The Mattel toy line, developed in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising (Fox Licensing) will feature heroes, creatures and vehicles straight from James Camerons much-anticipated film, which is set for release in December 2009.
The augmented reality technology used for the project was developped by AR world leader Total Immersion. Each action figure, vehicle and creature in the product line will come with a 3-D web tag, called an i-TAG, which consumers can scan using a home computers webcam.
I have seen the future of toys, and it is augmented reality.
That was my conclusion Monday after seeing Mattel’s i-Tags, new technology that will be included with action figures the company will make for “Titanic” director James Cameron’s new film, “Avatar.”
For those not familiar with augmented reality, it’s an overlay of digital information or imagery on top of real-world objects. AR, as it’s known, “is a field of computer research that deals with the combination of real-world and computer-generated data (virtual reality), where computer graphics objects are blended into real footage in real time,” according to Wikipedia.
Or, as Sean McGowan, a toy industry analyst with Needham & Company in New York called it, AR is “jet fuel for the imagination.”
In the case of the “Avatar” action figures, AR is being implemented in the form of small plastic cards–the i-Tags–that kids can hold up in front of any Webcam. When they do, a fully 3D digital image is superimposed over the card on the screen. This can be anything from a simple set of information about a character from the film to a full-on, five-on-five shooting battle involving large military helicopters and flying dinosaur-like creatures called Leonopteryx.
The i-Tags, along with the “Avatar” action figures they’re based on, will be released in October in advance of the December 18 release of Cameron’s film.
There are five levels of i-TAGs, each of which corresponds to a specific level of interactivity with the AR. At level one–which will cost $8.95 per toy–kids who hold the card up to their Webcam will see some information on their computer screen about the character. At higher levels, though, they’ll be able to “push” buttons on the card, allowing them to manipulate the digital character or vehicle that pops up (see video below).
While AR is beginning to show up in many arenas, from video games to movie advertising to baseball cards to exploratory toys, Mattel said that the i-Tag is the first-ever retail toy implementation of the technology. more
Remember the winking, nodding magical collectible cards of famous witches and wizards from Harry Potter? French company Total Immersion has something similar for Muggles: The company helped createbaseball cards where 3-D avatars of players emerged on the desktop to pitch and bat with real-world users, and is also now working with Mattel to create a new line of action figures based on the upcoming sci-fi-flick Avatar.
Digital magic known as augmented reality made it possible. “Augmented reality is a composite experience–a video stream merged with a synthetic component and manipulated in real time,” says Greg Davis, general manager at Total Immersion. “We are taking video and superimposing a digital layer over it.” more
James Cameron has waited more than 14 years to get his latest creation, AVATAR, into theaters. The director of Terminator, Alien, and The Abyss, Cameron is no stranger to science fiction, and the recent Comic Con previews in San Diego revealed that Cameron has spared no expense in creating the next scifi epic that will redefine the movie-making process. AVATAR utilized a new technique to merge recorded and synthetic images, allowing Cameron to alter and edit a blend of the two in real-time. The results? AVATAR is a mind-blowing 3-D experience of a futuristic war on a distant alien planet, full of lush environments and unparalleled special effects.
Cameron’s new filming technique works something like a video game. In traditional CGI scenes, motion capture is used on actors, and the images are blended into synthetic environments in post-production. In AVATAR, Cameron uses a virtual camera to explore how characters look in the environment as they are being filmed. In other words, the director can see and manipulate the final product while he is still shooting the movie. Cameron isn’t just aiming for the next billion dollar grossing movie, he’s also out to set a standard for how digitalized movies will be recorded.
Of course, blending recorded and synthetic environments in real-time isn’t a completely new concept. Augmented Reality from Total Immersion has done similar work for baseball cards, business presentations, and advertisements. In fact, AVATAR and Total Immersion are teaming up for an interactive movie marketing campaign, similar to the online AR demonstrations for the latest Star Trek movie. AVATAR is certainly the first full-length feature film to use this technology during main production, post-production, and advertising.
AVATAR is likely to be another great step into the next stage of movie-evolution. Not only will it have an incredible alien world for audiences to experience, it will forever change how directors use digital animation. By giving directors another tool to help create more realistic digital scenes, James Cameron has edged us closer to science fiction that seems completely real. Whether or not AVATAR is ultimately a success though, Cameron’s changes to the industry will likely be titanic.
Mattel has long shown its colors as a tech-forward company — its BarbieGirls.com virtual world has in just two years grown in size to 18 million registered accounts. And just last week the company said it was moving in the direction of augmented reality, a technology with just a single precedent in the toy space (from baseball card-maker Topps).
The toy line, developed in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising (Fox Licensing) will feature heroes, creatures and vehicles straight from James Cameron’s much-anticipated film, which is set for release in December 2009.
The augmented reality technology used for the project was developped by AR world leader Total Immersion. Each action figure, vehicle and creature in the product line will come with a 3-D web tag, called an i-TAG, which consumers can “scan” using a home computer’s webcam. Scanning the i-TAG will reveal special content onscreen unique to the corresponding product. Exact content varies for each item, but could include biographical information, additional images and animated models of the figures. When the i-TAG for deluxe figures, vehicles or creatures are placed under a webcam, animated 3-D models will “come alive” through engaging, evading or defending moves. Place two i-TAGs from the “Battle Pack” together and the 3-D images will interact with each other.
“The development of our ‘Avatar’ toy line with the integration of the augmented reality technology marks an entirely new level of innovation in toys,” said Doug Wadleigh, Vice President for Boys Action Play Marketing, Mattel, Inc. “Boys will be able to play with the ‘Avatar’ figures and vehicles in ways that previously could only be imagined.”
Lora Cohn, Vice President, Fox Licensing added, “This is going to be a ground-breaking moment for both film and toy with the introduction of one the most innovative 3-D experiences ever conceived. Mattel has created the perfect complement to a film that is going to wow audiences the world over with its bold new vision.”
“Augmented reality is a software solution that has significantly gained momentum and popularity with advertisers, retailers and marketers over the past several years because of its unique ability to engage consumers in their experience with a brand,” said Bruno Uzzan, CEO and co-founder, Total Immersion. “The launch of Mattel’s ‘Avatar’ toy line is truly groundbreaking, as this marks the first time augmented reality has been featured in a mainstream consumer product line.”
