Lester Maddan, Augmented Planet
http://www.augmentedplanet.com/
AR is a collection of technologies that can be used together in certain ways to produce what we call augmented reality. Virtual reality was about entering a computer-generated world, isolated from physical reality. AR is about bridging that gap.
AR provides an immersive experience. You have a phone in your picket, it recognises where you are and starts to give you an audio tour. If you stand still, that suggests you are interested, so it carries on.
A barcode can be thought of as an early form of augmented reality, interacting with print through technology. After barcodes we had QR codes, and Microsoft tags.
Markers are high-contrast images that enable tracking and are used for 3D. The computer picks up where it is in relation to the marker, and also your orientation to the marker. You cannot add markers retrospectively.
Natural feature tracking allows you to overlay 3D graphics. Software picks out high-contrast areas of an image and builds an image map that is uploaded to a server. The machine then looks for matches. Natural markers can be applied to most things, and can be applied retrospectively.
Markerless AR uses the camera to provide context and also uses information from the GPS accelerometer and other sensors for location. It can, for example, track where you are in relation to the white line in the road, or the car in front.
Other techniques are object recognition and face recognition. Both Google and Apple are investing in face recognition. An app could recognise someone’s face and then display their social profile.
Demos of some augmented reality apps developed using ‘String’ http://www.poweredbystring.com/showcase
Scrawl lets you do 3D drawing in augmented reality
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRM68MiEixU
Interact with NASA spacecraft in AR
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/spacecraft-3d/id541089908?mt=8
The Google Goggles app lets you do visual search – for example, it will identify a famous building or picture – or give you reviews of a bottle of wine based on its label
http://www.google.com/mobile/goggles/
Aurasma is a visual browser
http://www.aurasma.com/