What is Augmented Reality?

It’s really an old idea
Think “Terminator vision”

Once thought to require silly
hats Call this “head’s up” augmented reality.

But, for now, this will
do fine

Bringing down all the resources
of the internet out of cyberspace and into ubiquitous reality Flickr: c@rljones Mobile phones are like the billion roofing nails that tie the cloud down to earth.

Just like ordinary reality Flickr:
wvs

Only more so Flickr: wvs

Why is this important

Augmented reality finishes what the
internet started

Internet 1.0 (1995-1999) was all
about the great disruptive promise of the “cyberspace” and “online shopping” Internet 2.0 (2005-2009) was the 10 years it took to really figure out what to do with it: USG, rich web apps, social media Augmented Reality (2008…) is where mobile technology and wireless broadband make the internet finaly ubiquitous. And inescapable.

By this measure you could
say there are many “augmented reality” apps already The other day, my dad googled a small duck. This augmented his reality. Call this “head’s down” AR

Broadly, what are the effects
of Augmented Reality? <ul><li>Increased transparency </li></ul><ul><li>Reduced privacy </li></ul><ul><li>Timely access to information </li></ul><ul><li>Constant access to entertainment </li></ul><ul><li>Marketers can’t keep using the same old tricks </li></ul><ul><li>In theory, anyone can easily know everything there is to know anything or anyone anywhere they are. </li></ul>

Design implications <ul><li>Assume connectivity is
always on </li></ul><ul><li>Except when there are glitches </li></ul><ul><li>Except for caching, storing anything locally is dumb </li></ul><ul><li>The cloud is the computer </li></ul>

Flickr: Jamais Cascio But back
to terminator vision

Senkai Camera Cool app. Maybe
this will be the “apple newton” of pure AR

Kweekies 3D game projected into
realspace through your phone screen

Terminator Vision +

+ Ordinary Reality

= Augmented Reality

Shopsavvy

“ Amazon declares war on
retailers” Shop savvy, Amazon mobile app etc: these are a Retailers worst nightmare

Idee Inc., image recognition search
on an iPhone

Social Augmented reality

Social Augmented Reality <ul><li>The knowledge
of joining a crowd and knowing: </li></ul><ul><li>Who do I know here? </li></ul><ul><li>Where do I know them from? </li></ul><ul><li>Who should I get to know? </li></ul><ul><li>Who here is single? </li></ul><ul><li>Are there any naked pictures of them on the internet? </li></ul>

There will be many layers
of reality Not everyone wants to live in the Youtube comment section of reality

Marketing gimmicks

Choose your context, choose your
data sets

Good realities / Bad realities
Who are we to judge?

Marshal McLuhan

Mobile phone <ul><li>Enhances: Voice, conversation
</li></ul><ul><li>Retrieves: Spoken word, direct conversation </li></ul><ul><li>Reverses: Video, picture, text messaging, Augmented reality </li></ul><ul><li>Obsolesces: Public payphones, wrist watches, land lines, leaving notes, advance planning </li></ul>

Mobile + Augmented Reality <ul><li>Enhances:
Awareness, tacit knowledge, wisdom </li></ul><ul><li>Retrieves: Written word, gestures, lore, gossip </li></ul><ul><li>Reverses: “batman vision” </li></ul><ul><li>Obsolesces: Desktop web, Newspapers, ipods, departments stores, guidebooks, paper maps, paperbacks, magazines, local storage, phone numbers, MSWindows </li></ul>

What is still holding us
back? Mobile Processing power Some of these apps running <10fps Screen size Are small relative to the world Human limitations: eyesight, thumb width Serious interaction problem for many demographics GPS locating speed Waiting…. Waiting… ah fuck it Network bandwidth/latency 400ms pings are not so responsive Tools/APIs Just emerging Battery Power This stuff devours batteries Installed base Smartphones not ubiquitous yet Fragmented mobile platforms Going to be with us a while M-commerce & monetization Buying real stuff is hard

What is getting better? Mobile
Processing power Moore’s inexorable law Screen size Tablets, new tech foldable/rollable? Human limitations: eyesight, thumb width Better touch interfaces, natural gestures GPS locating speed AGPS, other cues e.g. wifi Network bandwidth/latency 4G/LTE brings better speed/latency Tools/APIs Will come Battery Power Moore’s law brings efficiencies Installed base >50% by 2012 Fragmented mobile platforms Ultimately the browser may displace native apps M-commerce & monetization We’re working on it

Near Future Tipping points <ul><li>iPhone
3.0 expected capabilities: </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Faster processor (the current one is unchanged from 2007) </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Video capabilities </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Where the iPhone goes the interactive design geeks follow </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Androids everywhere </li></ul><ul><ul><li>More mobile brands launching android soon </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Waiting for the deluge of Chinese off-brand </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Future blackberries (go Canada) </li></ul><ul><ul><li>May bring corporate/enterprise killer apps </li></ul></ul>

Who really becomes empowered?

Who also becomes empowered?

Who benefits from augmented reality?
Brands Consumers State Control Opposition Police Criminals Developed world Developing world The center The edges Extroverts Introverts The old The young E-government E-anarchy

As a designer, you can
choose sides If you are a mobile designer, there’s no shortage of paying work ahead

When augmented reality fails (PROTIP
#71: Don’t drop Augmented reality)

The more sophisticated a technology,
the more fragile it can be <ul><li>Don’t drop augmented reality </li></ul><ul><li>I ran out of batteries so I can’t buy a coffee </li></ul><ul><li>I ran out of batteries and I can’t find my way home </li></ul><ul><li>I am meeting my blind date but she went indoors where LBS doesn’t work </li></ul><ul><li>When a government rounds up opposition based on mobile records </li></ul>

Discuss <ul><li>@tpurves </li></ul><ul><li>http://thomaspurves.com </li></ul>