May 8, 2010

Revisiting Razorfish: Emerging Experiences, RockstAR application, and more...

I've written a few posts about Razorfish in the past. What is Razorfish?


"The Razorfish Emerging Experiences team is a dedicated group of highly experienced professionals focused solely on emerging experiences and technologies. "Effective innovation" is our multifaceted approach to concepting and delivering pioneering solutions for our clients."
Razorfish has forged ahead into very interesting-and fun- territory. Here is a video of the RockstAR application. It combines multi-touch technology and augmented reality, utilizing the Razorfish Vision Framework (RVT), integrated with the Razorfish Touch Framework.

RockstAR (Augmented Reality) Experience Demo from Razorfish - Emerging Experiences on Vimeo.


A recent post on the Razorfish Emerging Experiences blog provides a detailed account of the technology that was pulled together to make it happen in the post, The Technology Behind RockstAR. The application is integrated into Twitter and Flickr.
RockstAR
-Razorfish Emerging Experiences Blog
"For the RockstAR experience, we are analyzing each frame coming from an infrared camera to determine if faces are found in the crowd. Once a face is detected, it is assigned a unique ID and tracked. Once receive a lock on the face, we can pass position and size information to the experience where we can augment animations and graphics on top of the color camera feed."


RELATED
One of my previous posts includes a video of the Razorfashion application, which highlights the Razorfish Touch Framework:


Razorfish's Touch Framework "Razorfashion" - A lot like my idea for an in-home FashionMirrorAdvisor...


I'm still hoping to work on my FashionMirrorAdvisor - but with a twist. Now that I have a smartphone, I want to incorporate a mobile app into the concept. Guys probably just wouldn't understand.  (However, something like this would make a nice gift for a guy who is a bit lacking in the fashion department.)


Below is a remix of my previous post


RAZORFISH'S TOUCH FRAMEWORK:  RAZORFASHION - A LOT LIKE MY IDEA FOR AN IN-HOME FASHIONMIRRORADVISOR (5/23/09)


Razorfish recently unveiled the Razorfashion application designed to provide shoppers with an engaging retail experience within the "multi-channel shopping ecosystem". I'm not the "shop to you drop" type of gal, but I can see that this concept could be useful in other situations, after a few tweaks.



As soon as I saw this Razorfish Touch "Fashion" demo video, it touched a nerve. I've been playing around with a similar idea, but for my personal use, in the form of an RFID-enabled system. I'd call it something like "FashionMirrorAdvisor".


Instead of showing skinny fashion models like the Razorfashion application, I'd harness the power of built-in web-cam and mirror my own image on the screen. My mirror would dress me up in the morning when I'm way too foggy to think about matching colors and accessories.
     
My FashionMirrorAdvisor would be my friend. My "smart" friend, since all of my clothes would be RFID-tagged, along with my shoes, jewelry, and other accessories. My make-up, too. It would be a no-brainer. I really could use this application - just ask my husband!


More often than not, most mornings I find myself staring at the clothes in my closet, frozen in time, unable to formulate a fashion thought. I might set my eyes on a favorite blouse, but blank out when I try to think about the rest of the steps I need to pull my look together.
     
I know I can't wear my reddish-pink camisole with my dusty-orange/brown slacks, but at 5:15 A.M., who has the time to think about this little detail? My friend, the TouchFashionMirror would prevent me from making this fashion faux-pas.
     
No problem.
     
My FashionMirrorAdvisor would show me a few outfits, and dress my real-time moving image on the screen. Since she knows all things, she'd show me ONLY the articles of clothing that were clean, since my RFID system would keep up with all of that. It would be much more functional than a "virtual wardrobe" application. I could try out different earrings without having to get them out.
     
If I couldn't find something, the RFID system would take care of this detail. My FashioMirrorAdvisor would know where I misplaced my clothes, accessories, and even my keys, since they would all be tagged. The mirror application would provide me with a nice little map of my house and car, and highlight the location of the item.
     
My FashionMirrorAdvisor would keep track of my laundry, too. This would be a great feature. So if my dirty laundry was piling up, and I wanted to wear outfit X, Y, or Z over the next few days, I'd receive a gentle reminder that I'd need to do some laundry first!


Another practical feature:
     
My FashionMirrorAdvisor would also serve as my health consultant, keeping track of my weight and BMI. This data, along with information gained from the webcam, would be combined so that my advisor would NEVER suggest an outfit that would be too...snug.


I could program the system to provide me with gentle reminders if my weight was an issue. My FashionMirrorAdvisor would show me images of myself "before" and "after", outfits included.

Information about the "after" outfits could be fed to the system from the web-catalogs of my favorite fashion retailers, and once I lost those 10 darned pounds, I'd find a nice parcel delivered to my door. Thanks to my FashionMirrorAdvisor, I know that the outfit would be just right.


UPDATE 5/8/10:  The FashionMirrorAdvisor would be integrated with a mobile app - since I now have a smartphone, this would be quite useful in planning shopping trips centered around the purchase of new clothes, shoes, accessories, and coordinating cosmetics!  I created a little game  that I think would be ideal for this sort of thing, too.   I still want to work on this....someday. Too many ideas, too little time!


ALSO RELATED
From the Razorfish site:
"The Razorfish Emerging Experiences team is a dedicated group of highly experienced professionals focused solely on emerging experiences and technologies. "Effective innovation" is our multifaceted approach to concepting and delivering pioneering solutions for our clients"

"Founded in 2008, Razorfish Emerging Experiences is a cross-functional team composed of strategists, artists, experience designers, and technologists. We’re part of the Razorfish Strategy & Innovation practice led by Shannon Denton. Jonathan Hull is the managing director of the team, Steve Dawson is the technology lead and Luke Hamilton is the creative lead."

Razorfish
Razorfish Emerging Experiences Portfolio
Razorfish Emerging Experiences Blog
Razorfish Emerging Experiences on Vimeo


RELATED 5/8/10
Razorfish Health (Fun music on the home page!)
Razorfish Establishes Cloud Computing Practice
Douglas Quenqua, ClickZ 4/15/10
The Razorfish 5: Five Technologies that Will Change Your Business
Razorfish Whitepapers


If you are looking for a job, you might be interested in the openings at Razorfish. Before applying, take a look at what is expected:
"You dream in digital. You're fluent in the technologies that define our world and passionate about the way they're shaping our future.  You're a communicator. A creator. You understand how the Web connects us, and you want to shape the conversation. You're a restless innovator.  you're not only waiting for the next big idea to happen, you're making it happen.  You're a unique talent, a visionary, an experimenter, and you're looking for an environment that lets you shine. In other words, you're just our type...."


FYI
When I visited the Razorfish website, I noticed that the background appeared to be a live feed of the offices. Since today is Saturday, it makes sense that the only person busy at the office was a custodian. Below is the screenshot:

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