Just select on the map where you want to build and zoom in to get a grid.

Once your creation is published it is viewable by all and may be featured in promotional material by Google and the LEGO Group.

I observe all around SOMA how construction companies like Swinerton and Webcor are using data from the BIM (Building Information Modeling) process to build better. I applaud Skanska‘s use of tablets and experiments with augmented reality. I attend and follow the building/tech events such as the recent ENR FutureTech Conference, which was here in San Francisco this week, to stay current with who is helping lead the innovative builder charge.

Another construction company doing its part to take building high tech is IDEAbuilder, a residential home building company that adds the latest in web, digital fabrication, and robotic manufacturing to the builder’s toolbox to build more efficiently.

True I work at IDEAbuilder but don’t worry, I will spare you the pitch. Instead I want to offer a glimpse at a project we are working on with one of our technology partners (we build houses, not apps). Leveraging the latest in web3D technology and human computer interface, we have built a hands free online home configurator for our clients. What does this mean? Watch my guerrilla video to learn more. *Double click the video to see the whole screen.

So as seen in the video using just hand and body motions, users can snap together their dream home from a library of components. The Performance Shell selection allows users to design homes that meet or exceed certain home energy performance standards. Think of it as building homes with high-energy performance engineered digitally fabricated LEGO bricks.

For the hands free control we are currently using the Microsoft Kinect. The browser in the video was Google Chrome. This app is still in alpha stage with more UX/UI changes to come and the addition of more components. Thanks to the IDEAbuilder team for allowing me to make this video and give people a peek at how innovative tech is changing the building industry.

For those not familiar with location-based services, the Playingmondo app, available for iPhone and Android, uses the built-in GPS in the mobile phones to allow users to interact with digital content created around real world locations. This content can be viewed in a variety of ways including augmented reality.

Already there are numerous Playingmondo playgrounds all over Denmark and in other countries, and even though a majority of the experiences are games, there are also experiences focused on health, education, tourism, and cultural heritage.

The Playingmondo website is where you can join a community to find virtual playgrounds near you, meet up with your team mates, see where they are playing, and even challenge them. MondoBuilder, a feature on the site, allows you to build your own playgrounds, buy games others have created, or make a game from available templates. The best thing about MondoBuilder is that you don’t need to know any coding to create an experience or game. It is a perfect tool for teachers, curators, or others with no programming skills.

A very nice feature of the platform is the variety of POIs (Points Of Interest) that can be created. In addition to displaying traditional media (images, text, sound,video), these 2D or 3D geo-located action points can link to documents, utilize the phone’s accelerometer so you can punch enemies, and even connect to Lego Mindstorms NXT via bluetooth for interaction and gaming with real world robots. Pretty cool huh?

Even though Playingmondo goes beyond what a lot of other location based gaming platforms offer, these folks have decided to push the boundaries even further. On my last trip to Copenhagen, I got a chance to visit the Playingmondo offices and got a firsthand look at an exciting new feature they will be releasing here in the U.S. very soon, the first ever mixed reality gaming platform.

That is right, a platform for creating mixed reality experiences. But what does this mean? It means that Playingmondo now connects a browser based web3D environment of a real world location (mirror world) with onsite mobile devices to allow virtual and onsite users the ability to interact with digital content and each other for a ‘mixed reality’ experience. To go one step further, the web3D environments can be controlled using the Microsoft Kinect.

I can’t go into detail yet on some of the cool mixed reality examples they have coming out throughout the year, but I will definitely continue to cover this innovative platform that is going to make the year unlike any ever before for web3D, mirror worlds, and augmented reality. Like Google’s Body Browser, you heard it here first folks, the world is now our mixed reality playground.

Augmented Reality Lego Kiosk

The augmented-reality (AR) “Digital Box” application for Lego made by augmented reality company Metaio came out in Lego stores world wide earlier this year.

I got the chance to play with this for the first time at a Lego store at Northpark Mall in Dallas, Texas. See video here Augmented Reality Legos.

Hold up selected boxes of Lego to a kiosk that contains of a webcam, a screen, and Metaio’s AR technology. A 3D animation of the assembled toy is projected on screen on top of the box the consumer is holding. It is then possible to view the finished toy on screen from all angles.

Most of the patrons in the store walked right past this kiosk until I started to play with this. Once people saw what I was doing they took more interest in the AR kiosk and then began to play with it. I recommend Lego put better indicators on the boxes that have the AR component. People enjoyed the 3D animations from the boxes that worked but frustration was apparent as most boxes were not AR ready and this caused lack of interest quickly after the initial wow. Regardless, a cool application of technology with a childhood favorite.