The Yas Marina Circuit, home of the upcoming 2015 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, has worked with Flip Media and Starcom MediaVest Group to release the YasHUB app for iOS and Android with Layar’s Augmented Reality SDK built in.

The app allows visitors to scan their tickets to view additional information about the event, including day-by-day information about events around the circuit.

The YasHUB app also allows race fans to purchase tickets and stay up-to-date on the latest F1 news and social media, but also provides an interactive map of the circuit grounds that directs visitors to key points-of-interest using the Layar Geo SDK.

The new upgrade to YasHUB allows users to scan their ticket packages, resulting in an animation of all main seating areas and venues around the island being built up in 3D on their phones. Ticket holders can then select their seating area and will be shown precisely where their seats are as the animation zooms into their seating zone – allowing the user to understand in three dimensions where exactly they will enjoy the action.

Not only that, but people can use the AR technology to check out the view from their seat through a series of images on the app. The app retains the helpful navigation function so people can use their phone to find out information on key locations at the circuit by simply holding up their mobiles and looking at the landmark through their screens. Relevant information of that location is then displayed, offering an immersive digitally enhanced experience to ticket holders.

“Each year, we aim to bring something new to racing fans that enhances their enjoyment of Yas Marina Circuit during F1 weekend,” said Nick McElwee, Director of Sales and Marketing at Yas Marina Circuit. “The new YasHUB app uses the latest app-based Augmented Reality technology from Layar to give users a new perspective of Yas Marina Circuit. Key areas of the track will come alive on users’ mobile screens with the addition of real-time information. The YasHUB app will help Yas Marina Circuit build meaningful interactions with our thousands of global fans as we transition to our new incarnation as a media brand and content publishers.”

“Starcom was very excited to continue the collaboration with Yas Marina Circuit and Layar to improve the YasHUB app by utilising Layar’s technology to further enhance race goers experience,” said Dimitri Papadimitriou, Head of LiquidThread MENA. “With Yas Marina Circuit, we have a client that understands the digital landscape and the changes in the way people are using technology and as such we are able to bring companies like Layar to the table to produce innovative and new customer experiences.”

The Geo SDK is a powerful way to create interactive, location-based AR experiences for your audience. Visit our solutions page to learn more about the Geo SDK, or contact us if you have any questions!

There’s been a bit of turbulence in the Augmented Reality (AR) space lately with Metaio being acquired by Apple and Qualcomm selling its Vuforia business. Customers are understandably worried about the future of the AR market.

Here at Layar, since joining forces with Blippar in 2014, we’ve been able to continually provide top-quality, stable services and solutions. One of the key areas we’re very dedicated to is our Augmented Reality software development kit, the Layar SDK. We’re very proud to say that Layar SDK will continue to be a very important product for us going forward.

With the Layar SDK, you can quickly and easily embed our Augmented Reality technology into your existing mobile app, giving you the ability to create a custom AR experience for your users within your app.

House of Fraser, one the U.K.’s largest premium department store chains, recently integrated the Layar SDK into its apps to offer customers a unique mobile shopping experience with AR. In creating what he called an “experience that transcends the mobile web,” CCO Andy Hardin praised the Layar SDK, which the company was able to integrate “quickly and seamlessly.”

The Layar SDK is a powerful tool for mobile Augmented Reality development. With it you can embed your own AR content in your app, whether it be scannable “Vision” AR, or location-based “Geo” AR. You can even use our PhoneGap plugin to seamlessly integrate the Layar SDK into your app development workflow.

Layar has many solutions to fit your needs, and the Layar SDK is just one of them. You can learn more about our AR technology solutions here, or download and share this handy one-page PDF.

House of Fraser, one the U.K.’s largest premium department store chains, is now offering its customers a unique mobile shopping experience with Augmented Reality (AR) technology from Layar.

By integrating the powerful Layar SDK into its existing mobile app, House of Fraser now allows customers to “Scan to Explore” and shop for products directly from its catalogue through AR. Customers can quickly shop and access immersive content, like videos, music 3D product previews, recipes and lookbooks.

The Layar SDK allows for a seamless integration of AR technology into existing mobile applications. House of Fraser also used the app commerce platform Poq to quickly and easily create a customized mobile AR experience for their customers.

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Just over a month ago, the news broke that Metaio, a fellow Augmented Reality provider, had stopped selling its services and had been acquired by Apple. Since then we’ve received a lot of messages from Metaio users inquiring about what Layar has to offer. With that in mind, we’ve created a helpful guide for anyone looking to transition from Metaio.

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Last year we told you about how Zalando, Europe’s leading online-only shoe, fashion and accessory retailer, had integrated the Layar SDK into its iOS app to give users a unique AR experience for its magazine. Now, the latest issue of Zalando’s magazine is out with even more great Augmented Reality and Interactive Print experiences.

Several pages within the magazine have been made interactive, giving readers a unique print-to-digital shopping experience that connects items in the magazine with their digital counterparts on the Zalando website. A variety of Augmented Reality features wow readers as photography comes alive with behind-the-scenes videos, and 360-degree experiences give them new views of top products, and much more.

“This new feature is a great opportunity to offer our customers additional inspiration for gifts, festive outfits or even their own wish list,” said Arne Schepker, Vice President of Brand Marketing at Zalando (translated from the company’s German press release). “With videos, music and 3D views, we encourage interaction with our customers and make our brands and products even more vivid.”

iOS users in Germany, Austria and Switzerland can download the Zalando app and scan the pages of the latest issue to see the interactive content. To see it in action, have a look at the video below!