Posts made by Graziano Terenzi

Thanks tomtom, and Happy New Year!

We have just uploaded an ARplugin "Quick Start Guide" that I think will be useful to many users.

You can find it on the ARplugin page here:
http://www.inglobetechnologies.com/sketchup_plugins.php

Thanks you Gaieus both for you comment and help!
Thank you Chris for your comment! Actually occluders can turn to be helpful in many situations. I'm curious to see what you will show us !

Thank you very much d12dozr! I'm sure the new version will be much more funny and useful than the former.
Regarding the video, actually I'm experiencing the same problem. I don't know why it is showing that way. Unless Gaieus or someone else will help fixing this before, I'll try to fix it tomorrow.
Thanks again
Graziano

My dear Sketchup friends,

I'm happy to announce that the new version of the Augmented Reality Plugin for SketchUp is now available.
Please, check the video hereunder to get an idea of its capabilities.

[flash=600,362:1gthjltk]http://www.youtube.com/v/lWCJ3h72SmM?fs=1&hl=en_US[/flash:1gthjltk]

Among the new supported features the most important are:

• a marker creation utility that allows the creation of custom augmented reality markers,
• the support of multiple markers,
• the possibility to export independent augmented reality files that can be viewed with the Free ARmedia Player on any computer
• an antialiasing filter that enhances the visual appearance of the 3D models.
• the possibility to create "Occluder Objects", virtual invisible objects that play the role of physical occluders with respect to other visible virtual objects
• the "Light Debug" option, that allows users to adjust tracking robustness as a function of real lighting conditions.

With regards to available licenses, we have also released a FREE "Personal Learning Edition". This is a free but partially limited version of the software that can be downloaded by anyone. So please, register, download your version and help spread the word!

More information here:

http://www.inglobetechnologies.com/sketchup_plugins.php

Thanks

Graziano

Hi!

I just want to share with you some of our photos from the 3D Basecamp in Boulder!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/inglobe/sets/72157624821672355/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inglobe/sets/72157624823579231/

I hope you will enjoy them.

Have a great day!

Graziano

With a lot of delay....happy birthday Gaieus and John!!
Graziano

Yes, there are really great places around there! We enjoyed the trip to the Rockies very much. Chris, I'm sorry that you could not come with us! But you're still closer to Boulder than us and maybe

Pout!! aka Reinhart! This account is used by at least three people in my company, and Alessandro is not among them. By the way I've got him to read your post. He wanted to let you know that not only he received the compliments for his charm from the policegirl who stopped us, but she also gave him her contact details....maybe she wanted to be invited for a drink...if only I was in his place!!

Alessandro also thanks you, Dave_H, for being put on the spot. I hope you appreciated his good manners!

Regarding the future editions of the Basecamp, it would be great to have a European edition. The community and the SketchUp team should try to consider this possibility. I also agree that a better scheduling of the unconference sessions would benefit all the attendees, as much as a day longer would.

Hi!

We arrived yesterday at 19:30 in Rome. I started to worry about Csaba, who made the trip to London with us.

Csaba, I've been searching for you after the flight at the airport in London! Where have you been?
I'm happy to know that you ae home now!

I really enjoyed the great time in Boulder.

Graziano

Hi there,

I'd like to reassure John and everybody about the fact that we did not land in jail finally. I got back home here in Italy yesterday and everything was fine. My brother Alessandro and me...we are fine and safe, each one in his own home here!

Most of all I'd like to thank you all for the great moments in Boulder, not only the professional moments but also the fun time that we had there. I'm really happy to have met people like you and I look forward to meet you at the next Google Basecamp wherever it will be held.

Really a great time!

Graziano

Thank you David for posting this. I take chance to anticipate what we would like to do during the unconference.

As developers of the AR-Plugin for Google SketchUp, our idea is to give a "show and tell" presentation covering the topic of "Augmented Reality Extensions to Google SketchUp". We will want to introduce the topic of AR and show you the forthcoming v2.0 of the ARplugin. We will also want to tell you something about our future SketchUp related improvements and developments.

I'm curious to see how we are going to manage this.

All the best
Graziano

Hi,
just a note to inform you that we will attend the 3D Basecamp.
I'm happy to hear that you all will be there too.
Yet I don't know if we'll be able to get to the meeting before basecamp event in time.
Regards

Graziano

I agree with you all in a way or another.

My aim here was essentially to share with you the funny fact that people out there have started to create entries in the Guinness World Records that relate to augmented reality and the ARplugin. As the project was really simple, I really had no idea they would make an attempt to it.

On the other hand, there are at least three interesting facts emerging from the opinions of you all.
It is interesting that

1. people have started using AR on the urban scale to visualize projects in real time not only by means of mobile phones (mobile devices like iPhone are very limited with respect to 3d capabilities)
2. they put effort on a project that has a commercial character
3. this opens out the way to a lot of other similar applications in the fields of architectural visualization, advertising etc.

@ Gaeius
Yes, but people with suitable devices (AR goggles, tablets, portable computers etc) at a given distance could see it from their perspective. Actually, with this project setting they could not see it from the bottom using a single big marker. A different solution based on multi markers or even other sensors would make this possible.

@ Chris
Thank you for your valuable comments, but most of all thank you for your offer . I will surely give you a call when the market will be ready for you!

@ Aerilius
I generally tend to agree with you on this, but GPS alone is not a solution as it will not give you the precision you require to locate the 3D model. On the other hand, GPS together with other kinds of sensors will do a great job. There are different ways to approach a good solution indeed. Also an appropriate multimarker solution would give people the benefit of both advertising and visualization from almost any side and distance.

Hello,

just a curiosity I wanted to share with you. This is the tip with some nice video:

http://www.inglobetechnologies.com/en/news/fullnews.php?id=23

The largest augmented reality marker recorded in the Guinness Book of Records has been created with a customization of the ARmedia Plugin.

Regards

Graziano

Hello,

I'm happy to announce that the Student License of the ARmedia Plugin for Google SketchUp has undergone a significant pricing redefinition.

From now on the Student License of the ARplugin will cost 19 euro instead of 49 with no time limit (as before). The current pricing redefinition has its roots in our will to meet students needs ever better and make the tool more accessible to anyone.

We are confident that this new pricing will bring the Augmented Reality Technology to a growing number of students who will benefit a lot by learning and presenting their ideas by means of this technology.

The link to the ARplugin is the same as always
http://www.inglobetechnologies.com/en/products/arplugin_su/info.php

Regards

Graziano

In collaboration with MEDIARS, Inglobe Technologies (http://www.inglobetechnologies.com/en) will sponsor the 2nd International Workshop on Interactive Media Art, Technology, Cultural Heritage to be held in Contigliano, Italy from July 10 to 23, 2010.

Inglobe will donate the Augmented Reality plug-in for Google SketchUp ($ 100 license value) to each participant at the full program.

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION
In the castle of this breathtaking, medieval town in the heart of Italy, student and professionals from all over the world are invited to study and experiment how to merge innovative interactive technology with history and culture. The workshop provides conceptual background and technical skills to develop interactive installations for arts, museums, facade projections and cultural exhibits. Also, previous works done by MEDIARS members will provide examples of the work process.

THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP
It is a 2-week full-time course on visual arts, media theory and technology in their relation to the place. The workshop is designed for students, scholars and artists from architecture, design, media arts and science fields. Classes are in English with a high quality tutoring, they are thought for the students to produce at the end of the training, an interactive multimedia art work that will be exhibited in the Roman underground historic center. Moreover, this experience abroad has already established an ongoing and growing dialogue between international artists.

This workshop is organized by the non-profit association MEDIARS (Centro Sperimentale di Media Interattivi per l'Arte e lo Spettacolo) in collaboration with the local municipality and with nternational faculties and scholars from the University of Southern California, University of Florence, University of Berlin, University of California, Los Angeles and California State University.

With regard to the final work the students will use the technology owned by the Center, and they are free to bring theirs as well. The teachers would support and work as facilitators for the students to get the collective projects done.

July 10 - 23, 2010

the fee also includes housing, meals and transportation.

Deadline to apply April 30
apply at info@mediars.eu
more info at http://www.mediars.eu
http://www.mediars.eu/doku.php?id=workshop_2010

Contacts:
info@mediars.eu
+(310)574-2495

Hi m48,

thank you for your enquiry. In few words, ARmedia is Inglobe's platform for Augmented Reality. We can create a lot of different AR solutions on top of it (including multi-marker, AR animations, interactions, Shaders, different tracking methods, Flash AR, HD cameras etc.)

There is a big difference between the ARplugin for SketchUp and ARmedia. Basically, the ARplugin is a product based on ARmedia, whereas ARmedia is the platform that allows us to create different products and solutions. We are not selling ARmedia as a separate product, but only develop it to bring our partners suitable AR solutions.

I hope this helps
Best Regards

Graziano

Hi plot-paris,
thank you very much for your comments.

Actually we are still developing the ARplugin. Everything you have been mentioning is already available in our general framework.

First of all, the multimarker capability will be released soon, but I cannot anticipate the release date. You are perfectly correct when you say that this would be extremely useful to urban planners and interior designers as well.

Secondly, the kind of interaction you are envisioning is possible in general using suitable Artificial Vision methods. Depending on market requests we will also consider upgrades of this kind. You can check updates by subscribing to our RSS feed here
http://www.inglobetechnologies.com/en/

Last, we are already planning to diminish the price of the student version to 25 euro (Probably before Christmas).

thank you again
Regards

Graziano

Hi Csaba,

I took a look at your Project and enjoyed it very much. This is exactly the kind of project where Augmented Reality can make the difference. Actually I see a lot of applications of AR to projects like this. I will send you a pm on this topic. Of course you can start by uploading the model on ARsights!

@ chango70 Wrt architecture students showing off their projects, they can already submit their models to ARsights by means of MySights. Anyone can register for free. If you are already an ARplugin user you will surely have your models published promptly. On the other hand, anyone can submit models to ARsights for free, but publication might take time and is subject to approval by the ARsights team.

Regards

Graziano

Hi Csaba,
thank you for your comment. Any question or idea will be welcome!
I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Graziano

Hello,

as some SketchUp practitioners already know, ARsights is a platform for visualizing Google Earth 3D models using Augmented Reality technology. Since it has been launched, many users have been employing ARsights in education contexts. Thanks to MySights (the new ARsights upload functionality) users can now begin to share their own 3D content using this Augmented Reality platform. MySights opens a whole new world of possibilities not only to student and teachers but also to designers, architects and engineers. If you want to start to use it, please go to http://www.arsights.com and register in. This is only the first of a number of new features that will turn ARsights into a powerful platform for creating and sharing AR content with Google Earth. Even though it especially adds value to the work of the ARplugin users, it is open to contributions from everyone. By now the supported format is the .KMZ. You can either upload your own models or make reference to models in the Google 3D Warehouse. There are also two tutorials available online at this address: http://www.arsights.com/help.php

The video below illustrates how users can submit models from Google 3D warehouse

[flash=560,340:1b7ct0gy]http://www.youtube.com/v/IdJgOHbLAJs&hl=en&fs=1&[/flash:1b7ct0gy]

I hope you will find this useful

Graziano