RNIB College Loughborough

Augmented Reality (AR) is the term used to describe the application of technology to enhance real life situations in real time. Developments in mobile technologies are largely responsible for the increase in the pace of development of AR, with many applications already available on devices such as smartphones, through webcams, and through specially-designed ‘goggles’ or other eyewear to ‘layer’ information over a real-world scenario.

AR layers content such as text, images, video and audio content, over a real life scenario or setting to offer an enhanced user experience of a real experience. Unlike virtual reality (VR) which takes place entirely in computer generated spaces/artificial environments, AR takes place in real life.

Typically the information is displayed either on a mobile phone screen, projected onto a display/screen, viewed on a computer screen, or viewed through the lenses of a display unit worn in front of the users eyes.

◦ Movies CGI ◦ Games industry◦ Sports, Swimming world record line and field

events world record lines◦ Head up displays in military vehicles, now in road

cars◦ Advertising/marketing◦ Publishing, stamps and magazines◦ Smart phone apps

Movies Early CGI example of AR

Advertising/marketing Viral ambush marketing

Smartphone apps Find tube stations

Other uses Costumes and bodyart

AR applications on smartphones rely on a combination of the following:

Internet access (to access databases of information that provide the content for the ‘layers’ used in AR applications)

Databases of information (the information accessed that provides the additional content featured in the layer. These could be, for example, entries on Wikipedia, a video or audio file, Twitter updates, etc)

GPS (or A-GPS in the case of some smartphones) Compass (to determine the direction that the smartphone is facing) Camera (to provide the live video/image over which AR layers are added. In

more advanced applications this can also be used for image recognition features)

Accelerometer (to help determine which way the phone is being held i.e. portrait/landscape view or vertical/horizontal angle)

Location-based and navigation services Many existing AR applications are currently delivered through

smartphones. These typically focus on providing location-based information and navigation services. They include, for example, fitness apps (such as mapping routes for running, cycling, etc, for example Runkeeper), apps to help find local services (including, for example, property for sale in the local area and property sale prices), and navigation maps (for example TomTom’s navigation app for providing driving directions).

iPhone Application Rightmove

Training and maintenance Some developments are being made by research labs, commercial

organisations and the military for the use of AR ‘goggles’ to help with training and maintenance applications. For example, a research project led by Columbia University’s Computer Graphics and User Interfaces Lab has developed head-worn visual displays to help mechanics in the US military with routine repair tasks. Likewise, car manufacturer BMW are also leading research into similar technology for providing enhanced information to car mechanics. It should also be noted that one of the earliest real-life applications of augmented reality can be seen in the use of heads up display (HUD) units in military aviation.

In the case of Columbia University’s innovation and BMW’s application the mechanic wears a pair of especially designed goggles that have a camera built into them and a visual display in the lenses. The camera captures the image in front of it, for example the engine or a car or airplane, and the mechanic views enhanced information and instructions on the actual lens helping them to identify and fix routine problems.

From Iron Man II film a vision of what to expect

Gaming As a sizeable industry, it is no surprise that video gaming is one area in

which we are also seeing developments in AR experiences. One notable example effectively combines marketing and gaming. Early in 2010 sportswear manufacturer Adidas launched a special edition running shoe in the US as part of the Originals range of footwear. Each shoe in the special edition range includes an AR code on the tongue which when held up against a webcam turns the shoe into a video game controller. Other examples use smartphones

Entertainment Esquire magazine are perhaps most responsible for demonstrating the

mainstream potential of AR for entertainment purposes. The December 2009 edition of the magazine was published as a specific Augmented Reality issue. By using AR markers throughout the issue, including on the front page, readers could hold the magazine up to their computer webcams to watch enhanced multimedia content online corresponding to particular articles and features. Quick response (QR) codes – essentially a two-dimensional bar code – are also being used in similar ways to enhance print publications with multimedia content. QR codes have been used widely in Asia for information sharing and marketing and are now becoming more recognised in the West too.

Advertising and marketing Perhaps the most ‘gimmicky’ application of AR is its use for advertising and

marketing. This is currently done either through AR markers or QR codes on posters, display units, or the actual product itself being sold. The customer either scans the code with their mobile phone which in turn provides them with a multimedia experience (link to a website, video or audio content), or they hold the marker on the product up to their computer’s webcam for to activate an enhanced online information (similar to the use in Esquire magazine’s QR edition, see above).

Esquire Magazine AR issue

An example of this is Lego’s use of this in store to sell their products. A customer can hold up the product box to the camera on an in-store kiosk, and on the screen in front of them they will see themselves holding the box in real-time, but with an image of the finished Lego product layered over the top of the image and box. As they move the box, so to the image of the finished product moves and rotate. In this case, the box itself acts as the AR marker. Customers can also now replicate this experience at home by printing off AR markers for particular products and holding them up to their webcams to view an image of the product. In this image a customer holds up a Lego box to a camera on an in-store booth and the graphic image of the finished Lego product is displayed on the screen.

A personal journey with touch screen technology and hands on demonstration by Penny.

This presentation was part of the RSC East Midlands e-fair 2011“Becoming an agile learning provider” for more information and to see all the resources go to http://moodle.rsc-em.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=227