世界を見る – 세상을보고 – Увидеть мир*
Many things are better in your own native language. So is Layar. The Layar Reality Browser now has language support in Japanese, Korean and Russian. Get yours in the app store.
Also, for those who missed it: Layar already has language support in English, French, Italian, Dutch, Spanish and German.
* See the world!
32 new layers have been launched recently. Amongst them a couple of “Art & Culture” layers, which makes you enjoy virtual art in Layar or helps you to find art around you.
We talked to Alex Young from MOB (Mobile Online Business Pty Ltd), who developed the Sculpture by the Sea layer in Australia in 2009 and with Russell JVM Gutierrez from flippingNORMALS (Hong Kong Art walk 2010 layer) and Christian Meinhardt from Superimpose (WTC and Virtual Public Art Project layers), who launched art layers recently.
| What inspired you to develop these layers? Christian: “It is all about the perception of reality, it is about adding layers of abstraction as well as visible information to our surroundings and thereby enhancing our understanding of the world. A great aspect of this is to show realities that have been or that could be, as in the WTC layer project that brings back a reality that does not exist anymore. But you can go even further and think about creating additional or parallel realities existing on top of our common reality. That is an aspect you will find in the VPAP [Virtual Publik Art Project] layer project, here we offer artists the possibility to create new kinds of realities, that allow us to see the world through the eyes of the artist, thereby redefining it. |  |
Russel: “We have always been tuned in to AR in general and Layar in particular. In Hong Kong, there is a noticeable lack of local layers, which is odd since there are a variety of interesting sites and events always going on – from traditional shrines to places where you can watch football live in the early hours of the morning.”
Alex: “When we started working on the Layar platform we felt it was a perfect fit for the Bondi 2009 exhibition (outdoor and set along 2.5km of coastline around the iconic Bondi Beach in Sydney). The layer showed people where the Public Facilities such as toilets, bus stops and cafe’s were as well as providing detailed information on sculptures from a set of the exhibiting artists.”
 | What does the layer bring the user? And what is crucial for an optimal experience? Christian: “Layar, in particular using its new 3d functions offers us a fantastic tool to explore these ideas and make them accessible to a global audience.” Russel: “The Art Walk naturally springs to mind. There are several participating galleries this year, most of them clustered around the Central, SOHO and Sheung Wan areas. The whole concept of the Art Walk is to encourage users to visit these galleries in one night to see the art and meet other people over drinks. The layer makes it easier to find these galleries, specially those that are not on the main path.” Alex: “At first we only wanted to display information relating to a sub-set of the works, as the printed Catalog (sold on-site) is a revenue source for the Sculpture by the Sea organization. The launch of the Layar App Store will provide a great opportunity to extend the layer, as people could choose to purchase the layer (as a Catalog) as an alternative to the printed version. The layer brings the opportunity to literally have a “catalog in their pocket”. |
Who made the art objects visible in the layer (and what does a such a layer mean for the artists)? Christian: “The Virtual Public Art Project (VPAP) was initiated by US-based artist Chris Manzione and realized in cooperation with Superimpose. Starting with an inaugural exhibition of works shown on 14 locations around the globe more artists and artworks will be added over the coming months.” |
The artist [Chris Manzione]: “Different than most other AR applications that look out into the world for information, VPAP interests lie in looking inward, onto an object. Another key element of our layar is that the objects are site-specific. This is different than most other digital media that can be easily transfered and shared. This requires the users presence and interaction with the site itself. Also being site-specific and with non of the limitations that physical artworks carry gives these artworks a context never seen before.” Alex: “Independent artists from Australia and around the world created the sculptures. Ideally it would be great to work with some of the artists who create 3D models of their works prior to creating them so we could use these as the Points of Interest icons for their works.” |  |
 | Any other thoughts, idea’s or things you’d like to share? Christian: “I am really exited to announce another layar project of this kind coming from us soon.. For now I can’t tell you more, it is still secret…” Russel: “AR has a big potential in Hong Kong (HK), though not a lot of developers and companies here are taking advantage of it yet. iPhone (and more recently, Android phones) have a high penetration rate of the mobile market in HK so a lot of people potentially have access to the Layar app. One of our main goals is to first increase the visibility of AR in HK, and the only way to do that is to build more interesting layers. One of the next exciting projects we are looking to do involve mapping the street and graffiti art in HK and building a layer on top of that.” |
Alex: “Art & Culture” layers are a great way to provide information to people in an accessible way. It opens up and enriches the cities and landscapes that we live in. We are currently working with the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney to create a layer that uses historical photos of Sydney and overlays them onto the modern environment. This will open up the history of Sydney to everyone wherever they are within the city. We hope that it will lead to more interest by people to explore their culture and cities in more depth.”
All newest launched layers:
WTC- New York, US
Virtual Public Art Project – international
HK Art Walk 2010 – Hong Kong
Hotels Now! – international
UPCOMING – international
AroundTown R’dam (Game) – Rotterdam, Netherlands
AppAware for Layar - international
Explore South Africa - South Africa
House Detective – Germany, Italy, Spain, UK
SA Golf Courses - South Africa
Second Cup locator - Bahrain, Canada, Egypt, Jordan, Oman ,Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates
横浜観光案内 - Yokohama, Japan
Urban Walkabout – Sidney, Australia
『今から』泊まれる宿検索 – Japan
Stelling van Amsterdam – Amsterdam, Netherlands
Bath Pub Guide – Bath, UK
Political Party Time – US
Project Noah - international
Dutch Highschools – Netherlands
Tilburg University – Tilburg, Netherlands
Se salgspriser for danske ejendomme – Denmark
NWS NEXRAD Level 3 Storm Attributes – Iowa, US
קניונים בישראל – Israel
בנקים בישראל – Israel
MyCosmik Supplies: WiFi hotspots and SIM cards – international
Find a Property – UK
不動産アーカイブ検索 – Next – Japan
Aviones LocalizaTodo – Portugal, Spain
YMCA Old Valletta -Malta
Hot Spots Katowice – Katowice, Poland
GipuzkoaMarket – Gipuzkoa (province in Basque country), Spain
Discover Shropshire – Shrewsbury, UK
Please open this post to see screenshots and descriptions of all layers.
| It’s official and we’re so proud of it. JK Shin, president and head of Samsung Electronics’ Mobile Communication Business just introduced the Galaxy S and Layar is on it. The Samsung Galaxy S will be available in Europe, North America, Latin America, Australia, and Asia soon. The Android-powered Galaxy S incorporates a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen and a 1 GHz application processor that enables vibrant HD videos, rich augmented reality content through Layar Reality Browser, and advanced LBS (Location Based Services). This is a huge step in bringing augmented reality to the bigger audience and we are thrilled to be part of it. The full press release can be found here. |  |
Another 20 layers have been launched recently. Amongst them a couple of new screenshot layers, like the Screenshots layer (3D) from AugmentReality.co.uk. We talked to Johannes la Poutre from Squio and Pablo Garcia-Morato from ElipseAD about their idea’s and motivation behind developing screenshot layers.
Have fun!
| Which screen shot layer(s) have you developed so far and are you going to develop more? Johannes: “We developed the Valentine layer, where users could “frame” their valentine and win prizes via restaurant fifteen and chocolatestories.com if they sent in a screenshot. This was a last minute project, it went only live 3 days before Valentine but still got huge traffic! Later on we decided to have some fun with Ronald McDonald look-alikes. With this layer you can pose with Ronald or put him in all kinds of strange contexts.” Pablo: “We have developed Be Famous, a cool layer where you can take pictures with celebreties. We are going to add soon more famous people to that layer. The other one is Avatar. I think almost everyone know that amazing movie and is a great chance to feel like if you where in that phantastic world (Pandora) with its characters. We are going to add many more scenaries and characters to that layer. We are currently working on many new screenshots layers and have many ideas for the future.” |  |
| What is your idea behind screenshot layers? Is there any business behind it, or is it just for fun? Johannes: “With the Valentine layer we got sponsors for the prizes, we wanted to find out how this model works for all parties involved. The Ronald layer is pure for fun, we hope people enjoy it as much as we do!” Pablo: “Well, the first step is to explore all the possibilities ir order to be able to create more big things. Those first layers are just for fun, but our main ideas are related to marketing and advertising of big brands.” |
 | How do you think (or hope  users will use the screenshot layer?Johannes: “Augmented Reality is much more about experience than purely informational only. The screenshots layers are an extreme example, we hope in the first place users like them and will forward screenshots to their friends.” Pablo: “I think that users as long as developers are exploring this amazing world of AR, which opportunities and experiences make them fill like if all the future things we’ve seen in movies have become truth. They can take pictures with imaginary or true characters or things, where ever they are. That’s incredible if you think about it. It’s no only taking a photo, is much more, is feeling a great experience, have in your hand a brand new world of emotions.” |
Any other comment or input?
Johannes: “It would be great if Layar added an easier way to take screenshots or the raw camera image and attach actions to these in a next iteration of the application!”
Pablo: “I’ll like to thank Layar for creating such a great platform. I think Layar has opened a new way in AR and have given users and developers a great opportunity to be in touch with that great technology. That’s all! 
”
All newest launched layers:
Ronalds’ gone mad! – international
Avatar - international
BE FAMOUS - international
LiveSpot Property – Australia, New Zealand
Las Vegas Casinos – Las Vegas, US
Msaajid – international
Rotterdam Culture – Rotterdam, Netherlands
Seats2Meet.com Locaties – Netherlands
D66 in Amsterdam - Amsterdam, Netherlands
WVU Campus Map – Morgantown, West Virginia, US
Unife – Ferrara, Italy
AMICITI – Valenciennes, France
ar＋clip ARアート作品 – Japan
campustukl – Germany
dokiru? – international
Christian Church Finder- UK
ASU – Arizona, US
heAR AUSTIN – Austin, US
Gids Noord-Holland Noord – Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Gids Haaglanden – Haaglanden, Netherlands
Please open this post to see screenshots and descriptions of all layers.
 | We have received a lot of questions from users who aren’t able to find Layar in the Android Market on their new HTC Legend devices.There is a technical issue with the camera which we are currently working on with HTC to find a solution. Please keep an eye on our blog for further updates.
Update, 21th of April Update, 22th of April
|
Probably you already noticed but we have made some minor changes in the way we display the icon of a layer within our client. We would like to ask if you can adjust your icons according these guidelines so we can deliver a consistent and nice way of showing your icons within our app and on our website.
Guidelines:
| Example icon: | Rendered icon in application: |
 |  |
With so many visitors from all over the world it was time for an update. And not just our website, the Layar logo has been updated too. Check out some of the new content:
Catalog
You are now able to find a complete overview of all available layers. In the catalog section you can browse through categories and see what’s available in your country, as well as the most recently published layers.
Download
For those still looking for the app, this section is aimed to help people get Layar. In a few easy steps we explain how Layar can be downloaded to your device.
Create
Want your own content layer? This section explains Layar and its possibilities to new developers, brands and agencies, as well as the existing support and tools to help them create layers themselves.
Let us know what you think about our new website.
Last weeks we have seen two commercials on TV that include Layar. One is from Samsung in France and the other is from LG in the Netherlands. It’s great to see handsetmanufacturers embrace Augmented Reality to promote their devices. We hope to see more of these commercials in the future. Have a look at the videos below to see how they integrated Layar.
We are happy to announce that Layar is back in the App Store and available for the iPhone 3GS. The new Layar Reality Browser has a re-engineered engine under the hood. This new engine makes the application light, stable and very quick. It is ready to handle all the current layers and it is a good base to realize all of our exciting future plans.
