About a year ago, after facing the difficulty of finding trustworthy travel information on the Internet, we made a striking observation. We all follow the same pattern when preparing for a trip, whether it is looking for a great hotel in Hawaii, or simply a place to spend a Sunday afternoon when an old friend comes to town.

Recommendations from family and friends is the number one influence in making decisions.

We browse the Internet, we Google, look at hotel leaflets, consider a happy hour voucher, trawl through tons of websites. And of course, the more important our trip is, the more time we spend researching. But when it comes to nailing down a decision, what do we do? We talk to friends.

You, your friends and family own a great pool of knowledge altogether and most likely you share common interests. The best tips are mostly shared by word-of-mouth, you’re all connected through social media, and there are over 100 Mio FB posts a day!

So we thought why not build a app around that! An app that is built around the fact that friends and family are the Nr. 1 influence in making decisions.

You can try out Wikitude MyWorld (beta) here.

Augmented Reality on small screen smartphones is one thing but holding a 10 inch display in your hands takes it to a whole new level of user experience. With a special user interface, Wikitude is now the first Augmented Reality Browser which is Android tablet optimized and is available on all Android Honeycomb devices (Android versions 3.0 and 3.1). Some of the popular devices which are compatible with Wikitude include the LG Optimus Pad, Samsung P4, Motorola Xoom and Asus Eee Pad Transformer.

“With so many great tablets coming to market, we are excited about this new version of the Wikitude World Browser with specifically tablet users in mind. This tablet optimized version of Wikitude offers a split screen, which enables you to see the Augmented Reality view and the World selection screen at the same time. It’s now really easy to switch between the different worlds around you without losing the camera view or having to return to the home screen” explains Andreas Hauser, Head of Android Development at Wikitude.

Split screen also available in the Map View

The Wiktiude 6.1 update for Android is not only a tablet version but also contains upgrades for Wikitude Android smartphone users. Changes include language support in Czech, Polish and Portuguese as well as some great UI updates.

Check out Wikitude on Flickr for some more screenshots and impression of Wikitude 6.1 for Android.

Wikitude 6.1 for tablets and smartphones is available in the Android Market today. Download this latest version here.

Download here!

How does it work?

Navigation takes place in realtime in the live-camera image of your smartphone. Next to a conventional 3D map view, Wikitude Drive has a spectacular Augmented Reality camera view, where driving directions are directly drawn into the real road you are driving on.

The advantages:

The system works by attaching your mobile phone on top of your dashboard with the camera facing the road. The application then overlays video captured through the camera with driving instructions. This allows users to literally drive through their phone, watching the road even while they are looking at directions.

Never take the eyes off the road! Wikitude Drive solves a key problem that all other navigation systems have. These systems require the driver to take his eyes off the road in order to look at the abstract navigation map. Just by looking at the map screen for one second when driving at 100 km/h (62 mph), the driver is actually “blind” for 28 meters (92 ft). Think about how much can happen in those precious meters. Since Wikitude Drive provides you with driving directions on top of the live video stream, you still see what is happening in front of you when looking at the display of your mobile AR navigation system.

Supported Smartphones:

Due to the enormous hardware requirements, Wikitude Drive supportes only a limited number of high-quality Android phones with exceptionally good GPS sensors:

Samsung Galaxy Tab, Google Nexus S, HTC Nexus One, HTC Desire, Sony Ericsson X8, Sony Ericsson X10i. See Post “Supported Smartphones”.

If your Android smartphone is not on this list and you absolutely want to try Wikitude Drive, please proceed as follows: Download Wikitude Drive, launch it, enter any destination address, and then, if the route has been loaded, select “ Menu -> demo ride, and you will see an animated demo ride. If the demo looks good, then your phone seems to meet most of Wikitude Drive hardware requirements. If not, you can cancel your purchase within 15 minutes. Note: Some Android devices have GPS sensors that don’t meet the accuracy standards of Wikitude Drive: This is the case if you’re experiencing multiple multiple re-routes while driving with Wikitude Drive. If this happens with your device while driving with Wikitude Drive, you can send an email to drive[at]wikitude.org drive and we will cancel your purchase.

Where do I get Wikitude Drive?

Wikitude Drive is available in the Android Market in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and UK.

Which car holder do you recommend?

A car holder is an absolute necessity for Wikitude Drive, unless you are using it for pedestrian navigation. Make sure the camera has a free view. Sometimes it is necessary to drill a whole for the camera.

Wikitude Drive Success Story

Below you find a quick summary of the Wikitude Drive success story. Happy reading! Cheers.

August 2009: We posted a movie of our first prototype and trigger unintentionally a huge PR wave: The video appeared in major blogs and was viewed 150.000 times that first weekend.

September 2009: At the 2nd Google Android Developer Challenge Wikitude Drive was a top 20 finalist. Unfortunately the routing server crashed within the final jury testing round. However the version from that time was miles away from what you see today.

February 2010: Wikitude Drive wins the Grand Prize at Navteq Challenge 2010 EMEA at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and a check valued 500.000€ in license fees and cash as “most innovative navigation solution in Europe, Middle East and Africa”. The news of Wikitude Drive winning the award was displayed on the Reuters Newswire on Time Square in New York as well as on the Clear Channel Sign in Las Vegas. More on “Wikitude wins the Navteq Challenge 2010!“.  The Insider Story can be read at “Winning the Navteq Challenge 2010 Grand Prize with Wikitude Drive – The Inside Story“.

Mai 20, 2010: We launched a major test drive during Google I/O 2010 and send 3000 test drivers out onto the road. This day marks the record high number of Website hits on the Wikitude site. After 2 hours our server broke down. More here: Wikitude Drive Google I/O Update: Test Drivers Wanted

September 20: 2010: Wikitude Drive won the global competition of the Navteq Challenge in Madrid and is crowned Navteq Global Champion 2010. As the Navteq Challenge 2010 EMEA winners, Wikitude Head of Innovation Andi Hauser, Lead Developer Sebastian Höbarth and me competed against the regional winners India, Asia, North Amerika and South Amerika. We were able to convince a top-class jury and won the global competition as well: See “Wikitude Drive Crowned 2010 NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge® CHAMPION“.

October 18, 2010: Wikitude Drive won the European Satellite Navigation Competition and the GSA Special Topic Prize in the residence of Munich. See “Wikitude Drive gewinnt den Hauptpreis der European Satellite Navigation Competition Galileo Master 2010“.

November 24, 2010: Wikitude Drive wins Hagenberg Award.

Dezember 6, 2010: Wikitude Drive and the Wikitude World Browser won the World Summit Award in Abu Dhabi. See “Wikitude wins World Summit Award“.

Dezember 20, 2010: Wikitude Drive went live in Austria (T-Mobile), Germany and Switzerland.

May 25, 2011: Latest News – Wikitude Drive went live in UK, France, Italy, and Spain!!!

OpenGL >= 1.1, Android 2.1 oder 2.2, 700Mhz or more

Due to the high system requirements of Wikitude Drive, every model of Android smartphone/tablet must be individually tested to assure ultimate performance. The following smartphones/tablets have already been successfully tested:

Wikitude Drive on a Samsung Galaxy Tab

Samsung Galaxy Tab: Needless to say, the design of the Samsung Galaxy Tab excites interest wherever you take it. Whether you’re using it in the airport, elevator, or at a conference, both men and women want to take a look. But what’s inside is also trendsetting. Before I ever held a Galaxy Tab, I honestly had no idea why such a device should ever be used. Now it’s as plain as day: These devices were designed more for data consumption than for data production. Since most people surely download more than upload, this device just makes sense. Additionally, navigation is especially interesting on this device type. The 7-inch display is especially suited for Augmented Reality. Preliminary tests after the launch show that the Galaxy Tab is highly popular with Wikitude Drive drivers.

We took the Samsung Galaxy Tab to the ultimate road test with Wikitude Drive: Snow and ice were no hindrance to a safe trip home. The high-performance display was extremely sharp, but a car mount is a must. We haven’t tested any mounts yet, so if you have a tip for a good one for the Galaxy Tab, please let us know: drive[at]wikitude.org. See Siehe Samsung Galaxy Tab on Amazon.

Wikitude Drive on a Sony X8 Xperia

The Sony Xperia X8 is the smallest smartphone I have ever held. It combines the advantages of small cell phones and smartphones. I was actually quite taken with the device. Wikitude Drive functioned perfectly on the Sony Xperia X8. The small display is more than sufficient to accommodate all information for navigation. See See Sony X8 Xperia on Amazon.

Wikitude Drive on HTC Desire

The HTC Desire is a stylish Android smartphone that resembles the Nexus One. It comes with Android 2.1, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a large AMOLED display, and a special sense button below in the middle that allows for easy scrolling without having to touch the screen. The 5-megapixel autofocus camera with flash is especially worth mentioning.
Wikitude Drive runs perfectly on this smartphone. Nothing more needs to be said. HTC Desire on Amazon.

Wikitude Drive on Nexus One

The Nexus One was the model of smartphone used by the developer during the entire development of Wikitude Drive. Because of this, Wikitude Drive is particularly tailored to the Nexus One. There are really only good things to say about the Nexus One: About a year ago, this smartphone was the ultimate benchmark. It’s been overrun by the competition in the meantime, but it’s still a great smartphone. See Nexus One on Amazon.

Wikitude Drive on an LG Optimus

LG Optimus was also used during the development of Wikitude Drive and was therefore extensively tested. See “LG Ultimate Road Test“. The LG GT540 Optimus comes with a touch screen, the Android OS and numerous clients for familiar social networks. On top of that, LG implemented its Social Network Manager, making Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks easier and faster to use. If your LP Optimus still runs with Android 1.6, it must first be upgraded to at least Android 2.1. Wikitude Drive runs very well on the LG Optimus: The first true Wikitude Drive YouTube film “Wikitude Drive – the World’s First AR Navigation for Smartphones” was made exclusively using the LG Optimus. See LG GT540 Optimus Smartphone on Amazon.

The complete list of supported smartphones is: Samsung Galaxy Tab, Google Nexus S, HTC Nexus One, HTC Desire, LG Optimus 2x, LG Optimus 3D, Sony Ericsson X8, Sony Ericsson X10i.

Handset Manufacturers: Please don’t hesitate to send us your smartphones/tablets for testing and inclusion on this list. Please use the following address: Mobilizy GmbH, Attn: “Wikitude Drive, Device Tests”, Ginzkeyplatz 11, 5020 Salzburg, Österreich.

„Wikitude Drive“, the Augmented Reality navigation system made by Mobilizy www.mobilizy.com is the big winner at the European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) 2010. It has been crowned „Galileo Master 2010“ as well as the GSA Special Topic Prize as best application for EGNOS, which improves positioning to 1-3 meter. 354 projects from 44 countries have been submitted to the contest. The Galileo Master went to Austria for the first time.

Wikitude Drive - not yet live, already a legend

The award ceremony of the European Satellite Navigation Competition 2010  (ESNC) took place in the Munich Residence, former royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs in the center of the city of Munich, Germany. The ESNC is an international idea competition, looking for navigational concepts that harness the increased accuracy and reliability provided by Galileo, Europes Satellite navigation system.

The Augmented Reality (AR) navigation system Wikitude Drive convinced an international jury from DLR (German Aerospace Center), Navteq, ESA (European Space Agency), GSA (Global Navigation Satellite System – Supervisory Authority), and T-Mobile.

„The Galileo Master confirms, that Wikitude Drive is a revolutionary navigational concept. In future, hardware and software will be optimized for AR. Bigger screens, better processors, positioning on meter level with EGNOS, and real time POI data, will make AR navigation a killer app. Following a line, as if it has been painted onto the street, however only visible through your smartphone display – this is Augmented Reality!“, says Philipp Breuss-Schneeweis, founder of Wikitude/Mobilizy and developer of the first available Augmented Reality application Wikitude World Browser (live in fall 2008).

Wikitude Drive is the first AR navigation system for Android with global maps (see Wikitude Drive info page at ESNC). The system works by attaching your mobile phone on top of your dash board looking at the road. The application then overlays video captured through the camera with driving instructions. This allows users to literally drive through their phone, watching the road even while they are looking at directions.

Wikitude Drive will be available in the Android Market starting end of October 2010.

Wikitude is taking home a nice trophy in the shape of a satellite (top right)

„I see huge potential of AR in mobile devices and navigation. Navigation on „the last mile“ (i.e. where is the next restaurant?), adding POIs (points of interest) and LBS services lead to a new experience of mobile content. Mobile games will profit from Wikitude just as driver assistance systems. It’s going to be exciting when live content and social networks are embedded into reality. Wikitude Drive plus POIs, LBS, and gaming offer exciting business opportunities.“, says Thorsten Rudolph, Managing Director of AZO (Anwendungszentrum Oberpfaffenhofen), which has been founded by the German Aerospace Center in 2004 as incubator for the grows markets navigation, satellite, mobile communication, and geoinformation.

About Galileo

Galileo is a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) currently being built by the European Union (EU) and European Space Agency (ESA). Galileo is intended to provide more precise measurements than available through GPS (down to the metre range) including the height (altitude) above sea level, and better positioning services at high latitudes.

Wikitude winning the "Galileo Master 2010"

About EGNOS

The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), Europe’s first venture into satellite navigation, improves the open public service offered by the USA’s Global Positioning System (GPS). As a satellite navigation augmentation system, EGNOS improves the accuracy of GPS by providing a positioning accuracy to within three metres. By comparison, someone using a GPS receiver without EGNOS can only be sure of their position to within 17 metres.

Wikitude Drive high resolution images:

http://mobilizycom.easycgi.com/dl/WikitudeDrivePhotos_LG_Optimus.zip (15MB)

http://mobilizycom.easycgi.com/dl/WikitudeDrivePhotos_Nexus_One.zip (10MB)

About Mobilizy:

Mobilizy – the company behind Wikitude – is an early pioneer and one of the leading innovators in mobile augmented reality with in-house development of location-based services and AR experiences for smart-phones.

Mobilizy is a leading innovator in mobile Augmented Reality. Flagship product is the Wikitude World Browser, which is the first available mobile Augmented Reality browser worldwide. Point of interests can be searched by current position and viewed on a map, list, and on an Augmented Reality (AR) camera view. Wikitude is available for Android, iPhone, and Nokia 5th and 3rd edition.

Mobilizy’s AR technology is also used in White Label Products (IBMSeer at Wimbledon 2009 and 2010, Red Bull Hotspot Viewer, Lonely Planet Compass) but also for AR navigation as demonstrated in WIKITUDE Drive. Mobilizy won numerous awards for their products, e.g. „Global Champion Awards Navteq LBS Challenge 2010“, „Nr 1 Augmented Reality Browser “ (Augmented Planet).

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“This award confirms once again that we have created a unique navigation product that has the potential to revolutionize pedestrian as well as in-car navigation industry. Wikitude Drive is changing an 8,000-year history of map-reading by augmenting route directions directly onto the real road,” says Philipp Breuss-Schneeweis, founder of Mobilizy.

Wikitude Drive is the world’s first fully functional mobile AR navigation system with global coverage. It is a light-weight navigation system that uses Augmented Reality to draw turn-by-turn driving instructions directly onto the live-video screen of your Android phone. Wikitude Drive is scheduled to launch in October 2010.

“After a one year development period, it is a great feeling to receive this industry recognition and to see the results of all the hard work. I cannot wait to see this product in the Android market,” says Sebastian Höbarth, lead developer of Wikitude Drive.

High-resolution images

Wikitude Drive Website

Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are augmented by virtual computer-generated imagery (more details).

An Augmented Reality Browser scans your surrounding for (e.g.) geo-referenced content using the camera and the device’s sensors. The obects’ information is displayed in the cam right where the real object is located.

There are millions of places to discover in Wikitude whereat you are most likely interested the ones nearby. The World Browser collects the closest places of all local content providers, so you immediately know what’s happening around you. Each place (or POI, Point Of Interest) belongs to provider, a so called “Worlds”. Local Worlds are listed on strt-up, each one providing information of places around you. E.g. check “Wikipedia” to see all Wikipedia information around you. You can then watch it in a List, on a Map or in the Cam (AR-View). This way you always know what’s around you, no matter where you are.

One may want to find places relevant to a specific search-term – Wikitude also provides a powerful Location Aware Search, which scans all local Worlds for the specific term (e.g. enter “Pizza” to get everything related to Pizza around you).

Wikitude requires Compass, Accelerometer, GPS and Camera and is available for almost all devices with the requested hardware:
Android Phones, iPhone (3Gs, 4) but also some Nokia smart-phones.

If you want to upload your Content (and be listed as a “World”) feel free to contact us or have a look at Wikitude.me to you find more details on publishing places via file-upload or web-service.

click here to see more videos

DOWNLOAD Wikitude

Andi Hauser, Chief Innovation Officer at Mobilizy, testing pedestrian navigation with Wikitude Drive on a LG Optimus

The key figures of the GT540 are a

• 3″ Full Touch Screen
• Android OS 1.6 (Donut)
• Wi-Fi, GPS & Push Email
• 3MP Camera
• Google Applications
• 3.5mm Headphone Jack
• 600Mhz Processor
• 1500mAh Li-Ion Battery
• 2GB MicroSD Card Included

These are only the key figures, but is this phone also going to work well with next generation mobile software like Wikitude Drive? Especially Augmented Reality uses a lot of computing power. Wikitude Drive is a prime example of mobile software that literally “drives” each single component to it’s limit.

My test drive took us (us=me & the phone) on a lovely day around the country side of Salzburg. No rain was involved, but still bumpy and curvy roads.

LG Optimus GT540 on a test drive in Salzburg

The result was that LG Optimus GT540 worked very well with Wikitude Drive. From the performance point of view, there was no difference to Google’s Nexus One. The display has a decent size, still handy enough to fit in a pocket or being used for pedestrian navigation. I would say this phone has the perfect size to serve the prime use cases: do phone calls, being carried around in a pocket, to use the Internet on the road, and to navigate.

In fact Wikitude Drive performed so well, that we decided to pre-load Wikitude Drive on all 10 LG Optimus GT540 phones that we are giving away to the top 10 worlds at our Wikitude World Cup (Deadline July 31!).

PS: Wikitude Drive is not yet available in the Android Market (coming soon).

All the best,
Phil

Thanks also to all the bloggers out there, we have seen some very interesting stories and new angles on the meaning of Wikitude Drive’s launch. One of our favorites was: “A GPS App With a Badass Wikitude” ;-)

The Wikitude Team

Salzburg, May 20, 2010. Wikitude Drive, the Grand Prize Winner of the Global Navteq LBS Challenge 2010 at Mobile World Congress last February in Barcelona, transforms your Android smartphone into a mobile navigation system looking a bit like something out of a science fiction movie…

Driving directions not only appear on screen, they are overlaid on the live video stream of the very street you are driving on. As a result, you are seeing the real world and real road in front of you, while being directed by a digital route on top of it.

Never take your eyes off the road again

Wikitude Drive distinguishes itself from other navigation systems in two ways:

First, due to the overlaying of the route onto the live video stream of the surroundings, the driver can easily recognize and follow the suggested route. Instead of looking at an abstract map you are looking at the real world.  The navigation system leads the driver through unfamiliar territory in a natural, real and easy way.

Wikitude Drive – Test Drivers Wanted from Wikitude on Vimeo.

Secondly, Wikitude Drive solves a key problem that all other navigation systems have. These systems require the driver to take his eyes off the road in order to look at the abstract navigation map. Just by looking at the map screen for one second when driving at 100 km/h (62 mph), the driver is actually “blind” for 28 meters (92 ft). Think about how much can happen in those precious meters. Since Wikitude Drive provides you with driving directions on top of the live video stream, you still see what is happening in front of you when looking at the display of your mobile AR navigation system.

In some driving conditions however, for example when driving in the dark, a traditional map is in fact advantageous.  With just one tap on the cell phone’s touch screen, you can switch between the Augmented Reality view and the traditional 3D map-view.  To give you additional navigational directions, voice commands are provided as well.

Navigational data comes from Navteq, a global supplier of mapping and routing information. A future version of Wikitude Drive will integrate with Wikitude World Browser to offer millions of Points of Interests to leverage the full power of the Internet and user generated content.

Looking for Test Drivers – Community Feedback Wanted

On May 20, 2010, during Google I/O, the Google Developers Conference in San Francisco, Wikitude Drive (beta) will be available in the Android Market for 2000 test drivers based in the US, starting 10am, PST.

During this beta phase, the development team is looking valuable feedback from the community. Please send your responses to drive@wikitude.org.

Wikitude Press Releases: http://www.wikitude.org/category/pressreleases

Wikitude Drive (beta) is fully functional and offers following features:

Augmented-Reality Street-view
3D Map-view
Worldwide coverage
Driving and Walking Directions
Voice Commands

Further Reading: Wikitude Drive Google I/O Update: Test Drivers Wanted

About Mobilizy:

Mobilizy is an early pioneer in commercial augmented reality and the creator of the Wikitude World Browser, which is one of the first practical augmented reality (AR) mobile applications available worldwide. Mobilizy GmbH engages in the research and in-house development of location-based services and augmented (mixed) reality experiences for smart-phones. Mobilizy is one of the leading innovators in developing new methods and applications for data acquisition and exchange in the emerging market of mobile augmented reality. Wikitude is sponsored by the Austrian Wirtschaftsservice (Impulse Program).

MEDIA CONTACT:
media@mobilizy.com
Mobilizy GmbH
Jakob-Haringer Str 5/IV
5020 Salzburg
Austria
Phone: +43 662 45 45 55 – 425