OK, so following my last two posts the question has been asked, or at least the point made, that it’s interesting but what is AR?
I thought this would have been clear? Perhaps clicking on a few of the links would elaborate, but for those who are a little click shy and just like reading my blog, yes all three of you, here is an attempt to put AR in a nutshell. It’s probably a big nut.

So what is AR?

AR stands for augmented reality. AR is the term used to describe the combination of the real and the virtual worlds. It is essentially information superimposed or augmented in some way with a real world environment, often using camera technology, but sometimes that real world might be a map or other application. It is about combining information to useful effect, some applications being developed are clearly more useful than others, some are purely playful. But does playtime not qualify as useful? I think it does.For instance the recent BMW adverts, where the Z4 drives around on a white canvass leaving blue and yellow tyre tracks, creating an abstract work of art reminiscent of a Jackson Pollock. This is on the face of it just fun, nothing more, apart from exercising a point about the adept control of the vehicle maybe, a work of art in itself perhaps? I can’t see any other point. It is one of those adverts that left me wondering, what it is on about? A bit like the Cadbury’s chocolate ads which are another topic altogether but essentially about passion, enjoyment, indulgence and seek to do nothing more than explore this subject area and capitalise on the massive potential of the viral nature of the work. Just search youtube for copycat ads, you’ll see.

I digress again. So the Z4 ads, why the paint? Perhaps not why the paint but what else was it about? Well in my first post you will have seen the link to the online resource associated with the ad. You did click on it and give it a go right? Well if you didn’t, do it! What you will find when you have printed your symbol and hold it in front of the camera on your PC, or Mac if you know your stuff, is your very own little Z4. You can change colour, open and close the roof and a few other trick little things but thats not the half of it… start clicking on the cursor keys on your keyboard and you can drive it. Choose your paint colours and very soon you have your own Jackson Pollock forming, very cool, purely fun but good brand engagement, a clever little idea. I don’t think it is the best we will see of this type of application but its a start… the first foray.

So that is one type of AR where the camera sees a distinct symbol and based on that visual command it creates a pre programmed image or animated item which you can then interact with. I have seen this used for the cars, orbs which bounce to music, and a host of other playthings including your very own AR strippers, always an industry quick to adopt new ideas. But this type of AR is limited. You won’t always have a sysmbol to provide the information, its restrictive and a little primitive, but hey its early days.

So image recognition is the next hurdle and one which is already cleared and striding paces to the next hurdle. AR applications already exist, and yes I linked to these too, where you can point the camera at a face and, based on the online profile of that person, it will give you information about who the person is and any other information they currently share. At present I think this is limited to Flickr but it wont be long before facebook, myspace, Skype and the whole host of other profiles and information currently out there are also using this technology.

Add to this applications where image recognition looks at your physical environment and places you on a map, offering you directions to anything from coffee shops to tubes and buses. The next step is virtual tours, mapping and information related to the object in question. Links tying in to online resources and such. For instance stand at Stonehenge and appreciate the physical majesty of the structure and wonder at its purpose, a whole host of questions arise, who built it, what was it for? Well AR can help, point the camera on your iPhone, with the right app selected of course, and I am sure we are all now agreed there are no other smart phones worth pointing at it, at the stones and overlays will appear on the same screen offering information, dates, history and so on. Perhaps even related sites nearby to visit further enhancing your experience. This for me has huge potential. City tours, history tours, places of interest, replacing the audio tour sets you get at museums, holiday guides and more. I can’t wait.

Some people may think this is all a bit invasive, especially photo recognition, but it’s worth remembering the systems can only access information which has already been put up on the internet to share via other social media applications, its not reaching into new territories its simply pulling them closer. I don’t get the whole arguement with Google street view either on that note. I can fully respect peoples right to flag the image of their home and ask for it to be removed or amended if there is an offending article, but I can walk past your house and look through the window any time I like, what is the difference? Its a few photos taken at a single moment in time and used to map our world. Maybe you feel differently?

So anyway, AR… its a combination or real and virtual worlds combined into useful or playful applications. I saw a TV ad yesterday for a kids PSP game using symbol cards to generate monsters on screen, not my think but knocking on mainstream. It’s here, AR has arrived… welcome, now lets see what you can really do.