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In his reportage "The adventurer and the cradle of humanity", Special Envoy reveals archaeological treasures that retrace the history of humanity for nearly 4 million years.
The France Télévisions MediaLab uses the latest augmented reality technologies to offer a totally new complementary information experience. Through a tablet or a recent smartphone, the general public can display in 3D in their living room, or wherever they wish, some of the treasures discovered in the report. Everyone can observe them as they wish, turn around, get closer, scrutinize the details... as if the object were really there, just a few centimeters away.
Pictures around the objects bring details or additional information, an audio commentary guides the experience, the main information of dates or places are written on a virtual base presenting the object.
This unprecedented news offering is an experimental format and a first that France Télévisions is sharing with its viewers.
How does it work? Video explanation with Elise Lucet
State-of-the-art technology for everybody
This is a privilege that was, until now, reserved for television sets equipped with very expensive augmented reality technologies. It is now shared with the general public. The playful and attractive format offers the support for a new format of rigorous and perfectly documented information. The provision of additional information thanks to augmented reality is a new vector for France Télévisions' newsrooms.
Access to this unprecedented experience is available to everyone, regardless of the brand of device, tablet or smartphone, provided they are relatively recent.
Just go from your mobile device to the Facebook page of Envoyé Spécial, then to the publication entitled "The Cradle of Humanity in Augmented Reality" and click on the link displayed. Or go directly to the experience by clicking here.
Triggered from a cell phone, this link directly opens Facebook and the "augmented reality" mode. Triggered from a computer, it sends a notification to the user's mobile Facebook application, who just has to click on it to access the experience. The next Facebook update will offer, as a bonus, audio comments.
Augmented reality for the general public on mobile devices will experience a spectacular boom in the coming months.
AR at the service of information
The MediaLab of France Télévisions, with the Department of Innovation and Digital, is a pioneer in the use of these technologies, which are still experimental, to offer a totally unprecedented information format. When it came to selecting an appropriate technology for our editorial objective, the choice fell on the augmented reality protocol, still experimental, proposed by Facebook.
The other technologies (AR Kit / AR Core) of the other Internet majors, Google and Apple, require the creation of a dedicated application, or the implementation of a specific, more constraining player. We have favored the simplicity of access and universality offered by the social network, freeing ourselves from the constraints related to the types of devices. This choice also helps to boost the social link with the France Télévisions audience community and offers an easy way to share the experience.
What's next ?
This first experience will of course give rise to a broader reflection on the different technologies on the market.
We are only at the beginning of the use of Augmented Reality on mobile devices through Information. But there is no doubt that this sector is going to experience a dazzling deployment and increasingly varied proposals. It is a physical, personal experience, where information is delivered seamlessly, for interactive use. It's a whole new relationship with France Télévisions viewers.
"You're in the story, it's up to you to explore it! »
