Augmented Reality: What is it? What can it do for me?

With the release of the newest iPhone 3.0 software there has been more buzz about augmented reality and how it is going to change our lives. You may have heard the term virtual reality but augmented reality is still a bit of a newcomer on the scene. So what exactly is augmented reality?  If you’ve played any 1st person shooter video games, think head’s up display. The term augmented reality refers to overlaying images on a real time display. The images augment the reality that we are in. Point your phone’s camera at a landmark and augmented reality applications will overlay the real time image with information (address, phone number, hours of operation, historical facts) about the landmark.

This is a fascinating new technology that is still in its infancy in regards to bringing it to the masses. In fact there are very limited applications that use augmented reality and those are only on Google Android software. With the new iPhone 3GS augmented reality is becoming more popular with application developers. We’re expecting to see this technology available in applications with the iPhone 3.1 software release (this fall).

Developers are having a field day with creating apps with this new technology. Some examples are the New York Nearest Subway app created by AcrossAir. With this app you can view all of the nearest subway lines on your iphone by simply pointing your phone in various directions. There are some pretty spectacular videos out there with prototypes of ways augmented reality can be used. With augmented reality we are getting closer to making what once was science fiction and only seen in movies about the future, a true reality.