Oh no! ): I didn’t fulfill the statement where I said that I’d blog about augmented reality & continuous partial attention on Friday! Thousand apologies, was caught up with lots of stuff and my computer couldn’t start-up for some reason.
I’m supposed to be doing my school work but I’ve my TweetDeck, MSN Messenger turned on, trying very hard to keep on top of everything.
That’s continuous partial attention. Not multitasking. Multitasking is like watching the television while eating. Simple? Lol.
Now let’s go straight to augmented reality. Fasten your seat belts. On the count of 3, 2, 1…WELCOME TO MY POST ON AUGMENTED REALITY! *throws confetti* (lame)
According to Wiki:
Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are merged with (or augmented by) virtual computer-generated imagery – creating a mixed reality. The augmentation is conventionally in real-time and in semantic context with environmental elements, like for example 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 usable. Artificial information about the environment and the objects in it can be stored and retrieved as an information layer on top of the real world view.
And currently, the world’s first augmented reality browser is called Layar, available for handsets with the Android operating system (the G1 and HTC Magic).
Get it? Of course you don’t really get it, haha. Let me explain it in basic human language.
You have a phone. A smart phone.
It comes with a software which is smarter than Google Maps.
You’re at Holland Village, looking for 5-star Ipoh Hor Fun.
However, there are tons of shops/restaurants and you don’t know which is the exact one you are looking for.
AND SO! You whipped out your genius phone. And turned on the augmented reality browser.
The application automatically activates the camera. The embedded GPS automatically knows the location of the phone and the compass determines in which direction the phone is facing.
As you place your phone over the location you’re at, you’re able to see what each shop sells, its reviews, ratings, etc.
No worries if you’re lost too. With this, they’d be able to tell you your exact location and addresses of the nearby buildings.
Cool much?
If you still don’t get it, just watch this video:
I’m so looking forward to this. Even though, with this technology, it’s easier for people to track your whereabouts. But so what? We all gotta pay a price for everything: Using our privacy to buy convenience.
