As Snapchat floods our phones with augmented reality (AR) filters, other apps are struggling to catch up — with even Facebook and Instagram releasing some preliminary face filters and graphics to add to your selfies. Next up? Apps that can work outside of social sites — including Holo, created by 8i, which puts animated holograms of people and animals into your pictures as you take them.
Diving in
When you first open the app, a very aesthetically appealing start screen appears — the graphic design is actually spot on unlike many other AR apps we’ve reviewed. In the background, a woman plays a ukulele next to a monkey doing the same — a taste of what’s to come.
After asking for a bunch of permissions, Holo will then lead you to the camera screen, with some suggested “holograms.” I saw such characters as “dog walking,” “wink” and “my chance” which looked like Spiderman.
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Holo lets you place, and position augmented reality figures in your space using your smartphone camera.GearBrain
I first put Spiderman in my room — you can rotate the figure by swiping from edge-to-edge and resize by pinching your fingers on screen. Unlike other apps, Holo seemingly cannot tell what your surroundings are — or if the app can, it does so rather badly. Characters are merely plopped down, almost life-size, for you to then adjust.
My next test was a dog — I made a white puppy dance on my microwave. And here’s where the technology fails. When I move my camera from left to right, the hologram tends to move a little bit with it. Not a lot, but enough to make the puppy move off of my microwave and into mid-air — and thus less realistic.
With my next test, I picked the headless horseman, and there hit a wrinkle. I found that the holograms don’t react to your actions — they’re independent, and not picking up on what’s happening in the screen nor with you. So to make a cool video, you’re going to have to anticipate or note how one of the virtual images moves — in this case the headless horseman waved — and then plan your actions accordingly.
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For those who like playing with AR — and don’t have an AR device of their own — Holo is a pretty good choice. The app works with both iOS and Android devices — and its free to download. No, you’re not going to get into film school with one of these finished flicks. But you’ll certainly entertain yourself for an hour or so — and maybe your friends as well.
Source: Gear Brain