About two weeks ago I was contacted by a guy named Matt Gaines. Matt is the Managing Director of a company called QderoPateo (Ka dero pa tay o). QderoPateo (QP) have coined the term ‘Articulated Naturality’ which is a new use of several technologies to provide a truly immersive experience.

Simply put, articulated naturality (AN) is what augmented reality should be. It’s the clever use of computer vision (optical recognition PTAM/PTAMM), artificial intelligence and ambient intelligence, delivered on a super-rich media device.

Matt and I have had several conversations over the last two weeks where he’s elaborated on what he describes as a ‘renaissance’ in technology. From what I can assess, ‘AN’ will be part of our daily lives very soon.

Allow me to offer an example that should clearly describe the difference, or enhancements, articulated naturality makes over an augmented experience...

I live in Manchester and we have an area in Rusholme called the Curry Mile. As you can probably gather, aside from this being one of the most delicious areas in the city, there are a few curry houses in this part of town. To determine the right curry house for me I might invoke an augmented reality application like Layar or Junaio. These applications would allow me to point my Smartphone at the curry house and see overlays of search engine information on the real world by using the camera and compass assisted GPS mechanisms. I would then have the option of using the mapping utility on the phone to make my way to the chosen establishment.

 If I were armed with an articulated naturality capable device in the same situation, instead of a map, a virtual concierge would appear on the sidewalk in front of me through the Smartphone’s camera view. The concierge would then walk me to the curry house and perhaps tell me about the venue, what’s on the menu and even the specials available during my dining experience.

The concept is that the technology understands the ‘scene’ and interprets objects and planes in an effort to relate virtual information appropriately. An example would be the concierge mentioned above. This virtual character will know where the ground is and how to avoid objects as he leads us to the curry house.

Articulated naturality basically gathers an understanding of what it sees in the camera’s view and rapidly processes and renders intelligent information into the ‘scene’ as required.

Modern Smartphone’s have gesture recognition interfaces that allow the user to swipe their finger across the screen to interact with the device. On an articulated naturality enabled device, the camera also acts as a way for the user to interact with the device. This is not done through the swipe of a finger, rather a gesture such as a smile or a motion with your hand similar to scenes in the movie Minority Report.

Accordin g to Gaines: “The pinnacle of human progress is art in its many forms and it is going to see a renaissance through the AN technological revolution. Expression is no longer trapped by the constraints of physicality just as computing is freed from the box. The canvas becomes three dimensional and even four dimensional with pixels as pigment.”

He goes on to say “AN is only possible in 2010 because it required many advances in diverse fields of science that are only just reaching a state where they are market-ready. AN is ahead of the times but not ahead of the technology.”

Articulated naturality is something everyone will be able to use through a mobile device, but not a Smartphone as they aren’t smart enough. To deliver an experience such as that provided by articulated naturality you need a device that packs a lot of power. This is where the Ouidoo (We-do) Gaian (Guy yan) ultra-clever ‘scene device’ comes into its own. I would refer to it as a Smartphone on steroids but with the Gaian you truly have the power of a desktop in the palm of your hand.

 Gaines adds: “The most important advance is the proliferation of high performance mobile hardware capable of handling the demands of understanding the real world and seamlessly overlaying digital information. Laboratory-based computer science provided the improvements in robust scene recognition algorithms far in advance of the marker-based systems seen in legacy AR Smartphones. Imagination and vision were the key ingredients to see the opportunity created by the advances and envision real applications only dreamt of in science fiction”

Matt and the QderoPateo team have invited us to China to see the launch of the Ouidoo on the 23rd of April. I'm looking forward to seeing the device that is going to be the catalyst to a technological renaissance.

I will be documenting my trip to China and what I learn about articulated naturality, QderoPateo and the Ouidoo Gaian. If this is a topic that interests you I suggest you subscribe as there will be much more on this exciting new concept soon.

Further information:

QderoPateo http://www.qderopateo.com

PTAM/PTAMM Parallel Tracking and Mapping http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9HMn6bd-v8

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