The LZRTAG app takes street art from static images to 2D animations that anyone can create and spread around. After uploading an animation, you print out some customized augmented reality tags that you then post on any real-world surface. A passerby scans the tags with his or her smartphone and gets to watch the two-dimensional animation instantly. Of course, the passerby needs to have the appropriate app installed in order to watch the little cartoon.

The technology could be used in print media to add a whole new dimension to the experience of reading a newspaper or magazine. Or it could just liven up the practice of street art, giving artists a whole new way to communicate with the world. Animation tags created by the app will remain active for at least six months, and all parts of the service are free.

The post Augmented Reality App Puts Cartoons on Real-World Stuff first appeared on Gajitz.

Street artists who take over outdoor advertisements generally do so in the dark of night and at risk of being arrested. But a group of street artists recently took a different approach by replacing several NYC ads with virtual artworks – no crime involved. The augmented reality app was developed by PublicAdCampaign and The Heavy Projects to rid the outdoor experience of ever-present advertisements.

After installing the app, you only have to find one of the ads targeted by the AR intervention and hold your mobile device up to it. It will be replaced in real time with unique art created by one of the featured public ad takeover artists including PosterBoy, John Fekner and OX. The project is necessarily short-lived since the ads programmed into the app won’t last long, but the group is figuring out how to feed current ads into the app to keep it constantly up-to-date.

The post Times Square Ads Overtaken With Augmented Reality Art first appeared on Gajitz.

Have you ever driven through your town and realized that there weren’t nearly enough rainbows? This guy is doing his part to brighten up the world with his “robo-rainbow” assembly: a robotic arm outfitted with swiveling spray paint cans that spray picture-perfect rainbows onto any surface accessible by bike. The creator of this unspeakably cool graffiti machine spreads color everywhere he goes – yes, it’s graffiti and it’s illegal, but at least it’s much more positive than most of the tags you’ll see while out and about in any city.

The actual machine used to spread rainbow joy is a pretty simple custom bike trailer with a moving arm. The video doesn’t go into detail about how the gadget was built, but if you’re into this sort of thing (and don’t mind the fact that it’s not exactly the most legal thing you can do with a bike and some circuitry) it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out. And in no time, you’ll be spreading multi-colored joy all over your drab grey town.

The post Cheeriest Graffiti Ever: Robot Rainbow Maker on Wheels first appeared on Gajitz.

Maybe the slingshot isn’t as popular as it used to be with kids, but graffiti has never lost its appeal with street artists of all ages. Berlin media group VR Urban have combined the two into a whole new kind of toy. They threw in a healthy amount of digital tomfoolery and came up with the SMSlingshot, a gadget that lets you compose a text message and then “shoot” it onto any building of your choice.

The gadget is more of a system, of which the slingshot itself is only one part. There’s also a camera and a projector, which are how the messages actually show up on the surface they are “shot” at. The slingshot is equipped with Arduino, a keypad and a laser, all of which work together to compose and aim the message. You write a message, aim, shoot, and SPLAT! Your words are smashed onto the side of a building in one of the most creative ways we’ve ever seen to communicate with everyone within sight.

The idea behind the SMSlingshot is that, since advertising takes up so much of our outdoor space, we should be able to take back some of that space. What is usually achieved with spray paint and graffiti tags can just as easily be achieved with the projected messages from the SMSlingshot, and there’s no risk of fines or jail time for tagging with lights and lasers.

The post Digital Tomfoolery: Slingshot Flings Messages, Not Spitballs first appeared on Gajitz.