Augmented Reality - Not Just For Academics Anymore

When I was at varsity, I did my honours and master's degrees in virtual reality. We focused more on 'real' virtual reality, but did come across research on 'augmented reality' - which is like a mixture of real and virtual; generally, virtual information superimposed on the real world using translucent head-mounted-displays. The idea was to provide extra information, so for example surgical med students could look at a body and have labels superimposed on the organs; or a wiring diagram could be superimposed on a house wall.

Google maps kinda does this, by superimposing a map on a satellite view of an area. But it's not real time, and it's not dynamic. And it's not the real world - it's a picture of the real world.

But PalmOS game company ToySpring have taken a huge step further, and as usual it's gaming driving the development. They've brought out an arcade shooter for the Treo 650, which uses the pda's camera to generate the backdrop for the game. Bad guys and targets are superimposed on the image coming from the camera, in real time! And if there's a baddie behind you, and you physically turn around, the game will track changes in the camera field so that you can see the baddie. That is just so awesome. My only concern is that it might be terribly slow, but the idea is really great. More info and some screenshots at El Reg.

This is the way that virtual reality is going to filter into everyday life. Not through all the academic research, but via games.