Take an AR Tour Through Legoland Windsor’s Magical Forest

Augmented reality (AR) is seeing greater deployment for at-home use, at an enterprise level and for out-of-home entertainment. When it comes to the latter, the UK’s Legoland Windsor Resort has unveiled its latest attraction, The Magical Forest, which utilises Zappar’s AR technology for a self-guided walk-through experience.

The Magical Forest is an immersive experience for families that build upon the Lego Mythica area of the resort. As guests wander through the forest they’ll be able to use the Legoland app to scan QR codes at AR activation points, bringing all the Lego creatures to life.

This AR adventure is narrated by BOBs, the baby alicorn, brought to life and transformed from Lego to his real-life form. BOBs will guide families through The Magical Forest whilst introducing creatures such as Crystal Claw Crabs, Baby Lava Dragons, Venus Fly Traps and the Lava Dragon herself. To increase the interactive elements, the AR experience will encourage kids to help BOBs find their missing wing, take a photo with the Lava Dragon and special virtual cards to collect with stats on each creature.

“We’re hugely excited to be launching The Magical Forest which deep dives into Lego Mythica in an extraordinarily captivating way. Kids and their parents will be able to explore this enchanting walk-through experience filled with an abundance of amazing mythical creatures built out of Lego bricks,” said Helen Bull, Divisional Director at Legoland Windsor Resort in a statement. “We can’t wait to welcome families once again to this epic land which received 5-star reviews last year and is the perfect place for families to build memories together and let their imaginations run wild.”

“This really is a dream project to work on with such an iconic brand, venue and new IP. The challenge was to deliver spatial storytelling that could enhance and complement the incredible physical experience that is the cornerstone of a great day out at the Legoland Windsor Resort and really immerse family and kids in this wonderful world of Lego Mythica in a special way,” adds Caspar Thykier, Co-founder and CEO at Zappar.

Legoland Windsor’s new Magical Forest AR Experience is open now and continues the UK’s deployment of immersive technologies in location-based entertainment (LBE). Earlier this year saw London play host to The Green Planet AR Experience based around the natural history show narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

For continued updates on the latest AR innovations, keep reading gmw3.

May 11, 2021

Rovio and Burger King Deliver an Angry Birds WebAR Experience

Rovio Entertainment has managed to bring its Angry Birds franchise to most mediums, with a couple of virtual reality (VR) videogames as well as augmented reality (AR) titles under its belt. In its latest venture into immersive gaming, the company has teamed up with Burger King and AR specialist Zappar to offer an Angry Birds WebAR experience through promotional packaging.

Utilising Zappar’s WebAR tech, Burger King diners can access the Angry Birds experience by scanning QR codes on various items and meals. These range from King JR kids meals and other box packaging to plush toy tags and even signage at select Burger King locations.

Once the Angry Birds WebAR title starts players will see three eggs appear. Waves of Hatchlings will then try and steal them with players having to defend the eggs by tapping on the Hatchlings. While this will shoo them away, players can also deploy catapults that fire slime to hamper the Hatchlings efforts. After a while player will be rewarded with a unique power-up where the camera swaps to a selfie viewpoint. This allows players to blow away all the Hatchlings, safely returning all the eggs to the nest.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Zappar and Burger King to create this unique AR experience for Angry Birds fans,” said Katri Chacona, Director, Brand Licensing at Rovio Entertainment. “The accessibility of WebAR and wide availability across thousands of Burger King restaurants make this an incredible opportunity to connect with consumers in new ways.”

Zappar’s ZapWorks platform has powered numerous app-based AR campaigns for several years with its WebAR technology one of the most recent features. It means that brands don’t need an app for a particular marketing campaign as it can all be run on the web. Expect to see this type of promotion become far more commonplace as brands connect with customers, especially as 5G-enabled devices allow for faster streaming.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of WebAR, reporting back with further updates.

October 7, 2020

ZapBox Reveals $40 Smartphone AR Headset, Kickstarter Now Live

In 2016, UK-based Zappar released a cardboard headset named ZapBox for viewing AR experiences through your smartphone. Today, the company is revealing a refreshed model using plastic.

The new ZapBox just launched a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign looking for $65,000. Zappar labels the new device as a Mixed Reality headset capable of delivering augmented reality content with 6DOF movement for $40 and support for virtual reality, though its definition of VR is a little liberal.

Next ZapBox AR Headset Revealed

On the hardware front, the new ZapBox delivers a halo strap-design headset with brackets to hold a smartphone in front of a pair of lenses. The kit features two marker-based 6DOF controllers with triggers and a camera adaptor to place over your phone’s camera for a wider field of view. You can use a third square marker combined with computer vision to anchor virtual content to appear in the real world.

The company says any iPhone from 6 onwards will work with the kit, though can’t individually verify Android handset compatibility. It recommends Android phones be on the “higher end of the performance spectrum” and feature a gyroscope sensor and 60FPS camera mode.

When it comes to VR, however, ZapBox proposes accessing Google Cardboard-style content with a view of the real world beyond the limits of the headset’s field of view. The company reasons this is a more comfortable and social way to experience VR without being cut off from the world, but you then have to question if it’s really VR at all.

That aside, ZapBox comes with an existing suite of content that makes use of its AR features, plus all previously-made ZapBox apps will work on the new kit.

Early bird units for ZapBox go for $35 but, once they’re gone, the price goes to $40. The company anticipates shipping the kit to consumers and developers in April 2021. For $65, developers will also get early access to the ZapBox Unity SDK in beta and an older model ZapBox to get working with.

October 8, 2018

Rovio Entertainment Is Planning A New AR App Called Project Magic

The company behind the phenomenally popular Angry Birds franchise has now announced it is working on developing a state-of-the-art augmented reality (AR) app, referred to as ‘Project Magic’ which is planned to provide rich AR experiences for brands, retailers and consumers.

The new app from Rovio Entertainment will transport consumers to a new world which lets them engage with branded content experiences, providing a link between digital and physical licensed products. The app is planned to be released in 2019.

Angry Birds Header

Project Magic will let fans of Angry Birds use an AR portal to travel to the home of the Angry Birds, called ‘Bird Island’. There, users will be able to explore the island and take part in various AR experiences and enjoy high-quality AR locations.

Simo Hämäläinen, Senior Vice President, Brand Licensing at Rovio Entertainment, commented: “Project Magic represents a major licensing milestone for Rovio’s Brand Licensing Unit as our vision of being able to add digital overlay to licensed products is now reality. We’ve been working diligently alongside our long-time AR partner Zappar to create a cool, always on digital brand licensing ecosystem that not only adds value to consumers, but also helps to bridge the physical and digital worlds of Angry Birds. Licensing partners will have an incredible opportunity to create exceptional branded content experiences across our physical and digital touch points, and our consumers will be able to immerse themselves even further in the wonderful world of the Angry Birds.”

Rovio is developing Project Magic alongside AR specialists Zappar, in order to build on previous work in the AR field conducted by both Rovia and Zappar.

Max Dawes, Partnerships & Marketing Director, at Zappar, commented: “Over the past seven years working in the augmented reality space we’ve learnt a lot about how companies can create value with AR. We’re beyond excited to be able to leverage those learnings on such a huge scale with the fantastic team at Rovio. A brand’s largest owned media channels are their products, their packaging and their stores: through the addition of interactive Angry Birds content these channels can surprise, delight and entertain consumers like never before. In addition, Rovio’s partners will see hard data on when and how consumers are interacting. We can’t wait to unleash the magic!”

For future coverage of Rovio’s work with AR, keep checking back with VRFocus.

July 6, 2018

Zappar Release ZapWorks Studio 5

Zappar, the company behind the powerful tool and platform for augmented reality (AR) ZapWorks Studio, have announced the latest version. As part of the companies ongoing plan to make AR, virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) more accessible, affordable and scaleable, the company has packed this newest version of their software with a number of exciting features.

Zapworks

ZapWorks Studio 5 is described as the swiss army knight of creative toolsets, featuring a ton of features into the software package. From support for 3D models, timeline animation and scripting, 360 panorama support for video and images, ZapWorks Studio capable of having almost any task. In the new version, the team at Zappar have worked to improve the power of the software without putting any strain on performance of features. The aim is to balance exposing the greatest flexibility and feature-set, all while providing a delightful, accessible, and predictable creative experience for our users.

Some of the highlighted improvements and additions in ZapWorks Studio 5 include Actions. These make it possible to build interactive experiences in a visual way, without needing to learn or use scripting. Each of the components within ZapWorks Studio 5 expose a set of events and actions that allow for most typical use cases to be set up without a single line of code. This means that playing animations or launching websites can be set up and made possible all within a few simple steps.

Dynamic Lighting is another new feature in ZapWorks Studio 5 which allows for dynamic real-time lighting for 3D models. Supporting a number of different materials and light sources, XR content has never looked so good. The import process for 3D models has also seen a number of improvements making it easier to bring models into scenes within ZapWorks Studio 5 and get them set up in no time at all.

ZapBox, an affordable MR kit that offers full 3D six-degrees-of-freedom (6DOF), sees full support with ZapWorks Studio 5 meaning building content for the kit is now much easier. Users will be able to preview content within a 3D view within the application and leverage the new Actions feature to build amazing MR content in no time at all. There is also an update coming to the ZapBox app soon which will improve tracking and support for controller triggers.

These are only a few of the many changes, improvements and new additions found within ZapWorks Studio 5. You can find the full release notes here and to download the application and start building content right away, here to Zappar’s website here. For more on ZapWorks Studio in the future, keep reading VRFocus.

January 27, 2018

This Week In VR Sport: Super Bowl Gets Immersive, Mixed Reality Statistics & VR Ski Training

Sports keeps modernising as athletes demand the best ways to practice, the most immersive ways to train, and fans keep demanding the best ways to view and interact with their favourite pastime. Every week here on VRFocus we collate the top sports stories of the week which involve new technologies.

Whether you’re a sports fan or just a technology buff, you’ll find some fascinating facts in our news stories below – make sure to check back at the same time next week for more from the world of sport.

Get Augmented Reality ‘Immersive View’ Of The Super Bowl

Going to a busy event can be a hassle, but StubHub are making it easier than ever for Super Bowl fans to attend the biggest NFL event of the year. Everything in the immersive view experience allows you to understand every aspect of the game and event. Parking, picking up tickets, attending pre-game events, finding seating, everything can be done and organised through your phone, and with augmented reality (AR) capabilities to boot.

Matt Swan, StubHub CTO says the new immersive view shows clear value for consumers; “StubHub’s immersive view experience not only demonstrates a practical use case for AR within ticketing and live events, but also serves as an important milestone for the industry. When it comes to our users, we’re passionate about providing solutions in ticket buying and selling that offer a clear value. As the first ticketing player to implement this technology, we hope to further enhance the purchasing experience ahead of the biggest day in football.”

Users on iOS devices will be able to use immersive view on the Super Bowl ticket buyers landing page on the StubHub app.

Kindred Futures And Zappar Collaborate On Mixed Reality

Kindred Futures Zappar

Two companies are coming together to change how we look at sports statistics, fantasy leagues and more. They hope to present sports with mixed reality (MR) taking fans deeper into the sporting experience and making it more immersive and interesting than ever before.

Jeremy Yates from Zappar commented “The main barrier of getting mixed reality to the mass market is the cost of new hardware. There’s an exciting future of data visualisation, with mixed reality providing an immersive and engaging way to both view and interact with information. This exploration is all part of our goal of democratising this technology. We’re very excited about partnering with Kindred to see how we can drive innovation and bring the future closer to today.”

Meanwhile, Will Mace, head of Kindred Futures has said; “We’re very passionate about ensuring that audiences are given enough data to make sensible gaming decisions and think that our experiment with Zappar is an exciting step in the right direction.”

We’ll have more news on the new technology as we get it.

U.S. Ski Team Trained In Virtual Reality For Olympics

US SKI VR

The 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games are approaching fast, and SportTechie reports that the U.S. ski team have been practicing hard using virtual reality (VR) for the event. STRIVR has built VR training programs for the NFL, and now they’ve built recreation of the ski courses that will be featured during the Winter Olympics, giving athletes the opportunity to train.

Troy Taylor, high performance director at U.S. Ski & Snowboard said; “Obviously there is nothing that can replace the real world experience, but VR is proving its worth in terms of allowing an athlete to see the course they will race on before they actually compete.”

Hopefully the knowledge the VR practice has given them will give them a real world edge on the slopes too, though the proof will come when the events kick off on February 10^th.

For all of the latest sports news in the world of VR, makes sure to keep reading VRFocus.

January 25, 2018

Kindred Futures and Zappar Collaborate on Mixed Reality

Sports enthusiasts are often deeply involved in the statistics and data generated by games, matches or races. While some teams and broadcasters do release this information, it is not always presented in a usable way. A collaboration between Zappar and Kindred Futures is hoping to change this using Mixed Reality (MR). The collaboration hopes to re-evaluate how sporting data is presented to audiences. Data and statistics are used by sports fans in various ways, from simple debates in the bar to creating fantasy sports leagues and, of course, gambling.

Kindred Futures and Zappar are building prototypes using data gathered from high-rpfile sporting events such as the 2017 Champions League Final and T20 Cricket between South Africa and England. The two demonstrations aim to provide a look at how sports data could be presented in the future, by providing an extra layer of data on top of reality. The creators hope this will show how users can be placed at the heart of the data by creating an immersive, interactive experience.

Zappar have been working with MR for quite some time, showcasing its smartphone-powered ZapBox MR device at the SXSW event in March last year. The device was an effort to bring mixed reality in reach of the majority of users, contrasting with expensive high-end devices such as the HoloLens.

Will Mace, Head of Kindred Futures, commented “Kindred Futures has always been committed to seeking out the most interesting and innovative companies to explore the future of gambling. Our largest brand, Unibet, has the tagline “Luck is no Coincidence” and this exploration with Zappar allows punters to discover and interact with data like neverbefore – leveraging Opta data to provide insights that can help them make more informed decisions. We’re very passionate about ensuring that audiences are given enough data to make sensible gaming decisions and think that our experiment with Zappar is an exciting step in the right direction.”

A video demonstration of the technology can be viewed below. VRFocus will bring you further updates on this technology as it becomes available.

December 16, 2017

This Week in VR Sport: An MR Project Analyzing Sporting Data and Sports Virtual Training Systems Announces QBSIM

The festive season is almost upon us, whether you plan on going away, seeing family/friends, or just stay in cosy in front of the TV or fireplace. The last thing you might consider is going out a playing some sport – but there are those that do. And for those sport fanatics that like to keep abreast of the latest advancements VRFocus brings you a weekly dose of VR in Sport.

Kindred Futures Announces Mixed Reality Project With Zappar

Kindred Futures, the innovation arm of Kindred Group, has announced a new project with mixed reality (MR) specialists Zappar, looking at creating a new way for consumers to explore sports data.

The two companies are exploring the way sports are watched and data is consumed by building prototypes based on high profile sporting matches such as the 2017 Champions League final and T20 cricket between South Africa and England.

When gambling viewers currently have to trawl through tables of data provided by broadcasters to help make their sporting decisions, Zappar gives users control in an immersive experience where they can explore the team’s players, with insights into their goals, shots or runs – putting the user at the heart of the data. The two demos, powered by data from Opta, look to give an insight into what the future holds for interacting with sports data, all using Zappar’s ZapBox.

“Kindred Futures has always been committed to seeking out the most interesting and innovative companies to explore the future of gambling,” said Will Mace, Head of Kindred Futures. “Our largest brand, Unibet, has the tagline “Luck is no Coincidence” and this exploration with Zappar allows punters to discover and interact with data like never before – leveraging Opta data to provide insights that can help them make more informed decisions. We’re very passionate about ensuring that audiences are given enough data to make sensible gaming decisions and think that our experiment with Zappar is an exciting step in the right direction.”

“The main barrier of getting mixed reality to the mass market is the cost of new hardware. There’s an exciting future of data visualisation, with mixed reality providing an immersive and engaging way to both view and interact with information. This exploration is all part of our goal of democratising this technology. We’re very excited about partnering with Kindred to see how we can drive innovation and bring the future closer to today,” added Jeremy Yates from Zappar.

Sports Virtual Training Systems Reveal Simulation Platform QBSIM

Sports Virtual Training Systems (Sports VTS) has announced this week that it has built proprietary technologies to help train quarterbacks without risk of injury, an immersive simulator called QBSIM.

QBSIM is the first product from Sports VTS, allowing quarterbacks to throw an actual football directly into a VR environment, developing the enhanced skills and in-game instincts required to succeed on the playing field. So by simulating a real game environment, QBSIM ensures that virtual training inside the simulator leads to real results on the field.

“Sports VTS will redefine the world of sports training by allowing athletes to practice in complex, simulated scenarios that train both the mind and body simultaneously,” said Ted Sundquist, CEO and Founder of Sports VTS, and former Denver Broncos General Manager. “We’ve combined revolutionary technologies at the forefront of Virtual Reality with decades of experience preparing professional athletes, creating a system that allows a team to fully develop EVERY quarterback on their roster in a realistic, game speed environment and without the risk of contact injury.”

“It’s difficult for young quarterbacks to develop and be ready to succeed in the NFL without a great deal of game experience,” continued Sundquist. “QBSIM makes every day a Game Day. We create a full simulation that requires reading defenses, calling audibles, and throwing an actual football under pressure from a realistic pass rush. And just like on Game Day, the accuracy of the throw determines completion, incompletion or interception by the actions and reactions of virtual players.”

Sports VTS will launch its first product, QBSIM in early 2018.

QBSIM-QB-view-ready-to-go

December 9, 2017

This Week in VR Sport: AR For Football and Fitness

It is getting close to Christmas, the weather is turning cold (well, for some of us..) but the world of sports carries on regardless of the wind, rain or snow. This week is dominated by developments in augmented reality (AR) in sport, fitness and health.

Mapbox Acquires Fitness AR

An increasing number of people are turning to smartphone apps to help them get fit. AR apps have formed a part of this, such as Fitness AR, which helps users visualise fitness routines and plan out safe and productive cycling or running routes. Fitness AR previously worked with Mapbox to use its technology to build digital 3D maps to help endurance athletes visualise trail routes.

As reported by Sport Techie, Mapbox have now made a deal to acquire Fitness AR, which includes an agreement for Fitness AR co-founder Adam Debreczeni to help create AR and virtual reality (VR) apps for areas such as sport, weather, travel and videogaming.

“Designing augmented reality experiences for applications is still a very nascent field, requiring new tools and new thinking,” Debreczeni said in a statement. “With the Unity Maps SDK, Mapbox is the leader in the exciting new space of AR and location.”

“This is about building interactive experiences,” Mapbox CEO Eric Gundersen said in a statement. “AR is going to be bigger than the browser and bigger than mobile.”

A video demonstration can be viewed below.

UK AR Company Zappar Works with NFL Teams

It has become fairly common among companies and brands to attempt to engage with audiences by using VR and AR. Sports teams have been no different, with AR experiences being offered to fans across the world.

Though it is primarily US sports teams producing these experiences, isn’t just American companies that have been involved in their creation. UK-based VR and AR content company Zappar has been working with two National Football League (NFL) teams, the San Francisco 49ers and the Minnesota Vikings.

The partnership with the 49ers allows fans to view AR experiences by using souvenir cups. With one of these cups, fans just need to open up the team’s official app to see some of the team’s most famous moments. With the Vikings, Zappar created an AR message which could be unlocked using the gameday magazine.

Sport Techie spoke to Max Dawes, Partnerships & Marketing Director at Zappar, where he said: “With the Vikings it was their awesome Executive Director of Digital Media & Innovation, Scott Kegley who reached out to us. The 49ers we met via Adept who are a really innovative sports focused fan engagement platform and who we now have a great partnership with. They have driven app downloads and truckloads of engagement. They have begun to build up a new media channel for these teams and they have added value to physical products.”

Asked how Zappar differs from its competitors in the AR sector, Dawes said: “Our mission as a business has always been to democratise AR and provide the least friction between a brand and their end user to deliver valuable and value-added experiences to drive affirmative actions. Typical AR and VR experiences in sport tend to be for much smaller audiences, VIPs, or experiential marketing stunts which reach a few thousand people. In addition they tend to rely on very expensive hardware which is mostly unattainable for most fans. We have built our platform to work for the least powerful devices up as opposed to the most expensive devices down.”

We’ll be back next week with more VR sport news.

March 19, 2017

Zappar showcase ZapBox Mixed Reality device at SXSW

Augmented reality (AR) provider Zappar will be showcasing its affordable AR/mixed reality (MR) solution, the ZapBox at the South By Southwest (SXSW) conference this week.

The ZapBox consists of a headset similar to the Google Cardboard into which a smartphone with the ZapBox app is loaded, as well as handheld controllers and ‘pointcodes’ – position markers that help the device determine where you are in relation to your environment.

Furtniture in 3D

Zappar launched the ZapBox via a Kickstarter funding campaign in November 2016, asking for a modest $30,000 USD. By the time the campaign had ended, it had raised over $80,000. This enabled the team at Zappar to implement stretch goals such as 3D model visualisation and collaborative experiences.

Some of the Kickstarter’s backers have already received their development units, which come with a range of AR/MR experiences out of the box, including the ‘ZapBrush’ for 3D painting, a AR mini-golf game, a rhythm/pattern matching dance game, the ability to play a virtual xylophone and an app that allows the user to explore the solar system.

Ompi in dev mode

Kickstarter backers were able to get the basic set for just $25. Zappar say the commercial unit will cost only $30. As Caspar Thykier, Zappar CEO and co-founder explains: “Here at Zappar, our goal has always been to make AR, VR and now MR available to everyone. We’ve worked tirelessly to ensure all elements of ZapBox, from app to cardboard components, are simple and affordable but most importantly deliver awe-inspiring experiences. This all started when we said to ourselves: ‘Could we make Magic Leap, Magic Cheap?’. ZapBox is our answer to that question.”

Zappar has recently announced a partnership with music recognition app Shazam, implementing Zappar’s AR technology into the Shazam app to form part of a new advertising and engagement campaign.

VRFocus will keep you informed on any updates regarding ZapBox and Zappar.