I discovered a mobile app called Augment at South by Southwest (SXSW) this year at the Rackspace party. It’s an app, available on iPhone, iPad and Android, that lets anyone visualize 3D models embedded in their environment. For the first time, augmented reality has been made easy for consumers who want to dabble in it from a mobile device. The 3D images they had of incredible images of the Taj Mahal and other places were incredible.
It’s fairly easy to use. You can register on their upload interface, and, in the same way you would upload a video on YouTube, you can upload a 3d model. You can choose to keep private or share it with anyone through a link or a button on a website.
Already more than 7,000 models have been uploaded to their servers. Designers, Architects, salespeople and teachers are using Augment to showcase product that could not be physically present. The platform is so open that you can go the google 3D warehouse or Thingiverse and open directly one of their models in Augment. This feature alone adds augmented reality to all the 3D content already available on Internet. And for those travelers out there who are also geeks, imagine the possibility of navigating through old Jerusalem, Delhi or Berlin in a 3D environment on your mobile device. The app is free so you can test it out.
Below is the CEO giving me a demo in Austin last week. More information about Augment can be found here.
Below is a 3D ‘shot’ from Asia, so you can get an idea of how this app could be implemented and useful while you’re on the road seeing sites.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
