Showing you the things you can't see

The images above are taken from the free iphone app launched by the Museum of London. It brings the museum's extensive photography collection to the streets, allowing you to peer into the past through your iphone. Not only is it a fantastic way to make art and history more accessible by contextualizing it, it is just one of a number of apps recently which have used Augmented Reality to give us another window onto the world. At its best, AR can create a sense of wonder, allowing us to see everyday structures in a new light. As Layar suggest, "it shows you the things you can't see". Here are a couple more we liked:

- Graffiti Tagging- A record of all the graffiti a piece of wall has displayed over the years.
- Layar- The Iphone's augmented reality browser now has over 600 layers, allowing you to see everything from restaurants and tube stations to youtube videos.
- Worksnug - Finds the best places nearby to sit and work. 
- Theodolyte - Amazing tool which gives you GPS, altitude, distances, inclination and bearing.
- 4D - Does AR mean we are entering the fourth dimension? Read my blog for stab at an answer.