All the rage
by Rodney Magazinovic
The
worldwide video gaming market is a billion-dollar, cutthroat industry
with manufacturers constantly seeking new technology to beat their
competition and entice gamers to jump on board their product. Enter
A-Rage, a unique technology set to provide gamers with a “real-life”
dose of entertainment.
Unlike conventional video games, A-Rage’s Augmented Reality (AR) technology uses a head-mounted visor to allow the player to see computer-generated images integrated into the real world. As such, AR lets you play video games outdoors, with the 360-degree 3D-view making the gaming experience more absorbing than ever.
UniSA’s Wearable Computer Laboratory’s Associate Professor Bruce Thomas, Dr Wayne Piekarski and advanced computer and information science student Ben Avery developed the technology. It is being marketed under the guidance of Greg Macpherson from ITEK, UniSA’s commercialisation business which is providing funding and intense hands on management to turn the technology into a market ready product.
Avery programmed the software for the A-Rage project as part of his honours program in 2004. In particular he focused on the game Sky Invaders 3D, designed to demonstrate the full capability of AR on the A-Rage technology.
“It was an enjoyable project and a lot of fun to be able to do something that has contributed to an actual product that will be released into the market,” he said.
Fellow UniSA student Ross Smith also played a significant part in the development of the hardware and electronics aspect of the design.
The next step of the development stage was to design a prototype that could be presented to industry.
Market research suggested that for the target audience of 15 to 35-year-olds, the most important design feature was to ensure that the visor did not make them feel nerdy. This brief was given to UniSA industrial design students, who came up with suitable design prototypes as part of their studies.
The project has attracted significant worldwide interest from gaming companies and gamers alike. Avery said he was excited by the potential for the growth of A-Rage during the next three years.
“During the next 18 months we hope to form an alliance with a major
console company and launch the product into the market with the aim of
having two million units sold within three years. Over this time we will
also be developing the next generation of AR games.”