How to Sample Esquire’s Augmented Reality with Pen and Paper

Today is the day that Esquire’s Augmented Reality application hits newstands. Using a software download and image codes in the magazine, you can get a dose of AR. It’s an interesting concept although I’m not sure it adds value just yet. Still, when I saw a video demonstration of it, I thought was pretty wild to see. And then I got to thinking — if the software keys off of a simple black and white image in front of a webcam, could I duplicate the effect with a quick drawing?

Sure enough, my first attempt — which isn’t even all that neat of a drawing — did the trick as I tried it on camera. In the video you’ll see the Esquire AR software pick up my hand drawn image, which is really just an 8 x 8 set of cubes. There’s a little meter in the AR software to show how well it’s tracking the AR image and my sketch is getting 100%! I like how you can turn and tilt the AR code and the software moves the images to match on screen. Chalk this one up with the remote controlling a car with an iPhone bit — it’s not very valuable, but it was fun to try! I may have to run out and buy the magazine to see what other AR bits they have.