Afterglow is a presentation system that allows you to draw and point on a projector screen using a laser pointer and a PC. First announced way back in 2007, the system is now available online for $1980.
The product can be used a a pointer on the screen to control the mouse or as a virtual “pen” to draw lines and arrows on presentations. Larger implementations would allow for digital graffiti to appear on the sides of buildings.
The kit includes:
* Afterglow Software CD with license for one PC
* Green Laser Pointer 532nm <1MW Class 2 (2 AAA Batteries Included)
* USB CCD Camera with Removable Lens
* Tripod
* 6ft USB Cable
It only works under Windows. The camera watches the pointer on the screen and controls the mouse just like a 3D pointing system. The product was originally created in Japan and just made it State-side this week.
It sounds like it was inspired by http://graffitiresearchlab.com/
this product will go nowhere… it doesnt deserve TC but only CG
A similar – 150 times cheaper – technique is found on penciil.com
Works for Windows, Mac and Linux. Software is open source.
Hey bro the video on your site sucks monkey ass… I couldn’t tell what the hell was going on. Get a tripod, stop moving.
I know, the video is very close with the rear ends of primates. I’m working on a new one :)
I like the concept – it’s definitely much better than the half-a$$ed digital whiteboards out there.
Unfortunately it won’t be long until someone comes up with an opensource app that lets you do the same thing using that USB camera you have in your closet and a generic, $15 laser pointer.
Urr… or maybe it’s already been done.
Thanks, I did it :)
And done here by GRL: L.A.S.E.R. Tag.
I implemented the GRL setup at a party last year – lots of fun!
johnny lee!!
That’s an expensive mouse.
I think this can be a very useful product in the education market. Several advanced teaching institutions use Powerpoint, Mediasite, and varied user-interface inputs to convey specific information to students. Sometimes the professors prefer to walk around (leaving the mouse behind). This product would help solve that problem. Good work Afterglow, already told a potential NYSE client about your product :-)
Thanks very much to Crunchgear for writing about Afterglow and summarizing the main specs clearly. As an employee of the company, normally I wouldn’t post a comment because it’s a little too self-serving. But I do want to respond to a few points from the comments I see this morning, specifically around open source. We’re big fans of open source development even though Afterglow is not an open source product. It’s an excellent way to develop software. It’s a lot tougher, however, to produce a well-integrated hardware and software solution that appeals to business customers using open source – and make money to sustain the effort. Also, point of pride: Our tech was developed and available well before the open source alternatives mentioned. In fact, we feel that they follow and imitate our updates.
Hisa Nairo, Afterglow, VP of Business Development
Mr. Nairo, it’s always nice to see company representatives participating in these sorts of forums so, personally, I welcome your comments. My comment about seeing an opensource alternative emerge came from my first-impression, which other commenters seem to share.
While I tend to agree with your basic assertion about opensource solutions not being as cleanly packaged as proprietary ones, I don’t know that applies here. This is not a complex problem to solve, as demonstrated by Johnny Lee and GRL. And penciil.com shows that a compelling commercial offering can be made available for ~US$50 (I.R. pointer + Wiimote + opensource application).
You’ll forgive me if I find myself wondering what makes Afterglow so much more compelling that it’s worth the $2K pricetag.
On a side note, you might want to ease up on your claim of being the inspiration for the other solutions cited here. The concept has been around for at least 15 years, and a quick patent search show plenty of prior art, including patent #5115230, dated 1991.]
Extremelly easy to do using a webcam and tracking-software.. tons of open-source materials out there.
As I mentioned in my posting above, we recognize that there are open source and inexpensive solutions available; however, these solutions do not have the “polish” of Afterglow. For example, PowerPoint presentations are usually done in a conference room. Many of these rooms have plenty of ambient light coming in from the outside. Afterglow is able to compensate for this, which is part of our patent. The solutions that you mention have difficulty in situations like I’ve mentioned above.
Also, we are looking at additional markets other than the standard PowerPoint (corporate market). In these other markets the price point we have is considered 1/10 the cost of competing equipment.
As for inspiration, I do agree with you that there are plenty out there, so it’s hard to say where the first idea came from. However, what I forgot to mention before is that we have several patents filed and issued as well for Afterglow, and so as such we feel we have prior some prior art. Afterglow has been around for ~4 years now in Japan. Many of the open source alternatives that are out there have gotten inspiration primary from Afterglow.
The following is a link to our award from Microsoft. If you look at the date, we receive this award a few years back.
http://www.microsoft.com/japan/mscorp/mic/english/report/071115lunascape.mspx
We believe there is a market for our product at the price point we have set. Yes, there are inexpensive and or free solutions; however, not every company has an extensive IT department to support these. What many companies are looking for is a solution that doesn’t require a ton of tweaking, and just works. That’s the Afterglow advantage.
The premise that the ambient light in boardrooms is generally less “friendly” to this sort of application is an interesting one. It seems like every corporate presentation I’ve attended has started with the presenter saying, “can we dim the lights?”, which would seem to make this a moot issue. And then there’s the 50M+ Wiis that are being used in homes, offices and, yes, even boardrooms today.
But… I haven’t tried any of these systems so my arguments are admittedly all academic.
Regarding, “additional markets” at 1/10th the cost, have you considered opensourcing your software in a way that allows DIY-ers, like the folks interested in a wiimote-type solution, to help you develop and test your software using home-built wiimote (read, “not so damned expensive”) setups? They may surprise you by identifying (and implementing) some unexpectedly valuable features that you could bring to your enterprise product line.
Either way, good luck with this, and I look forward to trying your system some day.
i prefer this approach http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/johnny_lee_demos_wii_remote_hacks.html
It’s very easy to do this in PowerPoint. Use the pen tool (right mouse button click in Slide Show view) and you can draw or highlight on the screen in multiple colors.
I used to have a $99 Wacom tablet in addition to the remote mouse. It was just the right size to let engineers write in capitals and create text that can be seen on the screen.
You can always add a blank page at the end of the presentation and use it as a whiteboard. Remember the page number!!! Then any time someone says something that needs a white board you can right mouse button click and choose to “Go to slide” and pick that that slide number. You or audience members can draw quite happily on this page, and then you right mouse button click on “Last Viewed” and it will take you back to the slide you came from. In addition the information that was drawn will be available after the presentation and can be emailed if necessary.
Hisa Mairo, I’m sure with a bit of thinking you’ll come up with a feature that turns Afterglow into a “must-have.” As of today, I’m afraid that too many people will pass it by.
Robert – The ambient light problem I’m talking about isn’t necessarily just the lighting that is inside the room. If the conference room is by a window and even with the shades being drawn closed there can be quite a bit of stray light that comes into the room, especially in the afternoon. And, as you may know many company main conference rooms and executive briefing rooms are placed where there is a nice view of the outside to “impress” the people they are presenting to. As a result, we’ve had to ensure that Afterglow works in these environments flawlessly.
We are also working on opening up our API so that developers can start building on top of our platform. I agree with you that going open source and having people develop using our platform might come up with some very unique solutions; however, currently that is not on our roadmap. It is definitely worth considering, and I’ll bring that up at our next executive meeting.
DaveF – We are aware of the ability to draw while giving a presentation in PowerPoint, and in fact Afterglow can interact with those built in functions as well. One of the advantages of Afterglow is the ability to work with any program not just PowerPoint. For example, we have graphic designers in Japan using it with Adobe Illustrator. Not only can they draw on top of their work, they can also manipulate their drawing with the laser pointer using Mouse Mode making Illustrator interactive.
Sorry to hear that the software is not a “must-have” for you today. We’ll work on new features that will interest more of you.
You guys mentioning the G.R.L. one do not consider one thing: being a free and open source software, you CAN’T use G.R.L. for any marketing or advertising pourposes. I guess that paying $ for this Afterglow will solve the intellectual property problem. So, I know my company will be happy to save around 1900 $, but no way we want to see our video pointed as “lame guerrilla marketing”, as Theo did in his official G.R.L. / Muonics site.