All the sensors in that mobile phone in your pocket should add up to a really interactive experience, but most of the time we use our phones to look at static webpages and tap-based games. San Diego-based Adtile (with Finnish roots) is looking to change that with its new mobile software platform, Adtile VR, which it says allows users to experience virtual reality on smartphones without the need for goggles or external hardware. Whether you call it augmented reality or virtual reality, their platform looks interesting for developers who see the benefit of having their users take virtual steps and explore a new world through the lens of a smartphone screen.
Nils Forsblom, CEO and Founder of Adtile Technologies says that Adtile VR is a composition of physics, math, computer science, and art. Their platform employs some fancy algorithms to detect the correct scale of motion in the short, medium, and long range. For instance – if you’re walking around a city in a 1:1 scale it requires a different, but similar, set of inputs compared to arm-length motions allowing you to explore a block of a virtual city. “We have created a new design opportunity for smartphones and is the first time developers can go truly beyond the edges of the phone, and more,” says Forsblom.
Adtile comes from the mobile advertising background, which makes it interesting move that they would build such a platform, but it makes sense when thinking about the next generation of advertising experiences. Rather than talking up gaming, they say they can see this space sensing mobile VR technology being used in industries from publishing, fashion, real estate, retail, automotive, and other fields.
In total, you can see that Adtile is all about in engagement on mobile, such as their motion ads which employ phone features like the compass to point you towards the nearest offers, or shake gestures that allow you “unlock” the rest of the ad. If the rest of the webpage you’re looking at is static, it makes sense that an engaging advertisement should do more than be another image on the screen.
