Augmented Reality Uses: A Brief Overview

Let's cut to the chase. This is what nVidia's working on for graphics-enabled phones (iPhone, Blackberry, etc):

Cool, eh?

What's cooler is the Postal Service has a released augmented reality app for you to estimate box sizes for your shipping needs, by projecting semi-transparent boxes on top of images of your real items.




Augmented Reality is, naturally, perfect for virtual worlds. Here's a screen-shot of the Popcha AR demo. They did a Magic 8-Ball type setup where you hold up a piece of paper with an icon on it, and it places a box on the screen. When you shake the paper, the box spins and gives you the answer to your question.

Say, will Augmented Reality catch on big time?



Another Augmented Reality device that my company, Involve, is exploring is CamSpace. This lets you control your program using basic shapes that you hold up - instant driving wheel, or perhaps avatar control.

And ultimately, that's what Augmented Reality is best at: control. Imagine being able to visualize an entire sim based on a map printed out on a piece of paper, and navigate it with a wireless device or a phone? Imagine mapping the real world interactive instead of to a screen, but directly inside a virtual world? Have real people walk around a virtual space? Have meetings where half the people sitting down are avatars, half meat-bodies?

There's a lot of potential, but right now, barely any practical applications actually released outside of entertaining 1-minute interactions and games. That's why the Postal Service application is so important.

I'll continue to keep my eye on Augmented Reality applications and keep you, my loyal reader, informed.