700285Optricks AR-TT PlatformClosedGRD Proof of MarketInnovate UKOptricks Media will explore the development and commercial exploitation of a new technology platform (AR-TT) which combines the use of physical objects, embedded with an invisible touch-detection code to enable touch screen interaction, with Augmented Reality (AR) in a unique combination for use on mobile smart devices. An AR-TT ‘touch-enabled’ object can thus be used to interact directly with a smart device App, which can also recognise that same object using image recognition systems and, further, display AR content. Products based on AR-TT will enable users to interact with their tablet or smartphone screen using touch-enabled objects and to see the same objects come alive on the device’s screen through AR. The AR-TT technology will provide a platform for the production of innovative new products for the toys and games industry, and for videogames developers and publishers. The current generation of toy and game products which attempt to meld the physical with the digital is in its early stages, with no compelling examples of true interdependence between the digital world and physical gameplay. By combining touch and AR technologies, the platform will enable the development of a new class of interactive toys and games which truly combine the physical with the digital - where the play, dynamics and control of the game are realised through the integration and interdependence of the physical and digital elements. The inherently low physical cost of AR-TT technology may also have commercial application in the brand promotion sector of the marketing industry, for casual entertainment and games offered as ephemeral, promotional products, with touch-detection/AR components delivered as on-pack cut-outs.