GLOBAL – January 7, 2014 – Metaio, augmented reality (AR) software and solutions company, has announced at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) the planned integration of their patented 3D augmented reality tracking software with the Intel® RealSense™ Software Development Kit (SDK).
Winner of multiple awards, including the ISMAR Tracking Competition and the recent 2013 Volkswagen Tracking Competition, Metaio’s augmented reality tracking technology recognizes real-world images, objects and environments in order to attach relevant digital or virtual information, in real-time. Tracking is perhaps the most important aspect of any augmented reality experience, Metaio noted. Now, with the Intel® RealSense™ 3D camera integrating into 2 in 1, Ultrabook, notebook, and AIO devices, real and virtual objects environments will interact with each other in practical as well as entertainment applications. For example, someone could accurately map a room in their house and virtually rearrange the furniture on their computing devices.
“Intel’s vision is to make computing more immersive and enable human-like natural interactions with our devices,” said Mark Yahiro, Managing Director, New Business, Perceptual Computing, Intel Corporation, in a press release. “Using Intel RealSense 3D camera technology in combination with Metaio’s augmented reality tools, we look forward to blurring the virtual and real worlds further than ever before. For example, children will be able to play with their favorite toys and customize their experiences with digital interactions in creative new ways.”
The Intel RealSense Software Development Kit (SDK) will be released in the first half of 2014. It will be an evolution of the Intel® Perceptual Computing SDK, which was released in 2012 and has been downloaded over twenty-five thousand times by developers worldwide.
The Intel® RealSense SDK will include voice recognition in more than nine languages; background subtraction, a capability that enables developers to add green-screen-like functionality to applications; close-range hand and finger tracking that permits users to control their computing devices with mid-air hand and finger gestures; and face analysis, which identifies users and tracks their facial features across the camera’s field of view. Once the addition of the 3D tracking and recognition engine by Metaio is completed, the Intel RealSense Computing SDK will offer developers advanced augmented reality features using depth data from the integrated Intel RealSense 3D camera in computing devices.
This anticipated integration brings new levels of interactivity to the SDKs of both Metaio and Intel. The 65,000 developers on Metaio’s AR platform will have access to advanced human-computer interaction features offered by Intel. Developers will be able to create experiences that utilize hand gestures or facial recognition; manipulate backgrounds and environments in real time; and utilize voice recognition, all for new augmented reality applications that bridge the physical and digital worlds for natural, intuitive and immersive experiences.
“Developers need the best tools,” said Metaio CTO Peter Meier. “Metaio’s collaboration with Intel for the Intel RealSense SDK with depth camera integration will allow developers to push the boundaries on creativity and use of technology in completely new ways of human interactions with computing devices.”
