Avatar Action Figures come with Augmented Reality
I really wish that I was at Comic-Con now, as this worldwide showcase of comics often displays some new gadgets, not to mention the 411 on the comic-book movies of next summer.
For example, Mattel has introduced a new line of action figures based on the long-awaited James Cameron film Avatar. This is not to be confused with The Last Airbender, a film based on a Nickelodeon series that coincidently had Avatar in its title.
These Avatar toys use augmented reality, something that I have referred to as the Coolest Gadget ever. It works when one of the toys is placed in front of a webcam. Software provided by Total Immersion then takes over, and the monitor will display information about the character, 3-D animations of the character, and even more pictures.
There is also a plan for bonus features for the “deluxe figures”. These are figures with a 3-D tag, or i-TAG, on the back of them. Scanning these guys will cause them to come to life on the user’s monitor, and placing two i-TAGs together will have them interact.
I believe that I discussed Augmented Reality being used on baseball cards before, but this is the first time that I have seen it used on action figures. I’m surprised that no one else has tried this before, this could be the beginning of a new wave of action figures that actually spring into action.
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Curtis Hoffman Says: March 4, 2010 at 5:10 pm
If you haven’t gotten a chance to check out the new i-Tag technology for the Avatar Action Figures you should. It is awesome. I know kids will love it. The movie was much like watching a video game and now the action figures are also. 
More Augmented Reality! This time in Coke Zero » Coolest Gadgets Says: November 24, 2009 at 3:29 pm
[...] believe that I have covered the action figures from James Cameron’s Avatar film will feature Augmented Reality (AR), and now will be used on Coke Zero [...]