We all think our respective pets are the most adorable creatures ever to pad their tiny paws upon the planet; deserving of having their unique cuteness celebrated through custom mugs, calendars and posters.
But what if you could pay tribute to them in a more futuristic way, like having their likeness duplicated in the form of a hologram?
This may seem a little bit Star Trek, but is exactly what the AR app development team at Aug-it!™ are working on, with a project capable of exciting even the least tech-savvy among us.
This super clever team of augmented reality experts have previously used their AR wizardry in the glam world of fashion, working alongside global brands to capture and commission models for holographic fashion shows.
Following successes in this field, they soon began to realise the same tech could be used for four legged models, reasoning if it could work on ‘beautiful models’, it could also work on ‘beautiful pets’.
Aug-it!™ CEO Ant Hagan told UNILAD:
When I broke up with my ex girlfriend about 10 years ago our dog went to live with her, she would send me pics occasionally which was okay but [I thought] wouldn’t it be great if I had had a holographic pet version?
Aug-it!™ are now looking for the very sweetest pets to help shape the cuddliest holograms known to man. And it could well be your pet who gets picked out of the bunch.
Lucky pet owners will be gifted the resulting pet holograms, which will allow them to feel their pet’s presence at their side even if they are oceans apart, all thanks to the magic of smartphone technology and augmented reality.
The process of creating a hologram of a beloved cat or dog isn’t at all dissimilar to creating holograms of stylish catwalk models. It takes approximately one week to create a hologram, with the Aug-it!™ team using the same hi-res quality products they would use for fashion industry projects.
The team shoot within a large green screen studio using 4K camera techniques. Once the footage is captured and rendered down, it’s taken to a London based AR studio where bespoke software transforms the images into unique – and almost strokable looking – holograms.
You can put forward your own furbaby as a potential model by simply following Aug-it!™’s post on Twitter and sharing a pic of your pet under the hashtag #canyouaugit.
The team will then be tasked with the enviable yet difficult task of sifting through pictures of hopeful pets before picking their favourites.
Applications are welcome on behalf of a range of pets, not just your usual dogs and cats. So by all means, get snapping some photos of your Bearded Dragon or tarantula.
If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via story@unilad.com
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.