Dragons, books and webcams equals a very cool augmented reality book!
The first UK book featuring augmented reality has been launched today by Templar Publishing.
The technology, which blurs the real and the virtual worlds, has been used by Templar to create a unique 3-D experience that allows readers to see a moving dragon come to life from the pages of its latest children’s book, Dr Drake’s Comprehensive Compendium of Dragonology.
Amongst its fully illustrated chapters, the book contains a drawing of a European dragon. By visiting the Dragonology website and holding the drawing up to an active webcam, readers can see a 3-D dragon materialise on the page, see it awaken, hear it roar, and view it from a variety of angles, all directly on their own computer screen.
Amanda Wood, MD of Templar comments, "As soon as we saw this technology in Bologna we knew that we had to find a way to incorporate it into one of our titles. We have always tried to innovative when it comes to our Ology series, which thankfully has become a watchword for originality and excellence, and this amazing 3-D technology gives us the opportunity to offer our readers a unique new experience."
Myles Peyton, UK Sales Director at Total Immersion, which developed the Dragonology experience, said: "Augmented reality offers publishers an amazing way to enhance the readers’ experience and bring characters and other story elements to life.
"Although the technology has been in development for over ten years, it is only now that companies are realising its true value, especially where it can revamp more traditional consumer products, such as books," he explains.
Dr Drake’s Comprehensive Compendium of Dragonology is the latest book in the best-selling Ology series, which has sold over 17 million books worldwide into 34 countries.
The Templar Company Limited (http://www.templarco.co.uk) is a division of Bonnier Books. Templar is a publisher and packager of high-quality and award-winning children’s books. It created the bestselling Ology series as well as the acclaimed amazing baby(R) series and award-winning and innovative picture books including Simon Bartram’s Man on the Moon and Varmints by Marc Craste and Helen Ward.
Total Immersion (http://www.t-immersion.com) is the global leader in augmented reality. Through its patented D’Fusion(R) technology, Total Immersion blurs the lines between the virtual world and the real world by integrating real-time interactive 3D graphics into a live video stream.