Sharky The Beaver: Sphero's Augmented Reality App Released

Sharky The Beaver, a groundbreaking app for Sphero which features an augmented reality gameplay, has been released by Boulder Colorado-based Orbotix, the makers of Sphero.

Augmented reality (AR) refers to technology that overlays a live view of the real world with virtual content. And unlike traditional AR that is limited to the screen, Sphero AR has the ability to interact with the real world.

The app, Sharky The Beaver, overlays a virtual beaver on top of Sphero. As users drive Sphero with their iOS device, Sharky comes to life and runs around the environment looking for cupcakes. The user can also rotate their device into portrait mode to toss cupcakes at Sharky as he autonomously runs around.

“While the initial gameplay is fairly basic, we felt it was important to give people an experience that seemed magical. Most people have never used AR, so Sharky will be their first experience and we didn’t want to overwhelm their senses,” said Orbotix co-founder and chief software architect Adam Wilson. “Sharky is so simple that everyone can bring him to life and not get caught up in how it works. The technology disappears and requires no setup – people can just play and enjoy this crazy little cupcake-munching guy running around their house.”

Sharky the Beaver is initially available for iOS and Sphero owners can download the app directly from the iTunes App Store today. Orbotix also plans to release their augmented reality SDK for Sphero in January 2013 so developers can create their own AR games and apps.