Signs of things to come. Augmented reality content

singemonkey

While some people think it's still the middle ages and are occupying themselves predicting the end of the world, others see us on the brink of a brave new one. Sony has just presented the first viable "augmented reality" system.

The idea behind augmented reality is using whatever imaging gadgets you have to hand, interacting with the internet, to provide an everyday equivalent of a jet fighter's heads-up display. You point your phone at the street for example, and on the picture it's showing you icons for all the coffee shops with star ratings from your favourite review sites, for example.

Now earlier versions required a "key" in the image that the system would lock on to - making it essentially worthless. Sony's actually identifies and tracks real-world objects over which it can lay its virtual stuff. Check it out:

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/22/sonys-smartar-demoed-live-raises-the-bar-for-augmented-reality/

Bob-Dubery

Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse.

It's bad enough right now with lots of people deluding themselves that they can drive optimally with a cellphone held to one ear or, worse still, whilst they're texting up a storm.

Now we're going to have them all "driving" through fashionable areas with their blackberry scanning the street for them and them looking at a screen the size of about 4 postage stamps so they can get to the coolest coffee bar.

singemonkey

Or, in other words: "Bah! Humbug."

What I'm really looking forward to in the futuretm when we have stuff like this in glasses or whatever, will be adblock... in real life. My glasses spot adverts and replace them with images from my slideshow, or match the surrounding walls so that they completely disappear. Heaven.

Bob-Dubery

singemonkey wrote Or, in other words: "Bah! Humbug."

What I'm really looking forward to in the futuretm when we have stuff like this in glasses or whatever, will be adblock... in real life. My glasses spot adverts and replace them with images from my slideshow, or match the surrounding walls so that they completely disappear. Heaven.

Well that might work - as long as the makers include an early warning system to tell you that the wall really is there and you're about to walk into it.

Warren

Wait till they integrate this stuff with the "active contact lense", where you'll have your HUD up and running as if it was "projected" in front of you at all times!

Now you can get hotness and easyness ratings for every chick who has a Facebook account when you hit those singles bars.

aja

singemonkey wrote Or, in other words: "Bah! Humbug."

What I'm really looking forward to in the futuretm when we have stuff like this in glasses or whatever, will be adblock... in real life. My glasses spot adverts and replace them with images from my slideshow, or match the surrounding walls so that they completely disappear. Heaven.

The opposite will happen, that I promise you .

There will be even more adverts displayed on spaces that are physically impractical to advertise on in "real life".

In the same way that companies pay google to display their web page first on the results, companies will pay to have their billboards bounce in front of your augmented reality. What marketing company wouldn't pay to have their billboards follow their customers around?

singemonkey

That's old world thinking Aja. Corporates don't control your virtual space the way they can simply buy public space (in which case there's nothing you can do short of vandalism).

Adblock enables me to only see adverts on sites I choose to support. The same would be true of augmented reality. This isn't TV. You choose the content.

Bob-Dubery

Gee. You wouldn't even need to go anywhere. Just lie back (in a room or home that wouldn't need to have any aesthetic appeal at all) and just see whatever you want to see.

As we all know, if you took all the girls you knew when you were single and put them all together for one night they would NEVER match you sweet imagination.

Averatu

I'm with aja, just as you can list your destination on Google maps and street level. Real world advertising, especially below the line, is becoming harder and harder. No one reacts to pamphlets or take note of posters any more, whats the use of keeping all those crappy scraps of paper. When people need something its straight to their search engine for an instant answer, and this could be the next level.

singemonkey

Averatu wrote I'm with aja, just as you can list your destination on Google maps and street level. Real world advertising, especially below the line, is becoming harder and harder. No one reacts to pamphlets or take note of posters any more, whats the use of keeping all those crappy scraps of paper. When people need something its straight to their search engine for an instant answer, and this could be the next level.

Erm. Are there ads on google maps? I wouldn't know. I've blocked 'em all. All in all I see a lot less advertising than I did ten years ago when I used to watch tv and regularly read print newspapers. What I see is advertisers falling behind for the first time. Across the digital medium, we see what we want to see.

If augmented reality is going to sell, it's going to be because people can get their own lists. I don't want some general tourist's map info beamed onto my shades. I couldn't care less if this is the home of so-and-so of Man-u. But I might well want to know that this is where David Bowie used to live in 1967. So if it's to appeal to me, I must be able to subscribe to independent lists. Don't trust the mega site's restaurant reviews? ("The service is so great!!!! The waiter was so attentive in finding out if I was enjoying my meal I could hardly get a word of conversation in! That's real service!!!!") so I need to be able to sign up to the site that I like.

As to seeing what we want to see - ultimately yes. That does seem to be the case. You could have your system redraw every person in a police uniform as the pigs from Duke Nukem. Tastes will vary though and it'll take a long time until that stuff is as seamless appearing as reality. But I wouldn't half mind if I'm in a horrible little office in Goodwood, looking out the windows and seeing the Himalayas, you know?

In the medium term, it would be quite possible I'm sure to display things that you want others in your online community to see. Like a GFSA badge that can only be seen by GFSA members for example.

Edit: Did anyone watch the vid, btw. They show a very crude reality replacement in that.

DonovanB

Singemonkey, if you go about blocking out all advertising how will you know when a new product is created that would interest you? or the product you read about is on special and is now available at a store you don't normally frequent and have since blocked the advertising.

Then again, community or social sites would not exist if it were not for advertising, or the lure thereof. The Internet is now entertainment, much like print media was, then radio and Television. Now you see people walking around, eyes glued to their phones and iPads etc. It's the new medium.

I'd much rather block out news than advertising. At least advertising has a positive spin.

Although, advertising is my bread and butter. I love it to bits and the fact that technology is creating more space to advertise, and like you say, advertising can be better targeted to those who WANT to see it saving money with return on investment...

Jack-Flash-Jr

Donovan... Nooooo.... I stopped watching television long time ago and now CANNOT sit though any ad interrupted show, I get everything I need online - and if I am interested I search for new products, I never fall behind because I missed an ad... :?

Edit: I should add that I do use the android augmented reality camera thing every now and then, I think for travellers it may be quite useful.

singemonkey

What Jack said. I read web sites and look for products that I'm interested in. I don't need advertisers shouting in my face to know that there's a product out there I want. I seldom even read press releases. I'll wait until someone reviews the product with a certain amount of objectivity.

I'm not saying that because I'm clever or special. Adverts are untrustworthy since all claim their products are great but only a small minority are. They're frequently annoying, or cheapening. All of them are demanding of attention.

DonovanB

and what websites do you think are not punting a product?

Websites are media, just like TV, except that it isn't interruptive advertising. Tech companies send demo products to Bloggers so they can review it and say how cool it is. Sure they're not always 100 percent behind it but at least its publicity?

No matter what you do you will never avoid a marketing message, even if we think it doesn't come from the source...

singemonkey

Are you implying that all reviewers are paid to punt the products they review? In that case they're doing a poor job when they use words like, "lacklustre," or, "uninspiring."

DonovanB

No of course I'm not saying that, but most don't happen across the product by chance. They get sent it. And you can be sure that the company is listening when the reviewer has negative comments or highlights areas for improvement. ok, that doesn't ALWAYS happen but it is in most cases, especially tech products.

I'm just saying that trying to block all marketing messages is futile and that you should take everything from whence it comes. It's exactly why on this forum we ask for affiliations in the signatures...

singemonkey

Blocking all is not my plan. Turning down the torrent to a trickle, however, improves my quality of life.

deefstes

I'm with Singe 100% on this one. I would pay money for something that could buffer me from the ridiculous onslaught of advertising that the world is throwing at me. I'm not opposed to advertising in principle but I am opposed to the ludicrous levels it's reached.

Jack-Flash-Jr

I turned off adblock for sites that I regularly use and want to support (like GFSA and Reddit)... then I realised that all the sites I like are ad minimum anyway so I turned it off completely. I just don't visit sites that shove ads in my face (I consider the tv a "site" nowadays).
I don't mind that youtube plays the odd opel corsa ad but it's getting to the point where I re-direct to dailymotion if I see it.

Averatu

singemonkey wrote
Averatu wrote I'm with aja, just as you can list your destination on Google maps and street level. Real world advertising, especially below the line, is becoming harder and harder. No one reacts to pamphlets or take note of posters any more, whats the use of keeping all those crappy scraps of paper. When people need something its straight to their search engine for an instant answer, and this could be the next level.
Erm. Are there ads on google maps? I wouldn't know. I've blocked 'em all. All in all I see a lot less advertising than I did ten years ago when I used to watch tv and regularly read print newspapers. What I see is advertisers falling behind for the first time. Across the digital medium, we see what we want to see.

If augmented reality is going to sell, it's going to be because people can get their own lists. I don't want some general tourist's map info beamed onto my shades. I couldn't care less if this is the home of so-and-so of Man-u. But I might well want to know that this is where David Bowie used to live in 1967. So if it's to appeal to me, I must be able to subscribe to independent lists. Don't trust the mega site's restaurant reviews? ("The service is so great!!!! The waiter was so attentive in finding out if I was enjoying my meal I could hardly get a word of conversation in! That's real service!!!!") so I need to be able to sign up to the site that I like.

As to seeing what we want to see - ultimately yes. That does seem to be the case. You could have your system redraw every person in a police uniform as the pigs from Duke Nukem. Tastes will vary though and it'll take a long time until that stuff is as seamless appearing as reality. But I wouldn't half mind if I'm in a horrible little office in Goodwood, looking out the windows and seeing the Himalayas, you know?

In the medium term, it would be quite possible I'm sure to display things that you want others in your online community to see. Like a GFSA badge that can only be seen by GFSA members for example.

Edit: Did anyone watch the vid, btw. They show a very crude reality replacement in that.

Erm, I too block adds. When you dont, business addresses come up as landmarks.