In the race to greater consumer adoption, augmented reality is emerging as the early leader, thanks to its adoption by a key consumer market.
The technology has always been a wonder, drawing its strength from its capacity to make just about any subject come to life, popping out of the real ground beneath our feet and conjuring up digital apparitions that serve as extensions of our own imagination onto the physical world around us.
That ability to create wonder in the everyday, without total immersion, also provides a clue for why AR adoption has been faster (aside from technical limitations that still bedevil VR). One indicator of how the market is apparently more comfortable with AR than it is with its immersive sibling, VR, is that one of its earliest adopters are toymakers. In fact, the Toy Industry Association named augmented reality and related technologies the top toy trend for 2016.
“Think of the drama, dance, fine art and sculpture opportunities that AR brings. Kids could watch famous actors perform Shakespeare monologues in their living room.” Catherine Allen, AR/VR specialist & kids app producer, who has worked on products like Barefoot World Atlas and Elmer’s Photo Patchwork, told me. “They could see what a famous Henry Moore sculpture looks like, in their garden!”
Earlier this month the AR startup Osmo, which creates board games, puzzle pieces and blocks that interact with mobile games and iPads, raised $24 million. Over 22,000 schools have adopted its products, a 5-fold increase from a year ago, according to the company.
Most parents may be reluctant to expose their kids to VR experiences because of the lack of safety research. AR, on the other hand, isn’t immersive, and plays out as a digital layer that enhances, or enables further, what is possible to do in real life.
“One of the sweet spots for AR on phones and tablets is at the intersection of toys and games. I would generally call them kids products.” Jay Wright, President and General Manager of Vuforia at PTC, the company behind the platforms that power many of the toys and games that run on AR, says. “Some are strictly for entertainment use, but many of them are designed to be educational. More and more of them are beginning to support STEM education.”
One example of this new push toward STEM-focused, educational gaming is SmartGurlz , an AR startup launched by an American expat living in Denmark.
It all began with the simple wish of its founder to help her teenage daughter with math and evolved into an experience tailored to girls with the aim of instilling an interest in science and technology. The video-equipped ‘Siggy Robots’ carry out missions and adventures that require its audience of young female players to learn to code along the way in order to complete each of the story-based challenges.
“This is really an exciting time where AR is used to reinspire learning again. Kids are now exposed to so much great technology in their leisure time and yet so little innovation goes into teaching.” Sharmi Albrechtsen, founder and CEO at SmartGurlz, says. “It’s really a pity – since it is a huge potential from a market perspective but also societal. Many kids lose interest in STEM because we have not been able to excite them!”
SmartGurlz launched last month and sold out on Amazon.
“I strongly believe that when it comes to STEM or teaching, the most important thing is to first capture the imagination of the students and then their curiosity” Silas Adekunle, Cofounder and CEO of Reach Robotics , a UK-based startup that combines robotics with AR in the gaming space, told me. “AR has so much potential to make classrooms more interactive and engaging, with new ways to visualize complex information.”
Other examples of AR-powered toys and games, many of them STEM-focused, that have hit the shelves this holiday season include: Hologrid: Monster Battle; Neobear Magnifier NEO; Virtual Explorer Antopia Adventure; AirHogs Connect Mission Drone; and Skylanders. And it hasn’t come with the kind of collateral damage or disruptive cost to traditional toymakers as we might have expected.
“The interesting part is that the products and manufacturers that succeed use technology to enhance the play value of the products they bring to market,” Reyne Rice, chief executive of ToyTrends told the BBC in September.
This new breed of digitized toys and games introduces a digital layer that creates additional value to the underlying business proposition for toymakers.
An example is Danish toymaker Lego’s Nexo Knights , named ‘Toy of the Show’ at the London Toy Fair 2016 and also powered by Vuforia. The AR component of its multiplatform gaming ecosystem depends, in part, on the expanded product line. For example, players can unlock new features, powers, and game levels, by purchasing new toy sets.
“If it can drive additional purchases of physical toys, that’s a really good model. It’s like the razor and razor blade dynamic. The digital game is the razor and the physical toys are the razor blades.” Wright says.
The digital soul that has been instilled in the physical toy allows for the industry to establish a stronger narrative with the kids who play its games and in turn only strengthens the way toymakers can market, engage, and sell their products. Instead of threatening to cannibalize their current offering, AR actually serves to enhance and expand it.
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【釜山時事】韓国南部・釜山の日本総領事館前に設置された慰安婦を象徴する少女像の除幕式が３１日夜、行われた。ソウルの日本大使館前に続き、在外公館前に少女像が設置されたのは２例目で、日韓関係の新たな火種となるのは必至だ。 除幕式は３１日午後９時（日本時間同）すぎから開かれた。釜山中心部で開かれた朴槿恵大統領の即時退陣を求める集会参加者らも合流。少女像の近くには２００人を超える人が集まった。 除幕式に参加した釜山に住む大学生、金賢美さん（２２）は日韓両国の慰安婦合意について「当事者の意見を無視し、締結した日韓合意は無効だ」と強調。制作費を寄付したという会社員の金到辰さん（４０）も「日本の公式謝罪もなく、国民の同意もない」と批判し、合意の見直しを求めた。 主催団体関係者によると、式に先立ち、開催方法をめぐり警察当局が一部容認しない考えを通知。少女像の周りには警官隊が展開し警戒態勢を敷いた。 総領事館前の少女像をめぐっては、市民団体の学生らが日韓合意１年となる２８日、許可を受けずに置いたため釜山市東区が道路法違反を理由に撤去。しかし、東区には非難が殺到し、朴三碩区長は３０日、一転して容認する姿勢を示し、像を市民団体に返還した。 日本政府は像の設置を受けて３０日、日韓合意の精神に反するとして「極めて遺憾だ」（杉山晋輔外務事務次官）と抗議した。韓国外務省は「適切な場所について知恵を絞ることを期待する」と立場を表明する一方、日韓合意は「着実に履行する」方針を改めて示した。（2016/12/31-22:40）
宮内庁は新年にあたり、天皇、皇后両陛下が昨年１年間に詠んだ歌から両陛下が選んだものを発表した。天皇陛下が同庁を通じて毎年公表してきた「新年にあたってのご感想」は、公務負担軽減策の一環で今回から取りやめた。 
東京・渋谷駅前で年越しカウントダウンイベントが12月31日深夜に始まり、大勢の人々が集まっている。 例年、渋谷駅周辺は大みそか〜元日未明にかけて多くの人で混雑するが、今回は初めて、渋谷区や地元商店会などが年越しのカウントダウンイベントを実施。例年以上の人出が見込まれている。渋谷駅周辺では31日午後10時から約4時間、一部車道を通行止めとなり歩行者天国になる。年越しに渋谷駅周辺が歩行者天国になるのは初めて。 NHKニュース によると警視庁は、12月19日にドイツ・ベルリンでクリスマスマーケットにトラックが突入した事件などを受けて、テロ防止のためカウントダウンとしては最大規模の態勢で警戒に当たっている。 この記事の最新情報 古いものから表示 新しいものから表示 シェア + 今日 23時47分 JST フゥー！！ pic.twitter.com/TYGPxniK34 — 吉川慧/Kei Yoshikawa (@dong_po_rou) December 31, 2016 この記事をシェア:: ツイート シェア tumblr シェア + 今日 23時47分 JST あちこちから「フゥー！！」という歓声が聞こえる。 pic.twitter.com/XDNKrTN5Ve — 吉川慧/Kei Yoshikawa (@dong_po_rou) December 31, 2016 この記事をシェア:: ツイート シェア tumblr シェア + 今日 23時46分 JST I’m@渋谷スクランブル交差点。まさにスクランブル。というか、エマージェンシー pic.twitter.com/3xWHP4ZYEJ — kamome (@kamome) December 31, 2016 この記事をシェア:: ツイート シェア tumblr シェア + 今日 23時45分 JST 渋谷スクランブル交差点なう！ pic.twitter.com/0pNNSquKB9 — ひわたしりょう
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