32 new layers have been launched recently. Amongst them a couple of “Art & Culture” layers, which makes you enjoy virtual art in Layar or helps you to find art around you.

We talked to Alex Young from MOB (Mobile Online Business Pty Ltd), who developed the Sculpture by the Sea layer in Australia in 2009 and with Russell JVM Gutierrez from flippingNORMALS (Hong Kong Art walk 2010 layer) and Christian Meinhardt from Superimpose (WTC and Virtual Public Art Project layers), who launched art layers recently.

What inspired you to develop these layers? Christian: “It is all about the perception of reality, it is about adding layers of abstraction as well as visible information to our surroundings and thereby enhancing our understanding of the world. A great aspect of this is to show realities that have been or that could be, as in the WTC layer project that brings back a reality that does not exist anymore. But you can go even further and think about creating additional or parallel realities existing on top of our common reality. That is an aspect you will find in the VPAP [Virtual Publik Art Project] layer project, here we offer artists the possibility to create new kinds of realities, that allow us to see the world through the eyes of the artist, thereby redefining it.

Russel: “We have always been tuned in to AR in general and Layar in particular. In Hong Kong, there is a noticeable lack of local layers, which is odd since there are a variety of interesting sites and events always going on - from traditional shrines to places where you can watch football live in the early hours of the morning.”

Alex: “When we started working on the Layar platform we felt it was a perfect fit for the Bondi 2009 exhibition (outdoor and set along 2.5km of coastline around the iconic Bondi Beach in Sydney). The layer showed people where the Public Facilities such as toilets, bus stops and cafe’s were as well as providing detailed information on sculptures from a set of the exhibiting artists.”

What does the layer bring the user? And what is crucial for an optimal experience? Christian: “Layar, in particular using its new 3d functions offers us a fantastic tool to explore these ideas and make them accessible to a global audience.” Russel: “The Art Walk naturally springs to mind. There are several participating galleries this year, most of them clustered around the Central, SOHO and Sheung Wan areas. The whole concept of the Art Walk is to encourage users to visit these galleries in one night to see the art and meet other people over drinks. The layer makes it easier to find these galleries, specially those that are not on the main path.” Alex: “At first we only wanted to display information relating to a sub-set of the works, as the printed Catalog (sold on-site) is a revenue source for the Sculpture by the Sea organization. The launch of the Layar App Store will provide a great opportunity to extend the layer, as people could choose to purchase the layer (as a Catalog) as an alternative to the printed version. The layer brings the opportunity to literally have a “catalog in their pocket”.

Who made the art objects visible in the layer (and what does a such a layer mean for the artists)? Christian: “The Virtual Public Art Project (VPAP) was initiated by US-based artist Chris Manzione and realized in cooperation with Superimpose. Starting with an inaugural exhibition of works shown on 14 locations around the globe more artists and artworks will be added over the coming months.”

The artist [Chris Manzione]: “Different than most other AR applications that look out into the world for information, VPAP interests lie in looking inward, onto an object. Another key element of our layar is that the objects are site-specific. This is different than most other digital media that can be easily transfered and shared. This requires the users presence and interaction with the site itself. Also being site-specific and with non of the limitations that physical artworks carry gives these artworks a context never seen before.” Alex: “Independent artists from Australia and around the world created the sculptures. Ideally it would be great to work with some of the artists who create 3D models of their works prior to creating them so we could use these as the Points of Interest icons for their works.”

Any other thoughts, idea’s or things you’d like to share? Christian: “I am really exited to announce another layar project of this kind coming from us soon.. For now I can’t tell you more, it is still secret…” Russel: “AR has a big potential in Hong Kong (HK), though not a lot of developers and companies here are taking advantage of it yet. iPhone (and more recently, Android phones) have a high penetration rate of the mobile market in HK so a lot of people potentially have access to the Layar app. One of our main goals is to first increase the visibility of AR in HK, and the only way to do that is to build more interesting layers. One of the next exciting projects we are looking to do involve mapping the street and graffiti art in HK and building a layer on top of that.”

Alex: “Art & Culture” layers are a great way to provide information to people in an accessible way.  It opens up and enriches the cities and landscapes that we live in. We are currently working with the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney to create a layer that uses historical photos of Sydney and overlays them onto the modern environment.  This will open up the history of Sydney to everyone wherever they are within the city.  We hope that it will lead to more interest by people to explore their culture and cities in more depth.”

All newest launched layers:

WTC- New York, US
Virtual Public Art Project - international
HK Art Walk 2010 - Hong Kong
Hotels Now! - international
UPCOMING - international
AroundTown R’dam (Game) - Rotterdam, Netherlands
AppAware for Layar - international
Explore South Africa - South Africa
House Detective - Germany, Italy, Spain, UK
SA Golf Courses - South Africa
Second Cup locator - Bahrain, Canada, Egypt, Jordan, Oman ,Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates
横浜観光案内 - Yokohama, Japan
Urban Walkabout - Sidney, Australia
『今から』泊まれる宿検索 - Japan
Stelling van Amsterdam - Amsterdam, Netherlands
Bath Pub Guide - Bath, UK
Political Party Time - US
Project Noah - international
Dutch Highschools - Netherlands
Tilburg University - Tilburg, Netherlands
Se salgspriser for danske ejendomme - Denmark
NWS NEXRAD Level 3 Storm Attributes - Iowa, US
קניונים בישראל - Israel
בנקים בישראל - Israel
MyCosmik Supplies: WiFi hotspots and SIM cards - international
Find a Property - UK
不動産アーカイブ検索 - Next - Japan
Aviones LocalizaTodo - Portugal, Spain
YMCA Old Valletta -Malta
Hot Spots Katowice - Katowice, Poland
GipuzkoaMarket - Gipuzkoa (province in Basque country), Spain
Discover Shropshire - Shrewsbury, UK

Please open this post to see screenshots and descriptions of all layers.

WTC
Description: World Trade Center New York virtual memorial. This is a virtual memorial to the WTC World Trade
Center on location in New York as it was present from 1971 to
September 11, 2001.
Geographical spread: WTC, New York, US
Developer: Christian Meinhardt
Developer Company: Superimpose

Virtual Public Art Project
Description: An Augmented Reality platform for the public display of digital works of art.
Geographical spread: international
Developer: Christian Meinhardt
Developer Company: Superimpose

HK Art Walk 2010
Description: List of participating galleries for the Hong Kong Art Walk 2010 - Hong Kong’s premier charity art event - will be held on Wednesday, 17 March 2010 between 5pm to 12midnight. For more information, see http://www.hongkongartwalk.com
Geographical spread: Hong Kong
Developer: Russell Gutierrez
Developer Company: flippingNORMALS

Hotels Now! (English & Deutsch)
Description: Displays the available hotels in your area. See and book: By map, list or with the camera of your mobile phone. Easy and fast: Check price, location and amenities. Book the hotel of your choice for the best price directly with your mobile phone.
Your benefits:
# Direct availability, even at the last minute
# Free booking - even without a credit card
# Payment at the hotel
# Free to cancel until 6pm on day of arrival
Geographical spread: international
Developer: Andreas Nöthen
Developer Company: HRS Hotel Reservation ServiceDeveloper

UPCOMING
Description: Upcoming events & things to do.
Geographical spread: international
Developer: Pablo Garcia
Developer Company: ELIPSE AD

AroundTown R’dam - Game
Description: Op zoek naar de ultieme stadsbelevenis? CityTour & CityGame. Deze AroundTown Layar biedt je een unieke belevenis van Rotterdam centrum. Speel ook de CityGame en maak kans op een orginele chopperbike van Nirve twv € 850,00 !
Geographical spread: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Developer: Victor van Rijn
Developer Company: MediaMedics

AppAware for Layar
Description: What are people around you installing on Android phones? AppAware shares online your installations, updates and removals of Android applications. In this way you become aware (App-Aware) of what other users are installing on their Android phones right now and around you! Please visit: http://appaware.org
Keywords: appaware, application, android, phone, mobile, eth, zurich
Geographical spread: international
Developer: Andrea Girardello
Developer Company: Information Management

Explore South Africa
Description: Comprehensive augmented reality guide to South Africa.
Geographical spread: South Africa
Developer: Feroz Osman-Latib
Developer Company: WebFive Media

House Detective
Description: Investigate houses for sale or rent nearby. The House Detective will find details of any houses for sale or rent around you, showing the price, number of bedrooms and other distinguishing features. The search results are powered by www.nestoria.co.uk
Geographical spread: Germany, Italy, Spain, UK
Developer: Alex Tucker
Developer Company: Alex Tucker

SA Golf Courses
Description: 500+ golf courses throughout South Africa with course detail. This layer gives you the location of golf courses throughout South Africa. Premium listings include a detailed description of the course as well as a AR view of the course that shows distance and direction to the green, water hazards and sand bunkers.
Geographical spread: South Africa
Developer: Feroz Osman-Latib
Developer Company: WebFive Media

Second Cup locator
Description: Second Cup is Canada’s largest specialty coffee café franchisor. Since its inception, Second Cup has grown to more than 340 cafés across Canada and over 50 cafés internationally.
Geographical spread: Bahrain, Canada, Egypt, Jordan, Oman ,Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates
Developer: Mathijs Gajentaan
Developer Company: Winvolve

横浜観光案内 - yokohama
Description: 横浜近郊の観光スポットをご案内いたします。
Detail Description: Yokohama Station, and tourist facilities in the heart of Yokohama Minato Mirai area, tourist attractions, you can find information such as the cruise ship. Provides a link to the homepage of each facility.
Geographical spread: Yokohama, Japan
Developer: Shinichi Wakasugi
Developer Company: atWare, Inc

Urban Walkabout
Description: Fashion, design & lifestyle in Sydney. In addition to this layer, Urban Walkabout publishes http://ubranwalkabout.com and the Urban Walkabout Sydney Shopping Guides, a series of carefully designed
Geographical spread: Sidney, Australia
Developer: Rob Manson
Developer Company: MOB (Mobile Online Business Pty Ltd)

『今から』泊まれる宿検索
Description: 現在、空室がある宿泊施設が検索できます。; accommodation search (hotels, lodging and tourist resorts)
Geographical spread: Japan
Developer: Shinichi Wakasugi
Developer Company: atWare, Inc

Stelling van Amsterdam
Description: De Stelling van Amsterdam is een 135 km lange verdedigingskring op 15-20 km rond de hoofdstad Amsterdam
Geographical spread: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Developer: Mike van Drongelen
Developer Company: yellowpond

Bath Pub Guide
Description: Find your way around the pubs of Bath
Geographical spread: Bath, UK
Developer: Paul Lewis
Developer Company: Media Grand UK Ltd

Political Party Time
Description: Discover nearby political fundraisers. Layar showing all venues hosting political fundraisers as gathered by PoliticalPartyTime.org. Find out where your legislators are mingling with lobbyists. Clicking on a venue will show the latest party there as well as a link to the site to see all parties that have been held at the venue.
Geographical spread: US
Developer: James Turk
Developer Company: Sunlight Labs

Project Noah
Description: Wildlife sightings from Project Noah
Geographical spread: international
Developer: Martin Ceperley
Developer Company: Emergence Studios

Dutch Highschools
Description: Alle locaties van 15 grote hogescholen in Nederland
Geographical spread: Netherlands
Developer: Yori Hak
Developer Company: Yworks

Tilburg University
Description: Tilburg University layar with Points of Interests for students. This layar contains al buildings at the campus, lunch rooms, bars and other interesting locations.
Geographical spread: Tilburg, Netherlands
Developer: Koen Driessen
Developer Company: Tilburg University

Se salgspriser for danske ejendomme
Description: Se salgspriser for ejendomme i Danmark indenfor kategorierne Ejerlejlighed, Villa, Rækkehus, Fritid og Erhverv. See selling prices of properties in Denmark in the categories Apartment, Villa, Townhouse, Leisure and Business. You can see what a property is sold, commenced sales, and much more.
Geographical spread: Denmark
Developer: Pimin Konstantin Balic Kefaloukos
Developer Company: Grontmij | Carl Bro

NWS NEXRAD Level 3 Storm Attributes
Description: IEM (Iowa Environmental Mesonet of Iowa State University) provided summary of National Weather Service NEXRAD level 3 storm attributetable. Processes a feed of National Weather Service NEXRAD information in near realtime. The storm attribute tables from the NEXRAD are processed and served via this service. Data is provided as-is and without warranty.
Geographical spread: Iowa, US
Developer: Daryl Herzmann
Developer Company: Iowa State University

קניונים בישראל
Description: השכבה מציגה את הקניונים הנמצאים בישראל, ומאפשרת מידע לגביהם. [This layers finds shopping malls]
Geographical spread: Israel
Developer: Dubi Finger
Developer Company: Tapuz Mobile

בנקים בישראל
Description: השכבה מציגה בנקים בכל רחבי הארץ; shows banks across the country
Geographical spread: Israel
Developer: Dubi Finger
Developer Company: Tapuz Mobile

MyCosmik Supplies: WiFi hotspots and SIM cards
Description: Over 12,000 WiFi hotspots and SIM card resellers that can be used with MyCosmik. MyCosmik’s Value-Roaming is a free piece of software that you download to your mobile phone. It saves you over 75% on mobile calls while abroad and on international calls while at home.
Geographical spread: international
Developer: William Hill
Developer Company: Devicom AB

Find a Property
Description: Search property for sale, find houses and flats to rent. Powered by Nestoria.
Geographical spread: UK
Developer: Howard Ogden
Developer Company: AugmentReality.co.uk

不動産アーカイブ検索 - Next
Description: HOME’S不動産アーカイブ - ‘Next’ is one of the largest real estate companies in Japan.
Geographical spread: Japan

Aviones LocalizaTodo
Description: Muestra los aviones de LocalizaTodo
Geographical spread: Portugal, Spain
Developer: Tomas Escartin
Developer Company: LocalizaTodo

YMCA Old Valletta
Description: See buildings of old Valetta as they used to look like
Geographical spread: Malta
Developer: Jeroen Meijer
Developer Company: Muzar.org

Hot Spots Katowice
Short Description: Search for Hot Spots in Katowice center.
Geographical spread: Katowice, Poland
Developer: Tomasz Kacała
Developer Company: MBT Media

GipuzkoaMarket
Description: Gipuzkoa Market, el escaparate donde encontrarás todos los productos y servicios de Gipuzkoa
Geographical spread: Gipuzkoa (province in Basque country), Spain
Developer: karlos g liberal
Developer Company: investic s.l

Discover Shropshire
Description: Discover the history and environment of Shropshire. This Layar is part of the 1630 Panorama exhibition at Rowleys House, Shrewsbury
Geographical spread: Shropshire, Shrewsbury, UK
Developer: James Grimster
Developer Company: Orangeleaf Systems Ltd

It’s official and we’re so proud of it. JK Shin, president and head of Samsung Electronics’ Mobile Communication Business just introduced the Galaxy S and Layar is on it. The Samsung Galaxy S will be available in Europe, North America, Latin America, Australia, and Asia soon. The Android-powered Galaxy S incorporates a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen and a 1 GHz application processor that enables vibrant HD videos, rich augmented reality content through Layar Reality Browser, and advanced LBS (Location Based Services). This is a huge step in bringing augmented reality to the bigger audience and we are thrilled to be part of it. The full press release can be found here.

Another 20 layers have been launched recently. Amongst them a couple of new screenshot layers, like the Screenshots layer (3D) from AugmentReality.co.uk. We talked to Johannes la Poutre from Squio and Pablo Garcia-Morato from ElipseAD about their idea’s and motivation behind developing screenshot layers.

Have fun!

Which screen shot layer(s) have you developed so far and are you going to develop more? Johannes: “We developed the Valentine layer, where users could “frame” their valentine and win prizes via restaurant fifteen and chocolatestories.com if they sent in a screenshot. This was a last minute project, it went only live 3 days before Valentine but still got huge traffic! Later on we decided to have some fun with Ronald McDonald look-alikes. With this layer you can pose with Ronald or put him in all kinds of strange contexts.” Pablo: “We have developed Be Famous, a cool layer where you can take pictures with celebreties. We are going to add soon more famous people to that layer. The other one is Avatar. I think almost everyone know that amazing movie and is a great chance to feel like if you where in that phantastic world (Pandora) with its characters. We are going to add many more scenaries and characters to that layer. We are currently working on many new screenshots layers and have many ideas for the future.”

What is your idea behind screenshot layers? Is there any business behind it, or is it just for fun? Johannes: “With the Valentine layer we got sponsors for the prizes, we wanted to find out how this model works for all parties involved. The Ronald layer is pure for fun, we hope people enjoy it as much as we do!” Pablo: “Well, the first step is to explore all the possibilities ir order to be able to create more big things. Those first layers are just for fun, but our main ideas are related to marketing and advertising of big brands.”

How do you think (or hope ;-) users will use the screenshot layer? Johannes: “Augmented Reality is much more about experience than purely informational only. The screenshots layers are an extreme example, we hope in the first place users like them and will forward screenshots to their friends.” Pablo: “I think that users as long as developers are exploring this amazing world of AR, which opportunities and experiences make them fill like if all the future things we’ve seen in movies have become truth. They can take pictures with imaginary or true characters or things, where ever they are. That’s incredible if you think about it. It’s no only taking a photo, is much more, is feeling a great experience, have in your hand a brand new world of emotions.”

Any other comment or input?
Johannes: “It would be great if Layar added an easier way to take screenshots or the raw camera image and attach actions to these in a next iteration of the application!”
Pablo: “I’ll like to thank Layar for creating such a great platform. I think Layar has opened a new way in AR and have given users and developers a great opportunity to be in touch with that great technology. That’s all! :-D”

All newest launched layers:

Ronalds’ gone mad! - international
Avatar - international
BE FAMOUS - international
LiveSpot Property - Australia, New Zealand
Las Vegas Casinos - Las Vegas, US
Msaajid - international
Rotterdam Culture - Rotterdam, Netherlands
Seats2Meet.com Locaties - Netherlands
D66 in Amsterdam - Amsterdam, Netherlands
WVU Campus Map - Morgantown, West Virginia, US
Unife - Ferrara, Italy
AMICITI - Valenciennes, France
ar＋clip　ARアート作品 - Japan
campustukl - Germany
dokiru? - international
Christian Church Finder- UK
ASU - Arizona, US
heAR AUSTIN - Austin, US
Gids Noord-Holland Noord - Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Gids Haaglanden - Haaglanden, Netherlands

Please open this post to see screenshots and descriptions of all layers.

Ronalds’ gone mad!
Description: Ronald mcDonald has gone MAD! He shows up all over the world doing all sorts of crazy things in the weirdest spots. Have you spotted Ronald somewhere… please send us a screenshot as evidence… Note: use this Layar at your own risk. We do not take any responsibilities for your or Ronalds’ actions.
Geographical spread: international
Developer: johannes La Poutre
Developer Company: Squio

Avatar
Description: Welcome to Pandora. Take nice screenshots and share them with your friends. Enjoy this amazing planet inhabited by the Na’vi who live in harmony with nature. Find your avatar’s body!
Geographical spread: international
Developer: Pablo Garcia
Developer Company: ELIPSE AD

BE FAMOUS
Description: Want to be famous? Take pictures with your favourite celebrities! Featuring Brad, George, Ronaldo, Scarlett, Megan and Angelina.
Geographical spread: international
Developer: Pablo Garcia
Developer Company: ELIPSE AD

LiveSpot Property
Description: LiveSpot Property lets you find property for sale near you anywhere, anytime.
Geographical spread: Australia, New Zealand
Developer: LiveSpot
Developer Company: LiveSpot

Las Vegas Casinos
Description: All major casinos in Las Vegas, constantly updated by Las Vegas Advisor.
Geographical spread: Las Vegas, US
Developer: Dale Bratcher
Developer Company: Huntington Press

Msaajid
Description: A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. Muslims often refer to the mosque by its Arabic name, masjid. To add a new mosque is really easy. Just goto msaajid.com
Geographical spread: intl
Developer: Mohammed Zagzoog
Developer Company: Newstar

Rotterdam Culture
Description: Deze layar geeft je de actuele voorstellingen en activiteiten in Rotterdam.
Geographical spread: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Developer: Jeroen Meijer
Developer Company: Muzar.org

Seats2Meet.com Locaties
Description: Alle Seats2Meet Locaties op 1 kaart
Geographical spread: Netherlands
Developer: Kees Romkes
Developer Company: Kees Romkes Communication Consultancy

D66 in Amsterdam
Description: De programmapunten van D66 Amsterdam in uw buurt.
Geographical spread: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Developer: Floor Terra
Developer Company: D66

WVU Campus Map
Description: West Virginia University Campus Map
Geographical spread: Morgantown, West Virginia, US
Developer: Steve Spriggs change
Developer Company: West Virginia University

Unife
Description: Sedi Università di Ferrara. Visualizza tutte le strutture (Facoltà, Dipartimenti, Centri Universitari) dell’Università degli Studi di Ferrara
Geographical spread: Ferrara, Italy
Developer: Emanuele Borasio
Developer Company: G-maps

AMICITI
Description: Votre compagnon touristique. Visite et découverte des points remarquables de votre patrimoine. Choisissez là où vous voulez allez !
Geographical spread: Valenciennes, France
Developer: Mo LAOUFI
Developer Company: 3ISN

ar＋clip　ARアート作品
Short Description: カメラを通してARアート作品鑑賞。作品につぶやきも可能。 Looking through the camera view by AR artist can appreciate art installation works.
Geographical spread: Japan

campustukl
Description: Campus TU KL Navigation
Geographical spread: Germany
Developer: Daniel Broschart
Developer Company: cpe TU KL

dokiru?
Description: dokiru? is the easiest way to meet new people, discover places and find events nearby.
Geographical spread: international
Developer: Jacinto Shy
Developer Company: Monadik Inc.

Christian Church Finder
Description: Lost? Find yourself with our UK Christian Church Finder.
Geographical spread: UK
Developer: AYR Comm
Developer Company: AYR Communications

ASU
Description: Arizona State University; This Layar will allow students at Arizona State University to search for POIs relating to buildings on campus. Each POI will have the building’s name and a link to get more info about that building.
Geographical spread: Arizona, US
Developer: Amir, Abdollahi
Developer Company: Arizona State University

heAR AUSTIN
Description: heAR AUSTIN, Guide to the Austin, TX scene; March 12th-21st, 2010 the annual Interactive, Music and Film festival in Austin TX. Use the heAR AUSTIN guide to locate venues, learn about bands, view performance schedules, and film schedules.
Geographical spread: Austin, US
Developer: Shawn Bailly
Developer Company: Zehnder Communications

Gids Noord-Holland Noord
Description: Verwijskompasgids Regio Noord-Holland noord. Wie doet wat in de zorg?
Geographical spread: Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Gids Haaglanden
Description: Verwijskompasgids Regio Haaglanden
Geographical spread: Haaglanden, Netherlands

We have received a lot of questions from users who aren’t able to find Layar in the Android Market on their new HTC Legend devices.There is a technical issue with the camera which we are currently working on with HTC to find a solution. Please keep an eye on our blog for further updates. Update, 21th of April Google and HTC confirmed an OTA (over the air) update for the HTC Legend, which will fix the camera issue, in the coming days. Update, 22th of April HTC rolled-out the firmware update for all HTC Legend and Desire owners in Europe. To download the firmware: Go to your phone setting Select about the phone Choose System software updates download the new firmware Restart your phone Open the Androidmarket Download Layar ; )

Probably you already noticed but we have made some minor changes in the way we display the icon of a layer within our client. We would like to ask if you can adjust your icons according these guidelines so we can deliver a consistent and nice way of showing your icons within our app and on our website.

Guidelines:

• 64 x 64 px square image (preferably no border effects or round corners)


• A mask with 4px radius rounded corners will be applied automatically, do not apply effects to your artwork.

Example icon:	Rendered icon in application: