Augmented reality finally hits the mainstream
Back in my twenties, 'augmented reality' was what happened after a few too many pints of Molson Canadian in the bar. Since then, both the tech industry and I have grown up, and the phrase has taken on a whole new meaning. And let me tell you, it is Way. Cool.
Imagine holding up your mobile phone and using its camera to look around you, as if you're looking at the world through a window. Only instead of simply seeing what's on the street, you see things artificially overlaid on top of it. Including, for example, text that highlights points of interest. Wikipedia entries about specific buildings. And flags pointing to anything you're searching for, such as pizza joints, and the like. Sounds like something straight out of Star Trek, doesn't it? But it's here, now, and available on mobile phones.
Hardware has evolved to the point where our phones can start giving us augmented reality experiences. We needed four things to make this work: Fast processors to do the gruntwork, a decent camera to relay video of our environment in real time, a GPS so that the phone knows where it is, and a compass so that the phone knows which way it's pointing. Check, check, check, check.
Now that we've checked all of those boxes, check out Layar, a new application available both for phones using Google's Android operating system, and for the iPhone. The system uses your phone's camera to look at the environment around you, and superimposes location information sourced from search engines and other services. The result? Instant, intuitive directions to local points of interest. The picture on the right is of my friend Lanny, sitting in the local bar, and pointing to the nearest Subway, while my phone does the same (hint: The Subway is the red dot, which changes in size, depending on how far away you are from it).
I'm now beginning to understand why Apple put a compass in the iPhone 3GS. It seemed like a dumb gimmick at first. But as I type, Lanny is searching the web to see how much it will cost him to upgrade to a compass-enabled iPhone.
This is only the start of what augmented reality can do. One of the big developments in Web 2.0 applications was the creation of application programming interfaces (APIs) that enabled third party developers to access the content in online services such as Wikipedia, microblogging services like Twitter, and online photo services such as Flickr. This content can then be consumed by other applications, such as Layar, or its rival, Wikitude. The result? See for yourself in the picture on the right: augmented reality Wikipedia entries, floating in space. Flickr photos, located in relation to where you are. And geotagged tweets posted by local Twitter users. How cool is that?
I first saw augmented reality demonstrated in 2001, at a conference on the future of computing. At the time, it was little more than eye candy and dreams. It wasn't useful for much, although the potential was clear. Now, thanks to the convergence of powerful mobile devices and user-generated content, it's starting to take on real meaning.
If you look at technology trends, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see where this is going. User-generated content is growing exponentially. People are creating tens of thousands of new photos, Twitter posts, and Wikipedia entries every day. And as the content base gets richer, the devices are going to get smaller, more powerful, and more intuitive. We're already seeing companies working on displays inside eyeglasses and contact lenses. How much longer before you simply say" "Where can I get pizza?" and have a 3D map appear before you? This will happen, and probably sooner than we think.
In the meantime, how about a game of augmented reality space invaders?
Comments
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Posted by: JonJacob | Oct 30, 2009 5:25:59 PM
Is this really something "cool", as the tech-geeks see it, or just another way to deliver commercials and turn us into consumer robots who move via 'suggestions' and not internal processes?
In other words, when there is so much more content than what could be efficiently displayed, who decides what content makes it to the user? You don't think this will be monetized? You won't miss the quality pizza place that isn't paying to advertise on every invented tech, because all you're getting as 'suggestions' are the big corporate chains?
Posted by: Danny Bradbury | Oct 30, 2009 5:42:42 PM
I dunno, @JonJacob - do you use Google Search? Wikipedia? eBay? Twitter? Or do you worry that these things - some of which as I said already turn up in AR browsers - are turning you into a consumer robot?
And why should the use of crowdsourced material preclude the ability for us to make use of internal processes? Implying that we only believe or rely on what's put in front of us and that we should eschew it all in favour of some sacred internal radar throws the baby out with the bathwater. The two aren't mutually exclusive. You don't think books and newspapers also carry some sort of curatorial experience? Should we abandon those too, because they monetize information and decide what makes it to the user?
In my ideal augmented reality experience, you'd get to walk past your obscure local pizza joint, hold up your phone and read reviews from customers that had already been there. That would surely be an enabling technology, rather than one which shuts down choice.
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