You really want Polaris’ new Slingshot, I mean really, really want it. It’s a super-slick, three-wheeled ATV that looks way better than that Speed Buggy thing we all saw on Saturday morning cartoons. Great. So what’s stopping you from taking a look at it? Well, as of now only a few showrooms have it and none of them are near you.

No problem. Polaris’ Slingshot 360º App has you covered. Using augmented reality technology, you can see the Slingshot from every angle imaginable.

Bully! in collaboration with Integer Group created the app with the latest in Augmented Reality technology from Vuforia, a product of Qualcomm Connected Experiences, Inc. The actual machine may not be in front of you, but it feels close at hand because of the stunning detail captured in the Unity3D-based model. The virtual vehicle can be rotated and scaled for optimal viewing and interaction.

Augmented reality has a real strength in the practical application of increasing customer interaction prior to full-scale product launch. The time-to-market window is shrinking and revisions and adjustments are being made right up to the time a product is made available to the public. Feedback loops are faster and more direct from consumer straight to producer. Augmented reality creates a dialogue that is grounded in a more hands-on experience without actually seeing the product in person.

So go ahead, download the Slingshot 360º app and experience it for yourself. You don’t even have to leave your couch.

Toyota spot live action shoot in downtown B-more

Bully! recently wrapped the live action component of a broadcast Toyota spot codenamed Millennial’s AR.  Shot in beautiful downtown Baltimore, the spot features near-future glasses tech that allows a sidewalk café patron to scope out the new 2014 Corolla.  From his POV, we see his Face-bubble Friend’s reactions (Bully!’s answer to Facebook,) vehicle features pop out and a prompt to find the nearest Toyota dealer – all in (simulated) augmented reality.

The project (with 186 Advertising – holla!) was an exploration in wearable-tech interface design and gesture recognition – and let us get back to our roots and play in the broadcast space again.

Establishing and POV shots of the Corolla from the vantage point of our coffee drinking actor were expertly choreographed (thanks to HackStone Film Group) and a variety of swipes and gestures where shot on green screen for later compositing.

The spot is slated for release the end of 2013.  The actual glasses with our interface, hopefully sometime soon.

adidas AR pics from Tokyo

Bully!’s AR installation app for the launch of adidas’s new BOOST running shoe at the Tokyo marathon utilized key graphics from adidas’ global marketing campaign as its marker.  The result is that the AR content spawned from almost anywhere: Magazines, billboards, or in this case the store front.

The adidas piece is a teaser app, but the possible level of engagement with large scale OOH is immense.  Tie in the user’s location via GPS and adjust the experience per location and you have the makings of a long term, repeat engagement directly with a brand.  Global scavenger hunt anyone?

Bully! recently launched a new Augmented Reality game for Mondelēz International promoting the “SOUR THEN SWEET” SOUR PATCH KIDS candy and their X-box game WORLD GONE SOUR.

The game, found on the App Store (here) uses AR image markers (found here and here) to spawn a Bully! created set featuring Dolly Doll, a main boss character from the X-box game.  Dolly, controlled by the mischievous Yellow SOUR PATCH KID character, throws anything at hand – toy blocks, doll heads, firetrucks – at the user.  The user must dodge the projectiles and, with the help of the Green SOUR PATCH KID character, throw tag-alongs (small SOUR PATCH KIDS) back at Dolly to win.

Beyond being among the first AR advergames, a key differentiator of the game is that the user must actually duck to avoid being hit by virtual projectiles – not just move back and forth with on-screen buttons but physically move his or her body to avoid being hit by the Dolly’s  barrage.

This technique, utilizing an operation that comes ‘naturally’ to people as an input to computer interaction, is referred to as a natural user interface (NUI.).  This kind of interaction is being actively explored by groups such as but in its infancy with mobile device experiences.

“One of the things we wanted to explore with the SOUR PATCH project was how NUI inputs could be used to add a new dimension to mobile game play – where the user has to move in real space to interact with virtual content – or in the case of SOUR PATCH game, duck the virtual blocks Dolly Doll throws.” said Carlson Bull, Creative Director and founder of Bully! Entertainment.
“As mobile technology progresses we’ll be able to utilize this kind of real-world interaction to create some very interesting engagements.” Says Bob Berkebile, VP of Technology and Innovation.   “We can envision a new genre of experiences that seamlessly blends natural inputs and virtual content to dramatically enhance game play, learning and brand activations.”

“The SOUR PATCH game is a step toward this future,” said Bull.  “When AR and gesture recognition systems make their way into eye ware, a world of possibilities will open up.”

How fast can you shoot flying oranges out of the sky? How fast can you do it without falling down the stairs? Download the COBRA Orange Out game from the App store, and you can answer both of these questions. Using the iPhone’s gyroscopic capabilities, Bully! created the game to allow golfers stuck inside for whatever reason to get their virtual hands on a COBRA’s line of AMP clubs and obliterate flying oranges to their heart’s content.

Check it out if you are itching for some time on the back nine, but life seems to be getting in the way. A word of warning though, do watch out for stairwells.

Get a preview here >

Get the iOS app here >

Hacking the Kinect for Ford

How do you showcase the technological marvel that is the 2013 Ford Escape? You hack the technological marvel that is the gesture-based Kinect for the XBox 360, of course.

Bully! worked with CINCO Interactive to create a free-standing kiosk for Toronto’s Eaton’s Center – as well as malls across Canada – so customers could interact with the 2013 Ford Escape before its release there. Using a Kinect controller to drive Unity 3D content, customers were able to use simple gestures to explore the 2013’s Escape and cusomize such features as color and rim size. The insallation also allowed users to access content about Ford’s innovative hands-free lift gate and its revolutionary Ecoboost that is an integral part of the 2013 automobile line, all virtually shown in the palm of the user’s hand.

Bully!’s Bob Berkebile, the chief innovator behind the Kinect hack, likens the experience to a “magic mirror” and expects to see more interactive kiosks like Ford’s appearing in many more locations. It provides a wealth of information with very little extra equipment and makes it an extremely portable mode of conveying complex data to consumers.