Pose for pictures with Robotics;Notes’ main heroine in this official AR app

An official Robotics;Notes iOS app has been released on the iTunes app store, just in time for the anime series’ debut on Fuji TV’s “Noitamina” late-night anime timeslot this Friday in Japan (at 1:15AM, or 25:15 hours on Thursday night)

The app’s key feature is an AR camera that lets users take pictures with the heroine in Robotics;Notes, Akiho Senomiya. You can do this through two methods, depending on if the AR camera is set to “Portrait Mode” or “Marker Mode”.

Portrait Mode works like most other AR apps out there: Akiho will appear on-screen, plastered upon a video feed of your actual surroundings as picked up by your iPhone’s camera, and you can adjust Akiho’s pose or expression before taking the shot. More poses and expressions can be added via a “shop” menu from November onwards.

Marker Mode, on the other hand, is more like a QR code scanner. That is, when the iPhone camera picks up a certain image – such as a particular poster illustration found at shop fronts or on the Robotics;Notes official website - a 3D character will appear on the touchscreen.

Said 3D character’s position is tied to the AR marker (the shop poster or an online image), so you’ll be able to look at the character model from different angles and sides by physically moving your iPhone around.

Outside of the AR features, the Robotics;Notes app will also have a page for news and announcements published on the series’ official website, a “shop” menu where you can download wallpapers and addition AR camera poses and expressions (paid content), and a “tips” page that will be refreshed every week, prior to the airing of a new episode, containing explanations for new lingo or terms that will be used in the upcoming episode.

In other words, this nifty feature will serve to replicate the visual novel experience for anime viewers somewhat. In visual novels, “tips” are often trivial explanations about specific items that writers add in to give players a better understanding of the fictional universe (but are otherwise not required to understand the plot).

Future updates planned for the app include a group-chat functionality, more AR features related to Robotics;Notes merchandise (we’re not too sure what this refers to; could just be more AR markers for users to scan), and the ability to access “special contents”.

“TV animation 「ROBOTICS;NOTES」 official application” is free to download, and available now on the Japanese iTunes app store. Supports iPhone and iPad models running iOS 4.3 and up. iPod Touch compatibility will be added at a later date.

Source: 4Gamer