Welcome to Oslo, in the not too distant future.

For my first project "Concept Art", I will be exploring Augmented Reality, and what it will bring. How I will present this, with an image made/drawn in photoshop or a short animation is still unclear.

I still have 8 days until the deadline for this project so I should come to a decision soon.

So what is Augmented Reality?

Let's check wikipedia on the matter:

"Augmented reality (AR) is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality^[1]. By contrast, virtual reality replaces the real world with a simulated one. Augmentation is conventionally in real-time and in semantic context with environmental elements, such as sports scores on TV during a match. With the help of advanced AR technology (e.g. adding computer vision and object recognition) the information about the surrounding real world of the user becomes interactive and digitally manipulable. Artificial information about the environment and its objects can be overlaid on the real world. The term augmented reality is believed to have been coined in 1990 by Thomas Caudell, working at Boeing.^[2]
Research explores the application of computer-generated imagery in live-video streams as a way to enhance the perception of the real world. AR technology includes head-mounted displays and virtual retinal displays for visualization purposes, and construction of controlled environments containing sensors and actuators."- wikipedia

But this doesn't really provide a concept. The real question is, what will augmented reality be for you?

Augmented reality has for a long time been connected to science-fiction and movies. Cool holographic gadgets of the future, using technology we will never reach in our lifetimes. But the truth is, we've had augmented reality for a long time. We have been using it for decades. But it has rarely been seen on the consumer market. Augmented reality was first seen in radar, gps, aircraft piloting and warfare.(Not surprised it was invented by Boeing).

But now we are finally starting to see it's modest beginnings on the consumer market. One example is the Nintendo 3DS, which by using cards, that are recognized by the portable console through it's camera lense, automatically starts a game which is rendered live, animated and interactive through the small monitor.

These do look like fun, but the target audience is children. So there are many possibilities not yet explored when it comes to gaming and augmented reality.

So what will Augmented Reality look like for the rest of us? And what will it bring?

For us consumers Augmented Reality will come in the shape of everyday sunglasses. But appearances can be deceiving Mr Anderson... I mean... What lies within them is the interesting part. Everything you use on a daily basis will be in that small pair of glasses. It will be a wearable computer that will combine almost every aspect of your daily life like communication, interaction, education and work. Always connected via the internet with every thinkable thing available instantly wherever you are.

I've realised that this is the shortcut to holograms we desire so much after seeing sci-fi films, that very soon won't be that sci-fi. We will reach it and surpass it like we do with all new inventions.

But first, we need to visualize it. Because augmented reality is actually very complicated. It is very hard to explain and convince someone that the technology seen in the Iron Man movie last year(or any other holographic sci-fi film for that matter) is only a few years away.

"Periodic table right here"

"Rendering periodic table, Sir" 

The technology on our cellphones have already surpassed the interface of what is seen in the movie "Minority Report". Damn right it's possible.

A new post will be up shortly.