AR Playground with Niantic 2018 Event

At Niantic, we give a lot of thought to how to utilize augmented reality to provide distinctive experiences that improve the environment. With the "AR PLAYGROUND WITH NIANTIC" at Innovation Tokyo 2018, we just had the opportunity to bring this idea to life in entirely new ways. The Mori Building in Roppongi Hills, Tokyo, served as the event's host, and it took place from Friday, October 12, to Sunday, October 21, this year.

AR Playground with Niantic 2018 Event is Here!

The subject was how augmented reality alters how individuals see cities. Niantic tested our perceptions of the real world and challenged our beliefs about the things we see and interact with as we go about our daily lives by developing a variety of brand-new experiences using its Real World Platform. More than 12,000 people came to the event and saw the displays.

The synopsis of each demonstration project is given below:

We welcomed visitors to the "Pokémon GO AR Garden," where they could amble around a lovely Japanese garden while listening for elusive Pokémon. A smartphone and specially designed directional open-ear headphones made by our partner Ambie were utilized in the presentation. Users could hear the calls of Pokémon coming from extremely precise surrounding spots as they walked about the garden.

Without using a visual guide, the directional sounds enabled visitors to zero in on the Pokémon and finally catch them. Open-ear headphones enhanced the lovely ambiance of singing birds and running water by blending the game soundtrack with the natural sounds of Mori Garden. The event proved that augmented auditory reality may change how a person perceives public space without detracting from it in the end.

 

The "Ingress Sound AR Game" was made available to a small number of viewers on October 13 after a preview showing of the Ingress anime at TOHO Cinemas in Roppongi Hills. Ingress Agents were being chased by angry "Hulong Security" Agents (in real life) who were trying to capture and "neutralize" them while they were trying to grab deadly Dark XM artifacts placed around the shopping center under the direction of AR "controllers".

 

The "Mori Garden Gym" let guests live out the desire of many Pokémon GO enthusiasts of reaching the summit of a Pokémon GO Gym using VR as well as visual clues and tactile input. Many found the exhibit fascinating since it gave them the impression of ascending a steep, twisting stairway to the summit of a Pokémon GO gym without really leaving the Roppongi Hills courtyard.

 

The new Ingress-themed exhibition "AR Roppongi x Ingress" allowed visitors to see the entire Roppongi Hills neighborhood as a living, breathing Ingress battle, with Portal and Control Fields flickering in and out of existence reflecting the actual actions of Ingress Agents as the two competing factions fought for control of the neighborhood. We also invited the attendees to get hands-on with the exhibit. The demonstration was made possible by fusing a fantastic table-top 1/1,000 scale 3D model of the locale with overhead-mounted projection mapping and an extra, customized overlay of data provided using Microsoft HoloLens.

 

The Niantic 3D AR demo "Codename: Neon" was finally made available to users for the first time. This was the first time that customers could test the demo, which had previously only been accessible to a restricted number of reporters during the Niantic Real World Platform press event in June. Players must compete against other players in a fast-paced action game while sprinting, evading, and gathering energy. The project's low-latency, quick-paced multiplayer AR interaction epitomizes cutting-edge AR games.

 

Although though augmented reality is still in its early stages, it was exhilarating to construct these projects and watch as customers had a peek of how the actual world may be improved with new technology. We think that the world and the people around us are more amazing and interesting than anything that can be produced, yet others are obsessed with the thought of replacing humans with robots or the notion of creating virtual worlds so lifelike that would want to leave our own behind. We want to utilize technology to foster the curiosity and sense of community that reside inside each of us and to bring out the best in the people and places we contact with.

Niantic said they will be using Apple's ARKit for Pokémon GO last year. We didn't hear anything about AR Playground or even a delayed release date, despite a projected Fall 2017 release date.

Now, in the fall of 2018, we have an update. The Innovation Tokyo 2018 AR Play Ground with Niantic event, which will run from October 12 to October 21, has just begun. The event includes showcasing brand-new AR experiences for Pokémon GO, such as AR Playground. John Hanke, the CEO of Niantic, tweeted a few times about the occasion, one of which included an example of AR Playground in action:

That’s not the only AR function being implemented. The other is focusing on sound.

Using ambie earphones, Trainers may use Pokémon's calls to find them. You will take the peripheral and point it towards the general direction of the cries. As you get near, a speaker symbol shows up, and when it fills up, the Pokémon shows up. Youtuber JASH documented his experience at the occasion so that you may witness it in action:



Finally, a further novel feature was under test. Trainers are only able to "climb" up a gym using a VR headset. There is currently no actual video of this, and Niantic has not said if it will be included in the game alongside AR Playground or just be available at certain events.

If you’re in Tokyo, you can check out the Roppongi Hills website for more information about the event and how to participate.

The Innovation Tokyo event, which will be held between October 12 and October 21 in Tokyo, Japan, will include a display of Pokémon GO AR Garden, according to Niantic, the company behind the game. Visitors may take part in an AR sound game at Niantic's booth where they must identify various Pokémon using the noises they make in Pokémon GO.

While Pokemon GO has had some AR capability from launch, the user community has mainly disregarded it because of how quickly it drains phone batteries (and lack of support on non-iOS devices). While the AR mode has been developed over the last year to deal with those problems, it still hasn't exactly taken off. Niantic is still working on some extremely intriguing enhancements and features since it isn't yet ready to give up on the technology.

Niantic often uses Pokemon instances when demonstrating the capabilities of its most recent augmented reality technology, albeit not all of it is now integrated into Pokémon GO. While it doesn't seem to be from a current edition of Pokemon GO, a new video posted by the CEO John Hanke gives a clear glimpse at the previously anticipated Playground Mode, which AR photographers have been pleading for since the game's release.

Here is a look at the tweet and related video.

Instead of simply during capture encounters, players that prefer AR would want a means to snap AR pictures with the Pokemon they have previously caught or evolved. The ability to be creative and free to take excellent AR photos is severely restricted by this restriction. By discussing going for a stroll with a buddy, the video Hanke provides makes a hint about this function. The type of functionality that AR aficionados have been yearning for is precisely this.

Sadly, Playground Mode won't be making an appearance in the mobile game any time soon; this is probably simply Hanke demonstrating some unfinished technology. While the technology is undoubtedly improving, it may take some time to integrate it into the already complex mobile experience. Hopefully, there will be more formal information about it soon.

When the big Gen 4 launch draws near, keep checking back for updates and news. Until then, trainers, good luck on the field!

For Android and iOS smartphones, Pokemon GO is now accessible in a few locations.

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