Popular Science Breaks Virtual Ground With July Issue: Magazine Is The First Ever To Feature Interactive 3-D Cover

NEW YORK, June 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Popular Science, the magazine dedicated to delivering "The Future Now," has partnered with GE to deliver the first-ever augmented-reality magazine cover. The cover, featured on the July issue of the publication, hits newsstands today. For more information, please visit www.popsci.com/imagination.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090617/NY34238)

"This 3-D cover is a great example of the innovation and incredible technology behind the next generation of alternative-energy sources," says Gregg Hano, group publisher of the PopSci Media Group. "The July issue of Popular Science is all about solving our global energy challenges, and this cover really enhances that subject matter in a unique and creative way that we're thrilled to bring to our readers."

Simply holding the cover up to a Web camera while visiting www.popsci.com/imagination will bring a 3-D image to life. Users will see wind turbines, which Popular Science highlights as an important clean-energy solution, pop up from their screen. The 3-D hologram was provided by GE from its Plug into the Smart Grid web site, which launched earlier this year. Once the image is activated, users can interact with the wind turbines, causing the turbine blades to spin by blowing air onto the webcam microphone. Users without a copy of the issue handy can print one for free from the Web site, www.popsci.com/imagination.

In its July issue, Popular Science highlights the future of energy, offering a realist's guide to rewriting the global energy map to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases by the year 2050. The magazine reviews extraordinary solutions for clean energy and important innovations coming in the near future, including wind, hydro and solar power. The issue also features an in-depth look at Iceland's ambitious scheme to tap 1,100 degrees F, high-pressure water miles underground to produce energy and a look at Obama's Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and his opportunity to help inspire a global energy revolution this December at the United Nations's climate talks in Copenhagen.

Popular Science will take green living one step further later this month with the release of the new issue of the all-digital PopSci Genius Guide, which will offer an in-depth review of the best tech solutions for greening your home. To receive a free trial issue, please visit www.popsci.com/geniusguide.

To enable their July 3-D cover Popular Science utilized software specially developed for them by Munich / San Francisco based company Metaio. Pioneers in the area of Augmented Reality technology, Metaio's patented software for web applications dubbed, "Unifeye Viewer" enables 3-D animations to be integrated seamlessly into live-video streams of a webcam and respectively into pictures of the real-user's environment.

Popular Science also worked with partner OMD, "One of the World's Foremost Media Communications Specialists" to help the project come about.

Founded in 1872, Popular Science (www.popsci.com) is the world's largest science and technology magazine, with a circulation of 1.3 million and 7.1 million readers. Each month, Popular Science delivers "The Future Now," reporting on the intersection of science and everyday life with an eye toward what's new and why it matters. Our readers believe that the future is going to be better, and Popular Science gives them the tools and information to improve their technology and their world. Popular Science was the winner of the 2004 National Magazine Award for General Excellence. Popular Science is published by the Bonnier Corporation (www.bonniercorp.com), one of the largest consumer-publishing groups in America and the leading media company serving passionate, highly engaged audiences through more than 40 special-interest magazines and related multimedia projects and events.

Popular Science is part of the PopSci Media Group, which includes sister publications and Web sites PopSci Genius Guide, Science Illustrated, Popular Photography, American Photo, Sound & Vision, popsci.com, popphoto.com, soundandvisionmag.com and instructables.com.