Augmented reality – because the real world is average

Augmented reality is the hottest thing since sliced bread. (What came before sliced bread is anyone’s guess.) Simply put, augmented reality (AR) refers to software that superimposes computer-generated virtual imagery onto real-world images. Thus, reality is ‘augmented’ with digital information. You know the Head-Up Displays fighter pilots have? That’s augmented reality. Unfortunately we civilians have to make do with Apple iPhones, but that’s the next best thing.



Augmented reality has been around since the 1990s in basic forms – for example, when you are watching sport and overlays display information about NASCAR drivers or show you the angle at which a cricket ball has been bowled. Although augmented reality can manifest itself on devices like head-mounted displays (such as the EyeTap) and virtual retinal displays (think TV screens meet contact lenses), it has become most popular on smartphones with powerful processors and built-in video cameras. There are many free software applications that allow people to create their own augmented reality programmes and this is also driving AR’s popularity.

At the moment the iPhone and Android are leading the mainstream augmented reality revolution. The iPhone features Layar, the first augmented reality browser. When used with the iPhone’s compass, it works out where you are and in which direction you’re pointing the phone and gives you a ‘radar map’ of information superimposed on a picture taken of the scene. It will supply you with Wikipedia information, Flicker photos, Google searches and videos. Similarly, the Yelp iPhone application displays ratings as soon as you point your camera at a restaurant. Soon it will be commonplace to do the same thing for people - point your camera at someone and Facebook, Twitter and other social networking information will be displayed above their heads. Such software has been successfully demonstrated earlier this year.

There are hundreds of possible uses for augmented reality. Most involve navigation, sightseeing and entertainment. For instance, Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union in the United States has created an augmented reality application for the iPhone, which allows people to visually locate every single ATM in the country. They simply switch on their camera, scan the horizon and the nearest ATMs are marked out. But the application also shows which ATMs are free and which ones charge a fee. The new tool only came out this year and is still a work in progress but will soon be available on Android phones as well.

Another useful possibility is to make complex tasks easy. The US military is working on a system called Armar (Augmented Reality for Maintenance and Repair) that superimposes technical information on a head-up display. So in theory you could don Amrar goggles that would show you how to take your car apart and put it back together again.


Augmented reality technology is permeating into all aspects of society, especially through the use of barcodes. The living Sasquatch (bigfoot) is a 3D creation that will appear in your browser once you print out certain shapes and shoot them with your mobile video camera. Placing different shapes before your lens will make the Sasquatch perform different actions like kicking and punching. A similar concept can be found in Topps Virtual Playing Cards - when you hold the card under your webcam, a 3D virtual character appears over it on your computer screen. You can now even get augmented reality business cards that, once linked to the Internet via a camera, show your details and play video or sound clips.


This barcode-type system of augmented reality is becoming increasingly popular, especially in the print media. London Fashion Week and Grazia fashion magazines have added barcodes that reveal product information when viewed through a webcam. Carton Publishing is working on a book that will cause dinosaurs to leap out of the pages when viewed through a webcam. Esquire and Wallpaper magazines have produced augmented reality editions with videos and animation.


Even clothes are getting augmented reality barcodes – Adidas and Cassette Playa are notable examples. Many companies are using AR as a marketing gimmick - Ray-Ban has created a Virtual Mirror that allows people to model sunglasses via the Internet without actually wearing them. You upload your video and Ray-Ban automatically puts sunglasses on your digital reflection.

But what of the future? Every day people are finding new uses for AR, especially as anyone can create their own AR programme. Very soon we might go around wearing iGoggles that superimpose all the information (and more) currently on the iPhone directly onto what we’re looking at. We’ll also be able to transform things we look at - make fat people look thin or have a device that plays background music in response to our environment - just like a movie. However, this is called mediated (modified) reality and is different from augmented reality. But that’s another story for another time in the future.