Yearbooks are a big part of our school memories and we cherish them. From now on they will be even more faithful keepers of our youth days, thanks to augmented reality technology. Walsworth Yearbooks, a company which has been making school yearbooks since 1947, is constantly trying to innovate the concept and they decided that now is the right moment to incorporate yet another cutting-edge technology into its products.
Yearbooks and Augmented Reality Technology: A Perfect Match
Photos tell us a lot about a person. We can deduce the decade by the hairstyle and clothes, the state of spirit by the mimic of the face. But what if we could find out what sports they love? Or even bring to life a snapshot from that amazing high school football match when your team won?
Augmented reality technology makes all these possible. Thus, a yearbook becomes more than a collection of photos, quotes and valedictorian speeches. It really encapsulates the past and brings it to life on the screen of the mobile phone.
Walsworth Yearbooks has already launched the free Yearbook AR app both on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The app uses markers to identify interactive content and play it on the smartphone. “Yearbook AR merges the tradition of yearbook with the modern innovation and digital capabilities of augmented reality,” stated Don Walsworth, the President of the company.
How the Augmented Reality Yearbook Works
AR yearbooks will have special markers to indicate augmented reality content embedded in photos. Users only have to open the dedicated app and point the camera to the marker.
Walsworth offers a variety of effects and interactive content developed with augmented reality technology:
- Full screen audio/video files with full controls: Play Stop, Fast Forward, Reverse, Repeat, Search;
- Gallery slideshow of up to 15 photos, which can be scrolled through without keeping the camera pointing to the marker after the AR content was read;
- 3D effects;
- Fading video elements with background audio.
Looking towards the Future, but Keeping Our Past Alive
Yearbooks using augmented reality technology are most likely to become trending all over the world. After all, everyone wants to be able to glimpse into the happy days of childhood and youth and see not just static photos, but meaningful videos and slideshows.
Modern technology is helpful not just in helping us advance into the future, but also in preserving our memories and keeping the past within reach. Possibly, this trend will expand to family photo albums and all the other traditional ways in which we attempt to freeze the past into a memento we can always cherish.
For now, Walsworth Yearbooks has made the first step. Demos of the augmented reality yearbooks can be scheduled by filling in the form on the company website.
