The use of augmented reality (AR) is growing every day, and that's why at NeoTeo we've decided to bring you five free augmented reality tools. Although this technology is better known in the educational field, we'll talk about other services that offer it.
For those who don't know what augmented reality is, it involves viewing a physical environment (from the real world) through a mobile device. This new vision incorporates virtual elements and layers (multimedia: texts, images, 3D models, videos, audios, animations, etc.) mostly of an informative nature.
Wikitude World Browser
We'll start with Wikitude, a very good augmented reality application that works like a futuristic encyclopedia. The tool takes your geographic position to show you all kinds of information about the city you're in. (It takes information from Wikipedia, Qype, and the Wikitude.me community.) Wikitude World Browser is a free application available for Android and iOS devices.
Layar - Augmented Reality
We continue with Layar, an application that takes the camera, GPS, compass, and accelerometer of your mobile device to show you contextual information through augmented reality about various places. The utility shows you Wikipedia entries, user recommendations (Foursquare), geotagged photos, YouTube videos, geographic location, and Twitter users near your location. Layar - Augmented Reality is a free application available for Android and iOS devices.
Argon2 Isotope
Now it's Argon2 Isotope's turn, one of the pioneering applications in the world of augmented reality (its Argon version). This augmented reality browser (you have to enter the URL in your browser) uses the mobile device's hardware so that developers can deploy the greatest augmented reality technology for web 2.0. Argon2 Isotope is a free application available for iOS devices.
WordLens
We continue with WordLens, an application with which you can translate the words on a sign using your mobile device's camera. If you're traveling in a country that doesn't speak your language, you just take a photo of the sign you don't understand, and the utility searches its dictionary for the translation and replaces the phrase with words in your language. WordLens is a free application available for Android and iOS devices.
ARcrowd
We'll finish on a high note with ARcrowd, an online application that lets you create and view augmented reality content. What stands out most is that you can do it in a friendly environment without having web development knowledge. All thanks to its modular platform, which lets you insert videos, 3D models, images, and audio to create your own augmented reality application. ARcrowd is a free web application (registration required) that works in all web browsers.
