Lego Makes AR instantly Accessible

After a demo at WWDC earlier this year, LEGO launched the LEGO AR Playgrounds app for iPhone and iPad.

The app uses ARKit to put digital LEGO characters into real-world environments and to interact with physical LEGO sets. It is a great way to introduce AR. A kid playing with the LEGO app can select various physical characters such as Ninjago Dragon Hunters and then interact with pre-selected sets in augmented reality. The two sets currently available that work well with AR include the LEGO Ninjago Dieselnaut (70654) and the Lego Ninjago Dragon's Pit (70655).

ARKit enables multiple users so two people can play using the same playground. Two players can team up to battle against Dragon Hunters and figure out their attacks and how to win.

"Children today are mastering the art of finding new moments and forms of play and LEGO Playgrounds will provide a 'live' opportunity to test and learn directly with them. It's truly a unique way to engage with them in a fun and experimental way and bring them close to our innovation process. Having this direct-link to users creates a win for everybody – sharing the latest play experiences is great fun for children and highly useful for our LEGO design and development teams who can take their feedback and use it to make launch experiences even better and more engaging."

Augmented reality demo from Lego, Tech Crunch interview with Lego’s director of innovation, Martin Sanders about how they're building AR into the company strategy.

You can play up to five levels without a physical set. You will just nee a flat surface to play on. The app is free to use and free of ads, marketing messages and in-app purchases. To use the AR features, you will need at least an iPhone 6s with the latest iOS version. More information is available at Lego.

Amazon Adopts AR Kit in its latest iOS Shopping App Just Before Black Friday

With Virtual Product Previews, Amazon's shopping app gives customers the ability to see how products look inside their home using AR technology.

Amazon employs Apple's AR Kit in its latest iOS app to let you view thousands of products in your home, before you buy them. Just in time for the start of the holiday season, the updated app uses augmented reality (AR) kit technology to help customers make better shopping decisions based on aesthetics and fit within their existing living spaces.

After opening the app, you click on the camera icon and choose AR view. Then you can select from thousands of items for your living room, bedroom, kitchen and home office. This ranges from electronics to kitchen appliances, home decor, toys, furniture and more. A nice feature of the app is the ability to move items around and get a full 360-degree view, which can help you finalize your purchase decisions so that you are choosing the best products for your personal aesthetics. Using the new app's AR Kit technology (version 9.21.2) requires iOS 11 and is compatible with the iPhone 6S or newer models.

AR Kit offers tremendous opportunities for showcasing products and building spaces and environments. This ability to recognize objects and showcase them virtually in context, is helpful in a variety of industries, ranging from retail to architecture and construction, landscaping, aviation and the automotive industry.

AR Kit can determine surfaces that any object is placed on and track the movement of the camera in relationship to its surroundings, using the rear camera feed and Core Motion data. In addition, AR Kit can also figure out the right lighting for virtual objects placed into a scene.

6 New Features We Love in iOS 11 for the iPhone and iPad

Apple released its latest iOS iteration, iOS 11 Sept 19th as a free download with useful tips and how-to videos. We love the increased productivity and entertainment options for the iPhone and iPad - a significant leap forward in mobile technology. Here are six of our favorite updates in iOS 11 for the iPhone and iPad.

Slide over functionality on the iPad. Image via Apple.com

1. Slide Over and the New Dock - Multitasking on the iPad

iOS 11 makes the iPad more powerful and useful with multitasking. It is easy to open up a second app quickly from the Dock. Both apps stay active in Slide Over, new functionality available in iOS 11 with Split View, enabling you to see both simultaneously. There's a new Dock for faster access to apps and documents.

2. Drag and Drop

Drag and Drop finally comes to iPad. This is huge as you can quickly move photos, files and text from one app to another, anywhere on the screen.

3. Files

It is easier to find all your files now on your iPad especially with a new Files app that organizes all your files in one place, including your files in iCloud as well as third-party apps such as Box and Dropbox.

4. Instant Markup with the Apple Pencil

Using the Apple Pencil on the iPad Pro just got to be more fun and useful simultaneously with iOS 11. It is easier to take notes, mark up images and files quickly. Combining these four features together - instant markup, drag and drop, file organization and multitasking turns your mobile device into a very powerful standalone productivity tool.

Do Not Disturb Notification via Apple.com

5. Do not Disturb Feature While Driving

In testing out this feature, we can attest to its usefulness. It can keep you from distractions such as texts, calls and other notifications. Anyone who sends you a message too will get a quick notification that you are driving. The notification also popped up however, during continuous motion such as exercise or just walking fast. Turning off the notification is fast, but we like having this option.

Augmented Reality (AR) now available via iOS 11. Image via Apple.com

6. Augmented Reality Offers Endless Possibilities for Creativity and Reimagining Environments, Spaces and Experiences

We've saved the most exciting update of all for last. As we wrote about earlier in the summer after WWDC, Augmented Reality (AR) is now available on iOS 11. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities in terms of graphics, design, gaming, apps and the imagination. Augmented Reality can be useful in industrial design, home decor, for architectural models and in any scenario where you would like to test out virtual objects in real-world scenes. Apple builds upon the high resolution built-in cameras and powerful motion sensors and processors to provide high quality, immersive AR environments.

Augmented Reality in action on the iPad. Image via Apple.com

AR Kit in action on the iPad. Image via Apple.com

With the new powerful A11 Bionic chip that provides faster graphics performance and new machine learning, Apple now offers an incredible platform for high end immersive 3D games and AR apps. We're excited to explore all this and build them out!

Through the new AR kit and Apple's line of high resolution iPhones and iPads, we now have the opportunity to imagine new possibilities for any environment (travel, entertainment, shopping, residential and more). We are excited to build immersive, fluid experiences on iOS, the world's largest augmented reality platform and using the new iPhone 8 and iPhone X. Happy creating!