From the creators of ToonTown, comes Disney's second attempt at a MMO. It is hard to believe this clunky, cludgy, yet graphically brilliant isometric world actually came from the same firm. Virtual Magic Kingdom is Disney?s attempt to put their ?Magic Kingdom? theme park online.

Augmented Reality Entertaining: Magic Show
An overview and video of the first AR magic show, where Marco Tempest wowed visitors with a demonstration of his idea of the future of magical card tricks. Marco programmed his machine vision system to recognize ordinary playing cards as magic symbols, transforming each of the 54 cards in the deck into 53 different command symbols.

Arhrrrr - An AR Shooter without Magic Symbols
Magic Symbol technology is the cornerstone of augmented reality devices, so to stumble across an application that at first glance doesn't use them, seems incredible. What's more the same app interacts with physical objects at a previously unprecedented level - and that is the secret to its success.

Magic Symbol and Video Conferencing: Expert Help Over Distance
A rudimentary but workable system using magic symbol codes and augmented reality to put an end to hellish support calls. Now, via a videoconference even over a cellphone, the person on the other end can see and work with the hardware causing the problem.

MR Aquarium
MR Aquarium was demonstrated in 2008, as a spatial VR project using multiple magic symbol displays on walls and pedestals, to bypass the problem, of turning the HUD away from the magic symbol, at which point the AR disappears.

Augmented Reality Basics: Magic Symbol
In myth and legend, a magic symbol is a pattern drawn on a physical object which possesses otherworldly powers; able to alter reality by creating protective circles, summon creatures to do the artist's bidding, or alter the structure of reality itself. Perhaps it is poetic that the same concept is now used as the keystone for augmented reality.

VR Interfaces: Gyration Air Mouse
Movea?s Gyration Air Mouse is essentially an updated wand, or 3D pointer. It is hopefully the first of a new breed that works just as well in 2D on the desk, as it does bneing waved about in 3D in the air.

Lego AR Kiosks: Colour Magic Symbol
At the beginning of 2009, Lego announced in a press release that they were teaming with German AR developer Metaio to develop an augmented reality solution for Lego kits. This went on sale in Germany and California, as test markets. So far, the test is not over, but from all indications they are doing very well.

If You Build It They Might Come: Critical Mass & Other User Buzzwords
This article examines the myth of ?instant success? in online environments, and how things are going to be boring for a while, there?s no escaping that, until you hit your magic ?critical mass? and things finally become interesting for the participants. It concerns itself with the known ?plateaus? of users, and suggests common-sense ways to double growth without really trying.

Dangerous Realism
To paraphrase the article: Many of today's worlds seem to be striving for realism: 'realistic combat system', 'realistic trade', 'realistic medieval theme' or even 'realistic magic system'. However realism is not always a good thing - sometimes it can be dangerous as far as enjoyment is concerned.

(20/05/2009)
Newly released patent applications from Microsoft have sparked speculation that it is to unveil a Wii remote rival at the E3 expo in Los Angeles.

An application was filed in 2007 for a motion controller, dubbed Magic Wand, th...

(25/05/2009)
Nissan Canada is jumping on the bandwagon for commercial magic symbol augmented reality. A web service lets visitors personalize their own Nissan car, with all the options they desire. It then gives them a magic symbol to print out, which i...

(04/03/2010)
It has happened to almost everyone. You are sitting on a train or a bus and someone right next to you is annoyingly shouting into his or her mobile phone.

But those days could soon be past with "silent sounds", a new techno...

(07/05/2009)
Now that on-the-job experimentation has taken an academic turn. A couple of years ago, Teller joined a coterie of illusionists and tricksters recruited by Stephen Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde, researchers at the Barrow Neurological Ins...

(23/05/2012)
Susana Martinez-Conde, PhD, of Barrow's Laboratory of Visual Neuroscience, and Stephen Macknik, PhD, of Barrow's Laboratory of Behavioral Neurophysiology are well known for their research into magic and illusions. Their most recent origin...