During the previous years where technology and smart gadgets have not yet come this far, the backyards of most residential houses were greened with gardens and different species of butterflies fluttering from the plants and flowers. Even in our school yard during my elementary years, the early mornings are playful times of who can catch the most beautiful or biggest butterfly and as we caught them, we were always amazed at how beautiful and unique their wings are from each other. One of the biggest butterfly that we always encounter were those called "Mariposa" (no, not the Inn, but the butterfly) and was said by our parents to be a lucky symbol when it gets inside the house.
Today, and sadly though, we only see butterflies in sanctuaries or protected butterfly parks. But have you thought of seeing and catching butterflies inside the malls? Can you imagine your kids catching butterflies while strolling and in just a few while, the kids will just invite you to Jollibee for a burger treat of his own?
Yesterday, Saturday morning of May 5, I've been privileged to be invited and witness the launching of a mobile application called iButterfly that uses Augmented Reality (AR) technology - a view of the real-world environment with a computer-generated element.
The iButterfly is an application for iOS and Android OS enabled phones/gadgets where you can catch the iButterfly using your smartphone via AR. It was previously created by Japan's Mobile Art Lab and has been successfully launched in Japan, Hongkong, Indonesia, Singapore, and just recently, in SM Supermalls here in the Philippines made technologically possible by SM Cyberzone. The iButterfly app uses GPS for the location and number of virtual butterflies, and motion sensors for the smartphone (acting as a "net") to catch the iButterfly and store it inside the users' smart gadget. Each iButterfly caught is marked with freebie items and prizes which can be redeemed from the partner sponsors.
The different iButterflies available at SM Supermalls |
Other parts of the program includes text twisting game for the word "B U T T E R F L Y" where audience were asked to form the longest word they can; catch the tune; and pass the paragraph err... message. The prizes were generous from Timex watches, laptops, and a 40-inch LCD TV for the major game of the launch - capture at least seven (7) iButterflies. And guess who caught the most butterfly? A young boy among the Magalona family (sorry forgot his name). Shows that whether it's a real butterfly, or an augmented reality iButterfly, kids are still fond of playing butterfly catching games.
As for me, well, I also caught a handful of butterflies without using an iOS nor Android gadget as I don't have one yet (when will I ever have one?). So how was I able to capture butterflies? Let me show you the techniques through the following shots ;)
Taddaaa, there they are!
Okay, I haven't really caught any from the augmented reality but instead, I caught a handful of iButterflies -- imaginary butterflies that is. Maybe next time I'll get to try this wonderful mobile application when I already have an iOS or Android-enabled device, for now, I'll just settle with my own iReality, tehee!
Enjoy some more photos I took during the event:
Raymond, with his favorite question for the day: "Do you like butterflies?" |
Crowd and Guests |
Magalona Family on their iButterfly family day |
Allan trying his luck to capture an...... internet signal |
A guest catching an iButterfly from her smartphone |
BDO e-Banking info iButterfly successfully captured |
for iOS gadgets
for Android gadgets
And here's an ad video of the iButterfly
Now, "Do I love butterflies?" ;)
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