Augmented Reality Mario

This video is part of a Bachelor thesis, but shows what can be done with augmented reality. Technology allows us to use the world as a canvas, and play with our environment. There will be a lot more where this came from.

The Stories of Objects

As if more examples were needed that we are increasingly looking for real things in the real world (rather than stuff on screens), we just came across Itizen. This allows you to tag objects which mean something to you and upload them. You can then pass them on so that the object may collect stories. It is a great example of digitally augmenting real world objects, and adding value to existing behaviour.

Also see:

Objects as storage devices - Interesting thoughts on PSFK
The Value of Things - Book from 2000 which is becoming increasingly relevant
The Comfort of Things - Recently published and getting great reviews

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.

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality has been around for a while but it seems to be everywhere at the moment!
So what exactly is it?
It's an environment that mixes both virtual and real-world elements.
The possibilities of using it in advertising are massive, particularly now nearly everyone has a camera on their phone.
One of my favourite examples has been in making baseball cards appealing to the video gaming generation.



Links to other examples:

Mini, Wikitude, Twitter Feed, iPhone, Game

UPDATE:
Interesting article in AdWeek this week.

"Marketers should think about how to leverage this kind of technology in retail locations, on products or in static advertising -- linking their tangible assets with useful content from the web and added interactivity."