If you hadn’t noticed yet from our barrage of tweets on the subject, Layar is looking to bring on a pair of all-star mobile developers in short order for an awesome summer project.

If you’re an experienced Android or iPhone developer and want to spend your summer in sunny Amsterdam, then we have one sweet deal for you. We’re cooking up some amazing projects for the future and need some kick-ass developers to help us knock it out of the park.

Layar is looking for the best of the best, the cream of the crop, and of course we know it will take more than asking nicely to get you here so we came up with the ultimate Amsterdam Summer Package:

Layar will fly you to Amsterdam, put you up in a cool apartment for the summer, to make sure you can get around like a local we’ll hook you up with a shiny new bike and provide you with one of the most fun work environments there is. Oh, and we’ll offer a competitive salary too.

Our office has beautiful views of both the city and the harbor, features delicious catered lunches each day and is home to some of the most friendly (and often off-beat) people out there.

Not to mention you’ll be in one of Europe’s most sizzling and entertaining cities (we’ll let you decide how to define “entertainment”) during the warmest months of the year. Amsterdam has a very large international community and every summer Amsterdam fills up with tourists because of the laid back vibe, festivals and other exciting things - and you’ll be here for all of it.

Sounding good so far?

You should have a proven track record at developing either iOS or Android applications. You should be able to show us amazing apps where you have played a major part in their development. We’re looking for the developers behind the really cool, featured apps on the app stores. Additional requirements include:

• 3+ years of experience developing on iOS or Android.


• 7+ years of development experience in a commercial (preferably startup) environment.


• Strong background in C++ and Objective-C or Java.


• Passion for making good looking apps with attention to every detail of the UI.


• You know how to make an app responsive, fast and likable.


• Experience working in an agile environment.

You’ll be working closely with our design and UX team, as well as with our other developers (mobile and server back-end) in Amsterdam and the Ukraine. Expect an intensive summer of coding, with the reward of building one of the coolest apps in the market.

We’re looking for people to start A.S.A.P. for two months, possibly three, and if it goes well and we like you we might ask you to stay on permanently. So let’s review…

Free plane ticket to Europe… free housing in Amsterdam… free bike… free food… terrific work environment… competitive salary… get to help create an amazing new product…

Sounds like a pretty good deal, right? What’s the catch? No catch. We just need to best iOS and Android developers out there. If that’s you, send a note to jobs [at] layar [dot] com.

With the most recent Layar upgrade we added the ability to share layers and screenshots with your friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter, so we’re no strangers to social networks. You can follow us Twitter and like us on Facebook to keep up with our day-to-day activity and find links to interesting augmented reality-related content, but recently we’ve been expanding our social horizons.

You may have noticed already if you follow our Twitter feed but Layar has branched out to some new social networks: notably Tumblr and Instagram. On the official Layar Tumblr, you can find a plethora of AR and Layar information - including the stuff we find on the web and share on our internal email. We figured, why not share this with our fans? You’ll find interesting videos, pictures, quotes and other bite-sized snacks for your augmented world.

And on Instagram, you’ll get a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at Layar, as we post photos and snapshots from the office here in Amsterdam. We’ll also share other interesting images we might find around the web, but for the most part, Instagram will be your portal into what happens at this fun-loving Holland-based startup. We think you’ll enjoy it, so come join the Instagram fun and tag your photos or Layar screenshots with #layar and we’ll check ‘em out!

Of course you can still find us at our usual online stomping grounds: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, SlideShare and MeetUp. Is there anywhere else you would like to see a Layar presence? Let us know in the comments below, or drop us a note on Twitter or Facebook, or even Tumblr!

On the first Thursday of each month, Layar hosts Augmented Reality Thursday (ART). The objective of this monthly event is to inspire and update people about the current field of augmented reality and the position of Layar within it. Next to that, we also like to connect developers, publishers, brands and (of course) our employees to exchange stories, visions and ideas about this burgeoning field of technology.

Last week at Layar HQ we held another installment of ART, featuring a presentation from Klaas Nienhuis of DPI Animation House. Klaas spoke for longer than our usual quick pitches at ART, but he had lots of interesting things to share, including details of the UAR layer and the use of 3D modeling in Layar.

Developers will definitely want to check Klaas’ talk out!

Over the weekend, ARDevCamp held its very first event in Australia, bringing a Layar-sponsored gathering of augmented reality developers to Sydney. Rob Manson - the man behind MOB Labs and Certified Layar Creation Tool buildAR - hosted the event and posted a great overview of the day’s activities on his blog. Here are a few selections from Rob’s report.

The first ARDevCamp in Sydney was a great event with 40-50 people attending throughout the day. It was held at the Powerhouse Museum in their ThinkSpace providing interactive whiteboards, projectors and laptops for those who needed them. Throughout the day we covered a lot of topics and there was a lot of interesting discussion and debate generated.

Early in the day we covered a basic introduction to Augmented Reality in general and discussed the difference between geo-located, marker based and computer vision based AR. It also gave me a chance to rant a little about my views on the currently limited definition of AR.

@alexmyoung then presented an overview of the current state of interaction available in AR applications. She covered the “4 key modes of AR UX” outlined on the http://AR-UX.com site and it was a great chance to review and debate how projective interfaces like Sixth Sense fit into this analysis. This also raised some interesting discussion around gesture recognition, barehand computing and the opportunities for defining standard languages and norms in this space.

Then @DamonOehlman ran an interesting session on WebGL and I think a lot of people’s eyes were opened to the opportunity that is rapidly evolving here. We had some initial hurdles at the beginning to configure the browsers to support WebGL but quickly overcame that and were able to demonstrate the Mixing Reality demo along with some others. This is a great match for where this technology is really at. It doesn’t work out of the box and the average web user doesn’t even know it’s possible…but without too much effort at all you can get some mind blowing content running in your browser.

Warren Armstrong also gave an overview of the (Un)seen Sculptures exhibition that uses Layar to present art from a wide range of artists at venues like the Sydney Opera House during the Vivid Festival.

[…]

The rest of the afternoon people spent hacking on various projects with a lot of people using http://buildAR.com to start creating layers like the #ARDevCamp layer. @absolut_todd was even able to quickly take the list of Victorian Microbreweries provided by http://data.gov.au to create what is obviously a very useful layer 8)

We wound up the day with a quick play with the Parrot AR Drones and then all headed off for drinks at the Pumphouse which were very kindly sponsored by the team at Layar.

Out of the day came about 100 tweets which reached over 47,000 users. Since then a number of people have also created some great blog posts about the day.

We at Layar are very excited to see the love of augmented reality spreading to every hemisphere of the planet! In fact, following this event in Sydney there are a few more events being planned in the area, including Brisbane, Melbourne and New Zealand.

Photo by Halans.

At the beginning of the year, we introduced a big step forward in mobile augmented reality development - the Layar Player. This easy-to-use SDK allows those with a basic understanding of iPhone development to add fully-functional Layar AR into their very own apps by simply copying and pasting some code. Now layers don’t need to live within the Layar app itself, but can exist as their own app specially tailored to a specific purpose and experience.

Since then we’ve continued to expand our platform and enhance the functionality of Layar, and so it’s time to bring some of these improvements to the Layar Player.

The release of Layar 5.0 in April introduced several new features that help make augmented reality more interactive and social. These improvements are important for augmented reality as a whole because it helps the technology become more user-friendly. Now, with our latest iteration of the Layar Player SDK, developers can incorporate new Layar 5.0 features, including animation, into their own apps.

We still receive questions about the new functionality of Layar 5.0, so we wanted to use this opportunity to take an in-depth look at how developers can best take advantage of the Layar platform.

To show how current layers are using these features, we will showcase these features in the context of how one in particular - the Conquar game layer - has utilized them.

Social Sharing

With Layar 5.0, users can now connect with their friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter. A few simple authentications and Layar users can begin sharing all kinds of Layar content with the world. Users can even connect their Layar account with Facebook and Twitter, allowing them to log in with these networks.

When browsing layers in the catalogue, users can quickly share a layer in their Twitter feed or on their Facebook wall. Users also have the option to simply email details of a layer to their contacts, or to copy a short-link to the layer for any other social use.

Inside of a layer, clicking on a spot or POI will allow users to share that point on their social networks. As with layers, a personalized tweet-style message can be added to the item when it is shared, allowing users to add their personal touch.

With Conquar - a massively multiplayer AR game of territorial control - users can “attack” spots belonging to enemy teams in order to challenge that zone’s control. As they do so, they can also share their actions with Facebook and Twitter, encouraging others to join the fight. Screenshots can also be grabbed from directly within the layer and shared just as easily.

For users, these sharing capabilities enhance the interactivity of layers by allowing them to display their exploits to the world. It also attracts others to begin using these layers, creating buzz and generating growth of usage and content of a particular layer.

For developers, social sharing makes it possible to harness the viral nature of the social web in promoting content online. By encouraging users to share layers and content, developers can quickly and easily get their name out to public and to people who might be interested in using their layers.

Developers themselves can also promote their own layers by using the sharing functionality built directly into Layar. It is also possible to grab the data being shared, like screenshots, and aggregate it on a third-party website, creating a portal for your layer’s users to save, comment, rate, and explore items they’ve shared.

Animation

Another key component of Layar 5.0 is the inclusion of animation. Previously, 3D and 2D objects within layers were relegated to a life of paralysis. They simply sat in their position in the real world, limiting their ability to catch your eye and encourage interaction.

Now, however, any object in layer can come alive with animation. When spots appear in your vision as you experience the world through augmented reality, they can now drop into the screen, or grow in size or spin around. It’s a small change, but it goes a long way for creating a smooth blend between the real and digital worlds.

Users can also trigger animations by interacting with objects on the screen. Icons and 3D models - which can already have their own inherent animation by default - can be triggered to perform a secondary animation (such as growing, moving, rotating, etc.) as well. Additional attributes can be programmed into animations, such as changing speeds or positions over time.

These animation features have been intelligently incorporated into the Conquar game layer. The game shows icons representing locations to be conquered, and these icons grow in size when you focus on one. It’s almost as if the enemy icon is bearing down on your location, prompting you to attack it! It is also far easier to determine which icon you are currently viewing in the bottom info bar. Upon clicking one of the icons, it will spin in a slow circle as you view its info.

Putting it all together…

We’ve put together a video that sums up all of the great features of Layar 5.0, including the implementation in the Conquar game layer. You can see that video embedded below.

Developers can use these new features to create engaging and interactive augmented reality experiences for users on the Layar platform, but if you’d rather host your own app, the updated Layar Player SDK lets you do just that.

For more information and to download the SDK, visit our Layar Player page.