Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are augmented by virtual computer-generated imagery. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality in which a view of reality is modified by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality.
AR is the stuff of Sci Fi, but it is here with us now with companies like Layar, Total immersion and others. It is becoming increasingly popular. My friends in media and advertising love the cool technology with cyborg fantasies of playing ‘terminator’!
I have been following the AR space and hence was curious to receive an email which spoke of a new ‘standard’ for AR from Total immersion which introduces an AR+ Logo. With regard to the logo, the press release stated the following:
The move is intended to accomplish several objectives simultaneously: educate consumers, ease application development for AR providers and their partners, allow for seamless integration with existing solutions, control quality levels across the board, and promote industry growth.
On first impressions this is indeed curious, as AR is such a compelling visual experience, I wondered why would anyone need a logo (standard) for AR. I.e. surely you can recognize AR by ‘looking at it’.
The answer it seems may be complex. I.e. there are two ways to engage with augmented reality:
The first method, used by total immersion, requires ‘augmented’ objects to be identified by an AR Logo which signals to users that more information is available. As per their site, the idea would work particularly well in amusement parks:
Create extraordinary worlds where virtual creatures come to life in real environments and bring your guests to the next level of magic with the first Augmented Reality Dark Ride in the world!
An alternate implementation, which is used by Layar, is that the product itself is an AR browser. Augmentation is accomplished through the many context elements captured (such as location) and supplemented by other Web based information sources (Wikipedia, etc). Crucially, in this case, customers are not required to ‘identify’ the object.
You just walk around like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie Terminator!
For instance, from the Layar promotional material:
What is Layar?
The Layar Reality Browser shows what is around you by displaying real time digital information on top of the real world as seen through the camera of your mobile phone. This technology is called Augmented Reality. We augment the real world as seen through your mobile phone, based on your location.
How does Layar’s Augmented Reality work?
The idea is simple: Layar works by using a combination of the mobile phone’s camera, compass and GPS data to identify the user’s location and field of view, retrieve data based on those geographical coordinates, and overlay that data over the camera view.
Thus, these are two separate requirements.
In the case of a browser, a ‘logo’ is as such not required.
Nevertheless, this space is one to watch. Any comments/insights on this welcome on any forthcoming initiatives on standardization in this space
