Thanks to Aurasma, the world’s “first visual browser”, readers can now watch interactive videos of movie trailers jump out from the pages of monthly supplement Mainichi RT. Users simply point the cameras of their smartphones or tablets at the Aurasma-powered pages to unlock digital delights from the printed editorial content.
The special December edition of Mainichi RT boasts an eight-page “Guide to the Movies” covering new releases, previous articles from Mainichi Shimbun and tweets from its 3.5 million readers.
The Aurasma-enabled issue uses the front page and other articles to show off movie trailers from box office blockbusters like “Planet of the Apes – Genesis” and “127 Hours”. To watch Mainichi RT burst into augmented life, click here.
In addition to delivering trailers from its print pages, Mainchini RT is looking at using Aurasma’s “click-through” technology to allow readers to go on and buy DVDs.
Aurasma, a free application, uses advanced image and pattern recognition to identify and understand images and objects in the real world, blending them with rich interactive content such as videos and animations called “Auras”.
Mainichi Shimbun becomes the latest in a growing number of publishing titles worldwide that have partnered with Aurasma. Others in the print industry to utilise the free technology platform include Taiwan’s United Daily News, Ecco Beila of Italy and in the UK, BBC Top Gear magazine, GQ magazine, Business Weekly and the Sunday Times.
Martina King, Managing Director of Aurasma, said: “We are delighted to announce our first partnership in Japan, especially with such an historic and renowned newspaper as Mainichi Shimbun. Over the past month, we’ve seen major newspapers and magazines across the globe adopt Aurasma to bring their editorial and advertising printed content to digital.
“This transformative technology is about to revolutionise print media, delivering a digital experience from the printed page and for the first time connecting newspapers and magazines into the mobile advertising space. We anticipate many more media networks will be rolling out our free platform technology over the coming months.”
Aurasma is free to download for the iPhone4, 4S, iPad2 and high-powered Android devices from the Apple App Store and Android Marketplace.
About Aurasma
Aurasma says: “Aurasma is the world’s first visual browser – a new platform technology that merges the physical world with the virtual. Available as a free app for iPhone4, 4S, iPad2 and high-powered Android devices or as a free kernel for developers, Aurasma uses advanced image and pattern recognition to recognise and understand real-world images and objects in much in way the human brain does. It then seamlessly blends the real-world with rich interactive content such as videos and animations called “Auras”. Auras can be created for printed images, product packaging, clothing, physical places and users can even use the app to create and share their own.
Since its launch in June 2011, Aurasma has had more than two million downloads. Over 800 partners in markets including retail, sport, automotive, consumer electronics, entertainment, advertising and publishing are using the free technology in their campaigns or embedding the technology in their own applications. Aurasma was developed by and is part of software company Autonomy – an HP Company.”
