Computer Graphics World

July 2009 64 n n n n Augmented Reality they look like in real life, you can recognize which player you are holding," says Uzzan. Lastly, the art team used Maya to gener- ate the three animations that are linked to the gaming aspect of the player. Total Immersion has created a wide range of applications using its D'Fusion software, including those presented at this year's CES show (see "At Home with Augmented Reality," February 2009). But what made the Topps application particu- larly challenging was the fact that it had to work on just about any type of home PC or Mac. "It was the first massive online project that we did, and we had to generate a plug-in that would get this real-time solu- tion working perfectly for almost any com- puter or machine," Uzzan says. While the exact minimum hardware requirements are listed on the Topps Web site, Uzzan main- tains that the application will work on just about any computer that is no more than two or three years old. e technology firm is currently work- ing with Topps on another application— "something very special," Uzzan promises. For now, though, it looks like Topps has hit a home run with the interactive trading cards. "Kids and others are search- ing for more interactivity, more engaging experiences," says Uzzan. "For Topps, that was an issue concerning the traditional baseball cards." Uzzan continues: "So here we have an American icon, the baseball card, which has been known, loved, and essentially un- changed since 1869. Marrying augmented reality to the mainstay consumer product of the national pastime just feels right. Fans and collectors have always felt an emotional connection to their cards, wanting to get up close and personal with their favorite players. Now, with Topps 3D Live, that relationship enters an entirely different dimension." For Topps and Total Immersion, this concept has been a game well played. n Karen Moltenbrey is the chief editor of Computer Graphics World. Once the card is activated, the player comes to animated life, and the collector can play virtual ball with the Major Leaguer—batting, pitching, or catching, depending on the depicted player's expertise. High Performance Camera Tracking Use SynthEyes for animated critter insertion, xing shaky shots, virtual set extensions, making 3D movies, architectural previews, accident reconstruction, virtual product placement, face and body capture, and more. 32-bit only $399 Windows-32 / Windows-64 / OS X-32 / OS X-64 See the new Stereoscopic features at Siggraph Booth 2607

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