Look, I know it is geeky, I know it is pointless but I really love this:
Augmented reality (AR)surely is one of the technologies that will come of age in 2010 (the other being 3D – but more of that later). Okay, so I realise that this is an especially gimicky and kinda pointless application of the technology, but that does not make me want to try it out any less!
AR has the ability to radically improve many daily experiences, and it has the advantage of being based in the real world as opposed to its predecessor Virtual Reality. VR did away with reality altogether but the problem is we DO live in the real world. AR has the potential to combine the two in ways we can’t even imagine yet. The key word here is potential though. It is still a fledgling technology which really only stated to break out last year in a significant way.
There are already Apps for the iPhone and Android phones which overlay information on the camera output. You can walk round London and see instantly where the nearest tube station is. You can walk around Amsterdam and have an overlay information based on Tweets, or Tourist Info, or Restaurant Reviews. Sony Playstation 3 released eyepet last year, an AR pet that lives on an overlay of your home, and which you interact with using the eyeToy. Even DVD’s come with AR applications to use on your laptop so you can view and interact with 3D animated models of (for example) the Star Trek Enterprise. Several advertisers also used this technology last year.
So, we already have the games, advertising and tourist industries taking up the technology. I guess it is simply a matter of time before the Porn industry gets in on the act and then it will go truly viral! Yup, we will see an awful lot more of AR this year. It will get smarter, quicker and better. I think this is the year it truly break out in to the mainstream. Watch this space!
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