If you aren’t already familiar with augmented reality, I’m sure Hollywood has introduced you to it once or twice without you knowing it. Augmented reality is a field of computer research which seeks to combine real-world and computer-generated data in real time to enhance your experience of the present. By enhancing one’s sight with digital information, 3D objects and digital projections, what you see will always be more than meets the eye.
Realtà Aumentata – Augmented Reality from soryn on Vimeo.
When we blur the line between what is real and what is computer generated in our daily lives, the digital and the physical become one, and the world will never look the same way again. Slip on a pair of sunglasses, say a command and buildings surrounding you are labeled with business names, street addresses; they are filtered for only Chinese restaurants, ATMs or public restrooms. Forget handheld GPS units—directions will be projected in front of your every step. Temperature, time of day, chance of rain, whatever is important to your current location and your current interests will be available to you. This is science fiction, right? Perhaps but augmented reality is slowly starting to become a reality.
