We seem to hear a lot about augmented reality these days. Perhaps not as much as 3d cinema or more recently the World Cup… but still quite a lot. What is all the fuss about and is anyone really doing anything interesting and valuable with augmented reality yet? Come to that what is augmented reality?

One way to describe augmented reality is the ability to overlay data (usually from a computer) over the users current physical view of the world. Some examples might make this more relevant!

Without doubt it is very early days for this technology. For clarity we are not talking about the kind of lightweight applications that we are seeing in mobile AppStores at present. These seem to have grabbed the concept of overlaying the real world with information, but then run out of ideas as to how to make this useful (caveats: In our opinion. Useful Apps may exist. Comment not aimed at anyone in particular!)

But some people have gone beyond light weight marketing trivia and are starting to push forward some interesting and potentially valuable software:

Face recognition.

Swedish software developers The Astonishing Tribe are working on an App for the Android platform called Recognizr. This will allow you to take a quick photo of someone’s face and then have the software show you details about the person. It does this using facial recognition and scanning it’s own database, as well as social media sites, for a match. Interesting or scary? I will let you decide! But it brings a new twist to business networking, speed dating or just going to tradeshows.

AR that you wear

Oxford University are working on mounting cameras into clothes. Thankfully these cameras are placed on the shoulder rather than on a minors hat. They transmit data to a handheld computer that then overlays additional content to the view of the physical world. Applications might be around enhancing visits to art galleries or tradeshows, but if this became accepted mainstream then imagine the impact on shopping as you peruse the aisles. And of course nothing to stop you adding face recognition to this too.

Augmented Maps

The architect of Bing Maps (from Microsoft) impressed the audience at TED Feb 2010 with a demonstration of a “time travel” feature built around their mapping application. At present this superimposes historical data on to the current landscape, but there is bound to be scope to make this more sophisticated. After all if you have ever used Time Machine on an Apple Mac then you probably already appreciate the idea of time travel in a virtual context

But none of this feels particularly useful, interesting maybe but not overly useful.

General Motors on the other hand are working on augmented windscreens. These are special coated glass windscreens that are able to display data in an experience akin to the head up display a fighter pilot might enjoy. In this instance the data is less about shooting other road users but might include painting virtual road markings onto the screen. The data is supplied by external lasers and therefore is not limited to data stored in the car or the internet. We like this application because it moves us away from software that is trying to find a use for internet based data into something that might well have a useful application

Staying with automotive companies you may find this example of using augmented reality and QR codes to enhance a consumer experience from Mazda interesting:

But in my opinion, I think IKEA offer the clearest example of what make augmented reality interesting and valuable. As is always the case, it’s not about the mechanics of the technology but about being able to really understand a process and then improving it using some novel thinking:

Have you found interesting examples of augmented reality? Or perhaps you see it as a techno-waste or time? Why not grab a moment of fame and leave your thoughts in the comments box below for others to read.