New app lets iPads, iPhones interact with virtual objects

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Press release: Pantomime 3D App Launches Interactive VR and Augmented Reality Platform

The Pantomime 3D app, launched today, lets iPad and iPhone users reach into realistic 3D worlds with their mobile devices. Levity Novelty and Pantomime Corporation announced they are offering this revolutionary VR and augmented reality software free of charge in the App Store for a limited time.

Sebastopol, CA — Pantomime Corporation has launched the first truly interactive augmented reality platform in a new app, Pantomime 3Dâ„¢, available free today in the App Store.

Pantomime 3D lets iPad and iPhone users reach in and interact with physically realistic, 3D animated augmented reality worlds on any table. By balancing the device on the table or paddling it in the air, users can not only look around and move, but can realistically interact in virtual scenes. As the mobile device moves, Pantomime’s patent-pending algorithms keep the virtual world perfectly in place. The entire scene is seamlessly merged with live video, as if viewers are looking through the mobile device and touching real objects on the table with it.

The effect often leaves viewers stunned: “That’s the most amazing app I’ve ever seen.”

To introduce mobile users to interactive augmented reality, the creators of Pantomime 3D are offering it free of charge for a limited time. It is a universal app that runs on every iOS device.

In Pantomime 3D, a user’s device is transported into a small, realistic game court, able to paddle a virtual ball into a hole in the table or over a translucent ramp, all with realistic graphics, physics and sound.

Augmented reality innovation

Until now, augmented reality systems such as Qualcomm Vuforia have typically used a device’s rear video camera, pre-printed target images, and live image processing to track motion. That requires setup, is brittle in practice, and impacts performance.

Pantomime requires no setup, works perfectly even in darkness, and runs so fast all the physical interactions look real. It tracks motion accurately using models of how the mobile device is shaped and supported — how it’s being tipped or gripped — and using the device’s steady built-in gyroscopes.

Most important, previous augmented reality systems supported viewing but not 3D interaction. Reaching into worlds to touch a virtual object with a mobile device wasn’t possible before.

“Pantomime is the first consumer friendly, interactive augmented reality and VR platform,” said Pantomime Corporation CEO and virtual reality pioneer Dr. David Levitt. “It solves the key problem of interactive VR and AR: How do you reach into worlds in 3D? The answer: with devices we all have in our pockets, and Pantomime.”

The Pantomime 3D app introduces mobile users to interactive augmented reality. On screen Guides show just how the device is being supported on the table or paddled; a video tutorial shows how to move through the space and hit the ball. Standard touch gestures let users move and turn in the virtual world without moving the device, essential for extended mobile use.

Earlier uses of Pantomime have stunned app users and critics, and drawn crowds at developer conferences. Levity Novelty’s Invisibility app reached #1 Paid iPad Entertainment App shortly after its release, with rave reviews from Gizmodo – “High on the WOW factor!” – and others.

Today’s joint launch of Pantomime 3D, by Levity Novelty and recently founded Pantomime Corporation, reflects a structure where Levity Novelty produces entertainment apps while Pantomime Corporation licenses Pantomime Technology™ to third party developers and for a wider range of applications.

About Pantomime Corporation

Pantomime Corporation of Sebastopol, California was founded in March 2014 to deploy the Pantomime Platform™ for interactive and shared augmented reality and VR experiences. The company was founded by virtual reality pioneer Dr. David Levitt and The Sims™ architect Don Hopkins. The company was immediately selected by Silicon Valley Forum’s Launch World Cup Tech Challenge, where the company is one of 6 finalists in the Digital Media / Mobile category competing internationally on May 20th. The company’s flagship Pantomime 3D™ software and its revolutionary technology will be presented at the Augmented Reality World Expo in Santa Clara, CA on May 27-29.

About Levity Novelty LLC

Levity Novelty LLC is a creator of novel app experiences to startle and delight users and amaze their friends. The company’s previous apps have included Invisibility and 5-star apps Alive Albums and Invisibility 3D.

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