Really Augmented Reality: Party Pics!

Party Pics from the frog design Augmented Reality party at SXSWi 2010.

The DJ was spinning, crowds were dancing, and people were ... using the porta potties. That's right: Augmented Reality Porta Potties. Get in, have a seat (or not), and do your thing while others watched. Okay, we didn't really watch. But with the help of motion sensors and some exterior augmented projections, people on the outside could see your posture and how long you spend inside. Uncanney valley? Nah. Just a little fun by our tech masters Jared Ficklin, Gregg Wygonik, Michael McDaniel, and others. And les toilets were only the side show. Thousands gathered at frog's 12th annual SXSWi kickoff party to see old friends and make new connections. Fun was had by all. How do we know? We tracked it using RFID card tags. Guests scanned cards when they made friends, when they got a beer, when they danced or had their photo taken. They even checked in after using the john. And then we displayed everyone's activities and connections on a giant Woofie Wall. What's a little augmentation with your fun? Check out pics from the party and the behind the scenes tech work on our Flickr page.

Augmented potty break. Has someone really been in that third one for 34 minutes? Rough night.

The AR bar. Drinks funneled up the colored pathways to the Space Invader pod between the two frogs.

Pumping out the dance tunes. Hey, is that Jared checking on the audio feed?

A mannequin greeting station. Scan the circles on either side of the pink tighty whities to make a connection.

The mannequin friend connector in action.

There was a scotch tasting bar. The scotch was free. It helped some augment their augmented reality party.

Sam is the director of publishing for frog where he oversees frog's global content, editorial, and digital publishing strategy. He is also the editor of design mind, frog's print and online media platform. Sam is the author of numerous books of non fiction and has written for Dwell, Metropolis, GOOD, and other magazines.