There's a cat in your phone and it wants out. Zentium, a South Korean-based company, has released a set of videos today showcasing a novel prototype for a new kind of virtual pet. iKat uses Augmented Reality technology to create a holographic kitten, one that you can see only when you turn on the video camera built into your smartphone. The 3D cat can be seen scampering about as if it existed in the real world, climbing over objects within the field of view of your lens. It's as if the cat really did exist, was really moving about in your room, but is only visible when viewed through your video camera.

While Augmented Reality has been used before to deliver playful companions through your web cam, such as the virtual creatures and vehicles includes with the Avatar action figures, iKat is special because it doesn't need to be triggered by a bar code and will be able to perform routines that last longer than a quick demo. The trick is that Zentium has come up with a system they're called D-Track that can analyze the video image entering your camera and generate a 3D grid recreating the space as a virtual playset. The cat is then created within it the same as it would an animated space, normally. At this point iKat's creators have merely come up with the cat, they have yet to show what kind of things it will be able to do or how players will interact with it (pet, feed, train, etc.), but that will be the easy part. 

This is Zentium's second Augmented Reality iPhone app. Their first, iNeedCoffee, allows you to use Augmented Reality to quickly find coffee shops in your area with your phone's camera. It's currently available through the iTunes Store here in North America and you can bet iKat will be too when it's ready for release.