Augmented+Reality

= = = What is Augmented Reality? = toc Augmented Reality is a fusion of two environments: the digital environment of information, and the actual environment of a person’s surroundings. Augmented Reality is created when digital information is superimposed on a person’s real-world view. When this blending of data and information is overlaid onto the physical surroundings, a heightened awareness of that person’s environment can be achieved. Different levels of augmentation can be created depending on what kind of information is presented. For instance, information that is more static in nature can be provided, such as when a person looks at a building and the name appears above it, to more interactive information, such as when a person looks at a restaurant and is suddenly given the opportunity to read reviews from other people who have eaten there.

Augmented Reality works by combining three elements: some kind of display, a tracking-system, and a computer or other form of hardware with which to process information. With the use of a camera to image a scene, the display shows the user their surrounding area. Meanwhile, the hardware processes information about points of interest established by location-based services. This information is presented to the user on the display, with unique features determined by the particular program or application being run.

The display can be anything from the screen of a smartphone to a type of contact lens worn over the eyes, as some have imagined. The tracking-system is what is used to establish a person’s point of reference as well as their relation to other objects. A common example is a GPS device. The computer, or hardware, is used to combine the data and blend it with the real-world view seen by the user of the AR system. One such example is the processor found in a smartphone.

What Can Augmented Reality Be Used For?
Augmented Reality has many practical as well as recreational uses. On the practical side of things, it has been proposed that business could adapt it for industries such as mining. For instance, management teams could visit a field site, look through a display, and see where ore deposits have been located and digitally marked. Recreationally, games are being developed where game boards are digitally enhanced with 3-d environments overlaid on them.

Libraries and other cultural institutions could readily adopt AR applications. A library could create an application that guides patrons around the bookshelves, identifying which sections contain particular subjects. Museums could even utilize Augmented Reality so that visitors to an art museum could obtain the same information found on the descriptive panels that accompany each piece. That way, visitors would not have to wait to get near the artwork to learn about it.

What Are Current Examples of Augmented Reality?
Acrossair is a company that makes apps for the iPhone which allows users to find detailed information about their location. For instance, their “Washington nearest Metro” helps users identify where the nearest metro station is in DC.

Furthermore, the Augmented Reality Lab at Georgia Tech has created a shooter game called “ARhrrrr!” which utilizes mobile camera phones to display an interactive game environment.

Additionally, a recently developed Augmented Reality application allows someone shelving books at a library to locate ones which are out of place and point out where they should go. For a quick video on how this works, see the following: media type="youtube" key="NgZVI630SsI" height="315" width="560"

Some ideas for other ways in which libraries can adopt Augmented Reality technology are discussed in the blog post found at the following link: @http://strangelibrarian.org/2010/01/geolocation-augmented-reality-qr-codes-libraries/

**References**
Acrossair. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2011 from @http://www.acrossair.com/default.htm

Arhrrrr! (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2011 from @http://ael.gatech.edu/lab/research/handheld-ar/arhrrrr/

Augmented reality. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2011 from @http://www.tech-faq.com/augmented-reality.html

Bonsor, K. (n.d.). How augmented reality works. Retrieved October 3, 2011 from @http://www.howstuffworks.com/augmented-reality.htm

Cassella, D. (2009, November 3). What is augmented reality (AR): Augmented reality defined, iPhone augmented reality apps and games and more. Retrieved October 3, 2011 from @http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/what-is-augmented-reality-iphone-apps-games-flash-yelp-android-ar-software-and-more/

GreySmallHorse. (2010, May 24). Augmented geotravel [Photograph]. Retrieved November 11, 2011, from @http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAugmented_GeoTravel.jpg

Strange, J. (2010, January 26). (geolocation + augmented reality + QR codes) libraries. Retrieved November 11, 2011, from @http://strangelibrarian.org/2010/01/geolocation-augmented-reality-qr-codes-libraries/

Waters, A. (2011, March 27). Awesome Augmented Reality app could save librarians hours. Retrieved November 7, 2011, from @http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/awesome_augmented_reality_app_could_save_librarian.php

Webopedia (c. 2011). Augmented reality. Retrieved October 3, 2011 from @http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/Augmented_Reality.html