“You’re walking down the street, looking for a good place to eat. You hold up your cell phone and use it like the viewfinder on a camera, so the screen shows what’s in front of you. But it also shows things you couldn’t see before: Brightly colored markers indicating nearby restaurants and bars,” Rachel Metz reports for The Associated Press.
“Turn a corner, and the markers reflect the new scene. Click a marker for a restaurant, and you can see customer reviews and price information. Decide you’d rather be sightseeing? The indicators are easily changed to give information about the buildings you’re passing. This computer-enhanced view of the world is not just available to cyborgs in science-fiction movies. Increasingly it can be found on cell phones, for free or on the cheap, through programs that provide ‘augmented reality,'” Metz reports. “These applications take advantage of the phones’ GPS and compass features and access to high-speed wireless networks to mash up super-local Web content with the world that surrounds you.”
Metz reports. “That means you can see available apartments on the block you’re moseying down. You can view photos other people have taken at the park you’re passing, or find the nearest bus stop or hotel room — all by just holding your phone up and peering at its screen.”
“The iPhone became augmented-reality- friendly with the compass that debuted in June on the iPhone 3GS. Apple also recently joined Google in making it possible for software developers to overlay images on the phone’s camera view,” Metz reports. “In the next few years we might see everything from augmented reality video games to museum guide services that recognize paintings and can pull up videos showing the artist at work.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: Some “augmented reality” apps for Apple’s iPhone 3GS include:
• Pocket Universe: Virtual Sky Astronomy (US$2.99)
• Yelp with Monocle (free)
• Cyclopedia (US$1.99)
Search Apple’s iTunes App Store for “augmented reality” to find more apps.
I can see this being really popular, then getting over saturated as anything and everything gets added and you have to turn stuff on and off (like all the layers on google earth) then people will get bored of it, then it will experience a resurgence and become useful.
I used the ‘Red Laser’ app to compare prices yesterday, it saved me more than the cost of the app. Magic!!
@M.X.N.T.4.1.
Agreed. I can already see the spam entries blocking out all the meaningful information.
“Apple also recently joined Google in making it possible for software developers to overlay images on the phone’s camera view.”
Yes, clearly Apple & Google’s relationship is getting worse and worse.
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@HMCIV
But they could easily split up again!
get the Yelp app on your iPhone 3GS – shake it three times, up comes Monocle
http://video.gearlive.com/video/article/q309-316-yelp-monocle-augmented-reality/
lightweight glasses that wirelessly interpret hand signals and display HUD info as it wirelessly communicates with your iphone.
There is another augmented reality app that helps you find your car. I believe it’s called “cAR Locator”. Nothing special but it puts another twist on finding your car in large parking lots.
I haven’t bought it, but saw it online somewhere.
Can it use Faces to identify known prostitutes?
the yelp monocle technology is really cool. unfortunately it is attached to a bunch of sh*t for brains reviews. you are much better calling a friend for advice or reading something like eater, seriouseats, menuraves, zagat, etc.
I thought there was an article in the NYTs, recently, of an augmented reality app for architecture. You stand somewhere in NYC, and hold up your iPhone, and they show you what the city would have looked like if some historically immense project had been built.
Okay, found it, just a few days ago:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/an-iphone-app-to-tour-the-city-that-never-was/
Need to use your phone screen to identify the yuppie aliens from “They Live”? There’s an app for that.
“Using your Apple iPhone to ‘augment reality’”
Yes, I find the crystal glass to be as hard as a mirror.
Did someone say crystal…?
This sounds like a good way to mark yourself as a tourist waiting to be mugged of your iPhone.
Augmented reality sounds lame.
Why not just call it a HUD- heads up display? That’s what it does. Overlays info onto a the view in front of the user.
bionic eye is a very cool AR app
I can see a wireless accessory like sunglasses where there is a digital screen overlay, which connects to your phone and gives you the augmented reality. It will tell you how long before a bus arrives, where it is going, a route indicator for cities, so you don’t have to look at a screen with GPS, and of course restaurant menus and reviews. This will be so awesome!
Isn’t “augmented reality” a new porn genre?