If you’ve followed some of our recent posts about Layar Vision projects (for instance, the LINDA. and Make Magazine promotions) then you may have come across the logo you see on the right. That’s the “View with Layar” logo. So what is it?

In essence, we encourage that developers and campaign managers place the icon on the images they are augmenting with Layar Vision content. This way, whenever you see the icon, you know there’s an extra experience to be viewed with Layar.

Augmented reality campaigns rely heavily on strong calls-to-action from products. We’ve created the “View with Layar” logo to help get users to pull out their phone and experience a new world of digital content. The logo draws the attention of the user and clearly directs them to interact with augmented reality.

We’ve recently updated the Layar Wiki (a tool mainly for developers) with additional information regarding the icon, and wanted to share some of those details with you here on the blog.

For developers using the icon, we ask that they make sure it is placed so that it is clearly visible to users and is not obstructed by anything else around it. Also, we ask that you do not alter the icon itself in any way, including changing the color or aspect ratio. For more guidelines, see the Wiki article mentioned above.

But all you need to know is that wherever you see the “View with Layar” icon, you can pull out your phone, fire up Layar and quickly view an interactive digital experience.

Now that the Layar Creation Challenge is well underway, we want to make sure you have everything you need to create the most impressive Layar Vision concepts possible! We’ve been busy creating tutorials and updating tools to inspire and assist you with your Creation Challenge projects!

Our beloved tech support manager Xuan created a text tutorial for the wiki on how to build a simple Vision layer. This is the fourth layer creation tutorial Xuan has updated for our API v6.0; you can access all of her wiki tutorials here.

Additionally, freelance layer developer Menno created the Cantine layer (which you may recognize from our Layar Vision video) to demonstate Layar Vision capabilities, and he has provided a downloadable folder with instructions, sample code and images to help you build your own immersive Layar Vision experience to enter in the Creation Challenge!

And finally, if you’re one of the developers using PorPOISe to build your layers you’ll be happy to know that there is now a PorPOISe 1.2 available that supports the v6.0 Layar API! This means that you can now use PorPOISe to build Vision layers for the Creation Challenge! Read the full details and get the download here.

Last week’s second annual Augmented Reality Event featured many great sessions and keynotes on this budding industry, but it also hosted another year of the Auggies. The Auggies is a fun AR demo competition as teams give their quick pitch to an expert panel of judges in hopes of receiving the “Auggies Award.”

This year, judges Bruce Sterling, Vernor Vinge, Will Wright and Jaron Lanier presided over more than a dozen competing teams. One of those teams was BuildAR, a member of the Layar Partner Network.

BuildAR is an augmented reality CMS that allows anyone to quickly and easily create Layar content using a friendly user-interface. To read more about BuildAR, check out our profile of the tool from last November.

In the video below, Rob gives his pitch about BuildAR, one of Layar’s Certified Layar Creation Tools, and receives some excellent feedback from the judges panel.

It’s a busy day for iPhone news at Layar today. If you haven’t already, make sure you hit up the AppStore and upgrade to the most recent release of Layar. There’s nothing different, no new features or anything, but this version fixes a few bugs that were occurring due to the release of iOS 4.3 by Apple.

And while you’re in the AppStore, search for an app named SurpriseMe AR - the latest app that makes use of our brand new Layar Player. The Layar Player allows iPhone developers to easily implement augmented reality into their very own iPhone apps by simply copy and pasting a few lines of code.

SurpriseMe AR is an app from Elipse Analysis and Design that lets you give and receive gifts to and from your friends using augmented reality. You can add your friends, pick a gift and place it in virtual space for them to discover. Or perhaps you will be the lucky recipient of an AR gift from them!

The app supports 3D models, photos, audio files and text gifts. You can place the objects like dropping a pin on a map, and your friends see the gifts pop up around them in augmented reality. The application connects to Facebook to help you add friends and manage gifts both on the app and on your personal computer.

To see how it works simply check out the video embedded below after the jump! And don’t forget to upgrade your iPhone to the newest version of Layar!

Today, Layar has launched the Layar Player - an easy and free tool allowing you to offer impactful AR experiences directly from your own iPhone App.

“One of the main great features of the Layar Player is that you can launch the power of AR from within the context of your app,” says Gerben Klop, product manager of the Layar Player. Here is our press release regarding the Layar Player.

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – January 26, 2011– Layar, the largest open platform in mobile augmented reality (AR), announced today that the Layar Player is out of beta. It is now available to all agencies, brands and developers to include in their own iPhone applications (app).

The beta period concludes with the launch of three Layar Player enabled iPhone apps - Bing sponsored Snowboard Hero, an augmented reality extension in the popular game that allows players to earn more points; the Layar Trade, an application helping people view recent projects and work from local builders; and an application to improve your neighborhood letting neighbors post their issues and ideas for the public space on the map.

“This year is about the democratization of augmented reality as we work to find ways to make it easier to create and publish AR content for all,” said Claire Boonstra, co-founder and VP of platform and community. “The Player availability is the first of many activities Layar will be releasing this year to make this democratization happen.”

“At Bing, we aim to bring information into people’s lives that is visually organized, simple and easy to digest. Augmented reality on mobile devices provides more opportunities to overlap reality with digital information that informs, educates and creates new ways to play within your environment,” said Wibe Wigenmans, Bing for Mobile. “The mobile experience for Bing users continues to evolve as we constantly look for ways to create visually engaging experiences.”

Download the Layar Player and create your very own Augmented Reality app!
For more information, please visit http://www.layar.com/tools/player.