Presentation given by Martha Gabriel at HighEdWeb 2010 (#heweb10) - http://2010.highedweb.org The presentation covers the main concepts & aspects of augmented reality and the mobile tagging (2D barcodes - like QRcode and Datamatrix) like tools for AR. Talk to the author on Twitter - @marthagabriel

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Mobile Tagging
Mobile Tagging
&&
Mixed Realities
Mixed Realities
by Martha Gabriel
by Martha Gabriel

2. Martha Gabriel
University Anhembi Morumbi, professor
University of São Paulo, researcher
NMD New Media Developers, director of technology
Upgrade! São Paulo, curator
New Media Artist
Author of the books “Search Engine Optimization” and “SEM & SEO:
Mastering the Search Marketing”.
Background:
BS in Engineering
Postgraduate in Marketing
Postgraduate in Design
Master Degree in Art – Dissertation about Voice Interfaces
Pursuing her Doctorate’s Degree in Art
martha@martha.com.br
website – www.martha.com.br
twitter - @marthagabriel

3. Agenda
– Mixed Realities
– Mobile Tags
– Guidelines for creating and
reading mobile tags
Martha Gabriel

4. Mixed
Realities
Martha Gabriel

5. Mixed Realities
 Definition
• Mixed Reality (or MR) refers to the
fusion of the physical and virtual worlds
to produce new environments and
visualizations where physical and digital
objects co-exist and interact in real
time.
Martha Gabriel

6. It’s not a new
concept…

7. The
Terminator
(1984)
[video]

8. Why so much interest now?

9. Mobile Devices &
Mixed Realities
Glasses, cameras,
monitors,
computers and
mobile devices
(PDAs &
cellphones) can be
used as tools for
creating mixed
realities.
Image: Character on Mobile Phone, by Daniel Wagner
Martha Gabriel

10. Mixed Realities
 Definition by Paul Milgram & Fumio Kishino
(1994)
• Mixed Reality is anywhere between the
Virtual Environment and the Real
Environment, comprising stages of
reality, augmented reality, augmented
virtuality and virtuality
Martha Gabriel

11. Mixed Reality:
Virtuality Continuum(VC) by Paul Milgram
Martha Gabriel

12. Mixed Realities
 Mixed Realities have endless applications
fields ranging from arts, entertainment, education,
assisted maintenance, medicine, publicity,
marketing, etc. Some examples:
 Virtual Realities – immersive caves, where the virtual
environment prevails.
 Augmented Realities:
 MINI Cabrio (propaganda)
 SPOILER (game)
 BMW (assisted mantainence)
 Arcane Technologies (edution – head slicer)
 Layar browser (AR browser for Android)
Martha Gabriel

13. Examples – Virtual Reality

14. Cave
Martha Gabriel

15. Cave

16. Military Simulator

17. Holographic Game

18. Virtual Reality
DataSuit

19. VirtuSphere

20. Augmented Reality
“The hardware of the future
is a pair of glasses”
– Tim O’Reilly

21. Augmented
Reality

22. Augmented Reality Examples

24. MINI Cabrio (propaganda)
Martha Gabriel

25. SPOILER
game
Martha Gabriel

26. BMW (engine maintenance)
Martha Gabriel

27. Arcane Technologies
(head slicer)
Martha Gabriel

28. Layar’s Augmented Reality
Browser

29. Video conceito Nokia
[video]

30. GM’s AR Windshield

31. Adidas – AR Game Shoes

32. Sixth Sense MIT
Photo courtesy Lynn
Barry, Pranav Mistry,
MIT Media Lab
[video]

33. Skinput – Univ. Carnegie Mellon

34. Hiperlinking the Real World: Redux

35. Flyar Screen Saver

36. Augmented Reality –
Zugara Webcam Social Shopping
Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxQZuo6pFUw

37. #howto
• ArtoolKit
• FlartoolKit
• Non programmers: EZFlar.com

38. Agenda
– Mixed Realities
– Mobile Tags
– Guidelines for creating and
reading mobile tags
Martha Gabriel

39. Mobile
Tagging
Martha Gabriel

40. Mobile Tagging
 Definition
• mobile tagging is the process of reading a
2D barcode using a mobile device camera
• It’s possible to encrypt several types of
data into the codes, however, regarding mobile
tagging URLs are usually encrypted.
• After encrypting URLs into the codes, the
user can be directed linked to the website
related to that URL..
.
Martha Gabriel

41. Mobile Tagging – reading process
Image source - http://mobile-tagging.blogspot.com/2007/09/what-is-mobile-tagging.html
Martha Gabriel

42. Kinds of data that can be encrypted
Contact
URL
Text
SMS

43. Mobile Tagging – Types of codes
 There are more than 70 types of 2D codes,
however they get reduced to 12, regarding
mobile tagging use, como se segue:
Image source - http://mobile-tagging.blogspot.com/2007/09/what-is-mobile-tagging.html
 The most used types are QRCode e DataMatrix
Martha Gabriel

44. Microsoft Tag

45. Barcodes & 2D barcodes
 Capacity: 20 digits only
QR Code Maximum Data capacity
Numeric only 7,089 characters
Alphanumeric 4,296 characters
Binary (8 bits) 2,953 bytes
Kanji, full-width Kana 1,817 characters

46. Future?  Bokode (MIT)
Bokode 
Long-distance &
higher capacity
2D barcode
Images source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8170027.stm

47. Mobile Tagging & Applications
 Nowadays, mobile tagging (specially QRCodes)
is already very well known and a success in
Japan and it is starting spreading around the
world.
 Behind the mobile tagging is the idea of an
information media absolute convergence since
the tags connect static document media to the
Internet and encourages the people’s interactive
behavior.
Martha Gabriel

48. Mobile Tagging & Mixed Realities
 Specially by being a physical link to the on-line
digital world, the mobile tag are instruments of
augmented reality - they add a digital
information layer to the physical things in the
reality.
 Therefore, mobile tagging is today one of the
simplest and cheapest way for creating mixed
realities.
Martha Gabriel

49. Mobile Tagging & Mixed Realities
 Entertainment - Pet Shop Boys (Integral music clip)
 Art – SENSITIVE ROSE
 Marketing:
 additional information about products (on packages or any printed
material)
 direct downloads (ringtones, clips or mobile games)
 direct link to the company website
 Education
 digital links in books, encyclopedias, etc.
 digital links in test tubes in labs
 periodic table with videos
Martha Gabriel

50. Mobile Tagging & Mixed Realities
 Public and Cultural field
 information about monuments, public transportation, consumer/public
reviews, non-commercial advices, museums.
 Private
 link to business websites and contact info (business cards)
 airlines boarding pass
 tickets for shows, teater, games, etc.
 Personal
 link to personal websites and contact info (business cards)
 Higher Ed
 links for download mobile app
 orientation session
 signaling in campus
Martha Gabriel

51. Integral, by Pet Shop Boys (2008)
Martha Gabriel

52. Semapedia
Martha Gabriel

53. Tombs in Japan

54. Packages

55. Commercial building N Building -
Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan

56. QR Codes & Twitter >>>
Commercial building - Tachikawa, Tokyo,
Japan

57. The Weather Channel
channel mobile app installation directly from TV via QRcode

58. Entertainment- QRGirls

62. Pepsi Max - qrcode

64. Agenda
– Mixed Realities
– Mobile Tags
– Guidelines for creating and
reading mobile tags
Martha Gabriel

65. Guidelines for
creating and reading
Martha Gabriel
mobile tags

66. Mobile device (PDA or cellphone) with photo camera
+
Mobile tags reading software installed.
Image source - Semapedia
Martha Gabriel

67. Guidelines –
creating and reading mobile tags
1. Install a mobile tag reader in your mobile device or cell phone - there
are many readers available, and here are some suggestions. To install
the reader, just pointing the mobile browser to:
- i-nigma - www.i-nigma.mobi (reads QR codes and Datamatrix)
- Beetagg - get.beetagg.com (reads QR codes, Datamatrix and Beetagg)
- Microsoft - www.microsoft.com/tag (Microsoft Tag)
2. Create mobile tags - there are also many ways of creating the codes
(mobile tag). Here are some options on the web:
- i-nigma - www.i-nigma.com (creates QR codes and Datamatrix)
- Beetagg - generator.beetagg.com (QR codes, Datamatrix and Beetagg)
- Microsoft - www.microsoft.com/tag (creates Microsoft Tag)

68. Tips
• Creating codes:
– Spin, direction
– Color, contrast
– About reading:
• distance for reading
• the more codified information, smaller the squares sizes 
hard to read
– Neatness – i-nigma
• Reading
– Precision – i-nigma
– Security – Beetag x i-nigma

69. Useful Tools
• Mobile Tags Readear via WebCam:
– bcWebCam (freeware) -
http://www.bcwebcam.de/en/index.htm
• Mobile Tags Readers via image files (not
needing a cellphone):
– bcTester (freeware) –
http://www.bctester.de/en/index.htm
Martha Gabriel

70. Some
last considerations…
Martha Gabriel

71. Mobile Tags & Sustentability
• Sustentability – mobile tags can be used directly
from the cellphone screens with information of:
business cards, show & event tickets, boarding
passes…. WITHOUT NEEDING TO PRINT
anything!
– The codes can be stored in the cellphone to be presented to
the readers from other cellphones or hardwares (like
boarding passes readers)
Martha Gabriel

72. Mobile Tags &
Access Tracking
• Mobile tags allow source tracking by using tags in the
URL.
– Ex: www.site.com/pag1.html?Fonte=“rmagazine” or
www.site.com/pag1.html?Fonte=“NYT” or
www.site.com/pag1.html?Fonte=“TV”
– In this way, it becomes possible to track not only the
access that come from the digital environment but also
the ones that come from traditional offline media, like
print.
Martha Gabriel

73. Mobile Tags & AR
Security
Martha Gabriel

74. "If you know anything better,
forgive my innocence;
if not, enjoy with me".
-- Horace
Martha Gabriel

75. Martha Gabriel
me, www.martha.com.br
e-mail me, martha@martha.com.br
twitter, @marthagabriel
Martha Gabriel