Augmented Reality Delivers Context in Mobile Environments
The words seem whiz bang, but there are similar types of technology consumers are accustomed to seeing every day that will help explain augmented reality. Think of your friendly weather report, the broadcaster is standing in front of a green screen with the map, clouds, temperatures, letters representing pressure systems and other symbols are layered over that green screen.
Augmented reality is a way of layering certain types of information over something else, either a blank space like the case with weather graphics or another set of information, say a map of downtown. At the South by Southwest Interactive festival, augmented reality was a hot topic particularly as it can be applied in mobile settings.
For example, in San Francisco, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is exploring using augmented reality to deliver more information including estimated arrival times, station locations, and other merchants near the station through a mobile device. You would point your phone camera in your surroundings and layered over the image would be information relevant to transit in that vicinity. No map handy, no worry.
This technology has its roots in military applications and will in the future make its way into the home. For example, using what Metaio calls markers, you can take images of your living room, then when you are at the furniture store use the phone to over lay pieces of furniture and carpet in the image of your room giving you a better idea of whether that couch will clash with your drapes.
The increased use of mobile platforms and smart devices is giving rise to further application development. Today Jupiter Research estimates $2 million in augmented reality sales that number is expected to increase to $732 million by 2014.
Here is a conversation with Noora Guldemond and Lisa Murphy of Metaio. Verizon Wireless supported this coverage and supplied me with the Motorola DEVOUR with MOTOBLUR which I used to record this video.
