Layar gets a Vision, and a revenue stream

We could make some money!

By Bill Ray, 12th August 2011

Augmented reality poster child Layar has found a way to make money, by recognising 3D objects and linking them to content which can be dropped into its altered version of reality.

Layar has launched Vision, an enhancement which can recognise 3D, or 2D, objects and offer the user an interactive experience when they're spotted. More importantly, the developer is expected to pay Layar every time the content is accessed after the first 1,000 times, providing a much-needed revenue stream for the company.

Layar's technology enables the developer to paste location-specific content onto the camera's screen, enabling the user to (for example) scan around see the distance and location of nearby toilets overlaid on the mud-covered bodies attending Glastonbury Festival. It's undoubtedly cool, but it doesn't make money, unlike the image-recognition technology that the company is now pushing.

For the privilege of having one's content run, Layar will charge €249 (up to 10,000 executions) or €449 (up to 50,000 executions), though the first 1,000 are free, so there's plenty of room to experiment.

Which is good as the company is offering $55,000 in prizes split (unevenly) between the 10 best applications for the technology, in the hope of finding some innovative ways of using the tech. Entry opens on Monday, and remains open for a month, and so should provide something to fill the weekend with. ®

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