The Big Picture of Augmented Reality
by Fred Roed on 19/05/11 at 1:37 pm
1 comment
While tablet computing may in future transform the whole computer industry, it is already changing the way we look at augmented reality. And this is not only because of the big display. More devices for multiple OS platforms (not just iPad) are expected to appear on the market, equipped with advanced sensors such as high-resolution cameras.
We’ve spoken about Augmented Reality before here in South Africa, but data has always been prohibitive to successful implementation. The cost of data roaming is likely to drop and considering the millions of people expected to buy such a device in the next few years, there are incentives enough for optimizing augmented reality (AR) tablet software and to start creating really useful and fascinating applications taking full advantage of the promising, new capabilities.
Almost every major hardware original equipment manufacturer (OEM) has released a tablet or is planning to release one soon. The 2011 forecast by analysts at Goldmannn Sachs predicts 21 million people to buy a tablet rather than a laptop. They also expect the iPad to make more money for Apple this year than its entire Mac division. And also the other stakeholders – content providers, operating system and application developers, marketers or chipset manufacturers – are fully embracing those always-on, mobile and easy-to-use multi-talents.
Many AR agencies see tablets as a perfect enabler for augmented reality. With useful application scenarios connecting real world objects with digital world displays at a single finger tap, this technology could drive the demand for tablets even further.
Augmented Reality may drive business – everywhere
According to California-based AR agency, metaio, Augmented Reality is more than a marketing gimmick or hype, it´s actually an interface revolution. metaio believes pointing a camera equipped mobile device towards an object and getting instant, context sensitive information about it, will change how we access, understand and enjoy digital information in the future, especially at home and in the office. Of course that is where tablets will be used most of the time. Need to know how to set up and connect a digital receiver to your TV? Just point your tablet at the device and see a step-by-step virtual guide displayed on top of it. Or you want to know more about a consumer product in your home. Again, point your tablet to receive further nutritional information or get access to related products in your favorite online store. Mobile AR on tablets will connect E-Commerce to objects in your home, insert comments from social networks into the real world, impact service and maintenance, tourism, education, advertising or gaming. The real world around the user becomes the stage on which he will be able to intuitively interact with related virtual information. However, in order to make the digitally enhanced experience a completely natural one, hardware and software have to fulfill essential requirements.
Hardware and software now are AR ready
The Motorola Xoom is the first tablet to arrive with Android 3.0, the Google operating system designed for tablet devices. Also iOS has been optimized for the ipad2. The extreme light weight, the multiple sensors such as compass or GPS, the large screen and perfectly positioned twin cameras of the new tablets make them fascinating machines. The dual core processor in these and other upcoming products represent another important feature. Because really sophisticated virtual content and interaction require a lot of computing power and really smart code for getting the best out of it. If you want to display for example rich media content triggered by printed material like newspapers or magazines, you need to recognize the object, process the image and render the content into the video stream tightly connected to the original image. By capturing the object on one core and by handling tracking (recognition and initialization) on the other core, performance and user experience will be so much better.
It will be interesting to see how brands evolve their thinking around AR, and whether it can make the progression from cheapish gimmick to serious service.
Fred Roed is the marketing guy in the Ideate crew. Fred is the CEO of web marketing company World Wide Creative and the co-founder of online learning portal Heavy Chef. Fred loves writing about people out there doing marketing right. Follow Fred on Twitter here. View more articles by Fred Roed.
Augmented reality, a ‘leapfrog’ opportunity for Africa that hinges on 3G » oAfrica
Nov 2nd, 2011
[...] Fred Roed of Ideate points out, the tablet will be a major driver in AR adoption. People are seeking to interact with data more [...]