Experience Augmented Reality with Lenovo's Star Wars: Jedi Challenges

Wazzup Pilipinas!

It was just a few weeks ago when I was discussing with the Lenovo Philippines Country General Manager Michael Ngan about the next technology offering of Lenovo, when he said they were to introduce Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR and AR) integrated with their devices, and true enough their latest event featured such technologies.

Capitalizing on the popularity and upcoming new movie of Star Wars, Lenovo held an event on November 8, 2017 at Chaos City of Dreams Manila featuring their partnership with Disney and the Star wars franchise.

Special appearance of cosplay and gaming icons Alodia Gosiengfiao and Ashley Gosiengfiao, plus YouTuber Chris Cantada made the launch more interesting as we get to interview, take photo ops and selfies with the three as they endorse Lenovo's latest product offerings.

Techies will surely highly anticipate the availability of the smartphone-powered augmented reality gadgets composed of a headset, lightsaber, and tracking beacon - all inspired by Star wars.

Attendees, including the celebrity guests. got to fight against storm troopers with their lightsabers, and play high-tech chess featuring Star Wars monsters. There were also cosplayers dressed up as Storm Troopers.

We took videos of the highlights featuring talks of the Lenovo team led by Michael Ngan, and also a special interview with the three celebrities we mentioned earlier. Watch out for these videos at our social media pages like Facebook and YouTube. Many photos will also be uploaded at our Facebook page.

Below is the official press release from the event:

Star Wars: Jedi Challenges, A New Smartphone-Powered Augmented Reality Experience is now in the Philippines

Star Wars experiences brought to life with the Lenovo Mirage AR headset, Lightsaber controller, and all-new gameplay content from a galaxy far, far away

Available for Pre-Order for Php 14,999 at select Toy Kingdom branches; Compatible with Android™ phones and iPhones

Lenovo and Disney unveiled Star Wars: Jedi Challenges, a new augmented reality Star Wars product that allows fans to experience Star Wars in ways never before possible. Jedi Challenges features a smartphone-powered Lenovo Mirage AR headset, Tracking Beacon, Lightsaber controller, and hours of Star Wars gameplay.

Star Wars: Jedi Challenges is priced at Php 14,999 and is now available for pre-order at select Toy Kingdom branches. It will be in stores by December.

Jedi Challenges was unveiled as part of Force Friday II (September 1), which celebrates the worldwide launch of new Star Wars products. The product is compatible with both Android phones and iPhones.

“With Star Wars: Jedi Challenges, Lenovo and Disney are bringing Star Wars to fans in ways they could previously only imagine,” said Jeff Meredith, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Lenovo Consumer PCs & Smart Devices. “Augmented Reality has always been an important part of Star Wars, and it’s exciting to bring these key moments to life by marrying Lenovo technology with Disney’s storytelling.”

Players will hone their Jedi talents across a variety of augmented reality-based experiences, each offering multiple levels of deep and immersive gameplay. To guide the player on this journey, Jedi Challenges will introduce an all-new Star Wars character, the Archivist. The Archivist instructs players in the ways of the Force™ and the knowledge of the Jedi. Throughout these challenges, users will train to perfect their lightsaber skills by taking on some of the most menacing villains the dark side has to offer, command armies in combat missions to defeat the Empire, and outwit their opponents in Holochess, all in augmented reality.

Game Features:

• ·Lightsaber Battles. With their very own lightsaber, fans can train against legendary dark side villains like Kylo Ren and Darth Vader.
• Strategic Combat. Players marshal the forces of the Republic, Rebel Alliance, and Resistance against the might of the Separatists, Empire, and First Order in epic battles across their living room floors. Players can hone their skills in strategy and tactics as they engage in battles.
•  Holochess. Perhaps one of the most iconic board games brought to film, Holochess first leapt into moviegoer hearts when it was played on the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars™: Episode IV - A New Hope™. It has now been brought to life in Jedi Challenges. Fans can direct their holographic alien pieces across the board, wrestling for territory and control.

“We believe augmented reality will usher in a new era of storytelling and play an important role in the experiences we create for our fans,” said Kyle Laughlin, Senior Vice President, Games and Interactive Experiences, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media. “With Star Wars: Jedi Challenges, we’re bringing together the latest technology and one of the most recognized franchises in the galaxy to fulfill the wishes of anyone who’s ever wanted to wield a lightsaber or take on the empire forces on the battlefield.”

Hardware and Technology

Users start by downloading the Star Wars: Jedi Challenges app[2] onto their compatible phone and sliding the phone into the tray of the Lenovo Mirage AR headset. Sleek, portable and lightweight, the Lenovo Mirage AR headset will provide full gaming immersion with an optimal level of comfort during gameplay. The headset also comes with a Tracking Beacon, which is placed on the floor and acts as a stable base for the headset’s sensors to detect the user’s movement during gameplay.

Equipped with two built-in fisheye sensors to provide inside-out positional tracking, the headset allows for free and natural motion for the player to move around as they duel opponents or direct their forces and pieces across the battlefield.

The headset pairs with a collectible-quality Lightsaber controller, modeled after the one wielded by Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, and Rey. Designed to be a key part of the experience, the Lightsaber acts as a controller and pointer, allowing players to navigate the user interface, with all controls, actions and commands activated with a simple two-button configuration.

Through visible light-tracking technology, the headset’s sensors work together to lock onto the position of the Lightsaber controller, allowing players to see a beam form above the “hilt,” which they can use to block and interact with the universe in-game. Haptic feedback is activated as players strike or block their opponents, while an inertial measurement unit sends rotational information from the controller to the smartphone to assist the beam in remaining stable mid-swing.

Pricing and Availability

Star Wars: Jedi Challenges is now available for pre-order at select Toy Kingdom branches. It is priced at Php 14,999 and will be in stores by December.

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