One year ago, junaio introduced the capability to combine Augmented Reality and image recognition. The just released junaio 3.0 takes this another step forward towards making the “Augmented World” around us come alive in every sense. The new “SCAN” function scans everything: pictures, QR codes and even product barcodes. Hit the “SCAN” button and point you camera at whatever it is you wish to get information on, provided it can be found in one of junaios channels, databases or connected partner platforms. Scan a painting to get information about the artist a product barcode to get relevant consumer information or even a 3D user manual and scan a food item to try a new recipe for a good meal. “We are using the very objects around us as markers to get virtual information”, says Peter Meier, metaios CTO.

The first mobile Augmented Reality browsers relied purely on GPS and internal compasses for providing location-based information, mostly simple camera overlays regarding tourist attractions, restaurants, ATMs and so on.

Yet the most important sensor on a mobile device is the camera itself. This is why the junaio development team focused from the start on image recognition and natural feature tracking. It is been more than a year now that junaio has been able to recognize images on posters, magazines or billboards, displaying videos or sophisticated AR experiences in response. Well known media publications and brands across the world, even TV programs, have used this capability to enrich their editorials, to entertain their audience or to more effectively convey their commercial messages.

The new junaio 3.0 elevates this capability to a new level. Point your camera at whatever it is you wish to get information on. This “Scan the World” feature can recognize pictures, QR codes and even product barcodes, and simplifies the navigation in junaio. Keyword search is still available, but the scanned image itself works now as a search query to get to specific content in junaio, making other kind of markers obsolete.

When junaio recognizes a barcode, it combines and displays data sources from various partner platforms to provide useful consumer information on a given product. Some of those will lead to a website, a shopping micro-site or other related information. It is possible in fact to scan in succession different coded food items from your fridge, maybe add a few other search items (like “tomatoes, onions”, etc) and get a recipe for that particular combination of ingredients. It is planned to further extend consumer oriented product information of this kind in the months to come.

With this release, junaio continues to extend its lead as the most advanced AR browser available today. “junaio 3.0 takes us further towards our vision of making the “Augmented World” around us come alive in every sense”, says Peter Meier, metaios CTO. “We are using the very objects around us as markers to get virtual information. Just point the camera and scan it. This could be a famous painting in a museum showing how the artist created his master piece, or a simple box of breakfast cereals starting an entertaining AR game for our children.”

The new scan feature is available immediately for developer use. The possibilities are quite limitless: with junaio, manufacturers could create interactive 3D Augmented Reality user manuals scanning the product code of your latest piece of Swedish furniture could display easy-to-follow 3D assembly instructions marketers can reach their mobile audience with exciting multimedia and dynamic AR displays artists can enhance their creations with added effects as many already do movie posters can display trailers and educators could use it to instantly call up information in the classroom..