabled computer. Users shift the tags to mix their own music.

For those with a fair degree of technical savvy and a creative AR idea, there's ARToolkit, developed by Dr. Hirokazu Kato and operated as a joint project between the University of Washington, University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and ARToolworks, Inc. in Seattle. ARToolkit allows users to create their own AR marker tag applications, giving the power of augmented reality to everyone.

Playing with printable augmented reality marker tags gives a fun glimpse into the future of advertising, games and other applications. It's also a cool way to impress friends and have fun with the latest technology.

The copyright of the article Using Printable Augmented Reality Marker Tags in Internet is owned by Bridget Coila. Permission to republish Using Printable Augmented Reality Marker Tags in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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