Meeting friends always seemed so easy during childhood. All it took was a simple question like 'Do you want to play on the swings' or 'do you want to be my friend' to get children to form a friendship that can last for months or even years.
(prHWY.com) August 10, 2012 - Seattle, WA -- Meeting friends always seemed so easy during childhood. All it took was a simple question like 'Do you want to play on the swings' or 'do you want to be my friend' to get children to form a friendship that can last for months or even years. Adults often find it difficult to form friendships as the set-up isn't so easy and the world becomes complicated. A new augmented reality application is in development that will help adults develop long-lasting friendships with new characters and people.
Pocket Friendship is a quick downloadable app that will allow individuals with an iPhone, Android or tablet device to create tiny little characters that sit in the palm of the user's hand. These characters can walk, talk and interact with people.
"We noticed a lot of people are extremely lonely out there in the world", said Tad Bridges, developer of the Pocket Friendship
augment reality application. "We decided to start an augmented reality application development brainstorming session that would help us create an application that could cure loneliness. That is what Pocket Friendship does."
Once completed Pocket Friendship will have over 25 different characters that people can interact with and form bonds with over time. These bonds can turn into friendships, love/hate relationships and much, much, much more. The more an individual interacts with the characters the deeper the connection grows.
"We have each character programmed to have unique likes, dislikes, hobbies and interests", said Bridges. "It's like a real person only using augmented reality application software. I think it's really cool and could change the way people interact with each other for years to come."
The application while designed to create friendships amongst adults with characters is not intended to solely replace real-life friendship. Instead, the application is developed for individuals who are having a difficult time getting out and about, or meeting people.
"The real reason this application is being developed is to help people who are unable to get out and meet people", said Bridges. "When I was in the hospital for rehab I found it hard to find people who related to me and wanted to talk with me. That is really where the idea for this app came from, as people in similar situations will be able to interact with others and not feel lonely."
The Pocket Friendship app is still in works, but Bridges plans on starting the beta stage sometime in the winter. The beta group will consist of 200 people and if all goes well the app could be available sometime in 2013.
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