Augement… Augmented Reality

It could be that I don’t have an iPhone or that it just looks stupid at this stage, but I don’t get this augmented reality thing.

Augmented reality is a tool/trend that allows images to pop up that don’t exist and interact in real time. Augmented reality has found a home in rudimentary commercials and in iPhone app demos. If you haven’t checked it out, do so asap because this technology is cheap and will be available to the masses, resulting in people creating magic tricks, ecommerce gimmicks and hair mimics.

In my opinion, it isn’t ready for the mass market. It looks great for iPhone apps, but as far as using it to virtually try things on, becoming a virtual furry and even 3-D book animating, it’s just not there. With choppy graphics and the lack of customization, augmented reality has too many kinks to be worked out. And like every tool, there is a time and place to be used. Right now, there’s a rush to jump on this band wagon, but with patience, the evolution of augmented reality will either step up to the plate and create great products and ads, or it will create a few “fails” and then sputter out.

Image Source: Przemion’s Flickr