With coronavirus lockdown stopping a large number of public gatherings, Israel’s president, Reuven Rivlin, took a high-tech approach to addressing the nation on Israel’s Independence Day Tuesday: he used augmented reality.
With the aid of augmented reality and volumetric video, Rivlin found a way to visit every home in the country. Now that’s one form of democracy that the AR-loving Apple could surely get on board with!
The President’s speech was filmed by a volumetric capture system that created his likeness in three dimensions.
It can then be viewed by visiting a web link and scanning a QR code on your smartphone. Doing so will place Reuven Rivlin into your home, or against any background you wish, as easily as Ikea’s furniture-placing app lets you try out new chairs for your room.
The President’s speech ends with him inviting viewers to join him in taking a selfie? “You know what? Let’s do a selfie,” he said. “Come on, let’s take a picture together and don’t forget to smile!”
Apple’s love of all things AR
Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously spoken about his enthusiasm concerning augmented reality. “I’m excited about AR,” he said during a speech in Ireland in January. “My view is it’s the next big thing, and it will pervade our entire lives.”
With that in mind, Apple is continuing to improve its AR capabilities. iOS 14 will reportedly boast an in-built augmented reality viewing app. This fall’s iPhone 12 Pro will also be equipped with a LiDAR sensor for better augmented reality, as will the next-gen iPad Pro. It is also rumored to be building a standalone head-up display for AR.
Since 2020 is an election year, wouldn’t it be great to see this augmented reality tech be used as an attention-grabbing way for Presidential candidates to spread their message? Heck, I’d be all for the debates themselves taking place in AR.
