what's virtual, what's not?

Augmented Reality ads bring inanimate objects to life... and make it way too funto buy things

Augmented reality (AR) sounds a lot more complicated than it is. Well, of course developing a groundbreaking form of user interaction is complicated, but it's simple to use.

Mashable defines AR as "a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data."

In other words, aim your smartphone or tablet at something in your physical presence and see it "brought to life" with virtual images. How ironic.

But as the line between virtual-reality and reality-reality continue to blur in our everyday lives, AR technology is showing up everywhere from the grocery store and the shopping mall to in magazines and on billboards. There's practically nowhere around you where AR can't be implemented, making you, as a consumer, all the more reachable for an advertiser.

Check out a few AR campaigns that caught our attention below, and keep your eyes peeled for more superimposition coming your way.

REI opened it's first store in New York City in 2011. "Activate the experience on any of the various ads, when you do, you’ll open a window to the place you’d rather be. The app challenges you to explore the scene and while doing so, find the special objects embedded in the scenery for your chance to win some great prizes."

In Billabong's "Life’s better in board shorts" ads, consumers gain access to videos of surfers and are linked to a dedicated microsite.

Heinz is driving its mobile presence as the first sauce brand to use an AR app for smart phones, that magically turns the product's label into a recipe book.

To celebrate Fashion's Night Out, Net-a-Porter created a pop-up store that visitors could shop and win prizes from using a specially created AR app.

unspecified

Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

traffic self-driving cars innovation