Augmented Reality

February 27, 2009

Imagine being able to download information from the Internet continuously and have it appear not on a computer screen or handheld device but on your eyeglasses or  contact lenses or perhaps to an artificial corneal implant, so that it would appear in your field of vision.

And visualize that information being automatically tagged to places, objects and people around you. And I don’t mean a fake virtual environment, either. You would be looking at the real world, except that it would be better — more detailed, more nuanced, revealing more than your eyes normally perceive. I’m talking about a technology called augmented reality, in which computer-generated text and graphics are integrated into real-world environments.

Augmented reality would have a truly mind-blowing range of potential applications.

You’d never need to scrutinize a road map or consult the GPS on your dashboard again, because the streets themselves would be tagged with arrows or icons telling you where to go.

 You’d never have to worry about being unable to connect a face with a name, either, because if AR is combined with personal RFID tags or facial recognition software, a name and capsule biography would pop up above every person you encounter.

Conceivably, you might be able to “see” inside buildings and objects or underneath them, thanks to maps or schematics that would be projected over the real thing. Imagine a surgeon being able to see through an organ, for example before making an incision.

Similarly, soldiers on future battlefields might be able to spot hidden snipers, land mines or houses containing civilians, thanks to data being transmitted to their eyeballs by drone aircraft or reconnaissance satellites. 

Even putting together a piece of furniture from IKEA would become simpler, since pop-up numbers and arrows would guide you in assembling the parts.

Alas, the downsides aren’t too hard to visualize, either.

Information overload already is an enormous problem in our multitasking culture, and an onslaught of data about everything we see might further shrink our attention span and overtax our ability to distinguish between genuinely useful insights and the brain’s version of kudzu.

Beyond that, augmented reality would only be as good as the quality of the information it downloads and displays.

The  roots of AR probably date back to Ivan Sutherland, better known as the father of computer graphics, who in the late 1960s developed a head-mounted display that could immerse its wearer into a 3-D virtual environment.

In a 1965 paper entitled “The Ultimate Display,” Sutherland envisioned computers controlled by the movements of the human eye, and the blending of computer graphics and human vision to do things such as rendering solid objects transparent. (Sutherland went so far as to imagine computer graphics so sophisticated that they could actually alter the material world, such as an image of handcuffs that would contain a person’s wrists for real. But we’ll leave that for a future discussion.) 

In the early 2000s, Columbia University researchers developed a mobile AR rig  — 26 pounds of equipment, including a wearable dish antenna for receiving data — that enabled a wearer to gaze through special eyeglasses at nearby Tom’s Restaurant  and perceive a pop-up graphic informing him or her that it was the diner in the TV series Seinfeld.  Since then, the University of Washington's Human Interface Technology Lab has developed a software program that enables AR to continually reorient itself to a user’s changing position. And the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is hoping to move AR beyond the limitations of bulky headgear by developing AR-enabled contact lenses.

So what do you think? Does augmented reality sound great? Or is the un-augmented world already too information-saturated for you? Express your opinion below.

Comments

[Squeaky]

You're right. This is even weirder than the last one.

[Oobio]

Ian Pearson, at the time futurologist at the BBC, patented sa so called 'active-contactlense' a long time ago:

http://www.gearcrave.com/2009-02-10/ian-pearson-contact-lens-display/

[Trent Eady]

I can't help but be intrigued and repulsed by this idea at the same time. I'm much more comfortable with the idea of keeping reality distinct and separate from virtual worlds, but augmented reality technology might be inevitable.

[bzerk]

Well put, sir.

[Thomas Wrobel]

Augmented Reality is absolutely and totaly a wonderfull thing for humanity, because it means we can shift away from materialism. Anything we dont need to touch or feel can be replaced with a virtual version.
Sure, you still need a headset, which will basicaly cost the same enviromentaly and economicaly as a laptop, but thats 1 device vs potentialy millions of things it could replace.

Moreso, as I think after one whole generation is brought up in an AR world, they would stop valueing image and fashion autogether.
It would be the ultimate victory of function over form.

When you can make anything look like anything else....why would ever you pay merely for looks?

-

I dont see whats to be scared of either, simply keep your AR specs at 90% opacity, and you could then always clearly see the difference between the real and the virtual if your worried about that.

[Ori Inbar]

Nobody can stop augmented reality from happening. It is too good for humanity. In fact it's a step towards making us super humans: extending our powers by injecting the world's information into our personal field of view - in a relevant way.

And as my friend Thomas says - it's not even for us (old school folks) but for the next generation - digital natives - to take full advantage of it. For them there is no such thing as "too information-saturated"...

If you're interested in more about ar - join me in my pursuit of the ultimate augmented reality experience at:
http://gamesalfresco.com

[Caffeine Driven Stress Magnet]

I don't know if I could handle having all that additional input. I think my brain might crash.

[Manny]

This reminds me of how the world looked to Robocop.

[Mr. Science]

Ian Pearson came up with the idea for putting a computer display in a contact lens back in 1990 or so, but he didn't actually create such a lens. In 2008, researchers at the University of Washington succeeded in putting an LED array into a lens (with a different design than Pearson's.) Creating a working contact lens display, though, will still require some technical obstacles to be overcome.

>

http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Articles/2008/01/30/43036/contact-lens-led-array-aims-for-in-eye-display.htm

[Kain]

This is progress. You dont hear kids talking about information overload because we are shaped by what we had while growing up. It wont seem that big of a deal to the next generation. Besides you can always increase the transparency or turn it off for a while. Bringing up the fact that people might lose themselves in it shouldnt put anyone off. There will always be a cerain amount of people who reject reality and lose themselves in something.

[James Kennedy]

this idea seems very dangerous to me. there are several unanswered questions that we must face, would you be able to go to another part of the world as a form of instant travel while going nowhere and if so would that be through the internet on some level. the reason that i would like to point out this aspect is that if our senses became "devices" on the internet then what would happen when a government or individuals hack into that system and then put people in a pure nightmare that they cannot escape... something to consider about this one... also, the part that mentioned an information overload concerns me. people are already experiencing stress related illnesses enough so what effect would this over taxing of an already over loaded brain have on the short term and long term health of the nation?

[Patrick Kiger]

James, you raise some very valid concerns. If people were to become dependent upon augmented reality, the potential problem of hackers interfering with or hijacking the flow of information from the Internet or from RFID transmitters would be a serious one. On the other hand, future versions of the Internet are likely to be more secure than what we have now.

[Arnold Fan]

In the Terminator movies, T1 has augmented reality. His field of vision has tons of data superimposed upon whatever he's looking at.

[Speed Racer]

I think augmented reality would be a major distraction to drivers. If you're reading all that stuff on your eyeball, how can you be watching for pedestrians and other cars?

[Trent Eady]

I just found a TED Talk about an augmented reality product that simply projects information onto surfaces in front of you, rather than taking the much more complex route of implanting it into your stream of visual information: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ-VjUKAsao

[Patrick Kiger]

Interesting. Thanks, Trent.

[ChrisPy]

This reminds me of Wall-e. All the people completely dependent on their little screens on their little chairs... I personally would love that, thought not to the extreme the movie showed. It would be very useful, and as someone said earlier, you can always take off the glasses or take out the contacts; which is why I do NOT like the idea of implanting it in your eyes. That just makes people a bit too dependent on it, and, as with everything, moderation of AR will be the difference between Wall-E's world and the world of 3rd Earth in the Pendragon series by D.J. McHale

[Adam Bow]

I think AR presents many different opportunities and implications, especially looking at the utilitarian purposes including modeling, networking, communicating and storing of information. But looking simply at the consumer level AR presents a mulitude of beneficial capabilities including being able to tag real world objects for more information - imagine having a drop down screen of the Grand Canyon with all kinds of facts or having the ability to tag your favorite restaurant with personal notes and data. Now bring in a community element where you can share this rich data with friends and family and collaborate with other networks. Essentially you have the ability to bring social functionality/features to everyday interactions you normally do not have time to tag on the 2.0 (current) infrastructure.

[kerry]

We're already in AR! Christ, I just walked through Times Square. There's no question we'll get something on our bodies though... it will sometimes be great, and sometimes it will be... more Times Square.
If we put billboards all over our countryside, I think there's no question people will be willing to wear special sunglasses that do the same thing. And it will be better. Maybe we can take the billboards down finally.
I mean, have you been to Times Square?

[Totti]

Sie wollen einfach nur jung und dynamisch aussehen und sich dabei besser fühlen? Dann besuchen sie unseren Onlineshop auf www.go.sturvs.com/Dy4.
Wir haben die Lösung! Auf dem folgendem Link kommen Sie direkt auf unseren
Onlinestore. Dort erfahren Sie unter anderem mehr über das Thema Sport und gesundes Leben.

Zahlreiche Produkte stehen für Sie bereit, die Sie sich mit Hilfe professioneller Beratung rezeptfrei zukommen lassen können, für effektives abnehmen.

Also nicht vergessen http://www.go.sturvs.com/Dy4!!!
Wir bringen sie zu Ihrem Erfolg!

[Christian Behrens]

Erektionsschwäche, Potenzprobleme oder einfach nur Lust auf noch mehr sexuelle Power? Hier erfahren Sie, wie Sie ihre sexuelle Lust,Potenz und
Erektionsfähigkeit schnell und dauerhaft steigern können!

Bestellen Sie noch heute! Viagra, das Original unter www.steroide-shop.com

http://www.steroide-shop.com www.steroide-shop.com

[www.send-seeds.com]

Hanfsamenkauf ist eine Frage des Vertrauens. Wir bieten faire Preise, schnelle Lieferung und hohe Qualität.
Mit weit über 1000 verschiedenen Samen aus aller Welt. Entdecken Sie unsere große Auswahl.
Es ist so leicht, dass Sie es selbst nicht glauben werden.
Bestellen Sie Ihren Samen jetzt bei www.send-seeds.com

[Air Jordan 13]

He has made his weapons his gods.
When his weapons win he is defeated himself. O(∩_∩)O~

[Mahem]

"personal RFID tags or facial recognition software"....

that sounds so scary,where will we stop

[testosteronkaufen]

das ist wirklich interessant,aber ich dachte es geht hier um testosteron kaufen, was für eine verwirrung