Metaio is Ready for the iPhone OS 4.0: Mobile SDK and AR Browser Junaio will have Image Recognition and Tracking

metaio today launched its Unifeye Mobile Software Development Kit (SDK) 2.1 with new functionalities and features taking full advantage of the iPhone OS 4.0 camera access API to create image based augmented reality experiences on the iPhone. This product is the world`s first and only software development kit for creating mobile augmented reality applications, supporting all major platforms – Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile, and now iPhone including image-processing. Furthermore this groundbreaking feature is already available in junaio combining GPS based AR browsing and making information really stick to objects.

“With Apple`s inclusion of access to the live camera data, we can now utilize our mobile SDK to allow developers and brands to take full advantage of augmented reality experiences on the iPhone,” says Peter Meier, CTO of metaio. Until today developers were limited in creating rich and interactive augmented reality experiences on the iPhone due to restricted access to the live camera data in the iPhone SDK. The lack of image based recognition has led to a proliferation of augmented reality apps using GPS as the only tracking mechanism, which made certain experiences impossible. Now, not only may the user obtain information on nearby POIs like shops, restaurants or train stations, but also the camera`s eye is now able to identify objects and to “glue” object specific real-time, dynamic, social and 3D information onto the object itself.

Augmented possibilities: 3D-ads, smart packaging, AR games, digital out-of-home, expositions

The camera access is the next step towards an ever present and highly accurate information overlay on the real things around us. The future prospects of this augmented vision are tremendous. Useful and entertaining information may be called up based on places or objects around you. Multimedia experiences can be triggered by images, product packages, signs, posters, magazines or newspaper pages or any other object around the user. Ratings, tips, affiliates and other e-commerce functions can be displayed on real products. Advertisers may “augment” their print ads with games or added displays. Museums may offer a guided tour of their art treasures through augmented reality. Developers can create realistic and mixed reality games in the real environment of the player. And with the iPhone, its elaborate software distribution framework and a high-and-rising market share, the technology will finally make its way into mainstream.

Build your own Channel – or create a Whitelabel App

The junaio® environment is growing rapidly with exciting content around events, city features, objects, products, news media. As company, marketing agency or developer, you can easily build your own channel yourself, whether indoor or outdoor, with “glue” or without. If a company or organisation wishes to make information and messages available on junaio® it can set up and maintain its own public channel. For developers the junaio®`s open API allows creating their own AR applications with numerous features. It is easy to use and does require only basic programming knowledge, for example XML and server side programming such as PHP, to create exciting, state of the art augmented reality applications.