Augmented Reality Provides a Clear View of Mobile’s Future
It’s somewhat of a buzzkill when so many of mobile technology’s advancements continue to be solely for sales and marketing purposes. In the world of Raspberry Pi’s that teach children how to code or 3D printing expanding into the medical field to generate limbs and organs, many of mobile’s headline grabbing advancements seem to be related to generating ad revenue or providing ways shoppers can compare prices via retailer apps.
Despite getting a slow start a few years ago with its use somewhat restricted to mobile gaming, augmented reality has recently become a lightning rod in the media, thanks to its expansion into wearable technology from both Google and Microsoft—and even automobiles.
The driving force behind many of those accelerating AR into being the next big thing is the desire to not just increase other companies’ sales but the arguably more noble desire to provide information, instantly.
It’s the instantly that will ultimately make AR successful. The technology’s predecessor, the QR code, provided information relatively fast—a couple of years ago. But by today’s standards, having to scan a barcode and wait for an app, Facebook page, or website to open is an eternity.
Smaller scale (for now) AR apps like Findery enable those with a mobile device to simply point their camera at ever-increasing numbers of objects and landmarks to receive Wikipedia-style information about what they're seeing, or even owners’ manuals when the camera is pointed at perhaps a new electronic device.
IEEE Spectrum recently spoke with AR programmer BC “Heavy” Biermann, who is using the emerging technology to explore "the negative effects of advertising in public spaces.” Biermann’s creation superimposes vibrant and interactive art over commercial ads, like those that appear on the enormous billboards in Times Square in New York City
While Biermann’s project does require a smartphone or tablet, he sees the future and knows what’s coming. “The hardware needs to catch up to the software. Until AR can happen in glasses, it’s not a seamless experience.”
As quickly as we outgrew QR codes and countless other formerly popular technologies, the smartphones and tablets that we currently can’t seem to live without will probably start to feel a little cumbersome—any day now.
