transmote speaks…

i first announced this at FITC Toronto a few weeks ago, but was waiting to tie up some loose ends before i announced it here.

the newest version of FLARManager, which will be released shortly, abstracts the marker-tracking library out from the marker management framework (FLARManager’s core).

what does this mean?

in short, it means that FLARManager can now easily be updated to support any flash-based marker-tracking library. FLARToolkit (currently at v2.5.3) is the most obvious player, and FLARManager continues to support FLARToolkit. additionally, the newest version FLARManager will support flare*tracker and flare*NFT.

what are flare*tracker and flare*NFT?

[flare*tracker]
flare*tracker is a marker tracking engine much like FLARToolkit, and applies many of the same concepts. however, it is written completely from scratch in Alchemy, so it can achieve framerates up to 45+ fps. also, it supports six different marker types, including BCH ID-markers (with marker id encoded directly into the marker pattern, so no need to load pattern files and no speed penalty for many different patterns) and Data Matrix markers (with a url encoded into the marker pattern).

[flare*NFT]
flare*NFT is a ‘natural feature tracking’ engine, which means that it can track any printed image. not just square markers with black borders. any 2D image, from a magazine cover to a product box to a photograph, can be tracked. and since flare*NFT is also based on ARToolkitPlus, and written in Alchemy, it also shows great performance, generally around 30+ fps.

check out the following videos to see the difference between the three engines. and stay tuned for the release…
 
 

FLARManager – FLARToolkit 2.5.2. the FLARManager we all know and love.
 
 

FLARManager – flare. note the ID-marker, and framerates averaging in the 35-40fps range.
 
 

FLARManager – flareNFT. natural feature tracking made easy. blur? occlusion? glare? no problem.

i used google chrome to display my slides, as my presentation was mainly either websites or flash builder / local demos. here’s a list of the slides, with URLs:

• Title
• GE Smart Grid
• Libspark
• Libspark – AS3
• FLARToolkit
• NYARToolkit
• FLARToolkit source
• Google Translate
• FLARManager v0.1
• Exploratorium
• Dividing Space prototype
• Reactable
• reacTIVision
• FLARManager v0.7
• Jim Alliban – Fractal ’10 AR Ident
• Jim Alliban – LearnAR
• makc – driving game interface
• 5 Lives of Criss Angel
• Theo Watson – Boards Magazine (FERNS)
• Le Monde de Montagnes (FERNS)
• Imagination – flare*tracker
• Imagination – flare*nft